Change, Monitor, Hands Off?

James Tanner's excellent blog post earlier this week struck a chord with me. He wrote about the challenges of working with the FamilySearch collaborative family tree, starting with "revolving door ancestors" (one whose info is constantly changing) and "impossible pedigrees" (no sources on an ancestor means questionable parents and descendants).  

I am so, so grateful that FamilySearch has a vast array of robust (and free!) research materials available to help with my research. And its collaborative worldwide tree can give me a head start on ancestors, especially when I know very little about them or they are on a distant branch of my tree. I treat the tree as a great source of clues for me to follow up. 

And I should point out that I maintain a public family tree on Ancestry as well as putting ancestors on MyHeritage. Sources are attached and nobody can make changes (unless authorized by me).

Challenges indeed

Still, my experience with the collaborative tree echoes Tanner's experience. My immigrant maternal grandparents and their siblings had surnames (Farkas, Schwartz) that were common in Hungary, where both were born. Not surprisingly, people who don't know the family well  make mistakes when trying to add to these ancestors' FamilySearch profiles. It's a real challenge to distinguish between two Schwartz men with the same given name or two Farkas women with the same given name, born or died around the same time and in roughly the same place.

Above, part of the FamilySearch profile page for my great uncle Samuel Schwartz (1883-1954). I know a lot about Sam, partly from descendants and partly from careful research. So I know that Sam and his wife, Anna Gelbman Schwartz (1886-1940) had only two children, the ones I circled in purple in the image at top. Neither of these two sons was a twin. My Sam didn't die in 1926; he died in 1954. I have the paperwork to prove it and have visited his grave.

Yes, the photo on "Annie Gelbman Schwartz" is one I uploaded to FamilySearch some time ago. But all those extra children, not my work. Sam's incorrect death date, not my work. 

So many ancestors - so little time

In some cases, I have made changes to the FamilySearch family tree and attached sources and/or explanations. But this is time-consuming and still subject to change by others. Not where I want to spend much of my time.

My plan has been to monitor (click "follow" star ★ on line with ancestor's name) selected ancestors and read the weekly email of changes made to each, if any. Then I can decide whether to change or keep my hands off. For the most part, I'm keeping my hands off any changes, unless the ancestor is particularly dear to my heart and I can quickly and easily fix mistakes with an accessible source.

My plan is to keep adding ancestors to the collaborative WikiTree, where sources are also shown as well as biographical details. Here's the profile page of my great uncle Samuel Schwartz, whose original name was Simon, I know from the passenger manifest showing his arrival at Ellis Island. 

My WikiTree experience

So far, I haven't experienced any "revolving door" ancestor problems on WikiTree. I have encountered a few "impossible pedigree" ancestor profiles when trying to connect relatives to folks already in the WikiTree database but have successfully ironed those out with the people who originally created the profiles. The community on WikiTree is generally friendly and helpful.

In short, I consider adding ancestors to WikiTree to be a valuable use of my time, to honor ancestors and preserve their names and lives for the sake of future generations.

Mary Witnessed Family History -- It's in the Newspaper!

In my view, paying for a newspaper database subscription can a worthwhile investment, especially when I rotate from year to year. One year I might pay for GenealogyBank, next year I might pay for Newspapers.com, etc. By rotating, I have time to search out and clip what I need for a full year, then redo my searches the following year in a different database. I always--yes, always!--find new discoveries.

This week, my discovery had to do with a witness to family history. The year was 1909, when my Hungarian-born great uncle Samuel Schwartz (1883-1954) married Anna Gelbman (1886-1940) on October 24th in Bridgeport, CT. I originally thought they married in the local synagogue, since the marriage license is signed by the rabbi [another Schwartz, though not a relative], showing the synagogue's address. 

"Very pretty home wedding" for Sam and Anna

But since I started a new database subscription, I found, with a quick search, a brief item in the Bridgeport Times and Evening Farmer of October 27, 1909 that set me straight about Anna and Sam's wedding day. 

They were married at the home of Anna's parents in Bridgeport, CT, and "Miss Mary Shwartz [sic], a sister of the groom, was maid of honor." New news!

Mary Schwartz (1891-1959) was one of the younger sisters of Sam and Theodore Schwartz (1887-1965 -- hi grandpa!). My grandpa and his older brother left their birthplace in Ungvar, Hungary for New York City early in the 1900s. They worked and saved money to bring Mary to New York in 1906, when she was only 14. 

Mary was still a teenager when she was a maid of honor, not an official witness but an important part of her brother Sam's marriage to Anna. Whether my grandpa Theodore was there, I'll never know. My guess is yes, that Sam would be thrilled to have two siblings there, the only family members ever to come to America. 

By the way, Anna Gelbman was born in the United States. Had she married her foreign-born husband Sam before October 19, 1909, she would have lost her U.S. citizenship. But he was naturalized on October 19th, which is the exact date the couple applied for their marriage license. Not a coincidence!

Anna and Mary remained close

I know from descendants that Mary remained quite close to her sister-in-law Anna for all their lives. They were, after all, only 5 years apart in age. Unfortunately, Anna died of cancer when she was just 54, not long before what would have been her 31st wedding anniversary. 

This is my #52Ancestors post for week 50. Only two more weeks to go in Amy Johnson Crow's 2020 #Genealogy challenge! 

Now I'm My Great Aunt's Keeper

 

I've been updating the Find a Grave memorial pages for ancestors in my direct line and their siblings/spouses. Above is the photo I posted on my great aunt's memorial a few years ago. This week, I decided to ask to be manager of this and other memorial pages so I can edit without waiting for the current manager to approve my suggestions. I already managed my great uncle's memorial, but had not yet asked to be my great aunt's keeper.

Ask for the Transfer

As shown above, when I asked for my great aunt's memorial to be transferred to me, I received an automated response. It turns out that Find a Grave was the current manager of the memorial created for Anna Gelbman Schwartz (1886-1940). I can be the memorial's manager if I agree to (1) respond respectfully to edit requests and (2) transfer the memorial to another relative if asked. 

Most memorials aren't managed by Find a Grave, and usually I have to wait for a response. Some managers ask me how I'm related to the person being memorialized, which is why my standard request begins by saying..."Please be kind enough to transfer the ownership of memorial #___ to me, because [___insert name___] is my [insert relationship here]." 

In this case, however, Find a Grave immediately and automatically implemented the transfer when I clicked to accept the terms of the agreement.

Great Aunt Anna Was Much Loved

Born in Bridgeport, CT, my great aunt Anna married at the age of 23 to my great uncle Samuel (Simon) Schwartz (1883-1954). The photo in the memorial shown above was taken in 1909, the year of their marriage. Anna and Sam and their two sons moved from Bridgeport to New York City, where she was a beloved part of the Schwartz family from the very start. She was a warm, loving presence, I've been told by an older relative who knew her well.

Unfortunately, Anna was struck down by cancer at the age of 54. She was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Saddle Brook, NJ, where I've visited her grave alongside that of her husband, Sam.

Now that I'm my great aunt's keeper, I posted a brief bio, added specific day/month/year birth and death dates, and linked her to her parents as well as her husband. I'm about to link the couple's two sons and draft brief bios for them, too.

Do You Want to Become a Keeper?

Are you the manager of your ancestors' memorials? Are they already on Find a Grave? If you don't already manage the memorials of key ancestors, you can easily request a transfer under the "suggest edits" menu. You might not want to manage every ancestor under the sun, but do consider managing those in your direct line.

If your key ancestors are not currently listed on Find a Grave, please consider adding them and posting a few details about their lives. This is great cousin bait, by the way, especially if you post a portrait of an ancestor to catch the viewer's eye.

By becoming the keeper of ancestral memorials, you can individualize each one and honor their memory in your own way. I'm proud to be my great aunt's keeper!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Where Were Ancestors in 1950 Census?

Randy Seaver and I are on the same wavelength this week, with the Saturday Night Genealogy Fun focusing on the 1950 US Census! I've been digging into the details of the 1950 Census, so I'll be ready to find ancestors by location when the records are released in April, 2022.

Randy's challenge: Who in your ancestral families will be in the 1950 census?  Where will they be residing,  What occupations will they have?  The official "date" was 1 April 1950.

Maternal Ancestors in 1950 Census

Grandma Hermina Farkas Schwartz and Grandpa Theodore Schwartz will be living on 180th Street in the Bronx, NY, having moved from their long-time apartment on Beck Street soon after World War II ended. He will still be a dairy grocer, but not for long--his retirement came early in the 1950s!

Their twins, Daisy and Dorothy Schwartz, had already left home by this time. Daisy (hi Mom!) married Harold Burk (hi Dad!) and they were living in an apartment building on Carpenter Avenue in the Bronx, NY. The apartment building full of paternal ancestors, as noted below. Daisy was a homemaker and Dad was a travel agent.

Dorothy Schwartz (hi Auntie!) was somewhere in the Bronx, soon to move to Hackensack, NJ, with her partner, Lee Wallace. Dorothy was working for Macy's, I believe, where she met Lee, head of publicity/special events and leader of the Thanksgiving Day Parade for many years.

Daisy and Dorothy's older brother lived in Brooklyn, a high school teacher in 1950. His wife later became head of guidance for all of New York City's public schools. Their two children will both be enumerated in the 1950 Census.

Grandpa's brother, Sam Schwartz, was living in Queens, NY, also a dairy grocer. This is where I'll learn whether he had already married his second wife, Margaret. My guess is yes, they were already married by this time (his first wife, Anna Gelbman, died in 1940).

Grandpa's sister, Mary Schwartz Wirtschafter, was most likely living with her furrier husband, Edward Wirtschafter, in their home in Mount Vernon, NY. There's a small possibility they were elsewhere, since their daughter remembered them taking an apartment in the Bronx at some point.

Many of Grandma's Farkas siblings lived in the New York area and I'll be able to find them easily, thanks to the Farkas Family Tree minutes and letters I've indexed for quick reference.

Paternal Ancestors in 1950 Census

Great-grandma Tillie Jacobs Mahler was living in the Bronx on Marmion Ave., where I believe she stayed until her death in 1952. This is the ancestor who was either 99 or 100 when she died. The Census might give me a solid clue about her age...

Tillie's daughter Dora lived with her at this time. Dora, tall and thin, had been in millinery sales but retired early due to a chronic health condition (heart?). She died just a few months after this Census was taken.

My paternal grandma was Tillie's daughter Henrietta Mahler Burk (hi Gran!). Henrietta's husband Isaac Burk had died years earlier, so I'm going to be interested to see whether Grandma Henrietta was still on Valentine Avenue in the Bronx, where they were living when Isaac died in the 1940s. More likely she will be found in the same apartment Bronx building as her son Harold (hi Dad) and daughter-in-law Daisy (hi Mom) AND her younger son Sidney Burk and older daughter Mildred Burk Lang. Lots of family in one apartment building, the building where I was brought up.

I'll be able to locate all of Tillie's other living children, I think, because I'm in touch with 2d cousins who are their descendants. One daughter married and went to California. A son worked as a handyman in Hollywood and lived in a small apartment in Los Angeles.

One goal is to trace all of Tillie's nieces and nephews, the children of her brother Joseph Jacobs and his wife, Eva Michalovsky Jacobs. Two of Joseph's and Eva's daughter died young. I know where one of the other daughters lived in 1950, and one of the sons. So I'll be looking for the two other children!

"Very Pretty Home Wedding" Starts off Sam and Anna's Life

Nearly 110 years ago, my great-uncle Samuel Schwartz (1883-1954) married Anna Gelbman (1886-1940). Sam was the older brother of my Grandpa Tivador "Teddy" Schwartz. Interestingly, although Sam was the older brother, he wasn't the first of the Schwartz family to leave their native Hungary and cross the ocean to New York City.

Teddy, three years younger than Sam, came to New York City in 1902. Two years later, Sam joined his brother in New York. Together, they sent money to bring their younger sister, Mary, to New York in 1906.

Sam & Anna's Wedding in Bridgeport

Sam met his future bride, Anna, in Bridgeport, CT, where he was working as a printer. Sam became a naturalized U.S. citizen on October 19, 1909. Days later, he married Anna in a "very pretty home wedding" according to the Bridgeport Evening Farmer newspaper (see above).

Younger sister Mary Schwartz was the maid of honor for her sister-in-law, and Anna's younger brother George Gelbman was the best man.

Two December Marriages for Mary

Fast-forward to late December, 1913, when Samuel Schwartz was a family witness signing the marriage certificate for his younger sister Mary as she married Edward (Avram) Wirtschafter in a religious ceremony.

This was actually Mary and Edward's second marriage within a few days--their first was a civil ceremony at City Hall, where they eloped on Christmas Eve.

Mary and Edward were very happily married for more than four decades, raising a son and a daughter.

Alas, Anna died of breast cancer at the age of 54, leaving behind a bereft husband and two grown sons.

Anna, Sister-in-Law and "Second Mom"

Anna served as a nurturing "second Mom" to her sister-in-law Mary, whose own mother never left Hungary. For a while, Anna and Mary lived in the same Bronx apartment building, and Mary turned to Anna for advice and assistance when she had children.

Not surprisingly, Mary's children became very close to Anna, a strong, loving bond that continued until Anna's untimely death, I was told by Mary's daughter.

Let me honor the memory of Anna and Mary with affection as Mother's Day approaches.

Thank you to Amy Johnson Crow for the #52Ancestors prompt of "nurture."

Friday's Faces from the Past: Remembering Mom, Counting Her Cousins

Remembering my dear mother, Daisy Schwartz (1919-1981), on the 36th anniversary of her death. This 1946 photo shows her looking radiant on her wedding day, just before the ceremony at the Hotel McAlpin in New York City.

Since I'm still researching siblings of her maternal grandparents Moritz Farkas/Leni Kunstler and paternal grandparents Herman Schwartz/Hani Simonowitz Schwartz, I can't yet name all of Mom's first cousins. Here are the 28 whose names I know:

• George and Robert, sons of her uncle Albert Farkas and Sari Klein Farkas.
• Edythe and Jacqui, daughters of her aunt Irene Farkas Grossman and uncle Milton Grossman.
• Ron and Betty, children of her aunt Ella Farkas Lenney and uncle Joseph Lenney.
• Harry and Richard, sons of her aunt Freda Farkas Pitler and uncle Morris Pitler.
• Barbara, Robert, and Peter, children of her aunt Rose Farkas Freedman and uncle George Freedman.
• Richard and Susan, children of her uncle Fred Farkas and aunt Charlotte Chapman Farkas.
• Michael and Leonard, sons of her aunt Jeannie Farkas Marks and uncle Harold Marks.
• Hajnal, Clara, Sandor, Ilona, and Elza, children of her uncle Joszef Kunstler and aunt Helena Schonfeld Kunstler.
• Margaret, Alexander, and Joseph, children of her aunt Zali Kunstler Roth and uncle Bela Bernard Roth.
• Burton and Harriet, children of her aunt Mary Schwartz Wirtschafter and uncle Edward Wirtschafter.
• Morton and Eugene, sons of her uncle Sam Schwartz and aunt Anna Gelbman Schwartz.
• Viola, daughter of her aunt Paula Schwartz Weiss and uncle [first name unknown] Weiss.

Remembering Mom today, with love.

PS: I can name every one of Dad's first cousins--he had only 20. But until a few months ago, I didn't know about all of them, and then I broke through a brick wall!

Sentimental Sunday: Sam, Anna, and the Circus Elephants

From Bridgeport History Center, photo of the circus's winter headquarters in Connecticut

With the news that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is shutting down, I thought about my maternal great-uncle Sam Schwartz (1883-1954) and his bride, Anna Gelbman Schwartz (1886-1940), walking past the elephants in downtown Bridgeport, CT, circa 1909.

Anna's Gelbman family lived at 71 Wordin Avenue for many years, not far from the newly-wed Schwartz couple and a short walk from the field in central Bridgeport where P.T. Barnum housed his circus (see photo above). Today, the area around the former Gelbman house is a highway.

Sam and Anna married on October 24, 1909, near her local synagogue on Cherry Street in Bridgeport (no longer there). They were married at the home of Anna's parents, I learned (in 2020) from a news clipping. After their marriage, they lived at 95 Clinton Ave. in Bridgeport before moving to New York City. They would have seen P.T. Barnum's elephants as they crossed downtown Bridgeport, as usual.

Just a week before he married Anna, Sam had become a naturalized U.S. citizen. (Sam was born in Ungvar, Hungary, while Anna was born in New York City). In fact, Sam and Anna applied for their marriage license on the very day he became a citizen. Anna was born in January, 1886--this month would have been her 131st birthday. 

Thanks to my honorary cousin Art (he's related to Anna's family) for partnering with me on this research!

Family Weddings on Christmas Eve

Here are two stories of Christmas Eve weddings among members of my grandparents' families.

My grandfather's sister, great-aunt Mary Schwartz (1891-1959), eloped with handsome furrier Edward Wirtschafter (1889-1958) mid-day on December 24, 1913.

They were married at City Hall and kept their marriage secret from the family for a number of weeks.

Mary quickly became close to her sister-in-law Anna Gelbman Schwartz (1886-1940), wife of Sam Schwartz (1883-1954), a brother of Teddy and Mary.

The photo at right, courtesy of my 2d cousin, shows Mary and Edward in middle age, still a devoted couple.

My grandmother's brother, great-uncle Alex "Sandor" Farkas (1885-1948), married beautiful, talented Jennie Katz (1886-1974) on December 24, 1916.

Both Alex and Jennie worked in the garment industry. It was said that Jennie could sew a copy of any fashion after seeing it once, without a pattern. In fact, she sewed dresses for the bridal parties of many Farkas relatives.

Alex was one of the prime movers of the Kossuth Society in New York, which helped take care of sick members. This is where he met his future bride.

The photo at left shows Jennie with her husband Alex (at right) and her brother-in-law Teddy Schwartz (at left, hi Grandpa!). Teddy was married to Alex's older sister, Minnie Farkas (hi Grandma!). 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #24: Sam "Born on 4th of July" Schwartz & Anna Gelbman

Photo taken at Beldegreen Studios on Avenue C in NY's Lower East Side, 1909

My great-uncle Sam Schwartz (Grandpa Theodore Schwartz's brother) was born in Ungvar, Hungary on the 4th of July in 1883. His original name was Simon but for unknown reasons, he became Samuel when he arrived in New York City in January, 1904, a 20-year-old man trained as a printer.

Sam wasted no time declaring his intention to petition for citizenship in May, 1904. In 1905, he lived as a boarder in the Lower East Side apartment of the Grossman family, at 82 Avenue D. That's the same apartment building where Sam's younger brother Teddy (hi Grandpa!) lived not long afterward.

By 1906, Sam had moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he sold vegetables until he found work as a printer. In October, 1909, Sam became a full-fledged U.S. citizen--and a week later, he married Anna Gelbman (1886-1940), the American-born daughter of a shoemaker from Miskolc, Hungary. Anna's family lived only a short walk from the field in central Bridgeport where P.T. Barnum wintered his circus, elephants and all.

Sam and Anna moved back to New York City by 1915 and in the 1920s, he went into business running Norwood Dairy, a Queens grocery store, with his brother-in-law, Louis Frish (married to Anna's sister Belle). Sadly, his beloved Anna died from cancer in 1940. Sam remarried to a lady named Margaret. Unfortunately, he had a fatal heart attack while mowing his lawn on a hot day in 1954.

On Independence Day I salute my Great Uncle Sam, born on this day 131 years ago, and his gentle wife Anna.

Have You Heard of the Connecticut Military Census (WWI)?

Did you know that Connecticut conducted a "military census" during WWI? One of the people in my extended family tree filled out such a form. I've never seen it before, although Jim Sanders found two for his family just a few months ago. All men over the age of 16 had to answer this single-page questionnaire. I discovered that this ancestor could handle a team and drive an auto and a motorcycle, but he couldn't swim.

So here's what Connecticut asked: Can you do any of the following...

• Ride a horse?
• Handle a team?
• Drive an automobile?
• Ride a motorcycle?
• Understand telegraphy?
• Operate a wireless?
• Any experience with a steam engine?
• Any experience with electrical machinery?
• Handle a boat, power or sail?
• Any experience in simple coastwise navigation?
• Any experience with high speed marine gasoline engines?
• Are you a good swimmer?

Genealogy by the States: My Connecticut Connection

Connecticut is the topic of week #5 of Genealogy by the States, by Jim Sanders of Hidden Genealogy Nuggets. And here's where I get to talk about teaming up with honorary* cousin Art to track down Gelbman ancestors in Bridgeport. Before I connected with Art via Ancestry message boards, I hadn't even suspected that my family had any Connecticut connection.

Main Street in Bridgeport, circa 1909

Art is descended from a relative of Anna Gelbman (1886-1940), who married my great-uncle Samuel Schwartz (1883-1954). Thanks to Art's information about the Gelbmans living in Bridgeport, Connecticut, I got a copy of Anna and Sam's marriage license 100 years to the month after they were wed at Bridgeport's "Cherry Street Synagogue" (actually Ahavath Achim) in October, 1909, a week after Sam became a citizen. Later, I learned that Sam was named Simon when he came to America in January 1904--why he changed it upon arrival, I don't know.

With Sam and Anna's license in my hands, I visited the Bridgeport Public Library to check city directories that weren't available online. Now I was able to track Sam through the years he lived in Bridgeport:

• In 1906, Sam Schwartz was a vegetable peddler living at 279 Lewis.
• In 1907-8, Sam was a vegetable peddler living at 179 Lewis (typos might account for different addresses in '06 and '07?).
• In 1908-9, Sam Schwartz was a printer rooming at 316 South Avenue.
• In 1910, the Census showed him as naturalized, born in Hungary-Magyar, occupation of printer. The city directory showed the couple living at 95 Clinton Ave.

Anna's Gelbman family lived at 71 Wordin Avenue for many years, not far from the newly-wed Schwartz couple and a short walk from the field in central Bridgeport where P.T. Barnum wintered his circus, animals and all (see photo above). Today, the area around the former Gelbman house is a highway.

Sometime between 1910 and 1915, Sam and Anna moved to New York City. Ultimately he became the self-employed proprietor of a grocery store--the same work that Sam's younger brother Teddy (my grandpa) went into. Coincidence? I think not! Given Sam's early background as a vegetable peddler, he may have influenced his older brother's business decision, not the other way around.

One reason to blog on these state topics is to bring fresh eyes to my research. In this case, I realized I don't have Sam's movements in 1905, when he could have been in the New York State census. Nor do I have Sam's brother Theodore's 1905/1910 census records. So far, no luck on these, but I'll be searching!


*Honorary because we're not directly related but have helped each other climb our family trees over the years!

Blogoversary #4 - Thank you, readers and cousins

Today is the 4th anniversary of starting Climbing My Family Tree. I'd been tracing my roots since 1998 or so, but it took 10 years for me to decide to blog about genealogy. Now, 327 posts later, I've learned a lot from the many bloggers who've been kind enough to comment on my blog entries, and even more by reading blogs written by fellow Geneabloggers. What a journey--and it's only just begun.

My very first post was about a family mystery: "When did great-grandpa die?" I found his death date by using the excellent NYC vital records indexes on the Italian Genealogy Group's site, sent for his death cert, and immediately had more leads to follow.

I've had many wonderful breakthroughs since then, but what I treasure the most is connecting with cousins, on both sides of my family tree and my husband's trees, sometimes with the help of you, my dear readers. Among the genealogical high points chronicled in this blog are:

Cousin Larry and his wife, Maureen, with my hubby

• Cousin Larry's visit in 2008, when we saw the family bible for the first time. He and I connected through Ancestry surname message board queries about Thomas Haskell Wood, hubby's g-grandfather.
• Using tips in Dan Lynch's Google Your Family Tree book to locate my 1st cousin Ira, who I hadn't seen for many years before our reunion in 2009. Together we've reminisced about our Mahler ancestors and tried to identify old photos. Hi Ira, see you tomorrow (really!).
• Researching "sideways" to get new insights led me, in 2009, to two 2d cousins I never knew I had. Plus I gained an "honorary" cousin and together we're researching the Gelbman and Schwartz families.
• Staying in touch with 1st cousins, once removed, from my mother's side of the family, with genealogical discussions every few months. Cuz Betty has traced the Farkas Family Tree, and Cuz Harriet helped me with recollections of the Schwartz side (quite intensively in 2010).



Great-aunt Ida, Dad, and Mom







• Having a 2d cousin from the Mahler side find ME through this blog in 2010 was very exciting! Cuz Lois and her family are delightful and we see each other a couple of times a year now. Above, a photo of her mom, Ida, with my parents just before they were married.
• Thanks to my blog readers, I found out in 2011 that the tall man in the military uniform was hubby's great-uncle, Captain John D. Slatter, of the 48th Highlanders in Toronto (who we in the family now call "Capt. Jack"). See photo below right!
• In 2012, I was able to determine, conclusively, that my husband's Larimer and McClure family connections lead back to Ireland, a discovery I wrote about in my blog post "I married him for his ancestors, St. Paddy's Day edition."

Great-uncle Capt. Jack Slatter

I'm gonna keep on bloggin'. It's fun and has brought me many smiles.

Happy blogoversary to me and my family trees!

2022 update: Still blogging after all these years!

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy: Cousins, Cousins, Cousins!

Climbing my family tree has brought me cousin connections I truly treasure. In chronological order of these cousin discoveries:

I identified and located my mother's 1st cousin Harriet in 2007, having seen only a baby photo of her and knowing that she was somehow related to my maternal grandfather. Luckily, her maiden name was uncommon enough that it popped up in my Census searches! Harriet is the last of the cousins of that generation and we've had several wonderful visits, including the one shown here (2008).

Next, I found my husband's 2d cousin Larry via his posts on surname message boards. Larry had been searching for info about my husband's grandfather for years, and once I stumbled on his messages, I answered. Alas, he'd changed his e-mail and moved since posting!

After a few weeks of trying snail mail and such, I posted my own message in the forum where he'd been most active. He responded the same day, and we began a partnership in research that illuminated several limbs of the shared family tree. He'd done 30 years of research into the Wood line, which he shared! Larry and his lovely wife visited in 2009.


That same year, I attended a talk by Dan Lynch, author of Google Your Family Tree, and tried one of his techniques (try "last name, first" and "first + last" in the "News" search). Instantly, a casual comment on a blog showed up in the results, a comment written by my 1st cousin Ira. I e-mailed him, and within hours, he wrote back. Here I am with my sis, reunited with Ira decades after we'd last been in contact--even though he lived only 70 miles away. If we'd only known!

One day in 2010, I blogged about trying to find descendants of my great-uncle Louis, at whose home my paternal grandfather died.

Six weeks later, I received an e-mail titled, "Another cousin has surfaced." Louis's lovely granddaughter Lois had found me while doing online searches to help her daughter with a genealogy project for school! This photo shows Lois and hubby Mark with my sis and me at a family wedding in 2011.

Lois is very close to Lil, another cousin on my father's side (see photo at left). I never knew a thing about her branch of the family tree and it's been a delight getting to know her.







After attending a talk by Toni McKeen, I followed her expert advice about tracing the spouses of my ancestors' siblings with the goal of uncovering promising leads to pursue. I searched for Anna, who married my great-uncle Sam, and through surname message boards, I found Art, who was looking for a family with Anna's last name. I posted a note for Art and he wrote back. He's related to Anna's family and we consider ourselves "honorary cousins" and partners in genealogy research. Together, we've tracked down more info about Anna's family and had a jolly good time doing it.

But wait, that's not the end of my cousin connections. I was lucky enough to find two 2d cousins on my mother's side because of my research into Anna's past. And I've located a number of 2d cousins from my father's side, who I've enjoyed getting to know via e-mail and Facebook. Are there more cousins in my future? I'm sure there will be! Especially since I've tagged this post with some of the surnames I'm researching :)

Treasure Chest Thursday: Siblings in Ungvar, 1915

I've been trying to learn more about the siblings of my maternal grandfather, Tivadar/Tivador (Theodore) Schwartz, born in Ungvar, Hungary (Uzhhorod in Ukraine today, see map).

In 2011, I knew Teddy was one of at least five children. In 2022, I now know he had more siblings. See the ancestor landing page for more info here.

The postcard photo at left is a treasure, unearthed in a box of newly-discovered family photos and documents. It shows Teddy's two sisters, Etel and Paula (back left and seated, right) and others, unknown, from the Schwartz family. It's dated August 15, 1915 and inscribed to Tivadar, my grandfather.

Clearly the young man is in uniform, but I don't know what country he's serving.* 

*Thanks to Greta Koehl, whose husband identified the uniform as Austro-Hungarian. Yes! This link shows such uniforms and hats. Another confirming detail. Thank you!