Cousin Bait: Fish in Many Ponds

Trying to catch the eye of cousins who are searching online for mutual ancestors, I fish in as many ponds as possible. Anything I post as cousin bait works 24/7, waiting to be found when a possible cousin does a surname search or looks on a genealogy-related website for folks in the family tree.

Above, my Find a Grave memorial for Isaac Larimer Work with bite-sized bio (repurposed and posted to multiple sites when I researched hubby's US Civil War ancestors). Although I can't be 100% sure that Isaac is actually in Nashville National Cemetery, he's listed as being buried there in the US Civil War Roll of Honor (see title page here at right).

Isaac was my hubby's 1c4r. The Find a Grave page was cousin bait after being discovered last week by a descendant of this Union soldier's brother. The cousin contacted me via my Find a Grave profile and now we're exchanging family history photos and more. 

Also last week I was contacted by a 2c2r in my Burk/Mahler/Jacobs family tree, who found his grandfather on my Ancestry public tree. He has photos I've never seen, and I have photos he's never seen. We're sharing info and putting our heads together for further research!

To fish in many ponds, I have trees, memorials, photos, and/or bios on all of the following:

• Find a Grave
• Ancestry
• My Heritage
• WikiTree
• Find My Past
• Fold3
• FamilySearch
• Ancestor landing pages of this genealogy blog

It was a great week for genealogy last week, and September will be a terrific month for collaborating on research with these newfound cousins.

In Memory of Harold D. Burk, World War II Vet and Travel Agent

My Dad, Harold David Burk, was born on September 29, 1909, and died on August 18, 1978, sadly just weeks before his 69th birthday. In loving memory of Dad's life, I'm posting his bite-sized bio here (in addition to posts on Find a Grave, Fold3, Ancestry, and other sites). 

Harry was born in New York City, the second child of Lithuanian-born immigrant Isaac Burk (1882-1943) and Latvian-born immigrant Henrietta

Mahler Burk (1881-1954) [source: NYC birth cert].

Growing up, his ambition was to be a travel agent. He spent years learning the travel industry from the ground up in Manhattan, waiting for his big break to become a full-fledged agent.

During World War II, Harry interrupted his career to enlist in the U.S. Army on March 7, 1942 and was discharged on October 4, 1945 [source: Dept. of Veterans Affairs BIRLS death file]. His younger brother Sidney B. Burk (1914-1995) also enlisted and served during WWII. In this photo from the war years, Harry is at left and Sidney at right.

Because Harry had good typing skills, he served as a personnel clerk, Technician 5th grade, in the 3163d Signal Service Company of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. His official designation was Administrative NCO 502 [source: DD-214 discharge papers]. His unit served in Central Europe and Rhineland, maintaining communication lines in support of Allied military efforts [source: DD-214]. Toward the end of the war, Harry and his unit were stationed near Paris, in April 1945.

After his honorable discharge, Harry returned home and married Daisy Schwartz (1919-1981) on November 24, 1946, in New York City [source: NYC marriage cert]. They settled in the Bronx, New York, and raised three children. He founded a successful travel agency, Burk Travel Service, working with his brother in their lobby office at the luxurious Manhattan hotel, the Savoy Plaza [source: business documents].

Harry reluctantly retired after the hotel was torn down in 1965 to make way for construction of the General Motors Building. He died of a heart attack on August 18, 1978 in the Bronx, New York, and is buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, NY [source: NYC death cert].

Remembering Dad and missing him today.

My 2022 Genealogy Paper Chase

Here we are, halfway through 2022, and already it's been quite a year for family history! 

Thanks to the big Census releases, my genealogy paper chase has been extremely productive in the first half of this year. 

In fact, I'm making good progress on all my projects and plans:

• Find ancestors and the FAN club in the 1950 US Census (results: yay, lots and lots of info and really interesting clues).
• Look for hubby's ancestors in the 1921 Census of England (results: found some, will look for a couple more).
• Write and post bite-sized bios for aunts, uncles, and great-grandparents on genealogy websites (results: some completed, a few in draft stage)
• Reorganize family photos into archival albums (results: hundreds of 20th century snapshots reorganized, but oldest photos and negatives still to be reorganized--a big project to accomplished in small chunks). 
• Follow up on genealogy clues from Burk/Birk branch of my father's side and Schwartz/Winkler/Preisz branch of my mother's side (results: yay, made new cousin connections!).
• Continue making presentations on genealogy topics (results: talks scheduled July through autumn of this year).

Next steps

One top priority is to write more bite-sized bios, with the goal of keeping these ancestors' names alive for future generations. Currently, I'm finalizing details for bios of my hubby's great-grandparents and my great-grandparents (actually just posted hubby's great-grandpa's bio). Even when I know very little about these people, I can still write about milestones in their lives (BMD), number of children and/or siblings, where/when they lived, and the social/historical context of of their lifetimes.

Another priority for the second half of 2022 is reorganizing older photos, captioning, and maybe even writing brief narratives about a few of the series photos. I did this with one of my late dad-in-law's albums chronicling the summer of 1917, when his father drove the family from Cleveland to Chicago in a new 1917 Ford. 

I'll also be testing additional archival photo storage possibilities during the summer, to see which are best suited to the small and odd-shaped old photos and negatives inherited from my late dad-in-law. As I wrote in my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, life by the inch is a cinch--life by the yard is hard. I'm stretching out my photo reorganization and taking small steps to keep this project from becoming overwhelming. Digitizing these photos is only part of the process. It's just as important to keep the originals safe for decades to come.

Paper chase in my future

I'm still busy following the paper trail to trace more of my Eastern European ancestors. DNA has less helpful than I'd hoped. Yet there are documents and family tree clues about a few branches that came to America, some around the time of World War I and some after World War II.

In recent months, I found a couple of distant cousins I never knew about. Together, we're pooling information and coordinating research to try to connect with more descendants while documenting those who came before. 

The second half of 2022 promises to be as productive as the first half! And of course I'll be blogging about challenges, breakthroughs, techniques, issues, and more. More than 13 years of genealogy blogging, with more to come.

Never Give Up! My Great Aunt Nellie Breakthrough

My heart holds a special place for ancestors who had no descendants. I try to research and memorialize them so their names and lives aren't forgotten.

This is the case with my paternal great aunt Nellie Block, born in Gargzdai, Lithuania (?-1950). She was the oldest sister of my grandfather Isaac Burk (1882-1943). It wasn't until I connected with second cousins a few years ago that I could even put a name to the face I found in my parents' wedding album and elsewhere. 

Cousins said they remember great aunt Nellie as kind and attentive, someone who enjoyed family gatherings. In the photo above, she is the elegantly-attired lady in lace, standing between a younger brother on one side and a younger sister on the other.  

Single or widowed?

For a long time, I thought Nellie was a maiden aunt. More than a decade of research had only turned up a Census where she was recorded as S (single). In fact, she wasn't coming up in my repeated searches of US Census documents from 1920, 1930, and 1940, even when I searched on multiple sites (because each indexes the Census in its own way).

A couple of years ago, I was able to obtain Nellie's death certificate. The informant was her brother, who said Nellie was widowed. That was news.

In April of this year, I found Nellie enumerated in the 1950 US Census, where she was shown as...widowed! Two sources said she was widowed. Hmm.

Curiously, Nellie Block's 1950 US Census entry and her death cert both refer to her surname as Block, with no married name ever mentioned. Even in the 1930s, when an English cousin invited Nellie to a wedding, she addressed the invite to "Nellie Block." 

But searching for years, I found no indication of any marriage. 

My secret weapon

Just the other day, one of my cousins asked about Nellie. We compare notes about brick walls from time to time, and he remembered Nellie as one of mine.

Because of his gentle nudge, I redid my search for Nellie. Lo and behold, up came a record transcription for a 1916 marriage to Samuel Kaplan in Manhattan, NY, in April of 1916, along with the cert number. There are a LOT of Nellie Block marriages in search results, but now I have a secret weapon to dig deeper into Big Apple records.

Since early this year, the New York City Municipal Archives has offered FREE access to digitized vital records from roughly the late 19th century to the Depression era. You should first try to find the cert number, borough, and year, otherwise you'll be browsing till the cows come home.

Because the actual digitized records are free to view, I had nothing to lose by searching for the Block-Kaplan marriage cert. I input the details and up came a pdf. I wanted to view the cert with my own eyes, not rely on the transcribed info.

My Nellie?

Reading the cert, I saw Nellie listed as single, 30 years old, born in Russia, her first marriage. Samuel Kaplan was 38, widowed, a jeweler born in Russia, son of Isaac Kaplan and Sarah Freedman, being married for the second time. 

I never heard of Samuel Kaplan, but it only took a moment to determine this was my Nellie's marriage cert. First, the mother's name was very close to what she said on other documents. Second, the father's name was a family surname I know. 

The clincher was the place where the ceremony took place: 7 East 105th Street in Manhattan. That's the apartment building where Nellie's sister-in-law lived. My Nellie!

Next step

I've just sent $18 to the NYC Municipal Archives to obtain the three documents related to Nellie's wedding: the marriage license application, affidavit executed by bride and groom, and actual marriage license original. You can learn more about how this works via the FAQs here.

Although I may have to wait a few weeks, I'll get lots more info on Nellie and her husband, especially from the affidavit. I hope to trace the life of Samuel Kaplan, who seems to have died before the 1950 US Census was taken.

So never give up! New records become available all the time and database indexing improves all the time. In this case, the bonus secret weapon of free NYC vital records helped me across the finish line for this breakthrough, confirming that my great aunt Nellie Block had, indeed, been married.

Finding Dads and Grandfathers in 1950 US Census

 

Happy Father's Day! Researching in the 1950 US Census, I enjoyed finding fathers and grandfathers in my direct line and my husband's direct line.

• My maternal grandfather Teddy Schwartz was living in the Bronx, New York, with my grandma Minnie Farkas Schwartz (given name written incorrectly). The Census correctly shows that Grandpa Teddy ran a small grocery store, working 70 hours per week. My paternal grandpa Isaac Burk was no longer alive.
• My Dad (Harold Burk) and Mom (Daisy Schwartz Burk) were enumerated a few miles away in the Bronx, in their first Census as a married couple. Dad was a travel agent in his own agency, as shown in the Census.
• Hubby's maternal grandfather  Brice L. Wood, by then widowed, was living in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. He was retired ("ot" stands for "other" because he's not working and not looking for work). My husband's paternal grandfather James Edgar Wood was no longer alive.
• Hubby's Dad (Edgar J. Wood) and Mom (Marian McClure Wood) were at home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Ed worked as a claims adjustor for a casualty insurance company, as shown on the questionnaire.

Now I'm remembering these fathers and grandfathers with love on Father's Day 2022. 

Did the 1950 US Census Enhance My Family Tree?

The 1950 US Census release has brought new excitement and fresh energy to my genealogy research! It's been fun looking for ancestors, sometimes by browsing one page at a time, and feeling the thrill of discovery.

But has this new resource actually enhanced my family tree? 

Happy surprises

I was pleased that at least some of the adult ancestors in my tree and my hubby's tree were chosen to answer sample questions. One reported an astonishing $30,000 as annual income in 1949--the equivalent of more than $300,000 today, and quite a fortune for the time.

Some birthplace answers simultaneously made me happy and confirmed my research. In 1950, Lithuania was in the clutches of what was then the USSR. Yet many of my paternal ancestors (Burk, Birk, Berk) answered "Lithuania" when asked about their birthplace (which I know was Gargzdai, Lithuania). 

I noticed a number of interesting occupations in our trees. One of my Dad's first cousins was the manager of a "5 & 10 cent store." Those don't exist any more. Two of the big chains of the time were Woolworth and Kresge (which later evolved into Kmart), but I don't know whether this cousin worked for either of them.

Another surprise was seeing my aunt Dorothy, who was a WAC in WWII, at age 30 still living at home with her parents. I know from family sources that she found her own apartment in 1950, and now I know it was after April 1st. Interestingly, she was chosen to answer sample questions but was not asked about her military service, because of her gender. Only males were asked that question!

Intriguing mysteries

The Census also turned up the heat on a few mysteries. For example, in the 1940 US Census, my great uncle David Mahler (1882-1964) was shown as married, but no wife in the household. In the 1950 US Census, he's shown as widowed. When he died, his death cert said he was widowed (sister was the informant). 

I've chased multiple people named David Mahler through multiple research sources and not yet found where or when my great uncle was married. He was quite the wanderer when younger, and could have married in nearly any state at any time. More research is in my future.

Checking hints, documenting details

My pace of research accelerated further when Ancestry's 1950 US Census hints began popping up this week. 

It's quick and easy to attach the 1950 Census to each person in my tree, and I'm transcribing key details onto each ancestor profile--allowing relatives to see, at a glance, where our family was and what they were doing at that point in time.

I'm also updating my virtual cemeteries on Find a Grave as I look at these ancestors and link family members. And I'm suggesting edits to ancestor memorial pages based on the latest research. Over time, I'll be improving my family trees on other sites, little by little.

Grain of salt

Because 1950 isn't that long ago, my relatives and I can almost always figure out whether the Census information makes sense. Too often, it's incomplete or flat-out inaccurate.

One great uncle and aunt were listed only by name with clearly approximate ages, no occupation or birthplace or anything else. The enumerator wrote: "all information available - given by superintendent after 4 calls." So in the 1950 US Census "fact" block on these ancestors' profiles, I inserted a warning: Info other than address was provided by building superintendent, not reliable. 

In other cases, enumerators indicated that neighbors or others had given the information. One in-law was listed as "Enid" even though her name was actually "Lena." Not even close! 

No wonder I consider Census data to be clues, not facts, and carefully double-check and correlate with other sources.

Bottom line: The 1950 US Census has been a plus for my genealogy, reenergizing my voyage of ancestor discovery and reinforcing the need to confirm new info in the context of what I've already proven.

Decoding Ancestor Occupations in 1950 US Census

When the 1950 US Census was released last month, I located dozens of ancestors, noted the basic details for each, and downloaded the Census pages for further study.

Now I'm comparing what was written as an ancestor's occupation/industry to what the codes say, at the far right of each line. These codes were added much later in the process as the government tabulated and analyzed 1950 Census data.

Travel agent = 300 (agent)

My entrepreneurial father (Harold Burk) and his brother (Sidney Burk), who lived a few doors away from each other in the Bronx, were travel agents in my Dad's travel business. At top is an excerpt from their Census page. 

Both were coded as O (working in own business), occupation 300 (agents), industry 808 (miscellaneous business services), and 3 (class code for "own business"). 

Steve Morse & Joel Weintraub decipher the codes 

The reason I was able to decipher these codes easily, as shown above, was by looking them up on a very convenient page provided by Steve Morse and Joel Weintraub, found here. 

Codes are particularly important when the enumerator's handwriting is unclear or the occupation or industry aren't legible. Just plug in the codes and see, at least in a general way, what our ancestors said they did for work.

More specific coding?

The 1950 Census training manual stressed that enumerators were to be as clear and specific as possible when recording occupation/industry. In fact, what the enumerator listed as occupation/industry for my Dad and uncle was quite specific. 

Yet the coding of this information was anything but specific, IMHO. 

So I looked up the occupation "travel agent" in the official Alphabetical Listing of Occupations and Industries from 1950 (link here leads to a pdf), where all the numerical codes are shown. 

The snippet from "travel agent" shown above says:

• "300" correctly corresponds to the general category of agents.
• "Ind" indicates that the next set of numbers will be "industry." 
• "568" is an industry code for services incidental to transportation.

Surely 568 would have been a better classification for my father's travel agent business than, say, 808 = miscellaneous business services?

For more about the 1950 US Census, please see my summary page here.

1950 US Census "Sample of Sample" Questions

Just days until the 1950 US Census is released and I'm more than ready to dive in and find my ancestors on April 1st. 

It would be a stroke of luck to have an ancestor selected as part of the "sample" to answer additional, detailed questions about 1949 residence, 1949 income, parents' birthplaces, school attendance, and military service.

Six out of 30 answered sample questions

This sample consisted of 6 people out of the 30 enumerated on every page of the Census. Truly a treasure trove of family history if one of my ancestors is included.

From those who answered the sample questions, one was asked a few "sample of sample" questions. As shown above in an excerpt from the US National Archives page listing all the Census questions for 1950, these questions were for people aged 14 and up.

More details about marriage and children

If one of my ancestors is listed on a line selected for the "sample of sample" questions, the answers will illuminate his or her marital history. Was the person married more than once? How many years since marital status changed? Wonderful genealogical clues for me to follow up and search for marriage or divorce documents!

If I'm really lucky, that person will be one of my women ancestors. Why? Because the final question asks how many children this woman has ever borne.** This will give me hints about whether I've missed an infant death, for instance, and improve my family tree's accuracy for the sake of future generations and future researchers.

1910 vs 1950 question about children

The last time this kind of question was asked was in the 1910 US Census (and before that, the 1900 Census). In 1910, the enumerator first asked how many children the woman ever had borne, and then asked how many were still alive. That's how I knew to look for children who died young or in between Census years. 

Did my paternal grandma Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954) have any children who died young? In 1910, she told the Census she had 2 children and both were alive. Now when the 1950 Census is released, if this ancestor was asked the "sample of sample" questions, I hope to learn whether there were other children I never knew about. 

My great-grandma Tillie Jacobs Mahler (185?-1952), reported 9 children in all and 7 alive in 1900, then 10 children in all and 7 alive in 1910. What about in the 1950 Census? 

My maternal grandma Henrietta Farkas Schwartz (1886-1964) got married and had her children between 1910 and 1920 and never answered this question before the 1950 Census. I don't expect any surprises, but who knows--let's see if she was asked the "sample of sample" questions.

**Note the assumption built into this final "sample of sample" question: If a woman said she was never married when answering question #12 on the Population Schedule, she would not be asked question #38. On the other hand, if she answered that she was married, separated, divorced, or widowed, she would be asked this question if she was recorded on the line chosen for "sample of sample" questions. This assumption didn't apply to the 1910 or 1900 question, apparently.

To see all of my 1950 US Census posts, please go to my summary page here.

Seeing Double in Our Family Trees

Twins definitely run in my Farkas family tree: I have a twin sister and we're daughters of a twin. Above, my mom and her sis (the Schwartz twins) about 1920ish. In addition, the Farkas family included twin boys, "Woody" and "Sandy," my second cousins.

Twins also appear in my paternal line. Among my Dad's 1st cousins on the Mahler side were Harvey Smith (1916-1996) and his twin brother Jules Smith (1916-1996). They died within five months of each other and are buried near one another in Florida. 

My husband's family tree has twins, as well. Born on the eve of New Year's Eve in 1854, twin sisters Amanda "Callie" McClure (1854-1887) and Anna "Addie" McClure (1854-1928) were great-great aunts of my husband. 

Interestingly, these McClure ladies had cousins who were fraternal twins: Jesse McClure (1875-1952) and Bessie McClure (1875-1959), born on January 31, 1875. This brother and sister were 1c2r of my husband.

"Joined together" -- in this post, about twins together -- is the #52Ancestors prompt for week 12 of Amy Johnson Crow's genealogy challenge.

The First Female Ph.D. in My Family Tree

My immigrant maternal grandparents (Hermina "Minnie" Farkas Schwartz, 1886-1964 and Theodore "Teddy" Schwartz, 1887-1965) had high expectations for their American-born children. 

They were big believers in education and encouraged their children to reach for the stars. 

Of their three children, one son and one daughter earned a Ph.D. From immigrants to doctorates in one generation!

Uncle Fred, the family's first Ph.D. 

The oldest child, Fred Shaw (1912-1991), earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree after graduating from James Monroe High School in the Bronx. Just before he married Daisy Katz (1913-1985) on Thanksgiving Day, 1940, he was appointed as an economics teacher at New York City's prestigious Stuyvesant High School.

After a stint as a Captain in the U.S. Army during World War II, he again taught high school economics as he earned a Ph.D. Uncle Fred went on to write the well-regarded book, History of the New York City Legislature, as well as teaching political science at the City University of New York.

Auntie Dorothy, the family's first female Ph.D.

Dorothy Schwartz (1919-2001), my mom's twin sister, interrupted her studies at Hunter College in New York City to enlist as a WAC during World War II. When she returned from overseas in 1945, Sgt. Schwartz initially went to work and then resumed her college career. After graduation, she worked for Macy's, becoming assistant to the wonderful woman who ran the Thanksgiving Day Parade for many years. 

In the 1950s, Dorothy took some education courses and in 1955, she was appointed as a typing and steno teacher at Evander Childs High School in the Bronx, NY. Shortly afterward, she got a job teaching at Christopher Columbus High School, where she spent the rest of her long career. A teacher by day, she was a student by night, earning a master's degree and then a doctorate in education. Auntie Dorothy was my family's first female Ph.D.

My Mom Daisy, behind the scenes support

My Mom, Daisy Schwartz Burk (1919-1981), graduated from high school into the depths of the Great Depression. There wasn't enough money for her and her two siblings to continue to college. Although they would be attending free city universities, money was needed to pay for books, carfare, lunches, and so on. Instead of going to college, Daisy took secretarial jobs to help support her older brother and her twin sister as they studied for their degrees. 

Once she settled down with Dad (Harold Burk, 1909-1978), the focus was on educating the next generation. In later years, Daisy took college courses at night, for credit, while working during the day. She especially enjoyed her literature and history courses, even though she never earned a degree. Her strong belief in education was passed along to her daughters, who all earned masters' degrees. 

You can see how proud I am of my Mom's behind-the-scenes support. I'm proud of my uncle, the family's first Ph.D., and  my aunt, the first female Ph.D. in the entire family tree. This is my week 9 post about "females" for Amy Johnson Crow's series of prompts, #52Ancestors. (Just in time for Women's History Month).

Three Brick Walls Smashed by Remarkable WikiTreers

This past Wednesday, the remarkable WikiTree volunteers who worked tirelessly on improving my family tree were able to break three challenging brick walls. 

Overall, they improved many branches of my tree, adding people, lots of background, detailed sources, and dozens of clues for me to investigate! 

If you want to see the reveal as it unfolded during the WikiTree broadcast, take a look here. 

And here's a link to learn more about WikiTree's collaborative family tree. WikiTree is free, the emphasis is on connections, and it's a very friendly place!

Breakthrough on my Burk line

The WikiTree broadcast led with the news of an important breakthrough on my Burk line. 

When I first ventured into genealogy, my goal was to discover the where, when, and how my paternal grandfather Isaac Burk (1882-1943) died. In the process, I learned about my paternal great-grandfather, Solomon Elias Burk--but that was as far back as I could go.

Until now. The WikiTree team was able to discover the name of my great-great-grandfather, Meyer Burk, in Gargzdai, Lithuania, the place where my grandpa Isaac and his siblings were born (see WikiTree image at top). An exciting breakthrough! Because the name Meyer has been carried down in the Burk line through multiple generations, he is a most welcome addition--among the earliest of my ancestors on the family tree.

Breakthrough on my Farkas line

Yet another brick wall was busted when the WikiTree team uncovered a brother for my great-grandfather, Moritz Farkas (1857-1936). 

Digging really deep, the WikiTreers found evidence of Simon Farkas (b. about 1852), who is almost certainly Moritz's older brother. The names fit, the dates and places fit--Botpalad, Hungary was where a number of Farkas ancestors were born. 

This is an intriguing breakthrough because Simon's father was Ferencz, as was Moritz's father, according to the official birth records. Now I hope to learn more by tracing Simon's line, starting with the research notes provided by WikiTreers.

Breakthrough on my Kunstler line

One more breakthrough was the discovery of a possible brother for Samuel (Shmuel) Zanvil Kunstler, my great-great-grandfather. A little background (corrected): More than 20 years ago, a cousin visited this ancestor's grave and saw that the stone lists Josef Moshe as the father of Samuel.

This week, the WikiTreers found records pointing to innkeeper Herman (Hersko) Kunstler, in NagyBereg, as a possible brother to Samuel. The Kunstlers did, in fact, operate an inn, which confirms some kind of connection! 

Updated: Herman's father is Josef M., according to the records uncovered by the WikiTreers. Samuel's father, according to his gravestone, was Josef Moshe, whose father was Hillel. I'm going to take a closer look, but this is extremely promising.

Clearly, more research is in my future, a happy prospect for 2022. 

It was truly an honor to be a featured guest during the WikiTree Challenge.

I want to thank the many WikiTreers who worked so hard and dug so deep to improve my family tree.

This is my week #50 post for Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors challenge. 

I've already signed up for the 2022 edition of #52 Ancestors! Follow this link if you want to sign up, too.

Preserving Our Family's Legacy of Needlework

Last year, I wrote about my husband's grandma Floyda Mabel Steiner McClure's needlework legacy. A love of sewing and crocheting has continued in that family to the present day. I've wrapped each item in archival tissue to keep it safe for the future when it will be inherited by the next generation.

In my family, we have a number of hand-made needlework items we treasure for their beauty and for the long tradition they represent. 

At left, a detail from an embroidered set of linens by my mother, Daisy Schwartz Burk (1919-1981). The set is in great condition, washed and ironed and stored in an archival box for preservation. I put a label on the box to indicate who made the needlework and who inherits it.

Mom learned to embroider and to crochet from her mother, Hermina Farkas Schwartz (1886-1964), who also used her treadle machine to sew clothes. I imagine Hermina learned needlework from her mother, Lena Kunstler Farkas, and so on.

Love of needlework has been passed down from generation to generation in my Farkas family. Here are two afghans, one knit by a special cousin and one crocheted by a special niece. Each time I cuddle up in one of these, I think of the person who painstakingly made it, one stitch at a time. 

My hope is that by documenting these homemade heirlooms, and keeping them safe, future generations will be know they come from a very long line of talented needlework enthusiasts. 

None of my ancestors were quilters, but I got interested and over the years, I've made a number of wall quilts, bed quilts, and baby quilts. Each one has a label attached to the back, showing my name as the quilter, the date, and a photo...sometimes the photo is me, sometimes of the recipient if the quilt was a gift.

Now another of my nieces has taken up quilting and enjoys stitching quilts for her young ones and for friends. I'm so happy the tradition of homemade needlework is continuing in our family!

This is my week 49 post in Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors series of genealogy prompts.

Public and Private Ancestor Bios

Do you find it more challenging to write a public biography of ancestors you knew--especially those closest to you? I do.

I want key ancestors' bios to be available to distant relatives and future researchers in some form, whether posted on Find a Grave, Family Search, MyHeritage, WikiTree, or other sites where they can be found today and tomorrow. 

But I do make a distinction between public and private bios.

Writing it all down for family

Over the past decade, I've created family histories intended just for family, not for public eyes. 

Whether lengthy or brief, these family history documents include personal photos and candid comments that might not necessarily be appropriate for the wider world. In a private bio, I can reveal unflattering quirks and other dimensions of an ancestor's life known only to the family at this point. 

Secrets aren't necessarily in these private bios, but they're in my genealogy files to be inherited by the next generation and therefore will not be lost to the family.

Private bios can be as long or short as I wish, and include minute details that would bore non-relatives. Only relatives are likely to care that my Dad (Harold D. Burk, 1909-1978) baked apple pies from scratch every autumn, trying for a perfectly golden brown, sky-high crust. 

I've blogged about these kinds of details because they're of interest to me and my generation, but I haven't included them in the bite-sized bio of Dad publicly posted on FindaGrave and other sites (see image above).

Public bios in brief

With a public bite-sized bio, my aim is to focus readers on the essence of who each ancestor was, in a few paragraphs rather than a few pages. For Dad's public bite-sized bio, I went a bit beyond the bare basics: "Growing up, his ambition was to be a travel agent..." is how I described his life goal--which he achieved.

In the final paragraph, I wrote about his disappointment at having to close his business, saying: "He reluctantly retired..." My entrepreneurial father would have kept his travel agency open if the building where it was housed had not been torn down. 

Currently, I'm drafting a bite-sized bio of my father-in-law, Edgar James Wood (1903-1986), a good family man, a career insurance adjustor, and a professional musician. Not to mention his travel adventures!

Keeping the public bio brief yet adding personality is a real challenge, both because I knew him and because his life was full of interesting twists and turns. Earlier family history booklets went into great detail--now I want to focus his bio for public eyes.

The Story of a Well-Used Heirloom: Dad's Pinochle Cards

Dad (Harold D. Burk, 1909-1978) was born 112 years ago this month in New York City, older son of immigrant parents Isaac Burk (1882-1943) and Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954).

Growing up, he played stoop ball and stickball outside his Manhattan apartment building. With friends, he also played a remarkably dangerous game of jumping between tenement rooftops. How did he survive? Even he seemed amazed, talking about it to me many decades later.

During my childhood, Dad and his brother and two brothers-in-law would gather around a card table and play pinochle after a holiday meal. The men laughed and chatted as they played a fairly cut-throat version of pinochle, sipping beer and keeping score. 

Maybe they played for pennies or nickels, and all shook hands with a warm sense of bon homie when they settled up. After every game, Dad would carefully tamp the cards in place and store them in their plastic case (shown above).

Remembering Dad and keeping his beloved pinochle set safe for future generations, along with these memories! 

--This is my week #38 entry about "fun and games" for Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestor series.

1950 Census Occupations: Special Care!

 

As part of my prep for the release of the 1950 Census on April 1, 2022, I'm making notes about items to check when I browse the images for key ancestors. The 1950 Census has so much detail for genealogy purposes...including occupation. 

How will the 1950 US Census show the occupation of my ancestors? Some worked in "occupations for which special care is necessary" according to the instructions in the Enumerator's Reference Manual, which can be read and downloaded for free. But there are distinctions, and I'm not sure exactly how the enumerator will have captured the exact nature of these occupations.

Dad = travel agent or business owner?

Will the 1950 enumerator specify that my father, Harold Burk (1909-1978) was not just an agent but a travel agent? Or will the enumerator show him as a business owner (of the Burk Travel Service in Manhattan)?

My uncle, Sidney Burk (1914-1995), also worked in the business. Will he be shown as a travel agent, specifically? 

Uncle = teacher?

Will the 1950 enumerator specify that my uncle, Fred Shaw (1912-1991), was an economics or history teacher at a high school in New York City? The enumerator is supposed to identify the main subject taught by teachers. I'm going to see which subject was considered my uncle's main subject, since he taught both.

When is a clerk not a clerk?

The instructions say that a clerk who sells items in a store is to be enumerated as a salesman. A few of my ancestors worked in retailing. Will the Census show their occupations as clerk or as salesman or saleswoman?? I can't wait to find out.

Surprise?

Think about what you expect to see as your ancestors' occupations on the 1950 Census, and whether any special rules for enumerators apply. You may be surprised to see just how the occupations are described--and in how much detail.

Anatomy of a Bite-Sized Ancestor Bio

For the past year, I've been writing bite-sized biographies of ancestors to share publicly on My Heritage, WikiTree, Find a Grave, Family Search, and other genealogy sites. Apart from listing basic facts (birth, marriage, death), I also like to provide context and family connections, making each ancestor three-dimensional. 

Above is an excerpt of a bite-sized bio I wrote for my paternal grandmother, Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954), and posted on her Find a Grave memorial page. Previously, I had posted a photo of her gravestone, as well as a photo showing her in 1937 (not visible in this excerpt). Also, I linked Henrietta to her parents and siblings, her husband, and one of her children on Find a Grave.*

Headline summarizes the story

My preference is to add a headline summarizing the highlights of each bio. In the case of my paternal grandmother, the headline shows she was an immigrant ancestor, mother of four, grandmother of five. 

The bio mentions her work as a stenographer before her marriage, but I didn't list a career in the headline because she didn't hold that occupation for very long. If Henrietta had been known for a particular skill or talent (needlework, music, rocket science, etc.) I would have noted it in the story and the headline. 

Cradle to grave

My bite-sized bio includes the ancestor's birth date, place, and parents, plus siblings where it's natural to weave in that info. Exact dates are shown for key facts (BMD for instance).

Sometimes there are special circumstances to note. I can't prove Henrietta was born in Riga, even though her husband's naturalization petition lists that as her birth place. Knowing that many immigrants in my family took the easy way out when asked about home town and named a nearby city instead of the tiny town where they were actually born, I used the wording "in or near." 

Next, my bio follows the major moves in Henrietta's life--literally a number of moves between her birth place, her residences, and then back and forth to Canada with her husband and children. Covering the key instances in her husband's life that affected her life creates a bit of overlap between the two ancestor bios, but that's OK. 

Sources noted (briefly)

To avoid interrupting the narrative flow of the bio, I note sources briefly in brackets. This signals to readers that the bio is based on solid sources beyond "family lore." Now or in the future, people can retrace my research with the aid of these brief sources. 

I also posted a version of this bio on WikiTree, Family Search, and My Heritage. This keeps Henrietta "alive" in multiple places online, and it also serves as cousin bait! 

--

* Ancestry recently changed its terms of use (August, 2021). The changes mean that when we upload a photo or other content, we are giving Ancestry "a perpetual, sublicensable, worldwide, non-revocable, royalty-free license to host, store, copy, publish, distribute, provide access to, create derivative works of, and otherwise use such User Provided Content..." 

This applies across Ancestry-owned platforms, such as Find a Grave. Read more about the changes at Judy Russell's blog post here. I don't agree with what Ancestry is doing, and am currently deleting many (but not all) family photos from my public trees. Please consider carefully before posting to these sites.

There's more about bite-sized bios and other fun projects in my popular webinar or live presentation, "Bring Family History Alive in Bite-Sized Projects."

Honoring Grandpa Isaac, My Genealogy Inspiration

For Father's Day 2021, it is my pleasure to pay tribute to immigrant Grandpa Isaac Burk (1882-1943), who lived and died before my time.

How I wish I could tell him that he's the reason I became addicted to genealogy in the first place.

Isaac Burk, my inspiration

In 1998, the genealogist of my mother's side of the family asked me about my father and his parents, Isaac and Henrietta. She taught me, by example, how important it is to include in-laws on the family tree.

Sadly, I knew almost nothing about Isaac, nor had I even seen a photo of him. I knew precious little about his wife, Grandma Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954), although I did recognize her in a couple of old family photos. 

Isaac's story proved elusive. It took five years of spare-time research to discover where, when, and why he died. The seemingly endless search became my inspiration for filling out branches on my family tree and that of my husband.

Hint, hint

After years of library research and by-mail requests for fruitless searches of New York City and state death records, I actually picked up the phone to call a Big Apple office. I knew where Isaac was buried by then, but not where he died and what caused his death. I threw myself on the mercy of the kindly clerk who answered the phone.

The clerk, in low tones, offered a completely unofficial, totally off-the-record hint to look beyond New York. The hush-hush suggestion was to, um, maybe consider, possibly, say, a place sorta like Washington, D. C. What?!

As a result of this hint, I was able to obtain Isaac's death cert. It turned out Isaac had died in Washington and his body was transported to New York for the funeral, generating paperwork that the clerk could view (but I couldn't see). Another lesson learned: sometimes it's a good idea to call and politely ask for help.

The hunt for Grandpa Isaac's history opened the door to decades of genealogy fun, finding many more ancestors and connecting with wonderful cousins along the way.

Thank you, Grandpa Isaac, for inspiring me. You are remembered with affection on Father's Day, 2021. My Sis and I have also paid to add you and Grandma Henrietta to the Ellis Island Immigrant Wall of Honor, as shown above, to keep your names alive for many generations to come.

--

Father's Day is the week 24 prompt for Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors challenge.

Memorial Day 2021: My Ancestors Who Served

Although Memorial Day is traditionally for honoring military members who died in war, none of my ancestors died during their service in WWI or WWII.

A couple were wounded and many came back profoundly changed, however. 

My maternal and paternal roots stretch back to Eastern Europe, where all four of my immigrant grandparents (and some of their children) were born. 

By the time World War I broke out, a number of my immigrant ancestors and a few of their descendants and in-laws were eligible to serve in the U.S. military. 

During World War II, my Dad, two uncles, one aunt, many cousins, and many in-laws served in the U.S. military. I was surprised that the family was represented in every branch of the armed forces--Army, Navy, Air Corps, and Marines!

Remembering Ancestors' Military Service

For some time, I've been blogging about many of these ancestors and posting a few sentences about their military service (or even longer bios) on genealogy sites--or at least a flag or flower on grave memorials.

With affection and pride, I want to honor the military service of these ancestors in my family tree who served in the U.S. armed forces:

World War I

• Julius Farkas (my great uncle) - U.S. Army
• Peter Farkas (my great uncle) - U.S. Army
• Louis Volk (my great uncle) - U.S. Army
• Frank Maurice Morris Jacob (my 1c2r) - U.S. Marines
• Joseph A. Markell (my great uncle) - U.S. Navy
• Milton Grossman (my great uncle) - NY National Guard
• Albert Farkas (my great uncle) - U.S. Army
• Morris Pitler (my great uncle) - U.S. Army

World War II

• Harold Burk (my Dad) - U.S. Army Signal Corps
• Sidney Burk (my uncle) - U.S. Army Air Force
• Frederick Shaw (my uncle) - U.S. Army
• Dorothy Schwartz (my aunt) - Women's Army Corps (WAC)
• George Farkas (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army Air Corps
• Robert Farkas (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army Medical Corps
• Myron E. Volk (my 1c1r) - U.S. Navy
• David Philip Smith (my 1c1r) - National Guard, 8th Regiment
• Harvey Smith (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army 
• Jules Smith (my 1c1r) - U.S. Marine Corps
• Harry S. Pitler (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army
• Ronald J. Lenney (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army (post-war occupation)
• Arthur M. Berkman (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army 
• Murray Berkman (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army 
• George W. Rosen (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army
• Abraham Ezrati (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army Air Corps
• Bill Kobler (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army
• Arnold D. Rosen (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army
• Burton S. Wirtschafter (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army
• Robert S. Whitelaw (cousin-in-law) - U.S. Marines

My 1950 U.S. Census Release To-Do List: Ready to Browse Adjacent EDs

Looking ahead to the release of the 1950 Census on April 1, 2022, I'm thinking about the residential situation of my ancestors. 

Own or rent?

A few city dwellers could afford to buy, and they also had a telephone. That means I should be able to easily find their address (and then their Enumeration District), and be ready to browse images in that part of the 1950 population schedule.

However, a good number of my big-city ancestors changed addresses every few years as they moved from one rented apartment to another. Family stories told of convincing new landlords to allow a rent-free month in exchange for a new lease, or a fresh coat of paint in exchange for renewing a lease. 

Usually, new addresses were only a few city blocks away. In Census terminology, that might be the same or an adjacent Enumeration District.

City blocks and ancestor proximity

Take the case of my great uncle Morris Mahler (1888-1958). The last definite address I have for him is 739 East 220th Street in the Bronx, New York, listed on his 1942 WWII draft card. This is shown on the map at top. 

It's a private home, but I don't know whether Morris and his wife Carrie Etschel Mahler (1885-1962) owned or rented. I'm going to check phone and city directories in search of a more recent address. 

This address is only a few blocks away from the apartments of his sister, Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954) and three of her grown children (including my Dad). Very possibly, if Morris was a renter, he would continue to rent not far from the rest of the family.

Key Tool: ED Finder

I previously used the convenient Unified Census ED Finder (thank you, Steve Morse and Joel Weintraub) to locate the ED for my Dad's big apartment building (3-1634). Using the same powerful tool, I located the ED for Morris Mahler's home address on 220th Street (3-1616).

I also noted the four streets that form the boundary around Morris's city block (see the ovals on the map). I can use them, with the Unified Census ED Finder, to identify adjacent EDs in case Morris did move before April 1, 1950.

I see a lot of clicking and browsing in my future when the Census is released next year!

Memorializing Moms in My Family Tree

_____________________________________________________

Sunday is Mother's Day, and also the 140th anniversary of the birth of my paternal grandmother, Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954). I'm in the process of preparing bite-sized ancestor biographies, and decided to jump Henrietta to the top of the list in honor of her special day.

Using my research notes, I wrote a few paragraphs summarizing Henrietta's life as an immigrant ancestor and mother of four. I'm the manager of her Find a Grave memorial, which makes it fast and easy to update the page with a basic bio (see excerpt above). Previously, I had posted a gravestone photo and a head shot with digital caption showing her name and the photo's date. I used this opportunity to double-check Find a Grave links to other family members and add Henrietta to my virtual cemetery.

Then I posted Henrietta's bio on WikiTree, where her head shot was already in place on her profile. 

This version of the bio includes brief source citations inside square brackets, to be filled out later with more detail. 

Soon I'll be adding more relatives to Grandma's part of the tree, with sources and photos. 

WikiTree asks for an explanation when profiles are changed. I wrote: "enriching biographical sketch."

I've also posted Henrietta's bite-sized bio on MyHeritage. And on Family Search!

Posting bios and photos online keeps Grandma Yetta and other ancestors alive for future generations.

Happy Mother's Day to the Moms in my family tree!