From Blog Posts to Ancestor Booklet

Sample page from "Three Ancestors Who Caught Ohio Fever"

Will the younger generation think the #FamilyHistory booklet I wrote this week is a trick or a treat?

Just in time to mail this for Halloween, I combined and edited three recent blog posts into a colorful seven-page booklet about my husband's pioneer ancestors in Ohio. One of these ancestors was born in the American Colonies, the year before the Revolution began; the other two were born in the newly-independent United States. All caught "Ohio fever" and went west for fresh, fertile farm land. That's my theme for the booklet.

The Pioneer Lives of Denning, McClure, and Larimer

To introduce the booklet, I created a cover page with a large, colorful map of the United States in 1785. It shows descendants where their ancestors Job Denning, John Larimer, and John McClure lived in the East before they moved.

The map also shows their wilderness destination in the Northwest Territory, then the western frontier of the fledgling country. Land beyond that belonged to Spain. Ohio statehood was years in the future when these ancestors began to clear trees for farming. All this is historical context that helps descendants understand and appreciate what their ancestors faced as pioneers.

Two Pages Per Ancestor

After the cover page, each of the ancestors has a two-page spread, including a full-color regional map (where he lived, where he moved). This is followed by a brief biographical sketch, written simply but in vivid terms, tracing each man's life from birth to marriage to children to final resting place.

The women in their lives figure prominently in my narrative because they, too, were pioneers--wives for all but also daughters, in some cases.

Where I had enough details, I mentioned specific pioneering activities, such as helping to found a church or serving in the local militia.

The excerpt at top shows the second page of Job Denning's ancestor sketch. I tried to succinctly sum up his life in context (above, I called Job Denning a "pioneer turned civic leader").

Descendants Want to Know: How Are They Related to ME?

These ancestors lived, like, a l-o-n-g time ago, right? I want my grandkids to see at a glance how, exactly, they're related to each of these ole-timey ancestors. 

So at the end of each sketch, I included a quick pedigree of the ancestor couple and the descendants in the direct line to my grandkids.

This will, I hope, give the youngest a very concrete idea of the family connections between them and their pioneering great-great-great-great-great grandparents!

Maybe the booklet will "trick" them into understanding that their ancestors weren't just old-fashioned characters from family history--they were true pioneers who actually made American history.

It was a treat for me to put this together.

This week's #52Ancestors prompt is "trick or treat" - thanks to Amy Johnson Crow.

McClure Ancestors Worked on the Railroad

1909 marriage of John A. Logan McClure and Alice Williams

The northern region of Michigan was home to a cluster of my husband's McClure ancestors for several decades, beginning in the late 1800s.

Some tried farming, some worked on the railroad. One did both! One had a succession of transportation-related jobs.

From Farm to Railroad 

My husband's great-great uncle John N. McClure was born in Wabash county, Indiana, the son of a prominent farmer.

He farmed in Indiana for several decades, then uprooted the family to move to the northern tip of Michigan, in Little Traverse (see map).

In the 1900 Census, John said he was a tenant farmer. But by 1910, at age 69, he said he was a railroad engineer. This was a golden age of railroading in the area, where tracks were laid to haul lumber out. 

Two Sons in Transportation 

Not surprisingly, one son, John A. Logan McClure, had an affinity for the railroad.

You can see a snippet of John's marriage record from 1909 at top of this post. He said his occupation was "railroading." He lived and worked in Grand Traverse, Michigan, a hub of railroad activity.

Another son, Edgar Addison McClure, also born in Indiana, became a teamster in Illinois (1900), a driver for Wells Fargo in California (1910), and finally worked as a chauffeur in Los Angeles (1920).

Lots of transportation occupations! Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow for this week's transportation prompt in the #52Ancestors series.

Hint, Hint--Ancestor Adventures with Hints

Once upon a time, I wished for hints, hoping for clues that would lead me to learn more about ancestors.

Be careful what you wish for!

My husband's family tree is now overflowing with hints, as you can see from the above summary.

Filtering Hints

Many of these hints are for too-distant ancestors. Many of the photos are of DNA or ships or flags.

To winnow down the avalanche of hints, I sort by last name and filter by last name. Above, an example of an ancestor I am quite interested in. He's the first of many ancestors named Work with hints waiting to be evaluated. I can see, at a glance, hints for all ancestors named Work by sorting and filtering, making my adventures in hint-land easier and more productive.

Hints for Ancestors Near and Far

Some of the hints I'm reviewing turn out to be  helpful, even if they refer to ancestors on the outskirts of the tree.

Here, for instance, is a newspaper clipping about the wife of a 2d cousin 3x removed. It led me to names of other ancestors slightly closer to those I'm actively researching.

More adventures in hint-land are in my future.

Thanks, as always, to Amy Johnson Crow for this week's #52Ancestors prompt, "adventure."

Grandma Minnie in Costume for the Kossuth Society Ball

Hermina Farkas in costume for the Kossuth Society Ball, 1909

My Grandma Hermina "Minnie" Farkas (1886-1964) was a member of the Kossuth Ferencz Hungarian Literary Sick and Benevolent Society.

On December 4, 1909* she dressed in costume for the Kossuth Society's 5th anniversary gala ball. The ball raised money to further the society's aims of helping new immigrants get established in New York City and supporting a library for literacy.

The photo at top, showing Grandma at age 23 in 1909, was taken by the Society's official photographer, Gustav Beldegreen, in his studio on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Earlier this year, a professor in Hungary contacted me after reading about Beldegreen and the Society on this blog. He is researching Hungarian-American photographers and is interested in Beldegreen's involvement with the Society.

I provided him with a high-resolution version of Grandma Minnie's photo, including the dimensions, and high-resolution versions of pages scanned from the Society's special anniversary souvenir booklet.

When the professor's book is published, Grandma Minnie's photo will be included, along with a mini-bio (born in what is now Berehove, Ukraine; arrived at Ellis Island on November 12, 1901, just two days after her 15th birthday; married Theodore "Teddy" Schwartz, in 1911; died in the Bronx, NY on March 20, 1964.)

It makes me feel good that Grandma Minnie will live on in the pages of this book, forever young.
--
* Exactly 10 years later, Grandma gave birth to twin girls, my mother and aunt, Daisy and Dorothy Schwartz.

Ancestral Home I'd Most Like to Visit: Gargzdai

Grandpa Isaac Burk's hometown of Gargzdai

This week, Randy Seaver's Saturday Night #Genealogy Fun topic is "Which ancestral home would you most like to visit?" (Topic suggested by Linda Stufflebean, thanks!)

My paternal Grandpa Isaac Burk (1882-1943) and his siblings were from Gargzdai (confirmed by numerous documents).

Near a Baltic port, the town changed borders over the years as powerful neighboring empires acquired or relinquished it. To see this hometown as Grandpa and his siblings saw it, I would have to go back in time more than a century.

Gargzdai in Grandpa's Day

When Grandpa Isaac was born, Gargzdai was part of Russia, in the Kovno Gubernia (province), Telsiai Uyezd (district), slightly east of the border with Germany.

The area was then thickly forested, with lumber a significant resource fueling the local economy. No wonder my Grandpa and his brother became skilled cabinetmakers, always able to make a living by working in wood.

Grandpa arrived in North America in 1903. Moving between Montreal and New York City for years, he worked as a carpenter and cabinetmaker to support his growing family. I can find no record of Grandpa ever returning to his hometown after leaving. I really doubt he had the money to go back.

By the time of the 1920 Census, even though Grandpa  listed his birthplace as "Russia," Lithuania was then independent (for the time between the two world wars).

Did Grandpa know that Lithuania allowed women to vote as early as the 1919 elections? That's earlier than American women were allowed to vote!

Gargzdai In and After WWII

During World War II, Grandpa Isaac would have been aware that Lithuania was caught between Germany and Russia. On Grandpa's WWII draft registration card, he proudly listed his birthplace as Lithuania.

Alas, many Jewish residents of Gargzdai were exterminated when Germany occupied Lithuania during WWII. Grandpa died before Russia wrenched control of Lithuania from Germany in 1944. I wish he had lived to see Lithuania declare its independence from what was then the USSR in 1990.

Wikimedia Commons - photo of a Jewish cemetery in Gargzdai

Looking for Grandpa's Ancestors

The place in Gargzdai that would help me learn more about Grandpa Isaac's family is the cemetery where his ancestors are buried. Above, a recent photo of one Jewish cemetery in the area. How many still remain intact, I do not know.

If I could locate the correct cemetery (a BIG "if"), and if the gravestones were still readable (another big "if"), I would probably learn the names of each ancestor's father. Each ancestor's gravestone would show his or her first name and the "son of" or "daughter of" the father's name, in Hebrew.

Larimer Ancestors: Patriots and Pioneers with Ohio Fever

Western migration of pioneer ancestor John Larimer (1794-1843)

Yet another ancestor of my husband's caught "Ohio fever." He was Isaac M. Larimer. His son, John Larimer, continued the Western migration and pioneered in Elkhart county, Indiana, as shown above on the map.

Isaac Larimer, Son of Immigrants, Patriot and Ohio Pioneer

Isaac Larimer (1771-1823) was born in the south-central Pennsylvania county of Cumberland. He was the son of the original journey-takers in my husband's Larimer family, who left Northern Ireland and crossed the Atlantic to start a new life in what was then the American colonies.

Isaac married Elizabeth Wood (or Woods, 1773-1851), in Pennsylvania. Caught up in Ohio fever, they migrated West to Fairfield county, OH, where they brought up their 10 children.

Isaac fought in the 1812 War and lived to see tremendous growth in Ohio as settlers streamed in from the East decade after decade. Two of his sons, John and Robert, decided to move further West when they grew up, perhaps hankering for wide open spaces and additional farmland.

John Larimer, Patriot and Indiana Pioneer

John Larimer, my husband's 3d great-grandfather, was born in Pennsylvania (see #1 on map above). By the time he was a teenager, he was living in Fairfield county, Ohio (#2 on the map above). During the 1812 War, John fought as a 90-day enlistee alongside other Larimer relatives.

In 1818, he married Rachel Smith (1799-1838) in Lancaster, Fairfield county, Ohio. About 1835, John and Rachel left Ohio and moved their growing family to what was then the wilderness of Elkhart county, Indiana (#3 on map). At this point, Indiana had far fewer residents than Ohio, which was increasingly crowded.

Sadly, Rachel took ill and died during what locals called the "sickly season" of 1838. Left with youngsters to care for, John remarried in 1840 to Nancy Orr Smith (1799-1853).

Unfortunately, John Larimer died just three years later, reportedly from an infection in his throat caused by a deer bone splinter, and was buried in Elkhart. His second wife, Nancy, died ten years later, and was buried in Ohio, where her first husband was buried.

Saluting these patriots and pioneers in my husband's family tree!

Pioneer Ancestor John McClure had "Ohio Fever"

Hubby's great-great-grandpa John McClure left Rockbridge County,
Virginia to settle in Ohio by 1810.

Another of my husband's ancestors had "Ohio Fever" as described in David McCollough's excellent book, The Pioneers. (I wrote about my husband's ancestor Job Denning in my previous post about Ohio Fever.)

The McClure Family from Donegal

John McClure was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia. His father, Alexander McClure (1717-1790), was one of the original journey-takers in the McClure family.

Alexander and a number of siblings and his father (Halbert McClure) were born in Donegal and sailed across the Atlantic during the 1730s. Landing in Philadelphia, they walked as a group to Virginia colony, where they purchased farmland for the family. (This detail is from the well-researched book, Following the McClures--Donegal to Botetourt).

Alexander lived about two miles from his father, Halbert, in Virginia, close to his brothers who had come with the family from Donegal. He himself purchased land from the Borden Grant during the 1740s. Like many men of that time and place Alexander served in the militia, from about 1742-1766.

Alexander married Martha Moore and their son John was born in Virginia in 1781, by that time a state, no longer a colony following the American Revolution.

John's "Ohio Fever"

John McClure married Ann McFall (1780-1815?) in Virginia in 1801. The next record I can find mentions the birth of their daughter Jane McClure in 1810 in Ohio. Their son Benjamin McClure was born in Adams county, Ohio, in 1812. This early 1800s-period coincides with "Ohio Fever" in the area.

Given the McClure family's long-standing desire for acquiring fresh, fertile farmland, it's not much of a leap to see John uprooting his growing family to settle more than 300 miles away in Ohio (see map at top). John McClure and Ann McFall McClure settled down in Ohio, but some of their descendants kept moving West to Indiana.

Life in the Land of The Trees

What was life like on the Ohio frontier during the "fever" period? David McCollough mentioned a book he remembers from when he was young, part of a trilogy by Conrad Richter. It's called The Trees and it's historical fiction, following the Luckett family as they leave western Pennsylvania at the end of the 1700s to settle north of the Ohio River.

At one point, the characters look out on what seems to be a veritable sea of trees. No cabins, no trails, no clearings. Just sturdy, majestic trees as far as the eye can see in Ohio. Trees that provided fuel, were good for cabins and furnishings, and needed to be cleared--by hand!--to create space for seedlings.

Daily life was most likely even more challenging than described in the book, but it's a good starting point for thinking about trying to feed and clothe a family on its own in the Ohio wilderness. I'm going to read the next two novels in the trilogy to see what happens to descendants of the Lucketts!

Pioneer Ancestor Job Denning Had "Ohio Fever"

Reading David McCullough's latest book, The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West, I was struck by his description of "Ohio fever."

Several of my husband's ancestral families pioneered in Ohio around the time covered by McCollough's history--after the Revolutionary War, through the War of 1812, and into the 1840s/50s.

Hubby's ancestors weren't famous or well-known, just farmers and families who felt compelled to go West as a result of Ohio fever. Some received bounty land on the frontier as a result of military service to the new nation and eagerly arrived to clear away timber so they could plant crops.

Here's a bit of what McCollough says about the background of this historic movement in which my husband's ancestors participated.

Seeking Fertile Farmland Out West*

As the Revolutionary War ended, financial panic set in and farmers in the fledgling United States were hit hard, sometimes imprisoned due to debts they had no way to repay.

Farmers from New England (and other areas) were increasingly looking west for what they heard was an almost too-good-to-be true area for farming along the Ohio River. Pamphlets and newspapers highly touted Ohio as a place so heavily wooded that the land was obviously very fertile. Many accounts spoke of the great abundance of turkey, deer, bison, and fish.

McCollough shows us how the early settlers left New England late in 1787 and, near Pittsburgh, boarded the galley Mayflower (yes, renamed in homage to the Pilgrims) to float through the Ohio River to a likely landing place. Slowly but steadily, these and later pioneers with Ohio fever cleared woodlands, planted crops, built homes, and founded towns.

McCollough vividly describes their hopes and fears, confrontations with Native American tribes, death from smallpox and other diseases, and the struggle of trying to live through the harsh winters--no doubt what my husband's ancestors experienced in Ohio more than 200 years ago.

Denning Caught Ohio Fever

Job Denning Sr, hubby's 3d great-grandpa, was one of the early "Ohio fever" settlers in what became Adams county, Ohio. He was probably born about 1775, possibly in Massachusetts, and he died in 1836 in Adams county. (His birth year is based on the age transcribed from his gravestone, which is barely legible today.)

"A History of Adams County" - excerpt from page 437, with Job Denning highlighted
as one of the first to build a cabin outside the stockade.

Job Denning's name appears multiple times in A History of Adams County, Ohio by Evans and Stivers (a 1900 publication searchable by name, thanks to the Internet Archive and digitization by Google). It also appears in the Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Ohio, vols. 26 and 29. From these historical sources, I learned:

• Denning was among the first settlers to build a cabin outside the stockade in Manchester, circa 1795-6. (Excerpt from the book, above, is my source.)
• When the court met on September 12, 1797, for its first-ever session in Manchester, Denning was named "court cryer."
• Denning was soon named one of two constables for Manchester.
• He also applied for and was granted a tavern license by the court. (I don't know whether he actually operated the tavern.)
• On May 17, 1804, Denning purchased lots in West Union township, Adams County, for $9.
• Denning was appointed a county commissioner on November 17, 1806, a post he held until he resigned in March, 1814.
• In 1810, he received the contract to haul stone from the quarry for the building of the new Presbyterian Church in West Union.
• Denning served as an associate judge for Adams county, with a term expiring in January, 1828.
• In 1831, he was named a commissioner on road works in Adams county.

Job Denning and his wife Mary had seven sons and three daughters. His oldest son (Daniel Denning) and his youngest (William Henry Harrison Denning) served as executors when their father Job died in 1836, to be remembered as a pioneer settler in what was once a wilderness close by the Ohio River.
 

Many thanks to Amy Johnson Crow for this week's #52Ancestors prompt.

*At the time, Ohio really was the Western frontier. These days, most people would consider it the midwest. Except my husband, who insists that his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, is an Eastern city. Sorry, honey, Ohio is not in the East! ;)

Family Drama: Harvest Destroyed by Hail

Moritz Farkas and his twin granddaughters, Dorothy and Daisy

In his homeland of Hungary, my great-grandpa Moritz Farkas (1857-1936) managed crops for the family of his in-laws and leased land to grow other crops. (I've seen notes in Hungarian records confirming his occupation.)

Moritz's crops did well and he prospered for a long time . . . until the year a hail storm wiped out the harvest. (Family story about the hail and his financial ruin was so consistent and believable that I am relying on it.) 

That was the one year my great-grandpa did not insure his crops. His finances were wiped out along with the harvest.

No Harvest Was a Turning Point

With no harvest and a wife (Leni Kunstler, 1865-1938) and eight children to support, Moritz faced a difficult decision about his family's future.

He ultimately decided to leave Hungary and his debts behind and try to make a new life in New York City. He was the first in the family to make this life-changing journey, but not the last.

Moritz arrived in New York in 1899. Like many new immigrants in my family, he initially lived as a boarder in a crowded apartment in the Lower East Side. (Two families of four each plus Moritz meant a total of 9 people shared that one small apartment.)

Slowly Reuniting the Family

Moritz's wife Leni followed him to New York City a year later, in 1900. Meanwhile, the eight children remained with her mother and father in Hungary.

Finally, Moritz and Leni were established enough to begin sending for their children. My grandma Hermina "Minnie" (1886-1964) came with the first group of four in 1901, leaving Hungary when she was just 14 years old.

The four remaining children arrived in 1902, having not seen their father for three years and having missed their mother for two years. Three more babies were born in New York City as the family reunited.

In New York City, Moritz learned skills to work as a presser in the garment trade. Leni and a number of the children also worked in the clothing business for a time. My grandma Minnie was a finisher of fine silk ties, a job she got because of Leni's connection to the Roth family that manufactured the ties.

No Harvest Led to a New Life--and Descendants Like Me!

If not for hail destroying my great-grandpa's harvest, my ancestors would not have left Hungary...

...my grandma would not have met my future grandpa in a New York City deli...

...my mother (a twin in the photo at top, with her grandpa Moritz) would not have been born...

...and I wouldn't be here to retell their tale!

        Thank you to Amy Johnson Crow for this #52Ancestors prompt.

Researching Regina's Penmanship Award

Penmanship award earned by Regina Farkas

A cousin kindly sent me this Penmanship Certificate honoring my maternal great aunt Regina Farkas (1905-1987). Cousins know I'm collecting miscellaneous items like this, storing them in archival boxes, and passing them down to the genealogist of the next generation (who has already agreed to be custodian of the family's history!).

Of course I could not resist researching when this might have been been awarded to Jeanne, as she was known in the family. Maybe she was about 10 or so when she won the award? That was my initial starting place for the research.

Finding Regina in 1915 NY Census

In the past, I had not found the family in the 1915 New York State Census. This gave me the motivation to look harder.

Although I had no luck at Ancestry, I redid my search on FamilySearch.org. On both sites, I was looking for the family as a group (Regina/Jeanne with her siblings and her parents).

On the first page of Family Search results, near the bottom, I found the Farkas family in the 1915 NY Census. Not as "Farkas" of course. Too easy!

Sound Out the Name!

1915 New York Census showing the Farkas family as "Forcash"

The enumerator listed Regina and her family under the surname "Forcash" which was how the parents would have pronounced it with their Hungarian accents.

This isn't the first time my Farkas family was elusive because of the way someone heard their surname pronounced. Earlier this year, I wrote about another cousin finding Regina's father Morris Furkosh in the 1900 Census by sounding out his name as he would have spoken it. Furkosh and Forcash probably sounded very similar to Census enumerators. Found you, Farkas family!

Moving to the Bronx

What about Regina and her penmanship award? The Farkas family was still living in the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the time of the 1915 NY Census I just found. Logically, she didn't win the award in 1915 or earlier, since the family wasn't yet living in the Bronx, New York.

That meant I had to examine later records in search of a Bronx ddress.

In 1920, according to the U.S. Census, the Farkas family was living at 843 Whitlock Avenue in the Bronx.

As the map shows, the school was a good 20 minute walk away from Whitlock Avenue, marked on the map with a red star near the Soundview section of the Bronx. At the time, this was a desirable area of the Bronx, where many immigrants moved to escape the crowds of the Lower East Side.

Narrowing the Period for Regina's Award

In the 1925 New York Census, the Farkas family was still living at the same Bronx apartment on Whitlock Avenue. By that time, however, Regina was out of school and working as a bookkeeper.

I'm therefore narrowing down the period when my great aunt won her award as the time between about 1916-1920. After 1920, she would have been older than 15 and very unlikely to be in an elementary school.

Grandparents' Birthplaces: All Over the Map

Birthplaces of McClure, Wood, Steiner ancestors - plus Slatter in London, England

For this week's #52Ancestors challenge (thank you to Amy Johnson Crow), I mapped where in the world my grandparents and my husband's grandparents were born.

They were born all over the map.

Hubby's Grandparents - Larimer, Steiner, Slatter, and Wood

Three of my husband's grandparents were born in the American Midwest, one in England.

• Maternal grandpa Brice Larimer McClure (1878-1970) was born in Little Traverse, Michigan, while his parents tried farming there for a short time.
• Maternal grandma Floyda Mabel Steiner (1878-1948) was born in Nevada, Ohio. Her birth certificate was really "delayed" (only issued in 1944, most likely so she could apply for Social Security).
• Paternal grandpa James Edgar Wood (1871-1939) was born in Toledo, Ohio. He was one of 17 children, 8 of whom were born in Toledo.
• Paternal grandma Mary Slatter (1869-1925) was born in London, in the poorest of the poor sections of Whitechapel. (Her birthplace is not on the map at top--just couldn't fit it in!)

My Grandparents - Farkas, Schwartz, Burk, and Mahler

Birthplaces of Farkas, Schwartz, Mahler, and Burk ancestors

None of my grandparents had America roots--all were born in Eastern Europe and settled in New York City soon after the turn of the 20th century.

• Maternal grandma Hermina Farkas (1886-1964) was born in Berehovo, Hungary, not very far from where her future husband was born.
• Maternal grandpa Theodore Schwartz (1887-1965) was born in Ungvar, Hungary, but met his future wife in a Hungarian delicatessen in the Lower East Side of New York City, according to family lore.
• Paternal grandma Henrietta Mahler (1881-1954) was born near Riga, Latvia, according to her husband's naturalization paperwork. I hope someday to better pinpoint her birthplace.
• Paternal grandpa Isaac Burk (1881-1943) was born in Gargzdai, Lithuania and married his wife Henrietta in New York City.

HeritageQuest Off the Connecticut State Library Website--Updated!

Very disappointed to learn that the Connecticut State Library's ongoing budget crunch has caused it to reluctantly axe HeritageQuest Online. **Update: It's back on the CT State Library website and available with a CT state library card, which is completely free!

Heritage Quest is free, and available from home at any hour, with a local library card in many states.

I've been showing CT genealogy clubs how to use HeritageQuest for months. Response has been very positive as more people realize how much of a gold mine it is!

Free Access to City Directories, Census, Wills, and More

In addition to U.S. Census records and special schedules (showing Civil War veterans, industrial and agricultural enterprises, and deaths), this wonderfully useful database has city directories for many areas, Canadian Census, Revolutionary War records, books, wills and probate records, immigration records (limited), and much more.

If You Live in Connecticut...get a CT state library card.

For several months, this wonderful free database was  removed from the Connecticut State Library's listing of databases, victim of budget issues.

All you have to do access this genealogy resource from home at any hour is live in CT and get a free CT state library card. Here are the instructions.

Please use HeritageQuest so that the library recognizes it has real value to genealogy enthusiasts. Thank you!

If you live in the Nutmeg State, please consider contacting your state legislators and the governor to say:

• Genealogy is more popular than ever before, a fast-growing hobby of interest to all ages and in all parts of the state.
• Genealogy searches are the most common type of search on the CT State Library's website. 
• The CT State Library can't just juggle money--it's been cut for too many years and yet it must stretch its shrinking budget to retain legally-required databases for education purposes.
• Look for ways to increase the State Library's budget so we can afford a database that serves all ages, seniors and other adults as well as students.
• We like HeritageQuest, we use HeritageQuest, and we really, really, really want it back.

McClure Cousin Bait on FamilySearch

Cousin Bait on Family Search 

I married my husband for his ancestors!

His many ancestors left photos, genealogical paperwork, diaries, newspaper clippings, and more. Lucky me!

Thanks to cousin L, the Wood family historian, we know a great deal about the Wood side of the family. My late father-in-law Edgar James Wood (1903-1986) had five Mayflower ancestors.

Cousin Bait on Family Search

So far, we don't have connections with too many McClure cousins--those related to ancestors of my late mother-in-law, Marian Jane McClure Wood (1909-1983).

Now I'm adding cousin bait to my husband's McClure ancestors on the Family Search family tree. See the screen shot above of some McClure ancestors and how I've begun personalizing their profiles on Family Search.

Personal Photos = Cousin Bait

Because Family Search has only one collaborative tree, any researcher who comes across these personal photos will see me as the source.

I'm easy to contact via Family Search (my email contact is up to date). And since Family Search is free, I know a lot of people use it for research and documenting family trees.

Sometime soon, I hope McClure cousins will get in touch after noticing the personal photos I posted on ancestor profiles.

Watchlist of Ancestors

Also, I'm "watching" other McClure and Larimer ancestors to see whether other researchers post any personal photos or other personalized details. Then I can check the source and contact those people, offering to share info.

Here's a watchlist of 7 people I'm watching so far on Family Search. I take a look every so often for any changes or photos posted to these ancestors, hoping that I'll connect with a few more McClure cousins.




--

Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow for this #52 Ancestors prompt of "cousins" for week 38.

Grandma Minnie's "Mistake"

Daisy & Dorothy Schwartz, mid-1920s

Mom (Daisy Schwartz Burk, 1919-1981), tried to break into freelance writing during the 1960s, drafting a children's book and several magazine articles that never got printed.

One draft that my twin sis and I recently found was for a magazine article titled, "I'm Proud of My Twins, But . . . " It was about Mom's experience growing up as a twin (her sis was Dorothy Schwartz, 1919-2001), and her experience raising twins.

Mom writes that her mother (Hermina "Minnie" Farkas Schwartz, 1886-1964, my maternal grandma) made a big mistake.

Mom Waits for Her Baby 

Early in the article, Mom thinks back to a remark she herself made late in her own pregnancy. This was in the old, old days, the time before ultrasound. Nobody knew whether a baby would be a boy or a girl, let alone how many.

Mom told a neighbor just days before going to the hospital to give birth:

"If I ever have a set of twins, I'll never make the same mistake my mother did."

Surprise! Twins

It was quite a surprise to the whole family when Mom had two little girls, only two minutes apart, neither weighing 5 lbs.

My father (Harold Burk, 1909-1978) spent an entire roll of dimes making calls to family and friends from the pay phone on the maternity ward. (I did say it was the old, old days.) Happy phone calls, spreading the surprising news about Mom having twins! Even a week later, my Grandma Minnie was quite speechless when asked how it felt to have twin granddaughters.

Grandma Minnie's Mistake

Eleven years after her twins were born, here's what my Mom wrote about Minnie's mistake. The all-caps are from the original typewritten draft.

"What was The Mistake my mother made that I set out to rectify? It was PRIDE . . . dressing twins alike, urging them to follow the same bent, keeping them in each other's company constantly, and sharing everything."

My mother and her twin sister were dressed alike until age 18, and sat together in classrooms throughout their school careers until graduating high school. Mom was the younger twin, and often looked to her sister for emotional support and friendship. During WWII, when Auntie Dorothy joined the WAACs and was away from home for several years, Mom had to learn a new kind of independence, which was challenging but also rewarding, she writes.

Avoiding the Mistake

In the rest of the article, Mom writes about encouraging each twin to be an individual and be independent. She mentions specifics, including separate wardrobes, separate classes, separate friends, and separate interests for each child.

However, as my Sis points out, separating us meant that one twin sometimes had a better teacher while the other twin was in a far less-desirable class situation. Mom and Dad didn't acknowledge or appreciate that separating us in school could have negative consequences for the twin who was not with the better teacher or better class.

As my husband points out, parents try their best, and wind up making different kinds of mistakes than our parents made. That's what happened when Mom tried to avoid her mother's mistake while raising twins.

Yet in the end, Mom accomplished her goal of encouraging Sis and me to choose our own ways of life, with our own friendships, interests, careers, and tastes.

--

Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow for the "mistake" prompt for week 37 in her long-running #52Ancestors series.

The Mayflower Left England 399 Years Ago Today

By William Halsall - Pilgrim Hall Museum, Public Domain, Link

On this day in 1620, the Mayflower sailed away from Plymouth, England, bound for America.

The ship held five of my husband's ancestors:

• Isaac Allerton
• Mary Norris Allerton, Isaac's wife
• Mary Allerton, their daughter
• Francis Cooke
• Degory Priest

Alas, of these five, only Mary Allerton and Francis Cooke survived that first winter.

Remembering hubby's Mayflower ancestors on this day and honoring their memory.

When Did The Schwartz Twins Start Kindergarten?

The Schwartz twins at P.S. 62 on Fox Street in the Bronx, New York

Finally I'm writing a new Family Memory Booklet about my mother (Daisy Schwartz, 1919-1981) and her twin sister (Dorothy Schwartz, 1919-2001). In the process, I've been assembling photos and stories from their childhood. I'm also doing my best to date each photo for the sake of future generations.

Together in Kindergarten 

Above, a photo from the Schwartz twins' kindergarten class at P.S. 62 on Fox Street in the Bronx, New York. The school was directly across the street from their apartment building.

In the photo, I think Daisy is on the left, Dorothy on the right. I'll let my Sis weigh in, perhaps her eyes are keener than mine.

Judging by the jack-o-lanterns, the photo was taken in October--but which year?

Checking the New York Census

As shown above, the twins (Dottie and Daisy) were 5 years old on June 1, 1925, the date that this New York State census was taken. The twins' 5th birthday was December 4, 1924.

In the household with the twins were their parents, Theodore and Hermina Schwartz, and older brother, Fred. Hermina didn't tell the enumerator her correct age, as usual. She was actually a bit older than her husband, but often shaved a year or two or three off her age when answering questions like on this census.

I noticed that in this 1925 NY census, 12-year-old Fred's occupation was "school" but the twins had nothing written in that column.

So I now believe the twins began kindergarten in the fall of 1925, when they were still 5. I'm dating the kindergarten as October, 1925.

Thank you to Amy Johnson Crow for this "School Days" #52Ancestors prompt.

Honor Roll Project: War Memorial in North East, New York

Veterans Park in Millerton, town of North East, New York

Another beautifully-kept veterans park, another war memorial for Heather Rojo's Honor Roll Project. (BTW, this is my 100th blog post of 2019, with more to come!)

Memorial in town of North East, New York

These memorials are located in Millerton, NY, within the town of North East, New York.

Because blooms and shrubs partially obscure some names at the height of summer, I'll have to go back another time to photo and transcribe names from WWII.

Meanwhile, here are the visible names carved in the memorial stones, remembering those who served in the following conflicts.

War memorial in North East, NY - Thank you for your service!

Serving in Lebanon and Grenada: 

• Brian A. Roux
• Edward Watson, Jr.

Serving in Beirut:

• Daniel Cuddeback, Jr.
• John Boice, Jr.
• Craig Furey

Serving in the Persian Gulf:

• Robert Cuddeback
• Michael Humbert
• Thomas H. Garnto
• Erik Breen
• Adam H. Zies-Way
• Joshua Malarchuk
• Stephen K. Valyou
• Victor Strickland
• Clyde Miller
• Thomas J. Stickles, Jr.
• Robert Murphy
• Luke Nelson
• Louis Simmons

War memorial in North East, NY - thank you for your service!

Honor Roll Project: WWII Memorial in Gaylordsville, CT

World War II Memorial in Charlie Jones Veterans Memorial Park
Gaylordsville, Connecticut

As part of Heather Rojo's Honor Roll Project, I recently photographed this WWII memorial tucked into neat little Charlie Jones Veterans Memorial Park on Route 7 in Gaylordsville, Connecticut. You can see a closeup of the plaque at bottom of this post.


(Tip: Want to know where war memorials are located in Connecticut? Take a look at this website. And you can go to the site's main page to find other state's memorials as well.)

The names inscribed on this World War II memorial are:

Angell, Herbert L.
Atkins, George E.
Collins, Harold C.
Cornwell, Elizabeth
Dahl, Frederick H.
Dodd, Thomas J.
Dolan, Edward A.
Dolan, James R.
Donnelly, Edward M.
Dwy, Robert H.
Edeen, Adolph R.
Eslinger, Joseph D.
Flynn, John D.
Giddings, Henry W.B.
Grisell, Henry T.
Hills, Gordon E.
Hills, Richard C.
Hills, Robert L.
Jennings, Amos E.
Johnson, Robert A.
Parker, Allen R.
Parker, Hugh M.
Parker, Lawrence G.
Rosati, Leo J.
Rosati, Vincent V.
Strid, Burton L.
Thomas, Richard F.
Thomas, Thomas T.
Thomas, Willian E.
Townsend, Henry G.
Travis, Eugene R.
Wyble, Rupert D.

Gaylordsville, CT - Thank you for your service!

Entrepreneurial Dad and His Travel Agency

Harold Burk, travel agent, arriving in Honolulu

My Dad, Harold D. Burk (1909-1978), had a long-time goal to be his own boss and work in the travel business. Entrepreneurship runs in the family--both of my grandfathers owned their own businesses.

During the 1930s, when in his 20s, Dad began working his way up to becoming a travel agent. He started in big New York City hotels, getting bonded so his employers would know they could trust him with money and blank travel tickets, which were negotiable. Soon he was issuing railroad and bus tickets, as well as booking flights for his customers, the old-fashioned way--on paper.

Burk Travel Service

By 1948, Dad had established his own company, the Burk Travel Service, in the lobby of the swanky Savoy Plaza Hotel. This was diagonally across from the famous Plaza Hotel on 59th Street in the heart of Manhattan. In the late 1950s, the Trader Vic's tiki restaurant opened on the ground floor of the Savoy Plaza, adding even more glamour and attracting celebrities to the place.

During the years he was in business, Dad and his younger brother Sidney Burk (1914-1995) worked together to make travel arrangements for all sorts of clients, including big-wigs and celebs who stayed at the Savoy Plaza Hotel. My sisters and I squealed with delight when Dad would bring home signed photos or 45 rpm records from rock groups at the hotel, including Gerry and the Pacemakers, known for Ferry Across the Mersey (among other hits).

Through Dad's work, our family also got free tickets to the New York World's Fair in 1964-5, admission to the Ed Sullivan TV show in New York, the Circle Line boat trip around Manhattan, and even sightseeing flights around LaGuardia Airport.








By 1960, the Savoy Plaza hotel was owned by Hilton and renamed the Savoy Hilton, as shown in the above 1960 Manhattan phone directory listing for Dad's Burk Travel Service. Alas, the hotel was soon torn down to make way for the General Motors Building. Dad never again had his own travel agency, although he worked in parts of the industry for several more years.

Hawaii for the Weekend

With a growing family of three girls, Dad rarely had the opportunity to actually travel despite being in the business. Still, one time he was able to go on a free travel agents' trip to Hawaii, one of his dream destinations.

Dad had barely arrived in Honolulu and gotten a welcome lei (photo at top) when we three girls all became ill. After only a weekend in paradise, Dad flew back home to New York to help out. He never got to Hawaii again, although my sis and I and our families went there in early 2000!

Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow for the #52Ancestors prompt of "At Work" for this week.

Happy 11th Blogiversary!

Eleven years ago this week, I began my genealogy blog wondering about my paternal great-grandfather, Meyer Elias Mahler. By now, I've added many twigs and branches to that part of my family tree.

In recent months, I even discovered two sons of Meyer and his wife (great-grandma Tillie Jacobs Mahler), boys who died very young and weren't remembered by later generations. I put them on my public tree so their names will not be forgotten ever again.

That's one of the main reasons I do genealogy: to keep alive the memory of my ancestors and let future generations know about their roots in the past.

Thank you!

Heart-felt thanks to the cousins, extended family members, and researchers who have contacted me via my blog! I am so grateful to be connected with you, getting to know you, and exploring our ancestors' lives together. Such fun and so rewarding.

To all my dear readers, thank you so much for posting comments, offering advice, and returning to read my blog.

After more than 1,130 posts, I'm looking forward to new discoveries, new technologies, new ancestors, and most of all, new connections with friends and family!

Merger! NGS + FGS

At #FGS2019, two major genealogical societies today announced their plan to merge. The Federation of Genealogical Societies just sent this press release: 

"We are excited to tell you that this morning, at our national conference in Washington D. C., we announced our intent to merge with the National Genealogical Society. The Federation was formed in 1976 in order to provide support to genealogical and historical societies. 

Key objectives during the past four decades have been to: promote the study of genealogy, stimulate the activities of state and local organizations, provide resources that enable genealogical organizations to succeed in pursuing their missions, and advocate for the preservation of records.

The intended merger with NGS will enhance our ability to support societies and offer services that will help strengthen them and help them to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing, technology-driven, volunteer-challenged environment.

The merged organization will be known as NGS, and will host a single, 5-day genealogy conference in 2021, in Richmond, Virginia, during May. That's great news!

Great-Great-Grandma Sarah Averts Tragedy

Sarah Harris Slatter marries John Shuttleworth in Surrey, UK 1862

My husband's 2d great-grandma, Sarah Harris Slatter Shuttleworth, was instrumental in saving at least one grandchild from the tragedy of grinding poverty.

This is my conclusion after reading UK Census data and workhouse records. Here's the story. (Watch out for the various family members named John, Mary, Thomas, and Sarah in successive generations.)

Great-great Grandma Sarah in the UK Census

The first mention I found of Sarah Harris Slatter was in the 1841 UK Census, where she is 25 years old and married to John Slatter, a cook in Oxfordshire. Sarah was born in Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire, around 1813. Sarah and John's children children Fanny, Thomas, and Sarah are in the household, along with Sarah's brother Richard. At this point, Sarah and her husband John had been married for 9 years (according to wedding records at St. Ebbe Church).

John Slatter and Sarah Harris Slatter in 1841 UK Census

By 1851, the UK Census shows her as a widowed hat sewer with four children: Fanny, age 18, b. 1833 in Middlesex, a gaiter maker; John (Jr.), age 14, b. 1837 in Middlesex, a printers' boy; William, age 5, b. 1846 in Christchurch, Surrey; and 14-month-old Daniel, b. abt 1850, in Christchurch, Surrey.

Slatter Family Crisis of Poverty

By 1861, the Census shows Sarah's son, John Slatter, Jr. married to Mary Shehen Slatter, living in notoriously poor Whitechapel. In that Census, they have one child, Thomas Slatter. During the next eight years, John and Mary Slatter have five more children.

Trouble is brewing: He is in and out of work, sometimes abandons the family, and Mary has to cope with children in dire poverty. Soon the records show that she and five children bounce in and out of workhouses and poorhouses.

Ultimately, Mary Shehen Slatter enters an insane asylum (diagnosed with melancholia as a result of extreme poverty and misfortune). She meets with a tragic end, dying of tuberculosis 15 years later. Meanwhile, the children go separate ways, three boys sent to a military training ship and two girls at school. Except for Thomas Slatter, the eldest child, who never appears in the workhouse and poorhouse records. Why? That's where Sarah Harris returns to the story of this family crisis.

Grandchildren Living with Sarah and Second Husband

I kept looking for Thomas Slatter because he was missing from the workhouse admission/discharge records. Finally, a wonderful blog reader located him in the 1871 Census in the household of his grandma Sarah Harris Slatter Shuttleworth and step-grandpa John Shuttleworth. I backtracked to find Sarah's 1862 remarriage to Shuttleworth, who were both widowed, in Christchurch, Surrey. This is the correct Sarah, according to her birthplace and other details.

By 1871, John Shuttleworth and his wife Sarah are living at 32 Gravel Lane in London. And lo and behold, they have several of Sarah's grandchildren living with them.

First listed is Thomas Slatter, age 10, who would otherwise have been in and out of workhouses with the rest of his siblings. Instead, he's here with his paternal grandmother and step-grandfather. Plus some first cousins, other grandchildren of Sarah.

Right under Thomas in the Shuttleworth household listing is grandchild Sarah Gardner, 13 years old. She is the second daughter of Sarah Harris's daughter Fanny Slatter and husband John C. Gardner. Other Gardner grandchildren were living with their parents in 1871 but not Sarah, who on this day was with her grandma and step-gramps. Why? Perhaps an early version of day care? After all, John Gardner was working.

Also in the household is grandchild Sarah Slatter, age 3. I believe this is Elizabeth Sarah Ann Slatter, daughter of Sarah Harris's youngest son William Slatter and wife Mary Anne. Again, was this a day-care situation or was the little girl actually living with the Shuttleworths? I don't know.

Saving Thomas from Possible Tragedy

Here's what I do know: Five children of John Slatter and Mary Shehen Slatter were in and out of workhouses (including hubby's grandma) for a few years after John deserted them. Mary couldn't work steadily or earn enough to maintain a household. She was extremely depressed and unable to cope.

Mary's oldest son, Thomas Slatter, avoided workhouses and poorhouses because his grandma Sarah Harris Slatter Shuttleworth took him in and raised him.

The entire family can be proud of what Sarah, with her husband John, did to keep Thomas safe.

Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow for this week's #52Ancestors prompt of tragedy.

What's So Funny About Family History?

Index to my maternal Farkas Family Tree
meeting minutes, 1933-1964

This week's #52Ancestors challenge by Amy Johnson Crow is comedy. Reading through 500 pages of Farkas Family Tree meeting minutes (index shown above), I found a few tidbits that made me smile.

The Farkas Family Tree was founded by descendants of my maternal great-grandparents, Moritz Farkas (1857-1936) and Leni Kunstler Farkas (1865-1938). It was active from 1933 through 1964. By the time I was old enough to be inducted as a member, the organization was inactive. Some of the incidents I'm going to mention here occurred way before my time, others just within living memory ;0

For instance, the minutes noted that "the twins" (me and my sister) at age four, "went exploring in their pajamas one morning. At 6 am, they walked out of the apartment and were on their way when Mom found them in the hall." Good thing she found us, we lived in a big apartment building in the Bronx! Another report was how one of us decided to scour the kitchen floor with cinnamon. Hoo boy. Funny now, but not funny to Mom at the time!

Serious About Food 

Each and every meeting included some kind of food, serious eating really, but often described with humor. In February, 1934, the minutes reported on a "Pickled Herring Party" that began at 6 pm and continued well past 9 pm. Let me quote: "Boy, oh boy, how those poor herrings suffered, being torn from fin to fin, not to mention the scads of pickled onions also consumed."

Often the snack or meal included quote "stinkin' cheeses" unquote supplied by one of the dairy grocers, most likely the bachelor great uncles, Julius and Peter. I found these mentioned, along with gefilte fish, stuffed cabbage, corned beef, and other delicacies, in the minutes of the 1930s and the 1940s. At a 1945 meeting, the secretary says, "The way we made that most delicious roast beef disappear, one would think we were the descendants of Houdini." In short, the hosts and hostesses seemed to enjoy trying to outdo each other with feasts at monthly meetings.

Funny About Money

From the beginning, paying membership dues involved nagging in a nice way. At one meeting, a trustee said he had audited "last year's swindle sheets" and found $5 missing. What happened? A member said he had paid his dues but the treasurer claimed not have received the cash. To keep the peace, a motion was passed to drop the matter entirely.

Then there were decisions (sometimes loud discussions) about what the family tree would and would not pay for. Regardless of the amount, bills were reported in the minutes. Quoting from the June 1944 minutes: "Bills, now as unwelcome as ever, reared their ugly heads, to the tune of eight dollars."

More than once, when a new treasurer was elected, the minutes observed that the old treasurer happened [wink, wink] to have acquired a new car while being in charge of the tree's money. Since the treasury rarely had more than $100, it's safe to assume coincidence only, right?

Genealogical and Biography Committees--No Kidding

Left unfinished by the tree association were two projects which descendants like myself would dearly love to have, all kidding aside.

Only a few years after the organization began, a "Genealogical Committee" was formed to put the family tree down on paper. After a few months of reporting to the meetings that the committee was "making progress," the idea was dropped during the 1930s. The project was unsuccessfully revived for the tree association's 25th anniversary in 1958. Alas, no written tree was ever given to members or passed down in the family.

Just before WWII, a great uncle had the idea to form a "Biography Committee." He tried for more than a year to collect biographies written by the founding members of the tree. Once again, it was a good idea that never quite worked out, because few members participated. Oh, how I would have enjoyed reading these biographies from the past, a kind of genealogical "mug book" of Farkas ancestors.

Great-Uncle David Mahler, the Wanderer

My great uncle David Mahler (1882-1964) was the black sheep of his family. Oldest son of my great-grandma Tillie Jacobs Mahler (185?-1952) and great-grandpa Meyer Elias Mahler (1861-1910), David got in trouble with the law as a teenager and then was involved in an incident where he fell asleep and his burning cigarette lit a fire that destroyed his brother-in-law's paint store.

In 1905, David was still living at home with his entire family in a large tenement in Jewish Harlem, New York City. According to the NY Census, his occupation was "driver." Interestingly, crowded in along with David's parents and six siblings were two "boarders," Isidore Burk and Myer Burk. (They were actually Isaac Burk--hi Grandpa!--and Meyer Berg. Isaac married David's sister Henrietta in 1906.)

David Mahler in Toronto?

David and his sister Henrietta were born in Riga, Latvia, according to their father's naturalization papers. (My guess is they were actually from a nearby small town that U.S. officials wouldn't recognize or be able to spell--Riga is both recognized and easy to spell!)

Searching for more immigration records of the Mahler family, I did a fresh search on David. Up popped the index card at top, a summary of a border crossing at Detroit from a Canadian Pacific Railway manifest dated Christmas Day of 1906.

There are a lot of similarities with MY David Mahler. Born in Riga, yes. Spent time in U.S., yes. Age is correct for my great uncle. But could this really be David, formerly of New York City, now leaving Toronto by train for Chicago to be a waiter?

Page 2 of WWII Draft Registration Card

For a physical description of David Mahler, I looked at his WWI and WWII draft registration cards.

Sometimes page 2 of draft registration cards doesn't always show up in the initial image. Be sure to advance one page in the image files to look at the entire card!

Here's page 2 of David's WWII draft card. His height is the same as on the border crossing card shown at top. His hair is black, same as in the border crossing card. Eyes are brown, same. I was surprised to see both describe his complexion as "ruddy" but the match goes a long way toward persuading me that my great uncle David was crossing from Toronto to Chicago via Detroit. (The tattoo must have been done after his WWI registration, since it's not listed on that card.)

Missing Years in David Mahler's Life

In the bigger picture, I'm still looking for what happened to David Mahler between 1907, when he was bound for Chicago, and 1918. That's the year he registered for the WWI draft with an address in Camden, N.J., where he was working as a rigger.

The Chicago city directory for 1914 lists a David Mahler working as a salesman and living at 6135 S. May. Using Google maps, I see that's a home, not an apartment building, way down on the South Side of Chicago. This might not be MY David Mahler.

Also, I haven't yet found him in the 1910 US Census. That's the year his father died. Did he return home for the funeral? Nor have I found him in the 1920 Census. Creative spelling hasn't helped.

According to the 1940 US Census, David was living in High Point, N.C. in 1935. So far, no city directory confirms this.

In 1940, he's living in Los Angeles and working for an in-law at a big movie studio. I've confirmed that employment and that address as being accurate--plus David registered to vote in 1940 at same address and remained there for years.

Wondering About Wandering

SO . . . my research indicates that David Mahler went from his birthplace in Latvia to New York City to Toronto (no border crossing doc yet) to Chicago (border crossing doc at top) to Camden, N.J. (WWI draft card) to High Point (so says 1940 Census) to Los Angeles (lots of solid documentation), where he died in May of 1964. What a wanderer! Wonder why?

David was a bachelor, and by researching and documenting his life, I'm keeping his memory alive for future generations who never met him.