Honor Roll: World War II Veterans from Woodbury, Connecticut

In this second of two blog posts, I'm honoring the men and women from Woodbury, Connecticut who served their nation during the two world wars. This post names those who served during World War II. On Veterans Day, I salute their service with respect and appreciation.

Abbott, H. Ellsworth

Atwood, Gilbert

Atwood, Henry S.

Balch, George F.

Barnes, Randall

Bassett, George C.

Beaurgard, Howard F.

Bennett, Sherwood

Bergensten, L.W.

Bowker, Ruth N.

Bradley, Kenneth A.

Brown, Charles E.

Brunet, Richard D.

Bull, David

Burdick, Edward C.

Burdick, Harold

Burton, William J. Jr.

Bynack, Joseph G.

Cable, George

Cable, Lewis

Carlisle, David

Cassidy, John

Cassidy, Joseph L. 

Cassidy, Marjorie

Cassidy, Paul

Chatfield, Robert

Churchill, Howard

Coats, John E.

Coddington, John

Coey, Albert L.

Cole, Ferris E.

Cole, Ralph E.

Cooper, Earl D.

Cooper, James

Cowles, Paul G.

Crighton, David B.

Cunningham, Harold W.

Daury, Vincent P.

Davidson, James H.

Dawson, John

Decker, E. Norton Jr.

Decker, Robert S.

Dillon, James

Dillon, Richard

Drake, Arthur

Drakeley, Robert L. Jr.

Duda, Casimer

Duda, Peter A.

Dyer, Carroll L.

Elting, Chalres E.

Elting, Stewart E.

Eyre, Alfred O.

Eyre, Harry D.

Eyre, Stanley B.

Farrell, John W.

Faye, Lesley

Fegen, Charles W.

Fray, Robert

Frazier, Charlotte

Freeman, Arthur

Fleming, William

Gardiner, Shirley

Giggey, Kempton L.

Gillis, Carter S.

Graham, Leslie W.

Green Ernest H.

Green, George A.

Green, Robert W.

Griswold, Hobart W.

Hahn, William A Jr.

Harriman, Charles S. Jr.

Harriman, Ellen

Hirsch, Arthur Z.

Hirsch, Charles E.

Hirsch, Clifford B.

Hogan, Michel

Hohimer, Ernest

Hower, William D.

Johnson, Clifford M.

Judson, Donald F.

Karagulla, Selim M.

Kenny, John

King, Arthur C.

Knox, Delmar A.

Koch, Edgar M.

Kozenieski, Llyod

Laukaitis, Anthony

Lavery, James

Leach, John

Leesemann, Frederick W.

Lizauskas, Stanley

Lundin, David J.

Lundin, Frank G.

Lucas, Francis A.

Lyon, Frank O.

Lyon, James G.

Macbeth, S. Alexander

MacCallum, John

Markle, Raymond D.

Mansfield, Paul H.

Manzi, Edward J.

Manzi, Roland

Manzi, Vincent D.

Markham, Fred A.

Markham, Hurlburt A.

Martinson, William F.

Mrvin, Everett D. Jr.

Mason, Howard F. R. Jr.

May, Russell C.

Michaels, Richard W.

Miller, Robert E.

Miller, Vincent A.

Minor, Emerson

Minor, Lewis R.

Morgan, Addis

Morgan, Henry

Morris, George

Morris, Hobart D.

Morris, Vernon H.

Mosavage, Anthony J.

Mosavage, George W.

Munson, Richard

Murphy, Franklin

Nadel, Mortimer J.

Nichols, Joel L.

Nutting, Parker B.

Pastore, William S.

Pearson, James E.

Pearson, Robert R.

Peck, Hiram W.

Petruzzi, Marco

Petruzzi, Michael

Phillips, John

Phillips, Thomas J.

Pinard, Alton H.

Platt, Alfred H.

Pond, Sebastian L.

Pagano, Anthony

Racenet, Amelie H.

Rice, Roy E.

Richards, David K.

Richards, James H. Jr.

Richards, Robert K.

Richardson, Phillip E.

Riese, Frederick K.

Robinson, Waltyer A.

Savage, David W.

Scott, Joseph

Schmidt, Clifford

Sears, Richard A.

Sharp, Charles M.

Shaw, Raymond W.

Sherwood, Albert C.

Sherwood, Charles C.

Shippee, Harold E.

Slattery, Frances R.

Slattery, James J.

Smith, Allen G.

Smith, Burton C.

Smith, Carlton E.

Smith, Edward

Smith, Robert G.

Smith, Walter E.

Snyder, Melvin L.

Somers, Harold

Starr, Robert F.

Stevens, Fannie R.

Strattman, Dwight

Stever, Charles W.

Sturges, Edward B.

Sturges, George R.

Sweeney, Bernard J.

Sweeney, Lawrence

Stockwell, Charle

Taylor, Raymond Jr.

Thomas, Ferris F.

Thompson, David

Thompson, Louise J.

Tomlinson, James H.

Towne, Ernest H. Jr.

Titus, Howard

Travers, Sherwood W.

Underwood, Hiram A.

Underwood, Home R.

Voytershark, Frank

Wallace, Raymond D.

Walston, Harvey D.

Weeden, Willis M.

Weeks, Carnes

Weeks, Carnes Jr.

Westerland, Charles H.

Westerland, Harry F.

Weymer, Russell

Wilson, Herbert R.

Wilson, Robert L.

Walcott, C. James

Wooden, Paul M.

Yurkunas, Kasimir

Honor Roll: World War I Veterans from Woodbury, Connecticut

This dignified memorial plaque honors military veterans from Woodbury, Connecticut who served in the two world wars.

In this first of two blog posts, I'm transcribing the names of men and women who served during World War I, as listed on this memorial. 

Adams, Ralph C.

Adams, William M.

Anderson, Gustave Daniel

Barnes, George H.

Bauch, Harry J.

Beardsley, Howard D.

Bennett, Edson J.

Bennett, William B. Jr.

Bradley, Hubert L.

Brotherton, Frederick L.

Cahill, William P.

Carroll, James P.

Carroll, William J. 

Charter, Legrand F.

Crowley, Jeremiah J.

Dawson, James S.

Drakeley, George M.

Dunlap, Collier W.

Eyre, Alfred G.

Fitzsimons, Dwight

Fitzsimons, Thomas

Foster, Leroy E.

Foster, Ralph E.

Fox, John Jr.

Gibson, Asahel R. Jr.

Gibson, Philo A.

Gorman, Joseph M.

Halstead, Leo D.

Harvey, Robert W.

Harvey, Samuel C.

Hawes, Charles L.

Jackson, Pearlie C.

Karrman, Milton A.

Lathrop, Leslie E.

Leavenworth, Raymond R.

Main, Arthur G.

Mason, Archie D.

Mason, William A.

McDonald, Floyd J.

McDonald, Paul L.

Nelson, Frederick

Parker, Sterling

Parkin, Ernest

Randall, Henry S.

Randall, Louis L.

Reichenbauch, Alfred

Reichenbach, Auguste

Reilly, Bernard

Ross, Frank A.

Roswell, Hubert M.

Salmon, John S.

St. Pierre, Alphonse

Terrell, Eli B.

Terrill, William Gladston

Thompson, Louis F.

Tracy, George F.

Turner, Charles Norman

Tyler, Walter Jr.

Walker, Czar E.

Walker, Edward C. Jr.

Walker, Harold

Walker, Lillian

Willner, Abraham L.

Willner, Ralph L.

Wolfe, Joseph O.

Wooden, Ralph V.

With sincere appreciation for their service to country.

Now on BlueSky Social as Well as Mastodon

I'm transitioning away from Twitter after the US election. 

I'm already posting about genealogy and family history on Mastodon at @MarianBWood@genealysis.social.

Or we can meet on the BlueSky platform where I just began posting at: @climbingfamilytree.bsky.social‬. Very active genealogy community on BlueSky! Below is my profile on that fast-growing social media platform.

Genealogy chats on three platforms

#GenChat continues on Twitter two Friday evenings a month (10 pm Eastern for US genies), plus two Saturday mornings on Mastodon (9 am Eastern). UPDATE: #GenChat will leave Twitter at end of 2024 and relaunch on BlueSky! 

#AncestryHour continues informally on Twitter every Tuesday (2 pm Eastern for US genies, 7 pm for UK genies) but has set up an account on BlueSky at: @ancestryhour.bsky.social.

#GenHour has begun on BlueSky at 8 pm GMT every Thursday--that's 3 pm Eastern for US genies. Hashtag is from @oneplacestudies.bsky.social‬.

Looking forward to staying connected with my genealogy buddies!

Remembering Grandma Minnie 123 Years After Her Immigration

Born on November 10, 1886, my maternal grandma Hermina Farkas Schwartz was the second child (oldest daughter) of 11 children of Moritz Farkas and Lena Kunstler Farkas. She celebrated her 15th birthday on the SS Amsterdam in 1901, en route from Hungary to her future home in New York City.

Growing up in Hungary

Minnie and seven of her siblings were born in Hungary, in an area now known as Berehove, Ukraine. Minnie was sent to school to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, plus fine needlework. 

Her father Moritz supervised vineyard plantings for his wife's family and also leased land for his own crops. Minnie sometimes rode along with him on his rounds of the vineyard--she loved the outdoors. The family wasn't wealthy but they weren't poor either.

Weather changed everything

One year, Moritz failed to insure his crops and a heavy hail storm destroyed everything before the harvest. He was financially ruined. To make a fresh start (and probably to avoid creditors), Moritz sailed to New York City in 1899. He found work in the garment district, like many Jewish immigrants, and always lived in a tenement or an apartment building, very unlike his former life.

At the end of 1900, Moritz's wife Lena sailed to New York City, leaving their eight children with her family. One year later, Minnie and three siblings were put on a ship to rejoin their parents in New York. The last group of four children who waited in Hungary were finally reunited with their family in New York in 1903. Moritz and Lena had three more children born in the Big Apple. The baby of the family was 20 years younger than the oldest.

Where Minnie lived in the big city

In 1910, Minnie lived with her parents and siblings at 645 E. 6th Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. According to the 1940 New York City tax photo, which I found using Steve Morse's One-Step search form, it was a large apartment building on a street corner, with stores on the ground floor.

In 1920 and 1930, married to immigrant Theodore Schwartz (1887-1965) and the mother of three children, she lived at 651 Fox Street in the Bronx, NY. It was a smaller apartment building located in a more residential area. Grandpa Teddy owned and operated a small neighborhood dairy store, which helped them get through the Great Depression.

In 1940, Minnie and Teddy and their children lived at 672 Beck Street in the Bronx, a nicer apartment building. All their children had graduated high school and the oldest two were in college and working part-time, their youngest child working as well. The couple stood on their feet helping customers at the dairy store day after day, including weekends.

In 1950, Minnie and Teddy lived at 600 East 178th Street in the Bronx, an apartment building with the main entrance on the side street. Two children were married and had families of their own. By this time, Minnie had heart problems and Teddy had hired an assistant for the store. This man eventually bought them out so the couple could retire after a lifetime of standing on their feet for long hours.

Minnie's life and legacy

Minnie grew up to be a capable, complicated woman who defied her parents in order to marry the man of her choice. In a later era, she herself would have had many more opportunities to use her intelligence, talents, and determination. She was an expert with a sewing machine, and made fabulous Hungarian dishes from scratch, including apple strudel with an impossibly thin pastry crust. Though she lacked a warm and fuzzy way with her grandchildren, she worked extremely hard, made her children's education a high priority, and always put family first.

Grandma Minnie died 60 years ago, in 1964. Saddened and physically weakened, Grandpa Teddy died the year after. May their memories be for a blessing.

Where Joseph Jacobs Lived in 1888?

My great-grand uncle Joseph Jacobs (1864-1918) was born in Lithuania and became a naturalized citizen in New York City in 1888. He (and his sister Tillie and his mother Rachel) all lived in tenements after coming to the Big Apple in the mid-1880s.

When Joe became a US citizen in October of 1888, his address was 49 Clinton Street, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, an area crammed with immigrants living in row after row of attached tenements. Many of those tenements are now gone. What about Joe's place?

49 Clinton Street, circa 1940

I used Steve Morse's One-Step tool to quickly and conveniently search the NYC Records & Information Department database of building photos taken for tax purposes, 1939-1941. I wondered whether Joe's tenement was still standing in about 1940.

Shown above is the search form, completed to show the address I was seeking. I specified the year as 1939-1941, selected Manhattan as the borough, and entered the house number "49" and the street "Clinton." Then I clicked to show block and lot, and finally clicked "display single house." The black and white tax photo is at top of this blog post, tenements with stores at street level. The full page of results is here.

Alas, I may not be looking at Joe's actual residence but a replacement. His original residence could very well have been torn down to make way for taller buildings. Current real estate listings for the address suggest the tenement shown at top was built about 1910.

If you're looking for a New York City address from the past, try the Steve Morse search form and also check Google for info about the current status of the building.

49 Clinton Street, circa 2024

Then I pasted the address "49 Clinton Street, New York City" into the Google search box. Up popped a map and a street-level photo. 

Surprisingly, the tenement is still standing and recognizable, as shown by this photo from September of 2024! Fire escapes and stores at street level, similar to the 1940 photo.

Remembering my immigrant ancestor Joe Jacobs on the 106th anniversary of his death in 1918. 

Happy Sweet Sixteen to WikiTree - Free Genealogy Talks!

It's WikiTree's 16th birthday and the celebration includes a constellation of genealogy stars giving terrific, free talks for three days, beginning today.

To see the speaker lineup, click here. 

For more fun activities, see the schedule here.

And a happy sweet sixteen to WikiTree.

Hallowe'en Greetings from 1913 and 2023

 
This colorful penny postal greeting was sent from "Aunt Nellie" (Rachel Wood Kirby) to her young nephew Wally Wood in 1913. 

Note the apostrophe in Hallowe'en, which in earlier years indicated it was the eve of All Hallow's Day (also known as All Saints Day).

My husband's WOOD family used penny postcards like to stay in touch throughout the year, on every conceivable occasion (including Lincoln's birthday and Independence Day).

In 2023, a young relative colored the stacked pumpkins shown at right, now a seasonal favorite proudly displayed on my mantle.

May you have all treats, no tricks, on Halloween! 

Ancestor Word Cloud for Family History Gifts

 
At holiday time or any time, a word cloud made from surnames or given names can be the start of a great bite-sized family history gift. Above, a world cloud I made from ancestor surnames in my husband's maternal line. I chose the shape of a heart to emphasize the family connection and put it on the back cover of a family history photo book.

Here is a different version of an ancestor surname word cloud, using a tree template to symbolize a family tree. The background color can be varied, size/font/color of each name can be varied, direction and number of names can be varied. Also try making a word cloud from given names.

A special word cloud would look smashing on a note pad, scarf, mug, or another item for holiday gifting.

I used wordart.com for the tree word cloud, but you can find other free or low-cost word cloud generators with a simple online search. Have fun experimenting!

FAN Club Includes Military Affiliations

Writing about the military service of ancestors in my husband's family tree, I learned via newspaper items and military records that his 1c2r had served in the Spanish American War: George Ainsworth Larimer (1873-1922). I've written about George before. He eloped with Cora May Lutz (1875-1945) on July 4, 1899 in a surprise move that was seen as a "thunder clap from a blue sky" when revealed months later!

Online search for military unit and war

I wanted to document more about George's military service, so I did a simple online search for the Spanish American War, 1898. This took me to a super-informative site marking the centennial of that war, with names, dates, and photos! I was delighted to discover lots of details about Company C, 157th Indiana Volunteer Infantry--the "Goshen Company" in which George served (because most of the men enlisted from the town of Goshen).

Looking at the names of the men in that company, I noticed someone familiar from hubby's family tree: Miles Powell Bradford (1872-1944). A newspaper search gave me more info, including the snippet shown above, about Miles Bradford being on the sick list as Company C was to be mustered out after the war was over, in the fall of 1898.

Served with future brother-in-law

From previous research, I knew that Miles had married George's sister, Atta Larimer (1875-1936) in 1902. They announced their intention to take the train to Chicago to be married by a minister who had previously led their congregation in Goshen, Indiana. Not a surprise, not a thunder clap. 

My discovery that Miles and George had served in the same military unit opened up a fresh avenue of speculation about how Miles might have met his future wife, Atta. Their home town of Goshen, Indiana had 7,800 residents counted in the 1900 US Census, not a tiny fly speck of a town but not a metropolis either.

Could George have encouraged his military buddy Miles to meet or court his sister Atta? Was the men's military service a catalyst in the romance? Or were Atta and Miles acquainted before the war? Since Miles's father operated a Goshen grocery store, and Miles worked with his father, it is possible they met when Atta shopped there. Lots of possibilities here. 

This situation reminds me that military affiliations can be a really key part of an ancestor's FAN club (friends/family, acquaintances, neighbors) and as such, they are worthy of closer investigation. 

Full House For George and Lucy Before He Sailed to War

Researching military ancestors in my husband's family tree, I was a bit surprised to see that his great-grand uncle George Scarborough Handy (1819-1892) joined the Union Navy despite having a house full of kids.

Born in Dartmouth, Massachusetts in 1819, George married Lucy M. Wood (1821-1902) in June, 1841. They settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and had nine children together as he worked as a farmer and a carpenter to support his growing family. At times, it seems he struggled financially: he reported himself to be a laborer with $100 in personal property when enumerated with his wife and 7 children in the 1860 US Census.

Joining the navy

In September of 1861, during the US Civil War, George left his family to enlist with the Union Navy at the rank of ordinary seaman. He served on the Bark Kingfisher, chasing Confederate ships and enforcing the Union's blockade along the Atlantic coast and into the Gulf of Mexico. Scurvy, scarce food and water, and other problems plagued the Kingfisher and other Union vessels constantly on the move.

George had some kind of health crisis because in March of 1862, he was sent to the Naval Hospital in New York with a diagnosis of “deafness and imbecility” as shown in the document above. Among his possessions were 3 jackets, 4 pairs trousers, other clothing, and 1 book. George was discharged due to disability from the Union Navy in April of 1862, and returned home. 

Rejoining his family

Whatever his health condition following his military service, he resumed working as a gas fitter and then as a house carpenter after rejoining his family. He and Lucy had one more child in 1863, who sadly died young. Later in life, George qualified for an invalid pension and after his death in 1892, his widow Lucy received his pension payments until she died of heart disease, age 82, in 1902.

Enumerated as deaf? 

What intrigued me about the hospital transfer was the diagnosis of "deafness and imbecility." To that point, George had been enumerated in the 1850 and 1860 US Census and there was no indication that he was either deaf or imbecilic. Both of those US Census questionnaires have a place in the far right column to show whether a person had such disabilities, but George was not identified in this way. (To see the full questions of each US Census, look at this handy list of viewable/downloadable blank forms at the US National Archives site.)

Was George temporarily deafened by some explosion? Or did he have another injury that caused him to have symptoms of deafness and imbecility? I'll never know...but I do know that he lived to the age of 73, survived by his wife and only 3 of his children.

Full House is the genealogy prompt of the week for #52Ancestors from Amy Johnson Crow.

Label and Organize Genealogy For Today and Tomorrow

 

It's Family History Month, and I want to show one of my indispensable tools for genealogy. 

Above, my trusty label maker sitting on top of genealogy file folders for intermarried families Roth/Mandel, and Lebowitz/Markell, and Waldman. Rather than alphabetize, I prefer to group files according to connected families. 

I have separate file folders labeled for documents about donated artifacts (with my counter-signed copies of the deeds of gift), Civil War ancestors in the Wood family tree, and other non-surname records. 

Over time, I've culled these files to get rid of printed Census records and other redundant paperwork now digitized and attached to my online family trees. Still in my file folders are letters and notes from discussions with cousins, plus recent vital records, requests for genealogy info, and research plans. 

I also have digital files with scanned genealogy items, organized by surname or surname groupings or topic, backed up in the cloud and on an external hard drive for extra safety.

Plus I have archival boxes clearly labeled by family and contents ("Edgar Wood negatives" is specific enough to identify what's inside). 

Printed labels make my files and boxes look neat, legible, and accessible for today and tomorrow. I want my heirs to know what's what and what's where. 

For more ideas about keeping family history safe for the sake of future generations please see my genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past. 

Ask a Local Historian or Librarian About Your Brickwall Ancestor!

For a long time, I've been trying to learn more about my husband's 3d great-grandparents, William Tyler Bentley (1795-1873) and Olivia Morgan Bentley (1799?-1838). The earliest official document I have for this family is the 1830 US Census, where they're enumerated in the town of Sandy Creek, Oswego County, New York. Other documents confirm Oswego as the birthplace of William and Olivia's children in the 1820s and 1830s.

Browsing the 1830 Census page by page, I noticed two other men named Bentley were enumerated as heads of households, each with a wife and a few young children. Are they relatives of William? Don't know--yet. No entry for Morgan anywhere in the Sandy Creek Census for that year. 

Local knowledge, networking with other researchers

A decade ago, I spoke with the historian of Sandy Creek, New York, who had a Bentley surname file but nothing about these specific people. She did, however, have the names of Ed and Ruth, two other researchers also on the trail of William and Olivia, and gave me their contact info (with their permission).

Ed, Ruth, and I have pooled info and made some discoveries. For instance, Ed found a "list of letters" newspaper notice (image above) showing that "William T. Bently" lived in the area as early as 1821. Ruth traced other descendants and found their burial sites, adding those to Find a Grave. I found Olivia's maiden name by obtaining death certs of two children.

What reminded me to take another look at William and Olivia this week was the 121st anniversary of the death of their daughter Lucinda Helen Bentley Shank (1825-1903), on October 12th. I retraced my research steps and that's when I decided to pick up the phone.

Ask, share, leave contact info

I noticed there's a new town historian at Sandy Creek, so I called to introduce myself, asking about anything new that might have been collected, donated, or filed since my inquiry ten years ago. I sent a followup email with a simplified family tree of these ancestors plus I shared some original documents pertaining to these people, for her files. I thanked her sincerely for any assistance in adding to my knowledge of my husband's Bentley and Morgan ancestors.

If I'm lucky, William or the other two Bentley men will be in the historian's files and we can try to piece together any possible relationships. If I'm really lucky, Olivia Morgan's family will be somewhere in her files. It will be a week or so until I hear from her, well worth the wait, and I will be appreciative for any clues she can offer. Fresh eyes, fresh ideas.

After I hear back from the historian, I plan to contact the library in Sandy Creek to ask about their genealogical files, cemetery records, and other info that may be in their collection. Of course I'll leave my contact info in case other researchers are looking for Bentley or Morgan. 

Local folks have local knowledge, so consider whether a local historian or librarian may be able to help you learn more about your brickwall ancestors. 

UPDATE from Dec 2024: This lovely historian found me a Bentley cousin's obit that mentions the family moved to Sandy Creek from Saratoga county, NY, about 1822. Now I have another line of investigation, thanks to local knowledge. 

On the Trail of My Most Wanted Paternal Ancestors: Necke and Hinda

My paternal Chazan cousins in Manchester, England are DNA matches with me, and we also have evidence of close family relationships via photos and letters exchanged by our ancestors in the 1930s/40s/50s. 

But we don't know how, exactly, their matriarch Hinda Mitav Chazan (1864-1940)  is related to my paternal matriarch Necke Gelle (Mitav?) Shuham Burk (no dates). These names are at the top of the "most wanted" list of ancestors we have in common.

Our hypothesis is: Hinda (pictured at left) and Necke were sisters or possibly half-sisters.

Hinda's gravestone shows her as the daughter of Tzvi Hersh, a name that was passed down multiple times in the Chazan and Burk branches of the tree. Tentatively I've added that as Necke Gelle's father's name on my tree, but it's nowhere near proven. 

Last week, a Chazan cousin and I received an answer from a query we both sent to someone via JewishGen.org a few months ago. We were given access to a private tree and have been comparing those names to what we know--with the result that we have more descendants to research! Possibly one of these previously unknown descendants might have a clue to our earlier ancestors. And of course we are sharing what we know with this new cousin connection.

I'm grateful that this cousin in England is deeply interested, forever curious, and quite relentless about pursuing our mutual "most wanted" ancestors.

"Most" is this week's #52Ancestors genealogy prompt from Amy Johnson Crow.

Search Find a Grave Bios for Genealogy Clues

Not long ago, Find a Grave added yet another way to search its memorial pages: By key words or names in the biography section.

As shown above, I tested this search by looking for a name in my husband's family tree: Frank Bentley Curtis. Actually, I already knew this name appears in at least three generations descended from my husband's 3d great-grandfather, William Tyler Bentley (1795-1873) and 3d great-grandmother, Olivia Morgan Bentley (1799?-1838). 

Searching without quotation marks returned more than 170 results, so I did another search for "Frank Bentley Curtis" in quotation marks. Only 6 results, including 2 memorials that are sponsored--meaning someone has paid to remove the ads, upload 10 more photos or documents, and showcase the page with a premium look.

I put red arrows on the image below to indicate sponsorship of two of these results. Usually someone who pays to sponsor a memorial has some relationship to the deceased person, which means those memorials are definitely worth a closer look. Find a Grave sponsorship is optional, see the help page here. You can actually search for a memorial according to whether it's sponsored or not, but I didn't do so in this case.

I investigated each memorial in the results list and wow, did I come away with a ton of fresh clues and insights. The creator of these memorials wrote about personally speaking with or corresponding with descendants, visiting cemeteries, looking for proof of marriages, and so on. The creator also posted ancestor photos, vital records, and other relevant images. Happily, each memorial is linked to at least a few of that ancestor's parents, siblings, children, spouses. 

Currently, I'm double-checking some of the bio details but I feel grateful for these information-packed memorials as a headstart to better understanding this branch of hubby's tree. And as always, I'm grateful that Find a Grave remains free for research like this (and for posting bite-sized bios and photos as cousin bait).

There are so many ways to use this new bio search...perhaps by searching for a specific place or occupation or military unit or rank as part of FAN club research (friends/family, associates, neighbors). Give it a try on its own or as part of a search where you look for someone by surname and/or date and/or cemetery location and/or sponsorship.

My Free Genealogy Webinar for Family History Month

In honor of Family History Month, you are invited to my free online webinar hosted by the Southbury Public Library in Connecticut, on Friday, October 25, from 2-3 pm Eastern:

Bring Family History Alive in Bite-Sized Projects

Get fresh ideas for documenting family history stories in engaging, practical, bite-sized projects that can be shared with relatives and posted on genealogy websites for the sake of future generations. Learn why and how to narrow your focus to one ancestor or family, occasion, heirloom, photo, or place. Like a sprint rather than a marathon, each project takes a short time and gives you flexibility to be creative in spotlighting one aspect of family history to share with relatives now. Presentation includes how-to examples of projects such as brief ancestor bios and booklets, heirloom background stories, ancestor coloring books, and full-size and smaller photobooks. 

At top, a slide previewing the five key steps to planning and creating bite-sized projects. I'll also be sharing a few fun ideas for family history holiday gifts! 

**Space is limited, so please register in advance for this free Zoom by clicking this link.** 

Book Review: The Hollywood Strangler by Nathan Dylan Goodwin

Newly released, The Hollywood Strangler is the most gripping genetic genealogy case yet in this terrific series by Nathan Dylan Goodwin. Highly recommended!

The author draws on his extensive knowledge and expertise in forensics, genealogy, and DNA analysis to create an amazingly true-to-life fictional story of talented genetic genealogists digging deep into the mysteries of centimorgans and family history to try to unmask a serial killer who menaced Hollywood decades in the past. 

The prologue, set in 1980, shows dedicated medical examiner Dr. Peter Speth called to the scene of a horrific double murder in Hollywood, similar to but not identical to another recent double killing. Also in attendance: A young rookie cop named Ted Marsden. 

Fast-forward to 2022 in Chapter One, where Marsden is about to retire from the LAPD Cold Case Homicide Unit, headed by Detective Supervisor Mitzi Roberts. Before he leaves, Marsden wants to work on one last notorious cold case: The Hollywood Strangler. The game's afoot.

By Chapter Three, the cold-case detectives have gotten in touch with Venator, an elite investigative genetic genealogy company headed up by Madison Scott-Barnhart, known to one and all as Maddie. The goal is to analyze DNA left at the murder scene in an effort to find familial links to the serial killer. 

Now begins the detailed, step-by-step process of analyzing DNA matches and building speculative family trees to locate living people who are related to the killer. How these talented Venator employees use clusters, centimorgans, vital records, DNA databases, genealogy websites, and other tools and techniques will fascinate genealogy enthusiasts. Very believable and impressive, the quest to tie DNA from the crime scene to a specific family is the heart of the book.

The police procedural chapters that bookend this novel will enthrall mystery lovers. From the acknowledgements, I learned that Dr. Peter Speth is, in real life, a brilliant medical examiner whose meticulous work helped to identify and convict many villains. His involvement in Nathan's fictional case leads to key breakthroughs. I was already aware of Detective Mitzi Roberts because I'm a fan of Michael Connelly's detective mysteries, but it was a delightful surprise to come across her as another pivotal character in Nathan's book.  

Just as important, the author has created interesting, personable, and complex characters whose ongoing life experiences capture the imagination. Although The Hollywood Strangler can be appreciated as a stand-alone novel, I suggest waiting until you read the first two books in this series. As the series unfolds, you'll get to know the characters over time and gain a deeper understanding of how their actions in previous books influenced what happens in this third book.

Highly enjoyable for folks deeply interested in genetic genealogy and for fans of police procedurals. Nathan, I can't wait for your next book in the series!

Olga, Valeria, Blanka, and Tony Curtis

My maternal great-grandma's nephew very likely married Tony Curtis's cousin. I was reminded of this connection when looking at Olga, Valeria, and Blanka Schwartz this week. Okay, this gets complicated!

Schwartz and Klein from Mateszalka, Hungary

Above, an excerpt from the Find a Grave listing of those buried in Mateszalka Jewish Cemetery in Mateszalka, Hungary. Olga and Valeria both died young, sorry to say, and both were buried in this cemetery. Researching them, I again looked at their sister, Blanka "Blanche" Schwartz (1892-1986), who married Alexander Roth (1893-1949). Alex was a son of my great-grandma Leni Kunstler Farkas's sister. Alex was Leni's nephew, in other words. Alex was my 1c2r.

Back to Blanka, Olga, and Valeria, who were all the daughters of Frida Klein and Frank Schwartz. The kind gentleman who put Olga and Valeria on Find a Grave helpfully included the Hungarian records of their deaths, confirming the names of their parents. You can see those snippets just above the wording "no grave photo" in the image at top.

Blanka's Social Security application (above, with her Americanized first name of Blanche) confirms she had the same parents (creative spelling). All the Schwartz sisters were born in Mateszalka, Hungary. Schwartz and Klein were their parents, hold that thought.

Bernard Hersch Schwartz had roots in Mateszalka

I looked up the Mateszalka cemetery where Olga and Valeria were buried. A historic note about the cemetery mentions that actor Tony Curtis (original name: Bernard Hersch Schwartz) donated money to help restore the local synagogue, knowing his family originated in this town. 

His father was Emanuel "Mano" Schwartz, and his mother was Helen Klein Schwartz. Mano's parents were from the Mateszalka region, according to Mano's passenger manifest from his voyage on the S.S. Mount Clay, arriving in Boston in March, 1921. Mano's naturalization petition in New York City (#102586) also specifies his birthplace as Mateszalka. The petition was signed by two witnesses: his grandfather Victor Schwartz and someone named Albert Klein. 

Klein--the maiden name of Tony's mother, and the maiden name of Blanka, Olga, and Valeria's mother. My second cousin L knew Blanka very well, staying in touch in her later years when she was in a Bronx nursing home. He heard firsthand the stories of Blanka being Tony Curtis's cousin. Others in the wider family had heard the same story from their parents or grandparents.

Surely the Mateszalka area had an abundance of Klein and Schwartz residents. But the combination of family stories, shared surnames, and many given names from the Tony Curtis family tree being repeated in the Schwartz and Roth lines of my family tree lend credence to the stories. A circumstantial case for Blanka and her sisters Olga and Valeria being cousins of Tony Curtis but that's my story and I'm sticking to it! 

At a Glance, Is This Your Louis Hartfield?

 

Quick! Which ancestor profile on Ancestry seems more credible and worth checking out, the top one or the bottom one? Same man (a very distant relative, you know I really like putting these folks on my tree), one with and one without a profile image.

By adding the man's marriage cert as his profile image, I wanted to turn a generic profile into one that might seem more appealing to other researchers interested in the Hartfield family from Galicia, Austria. 

Why? Because any researcher can now easily read the marriage cert and verify the name of bride, groom, and their parents, plus the date and place (and of course the two witnesses and the officiant). 

With a glance at the profile image, it's faster to figure out whether this might be their Louis Hartfield and they will then dive deeper into my family tree's sources for a closer look at his life.

Adding a document or personal photo as the profile image is my not-so-subtle way of suggesting that I can back up the facts for this ancestor with actual documentation. The more folks who have real facts for their ancestors, the better.

Please, go ahead and add my Louis Hartfield to your tree if he belongs there--along with the sources and the profile image. I don't want Louis or his wife Bessie or anyone on my tree to be forgotten, that's why their profiles are public. 

This how LOCKSS works: Lots of copies keep stuff safe. The more trees Louis and Bessie are attached to, the better the possibility that they will be remembered into the future. For more ideas about safeguarding and perpetuating family history, please see my genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.

Happy 155th Birthday, Mollie

Born in Toledo, Ohio, on September 20, 1869, Mary Emma Wood (1869-1950) was always called by her nickname Mollie. She was the 14th of 17 children of Thomas Haskell Wood and Mary Amanda Demarest Wood, and the last of their 5 daughters to be born. In fact, by the time Mollie was born, her oldest sibling was already 23 years old. Mollie was my husband's great aunt. 

On May 3, 1892, Mollie married Francis Elmer Eagle (1864-1944) in his home county of Licking, Ohio. The bride was 22, the groom was 27. By 1900, the couple had moved to Detroit, Michigan, where Elmer was a boiler maker for railroads and Mollie was working as a dressmaker. 

According to that US Census, Mollie had no children of her own. But Mollie and Elmer were taking care of Mollie's nephew, Walter A. Lewis, aged 12 (see above). Walter's father had died suddenly several years earlier and his mother, Mollie's older sister Nellie, was living in Detroit and scrambling to support herself as a dressmaker. 

Then in 1905, Mollie and Elmer welcomed a son, Howard Paul Eagle (1905-1987). I wondered a bit about the timing, since the couple had been married for 13 years at that point with no children. The answer was in the 1930 US Census. As shown below, Howard's relationship to the head of household was "Ad-Son" meaning adopted by Mollie and Elmer. At age 25, Howard was working in an auto plant, like his father Elmer, all noted in that Census. Howard went on to a long career as a skilled machinist in the auto industry.

 Elmer died in 1944 of a stroke, age 79, and Mollie soon went to live with her son Howard and his family. In early 1950, Mollie died and was buried next to Francis Elmer, her husband of 52 years, in Westlawn Cemetery, Wayne County, Michigan. She was 80 and had not only adopted a son 45 years earlier, but lived long enough to meet her daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.

This week is the 155th anniversary of Mollie's birth. Remembering her, her family, and her life!

Wrench or Sliders Offer Options for a Fresh View

I needed a fresh view of this 1800s/1900s naturalization document for Louis Mandel (1862-1914), whose son married into the Roth family, cousins of my Farkas family. Louis's grandson and namesake is my 2c1r. 

Above, the original document as it appeared in the Ancestry database, with white print on a black background. I found the dates a little difficult to decipher. 

At far right of screen, I clicked the wrench symbol to see various tools for viewing this document. (See image here --> for a close-up of the wrench.)

When a document has a dark background and white print, maybe "invert colors" will make it more readable. 

After inverting, I found it easier to read about Louis Mandel, a tailor living on Stanton Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, who arrived at the port of New York on November 20, 1890. He declared his intention to seek US citizenship on July 22, 1896 . . . and he became a US citizen on July 19, 1906.

Even better, as I clicked through the multiple documents in Louis's file, all were inverted to black on white after I inverted the first in the series. 

For other documents, I've used other tools, such as rotating left or right when a document has writing in more than one direction or a photo doesn't appear right side up. Not new tricks, but good tools to keep in mind, available under the wrench symbol on Ancestry. 

Similar tools are available on FamilySearch, as shown in image directly above. Here, the symbol is a pair of sliders leading to this menu (see red outline). Adjust  brightness and contrast, invert image colors, rotate image. Such handy tools.

PS: Teresa notes that Find My Past has similar tools (invert colors, contrast, etc) for use by subscribers.

"Symbol" is this week's #52Ancestors genealogy challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. 

Book Review: The Complete Guide to Lineage Societies

The Complete Guide to Lineage Societies is a unique new book written by Dr. Kimberly Ormsby Nagy, an accredited genealogist who knows a great deal about lineage societies: She's a member of more than three dozen, and has been a Registrar for several societies. 

Now Dr. Nagy has written a concise and informative handbook about lineage societies, explaining what such societies offer, describing how membership works, exploring eligibility, and moving through the application process, step by step.

Considering that my husband's ancestral background could qualify him for several lineage societies, I was interested in this book and appreciated the author's ability to clearly capture the key points of who, what, where, and how in only 80 pages.

The table of contents for this new book is:

Chapter 1: What is a lineage society? The author explains the premise, which is to recognize and honor a specific group of people, such as early settlers in certain regions, those who fought in particular wars, descendants of royalty, and so on. 

Chapter 2: What does a lineage society do? In addition to honoring a certain group of ancestors, a lineage society's mission may focus on historic preservation, a charitable cause, education, or patriotism.

Chapter 3: How to locate a lineage society - A variety of suggestions for how to find and connect with a lineage society, online or on social media and beyond.

Chapter 4: Eligibility - This chapter looks at the two main elements of eligibility: lineage and service.

Chapter 5: Beginning the application process - What to expect when approaching a society about applying for membership.

Chapter 6: Documenting your lineage - One of the two main elements of eligibility is proven lineage from a qualifying ancestor. The author outlines acceptable types of lineage proof (not online family trees!) and provides helpful tips for finding and documenting descent from that key ancestor.

Chapter 7: Documenting your ancestor's qualifying service - The type of "service" is determined by each lineage society; some are based on military service, some on civil activities, some on occupations, etc. This chapter points readers in the direction of sources for service documentation. 

Chapter 8: Completing the application - Illustrated with pages from actual applications, this chapter guides readers through the process of putting specific info on the application for submission to the society.

Chapter 9: What next? Waiting for a response, and what comes after acceptance: going to meetings, reading publications, getting involved.

Chapter 10: Special considerations - A potpourri of possibilities, such as understanding whether collateral descent qualifies and lineage societies for children.

Appendix: Selected listing of lineage societies, some that are well known (General Society of Mayflower Descendants) and some not as well known (Hereditary Order of the Red Dragon), with web contacts.

Selected Bibliography: Books for lineage-related research and sources for researching the "service" of a qualifying ancestor. 

I recommend Dr. Nagy's book as a practical introduction to the world of lineage societies and a roadmap to moving through the entire process, from figuring out what society to join to gathering/documenting lineage and service proof and then working on the application. For readers with intermediate and advanced genealogy research skills, the resources named are likely to be mostly familiar--but curated with an eye toward what lineage societies require for an application to be approved.

Please note: The Genealogical Publishing Company sent me a free review copy of this book, and it has previously provided free review copies of other books. My reviews always reflect my honest opinions, without regard to any outside influence.

"There Slumbers the Dust of our Father and an Infant Brother"

Traveling to the California Gold Rush in March of 1852, my husband's third great aunt Asenath Cornwell Larimer (1808-1897) wrote in her journal about family members who had passed away and whose burial places she would never see or never see again.

At top, Asenath and two of her children in the 1850 US Census, with unusually accurate info. She was indeed born in Canada (Hallowell, Prince Edward Island). She was 42 years old at the time of the Census, her son James Elmer was 10, and her daughter Nancy Elizabeth was 4. Three other sons were living with family and neighbors, helping as farmhands or learning a trade. She left all her children behind two years after this Census, when she and her brother John Cornwell (1812-1883) set out to seek their fortune in California.

In the first part of their journey west, Asenath and her brother boarded a steamboat that took them past Gallipolis, Ohio, where they had grown up. Asenath looked back on her childhood and thought about the family members she had lost up to that point. She wrote:

There slumbers the dust of our Father [David Cornwell] and an infant brother [unnamed baby Cornwell]. Oh how strangely scattered is the remains of those of us who are dead. Father and brother here [Gallipolis]; Mother at Macarthur's town [Phoebe G Goldsmith Cornwell, buried in McArthur, Ohio]; Sister, her children and my first-born at New Plymouth [Lucinda Cornwell Eggleston, Phoebe Eggleston, unnamed baby Larimer]; my husband [James Larimer], Elkhart, Indiana; brother David [Cornwell Jr.] in Feather River, California and none to care or mourn or look after his remains. 

I've looked for a tombstone or obit for David Cornwell Jr. but found nothing, not surprising in those Gold Rush days. No tombstones for Asenath's infant brother and first-born child, both dead before 1835. They are remembered today because she cared enough to write about them on page 2 of her Gold Rush journal. 

 "Tombstone" is this week's prompt for the #52Ancestors challenge by Amy Johnson Crow. 

Four Larimer Brothers Fought for the Union

I'm in the home stretch of completing a booklet about my husband's ancestors and their in-laws who fought in all major wars involving the United States, from the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the US Civil War through the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. I want to describe not only their military service but also their family lives. Most are not in my hubby's direct line, but my goal is to honor and memorialize those in the tree who served their country during wartime.

Four Larimer brothers, my husband's first cousins four times removed, fought for the Union during the US Civil War: Isaac Newton Larimer, Jacob Wright Larimer, John C. Larimer, and Harvey H. Larimer. I used clues from a printed Larimer genealogy book plus the usual research sources (obit, vital records, military records, news reports) to write a brief narrative of each man, with emphasis on military service but also including spouse(s), children, occupation, and other details of interest.

Focus on Isaac and Marilda

At top, an excerpt from my bite-sized bio page about Isaac Newton Larimer (1828-1910), a farmer who enlisted early in the war, despite being married and the father of a growing family. To illustrate, I included a table showing his war service, drawn from the Illinois State Archives. I highlighted two events in bright blue. 

• During his first major battle, Isaac was captured (one of 55 held) and escaped after 23 days, rejoining his unit.
• At the Battle of Missionary Ridge, won by the Union, Isaac was shot in the face and nearly died. But he did recover and, with only one good eye, continued serving with his unit until the end of his enlistment period.
  

Three years and three months after joining the 35th Illinois Infantry, Isaac was mustered out and went home to his family farm. He and his wife Marilda McCreary Larimer (1835-1905) had 11 children, including a youngster who passed away in infancy. I hope Isaac and Marilda told their descendants stories about the early days, including the other three Larimer brothers who served their country. 

Sharing family history more widely

Creating a booklet such as this is one way to let future generations of my husband's family know about the lives of those who came before. Want more ideas about preserving and perpetuating family history? Please see my genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.

As a byproduct of this booklet, I'm repurposing the bite-sized bios of these men and women and posting online. For instance, I've submitted Isaac's service details to his Find a Grave memorial and also adopted his orphaned WikiTree profile, adding his bio and details. This has led to enriching other WikiTree profiles connected to Isaac, such as his wife's profile. There will be more profiles enriched as I continue to share family history in many places so these military ancestors will not be forgotten. 

Back to School with Lola McClure Lower

With school starting, it's a good time to remember the life of my husband's great aunt, Lola A. McClure Lower (1877-1948). Lola graduated from Wabash High School in Indiana in 1894, aged 17, and became a teacher. In 1903 she married Edward A. Lower (1873-1920). The couple had a daughter and two sons together, making their home in Wabash, Indiana.

Edward had already built a solid career as a civil engineer. His employers included a lumber company, a coal company, and several municipalities. In 1900 he was enumerated in the Census along with other civil engineers, a locomotive engineer, and surveyors' assistants who were living and working in the Woodville District of the Chickasaw Nation, part of the territory that became the 46th U.S. state of Oklahoma in 1907. 

Sadly, by 1918, Edward was bedridden and unable to sign his WWI draft registration card on his own. He made an X that was witnessed and signed. By that time, Lola had already gone back to work. With her education and her teaching background, Lola was named as the Wabash truant officer in 1916 (Indianapolis News, Aug 29 1916, p. 20). Edward died in 1920, just 47 years old. 

Lola continued to serve as a truant officer (later known as an attendance officer) for many years. During the Great Depression, she experienced pay problems as Wabash (both city and county) grappled with financial woes. In 1932, the county reduced her salary to $4.24 per day for the 180 days of her contract (The News-Sentinel, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, Sept 12, 1932). 

Worse was yet to come. In 1933, she worked without pay from January through March (possibly beyond) as the county insisted it had not appropriated the funds for her salary and therefore had effectively abolished the position as of the start of that year. Lola went to court, arguing that she worked for the Wabash city board of education and should be paid by the city--and she won her back pay (Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette, Oct 12, 1935).

From the late 1930s into the early 1940s, Lola worked as an investigator for a local town's trustee and for the state unemployment commission. She was also a long-time volunteer valued for her leadership abilities. She passed away in 1948 at the age of 70. 

In 1985, when her son Edward recorded an oral history about his mother in Wabash, Indiana, he recalled that: "She was a tall, dignified-looking woman. She was musical. She played organs, even pipe organs, always played piano." He added that she was a good cook "but she was always in public life. She was secretary of the Red Cross for 25 years, and she handled the job well. She read law. She knew everything. She was on the board of Associated Charities in Wabash."

I'm remembering Lola McClure Lower as students go back to school across the United States, including her home state of Indiana. 

Freaky Friday Ancestor Switch Wish

Remember the movie Freaky Friday? The most recent version of this body-switch comedy was in 2003, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. In the movie, a mysterious fortune cookie causes mother and daughter to wake up in each other's bodies. Only a temporary switch, of course--by the end of the movie, each has been switched back and they now share a stronger bond of understanding.

My Freaky Friday wish is to switch places for a single day with a single ancestor: Leni Louise Winkler (1909-1997). Leni (Americanized to Louise after she immigrated here in 1941) was my 1c1r, a dear niece of my maternal grandpa Teddy Schwartz.

The day I would like to be Leni is her wedding day, a Friday, August 2, 1929 in what was then Ungvar, Hungary (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine). Leni was about to turn 20 and she was marrying Jeno Eugene Preisz (1906-1979), their surname later Americanized to Price. Leni's family gathered from far and wide to attend the wedding, including her great uncle Sam Schwartz, an honored guest who came all the way from New York City to serve as a witness. He returned home to New York City on September 4, 1929 (see passenger list from S.S. Homeric above).

As Leni in 1929, I would get to meet not only her parents and siblings and cousins but also her grandmother, Hani Simonowitz Schwartz (1858-1933). This would be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate an especially happy occasion with relatives and friends, people I know today only as names on a family tree.

As Leni in 1929, I wouldn't be aware that in the future, four siblings would be killed in the Holocaust, along with other members of the Schwartz, Simonowitz, and Winkler families. Happily, two of her brothers were survivors who submitted Yad Vashem testimony about relatives who were killed. Sis and I are in touch with a descendant of a Schwartz survivor, a cousin connection we treasure.

As Leni in 1929, I wouldn't yet know that with her husband and young daughter, she would leave Europe during WWII, obtaining passports in Marseilles in January, 1941, and sailing to New York from Lisbon. The three landed in New York City on Friday, April 15, 1941 and went on to build a new life--helping Leni's two brothers when they came to America after the war.

Well, for just one Freaky Friday, I wish I could stand in for Leni as she married on a special Friday in the presence of her loving family and friends. While I'm in Leni's shoes, she would be in mine, having my wonderful Sis show her the family tree and ask for identifications of old family photos. 

Kossuth Association Plot Photos on Multiple Sites

The Jewish Genealogical Society of New York maintains a database of more than 10,000 society burial plots located in dozens of New York area cemeteries. Recently, the JGSNY asked for photos of society plot gates or columns to be submitted so those who search the database will not only find out the exact location but also see the gates. 

My Farkas ancestors are buried in the Kossuth Association plot of Mount Hebron Cemetery in Queens, New York. Above, the entry in the JGSNY database. Note there's no photo in this screen shot. Very soon there will be! I submitted the composite photo shown at top, to be added to illustrate this burial society's entry in the JGSNY database. Since only one photo can be posted per burial society, the JGSNY recommended putting several photos together into one composite to show more. That's what I did.

Then I went to Find a Grave and added the same composite photo to the cemetery photos of the memorial page for Alex Farkas, who led the cemetery committee for the Kossuth Assn. I'll write a bite-sized bio for this page to explain. After all, family history is written on those gates.

I want to memorialize this burial plot in more than once place not only because it's where my ancestors are buried but also because my ancestors were cofounders of the society, which helped Jewish immigrants from Hungary to get settled in New York City. 

It's My 16th Blogiversary!

My very first genealogy blog post appeared on August 25, 2008, concerning the search for my great-grandfather Meyer Mahler's death date and place. Since then, I've written nearly 1,850 posts about my family tree, my husband's family tree, genealogy research, family history preservation, methodology, issues, technology, book reviews, vintage postcards, old photos, and more. 

Now I'm entering my 17th year of genealogy blogging, still with many topics to explore. I'm working on a few posts about curating your family history collection (as in my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past). Also in the works: posts about revisiting ancestors and research from years ago, getting insight into ancestors' lives through old newspaper items, and lots more!

Thank you, from my heart, to my regular readers . . . and a special thank you to the many cousins and FAN club members (friends, associates, neighbors of my ancestors) who have been in touch through this blog. The genealogy journey continues!