Genealogy Bloggers on BlueSky

For the past few months on the BlueSky social media platform, I've been asking genealogy and family history bloggers to share their blog addresses. 

Here is the list of 105+ bloggers who have provided their links as of March 2025. Note that some folks haven't blogged much lately but they are active on BlueSky:

* Hilary Gadsby's blog

* Jana Iverson Last's blog

* Celia Lewis's blog

* Brenda Leyndyke's blog

* Rahkia Nance's blog

* Mike DeBacker's blog

* Jean "Helen" Wheel's blog

* Rebecca Stanley's blog

* Allison Peacock's blog

* Simon Briercliffe's blog

* Molly Charboneau's blog

* Sheri Bush's blog

* J. L. Lee's blog

* Sophie Kay's blog

* J.R. Randall's blog

* Jenny Hawran's blog

* Claire Bradley's blog

* The Graveyard Snoop's blog

* Yvette Hoitink's blog

* Liz G's blog

* Liz G's One-Place Study blog

* Ian Hadden's blog

* Jane Hough's blog

* Steve Little's blog

* Fred Dew's blog

* Family Wise's blog

* Christine McCloud's blog

* Sharon O. Brown's blog

* Lene Kottal's blog

* Chris Ferraiolo's blog

* Roberta Estes' blog

* Heather Wilkinson Rojo's blog

* Alison Spring's blog

* Carol K. Petranek's blog

* Michael Kirk's blog

* Jennie Hart's blog

* J. Paul Hawthorne's blog

* Kira D. Foltz's blog

* Carmel Galvin's blog

* Aryn Youngless's blog

* Martin Roe's blog

* Trish Stumpf Garcia's blog

* Daniel Loftus' blog

* Lina Goldberg's blog

* Kirsten Max-Douglas's blog

* Chris Wright's blog

* Jen Eggleston's blog

* Clare Kirk's blog

* Sophie Boudarel's blog

* Sue Wyatt's blog

* Stacy Ashmore Cole's blog

* Carolynn ni Lochlainn's blog

* Sean Vanderfluit's blog

* Marlee Logan's blog

* Susan's blog

* Paul Chiddicks' blog

* Paul Chiddicks' Old Palace School Bombing blog

* Natalie Pithers' blog

* Christopher Padgett's blog

* Miriam Robbins' blog

* Cathy Meder-Dempsey's blog

* Aine ni Donnghaile's blog

* Julie Muirhead's blog

* Mellisa F. Donahoe's blog

* Joanne Barnard's blog

* Bryna O'Sullivan's blog

* Emily Randall Paz's blog 

* D.L. MacLaughlan Dumes‬' blog

* Auriette's blog

* Gail Dever's blog

* Barb's blog

* Jane Chapman's blog

* Jill Ball's blog

* Kathleen Sperling's blog

* Ken McKinlay's blog

* Joan Bos's blog

* Karen P. Rhodes' blog

* Colleen Murray's blog

* Deborah Ray's blog

* Marcia C. Philbrick's blog

* Anne Young's blog

* Judy G. Russell's blog

* Fiona Stone's blog

* Kim Brengle's blog

* Xanthe Hall's blog

* Carolyn Shannon's blog

* Stephanie Glotfelty's blog

* Laura L. Hedgecock's blog

* Patty Hankins' blog

* Earl A. Daniels' blog

* Phyllis Zumwalt's blog

* Margaret Riordan's blog

* pwME's blog

* David Annal's blog

* Liz Craig's blog

* Megan Smolenyak's blog

* Blaine Bettinger's archives

* Helen Parker-Drabble's blog 

* Linda Yip's blog

* Barbara Tien's site

* Marie Cooke Beckman's blog

* Simon Young's blog

* Pauleen Cass's blog

* Pauleen Cass's emigration blog

* Andrew Redfern's blog

* Dai Davies' blog

* Melanie McComb's blog

* Noreen's blog

* Elizabeth Bond's blog

Note: I'm on BlueSky as @climbingfamilytree.bsky.social‬

More blogs to be added as I receive more responses from the genealogy community on BlueSky. 

Be a Good Ancestor and Share Your Own Story

Photo books are one way of sharing your story now.

Are you taking the time to tell your own story? Be a good ancestor and share your own story so future generations will have a sense of what your life has been like.

My choice: photo books

I began to systematically document my life and family experiences in 2007, when I made the first of what became an annual series of photo books. My goal was to capture some of the most significant or fun things that happened during the year, so I could look back and rekindle those memories. But I also realized that photo books look polished and can be passed down for decades to come.

Every year since, I've created at least one photo book of what my husband and I and our family did during the previous 12 months. I call the book something like "Our life in photos" or "2023 in photos." I caption every photo. If there's a large group photo or two, I include full names once in the book. At top, a photo of many of the photo books I've made over the years, displayed on a book shelf for easy access.

When we have a big family gathering of relatives from far and near, I often make a photo book to remember the fun and the food and the activities. This is where my family and I get those photos off our phones and into print or albums to browse again and again.

My system: I set up a digital folder at the start of every year and put photos into it as the weeks go on. By December, I have dozens of photos to arrange into a colorful book of memories. Not everything makes the final cut, but I have a good range of photos to use. This works for me, but do whatever works for you.

Of course I wait for sales and coupons before I press the buy button. My vendors of choice are Shutterfly, MixBook, and Snapfish, thanks to their quality and customization possibilities.

Your life, your way

There are so many ways to document your life so you can enjoy the memories and share with those who come after. Here are just a few ideas to start.

Well-known genealogy blogger Randy Seaver regularly blogs about his weekly activities. He stresses that family historians should make a point of telling their own stories, not just the stories of ancestors from the past. 

If you or your family like to send an annual Christmas or holiday letter, that's a good way to talk about the ups/downs of the year and include a photo or three. 

My husband writes a monthly letter to younger relatives, with highlights of what he's been doing and stories of interest. He sends his letters the old-school way, because he likes to include a photo and because snail mail doesn't get lost in a sea of emails.

Some folks have a private Facebook page or website for sharing family photos and memories. Since I'm unhappy with FB at the moment, I'm not going down that path but I do know people who have multigenerational FB pages to share family news, old and new.

Just do it

Experiment to see what works best for you and your situation and your budget. Don't worry about capturing every moment and every memory. Be a good ancestor and make 2025 the year you share key photos and memories with family today and keep your life stories available for descendants of tomorrow.

Remembering the "Walter Winchells" of the Farkas Family Tree

My maternal Grandma Hermina Farkas Schwartz (1886-1964) was part of the first generation in the Farkas Family Tree, founded in 1933 to keep the Farkas siblings and their descendants in close contact. 

Fortunately, the founders had the foresight to keep written minutes (originally in cursive, but quickly switched to typed) of their 10 meetings per year. And that's how I learned which member was the designated "Walter Winchell" of each year.

Good & Welfare Chair = Walter Winchell

The idea was to have one person in charge of gathering family gossip (good, bad, funny) and reporting during the monthly meeting. Even when someone had the mumps or broke an arm, the info was shared with a bit of spin to make it lighter if possible. The official title of that part of the meeting was "Good and Welfare." 

The star of that portion of the meeting was that year's Walter Winchell, nicknamed for the well-known newspaper columnist and radio personality who specialized in gossip. 

During 1942, when several members were serving in World War II, the yearend summary of the minutes included this cheeky comment: "Brother George F____ distinguished himself as the Walter Winchell of the Farkas Family Tree, ferreting out the military secrets and relating them with gusto at the meetings."

Grandpa as Winchell

My maternal Grandpa Theodore Schwartz (1887-1965) served as the family tree's Winchell in 1946 and 1947. In May of 1946, he reported 11 "items" such as who was home from the U.S. Army, who had new jewelry, who had a new job, who was out of the hospital, and who was planning a summer vacation.

Throughout his tenure, Grandpa's good and welfare items mixed sad news (the death of an older family member, a car accident that put someone in the hospital) with happier news (someone accepted to Yale, someone having a baby). 

Thank you to our Walter Winchells 

Even as the original tree members aged, the minutes were also filled with increasingly hopeful Winchell reports of the youngest generation: school achievements, graduations, first cars, first jobs, engagements, and so on. Having these moments captured on the page, as they took place, was a wonderful gift for the future. 

Thank you to the many Walter Winchells who served in the family tree, 1933-1964. 

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

1921 Census of England and Wales on Ancestry Hints

 The 1921 Census of England and Wales is now available on Ancestry. Subscribers can search that Census directly from this page.

You will soon be able to see 1921 Census hints show up under the category of "new collections" on the hints page. Above is a photo of my husband's Ancestry family tree hints page. So far, only 4 "new collections" hints have appeared but there's a reason.

Remember, to stimulate the hints system, you need to click on your ancestors and do a little searching. There are several dozen UK ancestors on the tree, but I've only researched four of those folks in the past week since the 1921 Census went live on Ancestry. 

So now I'm researching those UK residents and stimulating the hints system to list additional suggestions. I like that the 1921 Census is highlighted under "new collections" and hope Ancestry will continue doing that with major new databases it adds. 

Suits Meet Flapper at Thanksgiving Dinner, 1956

One of my favorite photos shows my maternal grandfather, uncle, and aunt at a very memorable Thanksgiving gathering of the Farkas Family Tree.

The family tree association, founded in 1933, had been getting together for Thanksgiving dinners for more than two decades. 

In 1956, the setting was the Hotel Gramercy Park in Manhattan, convenient to Farkas relatives and in-laws who lived in and around New York City. For this dinner, attendees were asked to come in costume. Many worked hard on elaborate (sometimes outlandish) outfits.

As shown above, my Auntie Dorothy Schwartz (1919-2001) dressed as a flapper. The two men with her wore suit and tie for the occasion: Her father, Theodore "Teddy" Schwartz (1887-1965) and her brother, Fred Shaw (1912-1991). My aunt all dressed up as a flapper makes me smile!

Here's another fun photo from this same batch of scanned snap shots, both colorized using the fantastic photo tools at MyHeritage.

During the dinner, costumed attendees paraded around the room in competition for the crowd's vote of "best costume." My Dad (Harold Burk, 1909-1978) dressed as a hayseed (he's at far right). Although he didn't win, he had a grand time working the crowd for votes.  

Amy Johnson Crow provides prompts for every week of the year in her ongoing #52Ancestors in 52 Weeks program. This week's prompt is "Favorite Photo."

Participating in 52 Ancestors and WikiTree Connect-A-Thons

In 2025, I'm adding to my family history stories and expanding my online family tree by participating in two free genealogy activities: Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks and the WikiTree Connect-a-Thons. 

#52Ancestors

Introduced in 2013, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a great way to jump-start writing about family history because Amy provides a genealogy prompt for every week of the year. No rules, no obligation to write every week, not even a blog is necessary. Participants receive a helpful prompt open to personal interpretation, plus we can join Amy's Generations Cafe Facebook page to share stories. Write in any way, use any tools or technologies you wish.

I rarely write about all the prompts but I usually choose one per month as a starting point for blogging about some story or a new or interesting discovery. The first prompt of 2025 was "In the Beginning" and I wrote about starting to research an in-law line in my hubby's family tree. 

For the rest of January, Amy's prompts are: Week 2, favorite photo; Week 3, nickname; Week 4, overlooked. Interpret as you wish, write what you wish, with no deadlines. 

WikiTree Connect-a-Thon

To enhance my online family trees, with a bit of extra research as I go along, I'm also participating in the WikiTree Connect-a-Thons during this year.

The first is on the long weekend of January 17-20th. WikiTree is a free, collaborative family tree platform that emphasizes solid sources and provides plenty of space for ancestor biographies. I have individual family trees on Ancestry, MyHeritage, and other sites, but I've been adding to WikiTree to share what I know about ancestors in more ways and on more sites.

A Connect-a-Thon offers the opportunity to focus on adding ancestors to this worldwide tree in a fun and friendly atmosphere, with a touch of short-term competition if you choose to join one of the many teams. I'm part of Team L'Chaim.

WikiTreers have live video chats during each day of the Connect-a-Thon. Here's the video schedule, and if you miss the live chat you can catch up by viewing the recording on the YouTube channel. 

Hello 2025, hello more family history and genealogy discoveries to share. 

At the Beginning, A Sad End

I'm just beginning my research into the family background of two in-law ancestors in my husband's family: Piacentino "Peter" Pietroniro (1901-1979) and his wife, Anna Yurko Pietroniro (1910-1989). This couple married in 1929. I have the date and the officiant's name, and will be doing more research to identify the church.

Peter was an immigrant from Casacalenda, Italy who crossed the Atlantic in search of work and, like many from his area, settled in Cleveland, Ohio during the 1920s. 

Anna was one of 7 children born to immigrants from Hazlin, Czechoslovakia (now an area in Slovakia). Her father and some of her siblings worked in Cleveland steel mills. 

Multiple newspaper searches

Searching for the surnames Yurko and Pietroniro on multiple newspaper sites, I initially came across a surprising mention of Yurko in the Enakopravnost newspaper, a Slovenian-language publication in Cleveland that is in the OldNews.com database.  

Using the "Google Lens" app, I aimed the camera of my phone at the news item on my screen and took a photo of the translation.

It was a horrifically sad news report: Anna Yurko's 17-year-old nephew, Joseph Yurko, committed suicide by hanging himself after his widowed father "asked him to leave work during the holidays and stay at home with his four younger brothers and sisters."

Then I used GenealogyBank to look for any items about young Joseph's death and located a brief piece in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, p. 2 on 25 July 1947. The headline and subhead read:

Heartsick, Hangs Self--Boy, 17, broken up by request to quit job, says coroner.

This news item explained that the father had been unable to hire a housekeeper after the death of his wife the previous year. So during the summer months, when the father had to work but school was out, he wanted his oldest son to care for the younger children. But on the morning of July 24th, the father went down to the basement and found young Joseph's body 😥

Confirming Joseph's birth and death

Using the newspaper info as clues, I quickly found the mother's death a year earlier and learned that Joseph Robert Yurko was born on 11 June 1930 and died on 24 July 1947. His death cert confirms that death was due to suicide by hanging, a really tragic end to this high schooler's life. Joseph was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland, where many in the Yurko family were laid to rest. 

I was flabbergasted to see, from the 1950 US Census, that the Yurko family remained in the home where poor Joseph had died...his father had remarried and the household included the new wife, those younger children, plus a stepson.

So as I begin my Yurko and Pietroniro research, I've added all this sad news to the family tree.

"Beginning" is the first #52Ancestors genealogy prompt of 2025, from Amy Johnson Crow. 

Entering My 27th Year of Genealogy

Happy new year! My genealogy journey began in 1998, when a beloved maternal first-cousin-once-removed asked me a routine family history question about my father's father. I knew only the man's name, not his birth or death date or place. Curiosity led to determination and then to obsession and as I continued my research, I discovered loads of cousins who were new to me! 

Now 27 years later, I'm still excited about connecting with cousins and connecting the dots for a more complete, more accurate family tree. Most important to me is to keep sharing what I learn so the knowledge isn't lost to future generations. That means writing/posting more bite-sized ancestor bios and using other means of perpetuating the names and stories. It also means regularly backing up my genealogy data to keep everything safe.

These days it's so easy take photos with phones yet easy to forget to get those photos off phones and share. I'm making a point of sharing right now. And in the coming year I plan to get even more family stories into the heads of other family members to keep them alive.

During the holidays, two grandchildren asked about their immigrant ancestors who lived in Cleveland, Ohio. You know I have stories and info to share--redoing the research to find anything new for a new family history photo book I'll create this year, including when and why these ancestors left their homelands. Spoiler alert: they came to America in search of economic opportunity, settled in Cleveland where others from their home villages had already put down roots.

Happy ancestor hunting in 2025! You never know what discoveries await this year. 

Happy New Year with Vintage Postal Greetings

 

From the archives of Wood family history, two penny postal greeting cards sent to Cleveland in the early 1900s. Cousins, aunts, uncles, siblings all exchanged cards like these to keep connections strong in the Wood family.

May your new year in 2025 be peaceful and bright. 

Wow! Reclaim the Records Got BIRLS Files for Us for Free

Reclaim the Records, that terrific nonprofit fighting to make public records public, won a lawsuit that makes a huge US military veterans' database available to all for the very first time--at no charge. And they didn't stop there. 

Reclaim the Records created not just a neat searchable website for finding US veterans in the BIRLS (Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem), it built in a super-easy, super-convenient process for asking for Veterans Affairs records via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with just a few clicks and an electronic signature.

Read the fine print on the BIRLS site (birls.org) to see what documentation is included in these veterans' records. Also note that you don't have to be a relative or prove any connection to request the records. And be aware there may be a small charge for the records you ultimately want to receive.

In less than 5 minutes, I searched for a cousin's name in the database, found him, checked the details to verify, and submitted a FOIA request. This process ordinarily means writing a request, signing the document, and faxing it to the VA. (In fact, I used the old-fashioned "write a letter and fax" process just a few weeks ago.) Now, thanks to Reclaim the Records, those different steps are automatically built into the streamlined process right on birls.org. 

Today's request through the Reclaim extra-convenient process is the first of many I intend to submit. No doubt the VA will initially be overwhelmed by a tsunami of requests. But it will eventually catch up and oh boy I can barely wait to see what info I get that will become part of family history!

Vintage Christmas Greetings from the Wood Family

 

These colorful greetings are just two of the many penny postal greetings sent to a young Wood relative in Cleveland, Ohio from about 1907 to 1915.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah!

Remembering Alex and Jennie's Christmas Eve Wedding

On December 24, 1916, my maternal great uncle Alexander Farkas (1885-1948) married Jennie Katz (1886-1974). Alex, an immigrant from Hungary, was a salesman for Singer Sewing Machines, and would turn 31 years old on the day after his wedding. Jennie, also an immigrant, was 30 years old and an accomplished dressmaker, able to look at a fashion item and sew it up with her own special flair. 

Their wedding was a fun family affair, including Alex's many siblings and their spouses plus a few of Jennie's Katz relatives. The one child at their wedding was Alex's nephew Fred Schwartz, who was only four years old. In the surviving wedding photo, the guests are wearing party hats and smiling broadly. Must have been quite the celebration!

Alex and Jennie got married in what was then the First Hungarian Congregation Ohab Zedek, a beautiful Greek Revival-style synagogue on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Today, the building is a performance space just a few blocks from the Tenement Museum that illuminates immigrant life in the Big Apple from 1860s-1970s. 

The couple had no children and doted on their many nephews and nieces. Jennie eventually became so successful under the professional name Madame Jennie Farkas that Alex quit his job to help manage her business. After Alex died in 1948, at age 62, Jennie continued to stitch custom creations for clients and also made fashions for special family events. She passed away at age 88 in 1974, deeply mourned by the Farkas family. 

Linking to Digitized Genealogy Booklets

When I began my genealogy journey in 1998, I had access to a photocopied edition of a Larimer family history booklet printed in 1959. My late mom-in-law had marked changes/corrections/additions, giving me a head start on tracing this line. Years later, I inherited the original (a silvery booklet) and now I can see the changes even more clearly. Plus I feel free to mark up my photocopied version 😉

Not all Larimer researchers know about this booklet. If I hadn't had the Wood family's photocopied edition, I probably would not have known! 

Yet this Larimer booklet has been available via Family Search for a long time; only in recent years has it been digitized for easy access by anyone, from anywhere. Now I've been including links to it on Larimer ancestor bios, hoping to help other researchers interested in the family's background. 

As shown above, I included a link to the Larimer book on the MyHeritage bio of Brice S. Larimer. Anyone can follow the link and see the entire book. There are other ways to add such links: as a link along with other sources, for instance.

I also included the link on Brice S. Larimer's profile on the public tree I posted on Ancestry (as shown above). 

Over time, I'm adding this link to other Larimer ancestors and on other genealogy sites, including WikiTree and FamilySearch--making it a snap for others to access the digitized booklet. Despite its limitations, the booklet has plenty of clues for researching the Larimer line. My good deed is sharing the link far and wide.

Good deed is the week 51 prompt for Amy Johnson Crow's fun #52Ancestors genealogy challenge. I've already joined Amy's challenge for 2025. If you want to join, here's the link. 

Looking Back at 2024 Family History Progress

This has been another busy year of genealogy, with many projects and ongoing plans for sharing family history with future generations.

• Bite-sized ancestor bios continue as a major priority, and I'm making great progress. Some bios are quite detailed, some are quite brief (2-4 sentences) but all are intended to keep ancestors' memories alive for the future. The chart at right shows the main surnames I've profiled so far on WikiTree during 2024. No one has posted more bio profiles of Larimer surnames than me! Larimer was the name of my husband's immigrant ancestor back in the 1700s. 
• I've been redoing genealogy research on key ancestors, because new documents, stories, and photos become available all the time. Lots of progress here too, searching not only vital records databases but also newspaper databases for mentions of ancestors. Plus I've begun the process of learning more about my Dad's WWII military service and postwar health, following the steps recommended by Alec Ferretti in his webinar about US military pension records. I'm awaiting a response from the VA about Dad's file, which should have lots of info. 
• Getting rid of unneeded paper in my genealogy files...an ongoing process that has resulted in many trips to the recycle bin. Bonus: I'm following up on details that now have more significance than they did when I first saw a document or photo a decade or more in the past--meaning I'm putting the pieces together and learning more even as I downsize my paper files.
• I'm still telling family history stories, in books as well as orally. This year I created a small (6" x 6") book about my husband's Mayflower ancestors so that descendants will have this important background in writing! One grandchild actually asked a question about it 👍
• Little progress on a project I began two years ago: moving old photos from archival boxes to archival photo albums for the convenience of the younger generation. I want them to be able to browse albums and read captions instead of pawing through archival boxes. Maybe in 2025.
• Cousin connections continue! I've heard from a number of cousins interested in our family tree and with additional info to share. I'm thankful for their assistance.

Remembering Abraham Berk and the Hebrew Sick Benefit Assn of Montreal

 

My grandfather and his older brother, Abraham Berk (1877-1962), left their home country of Lithuania around the turn of the 20th century. They stopped off with their aunt and uncle in Manchester, England, learning a new language and making extra money for their trip across the Atlantic. Both were trained in carpentry and cabinet making, both able to make a living anywhere.

While in Manchester, Abraham fell in love and married Anna Horwich (1880-1948) in 1903. By mid-1904, he was on a ship bound for Canada while she stayed behind, awaiting the birth of their first child. He found a place to live in Montreal and began working, sending for Anna and their daughter Rose in 1905. The couple soon added to their family with three more children: Lily, William, and Irving Isidore.

Incorporating the benevolent association

Redoing my research this week, I discovered a new-to-me legal notice published on Oct 31, 1919 in the Le Canada newspaper, via OldNews.com. 

Abraham Berk, contractor, was one of the people involved in incorporating the Hebrew Sick Benefit Association of Montreal. This association had already been active since 1892, and in fact it was the oldest mutual aid group of its type in Montreal. In 1919 it was being incorporated and as part of the process, the association published a legal notice about the change in status. Abraham was 42 years old at the time, and his wife Anna was 39. 

Buried in the association plot

In 1948, Anna Berk died, aged 68, and was buried in Baron de Hirsch Cemetery in Montreal, in the Hebrew Sick Benefit Association plot. Abraham was also buried there when he died on Dec 11, 1962, at age 85. 

Remembering great uncle Abraham on the anniversary of his death, a man devoted to family. 

Why I Love Address Books Handed Down from Ancestors!

I'm a big fan of scrutinizing address books handed down from ancestors in the tree. Especially since my maternal family tree has three men named Joseph Roth, it's been a challenge to determine who's descended from which Joseph and what the relationships are between the Roth branches. My connection is through a sibling of my great-grandmother who married a brother of Joseph Roth. 

Above, a snippet from the neatly printed loose-leaf address book of Joseph Roth (1858-1945), who was married to Julia Gutfried (1862-1937, name Americanized by others in the family as Goodfried). The book was handed down to a granddaughter who very kindly allowed me to scan and analyze the contents.

Matching names to the tree

I've worked my way through nearly all of this address book, matching the names and addresses to this Joseph Roth's children and grandchildren. This entry for Howard Weinberg initially puzzled me, especially the notation "private."

But I was also missing a spouse for Joseph Roth's granddaughter Vivian Ruth Rethy (1917-1991). Could Howard be Vivian's husband? Bear in mind, the address book didn't get handed down in Vivian's line, it was from one of the other Joseph Roth men in the tree 😉.

At the back of the address book was a list of names and dates. They were birth dates of Joseph's children, their spouses/children, and some in-laws. I matched "Vivian Weinberg" with her birthdate, and below her name was "Howerd __" meaning same surname as Vivian. 

Creatively spelled given name, but now I had a good hypothesis. I researched Howard Weinberg with the birth date in the phone book, and in conjunction with Vivian's name. I quickly found their marriage record and Census documents with street address, etc. 

Occupation and address matches 

Also I found Howard's WWII draft registration from 1940, showing his occupation as an optician. Continuing my search, I came up with a New York City phone book entry for an optometrist/optician in Manhattan, with both business and residence address/phone numbers.

These street addresses and phone numbers are an exact match for the address book kept by Joseph Roth, grandfather of Howard's wife. A bit more research and I had an obit for Howard Leonard Weinberg (1916-1985) who had retired from the Big Apple to Palm Beach, Florida. I'll do descendancy research to try to trace Howard and Vivian's two children.  With luck, more cousin connections are in my future.

Amy Johnson Crow's genealogy prompt for this week in her #52Ancestors series is "Handed Down." 

Remembering the Birth of Twins 105 Years Ago

Today is the 105th anniversary of the birth of my much-loved Mom (Daisy Schwartz Burk, 1919-1981) and her dear twin sister (Dorothy Schwartz, 1919-2001).

Their mother, my Grandma Minnie, dressed them alike when they were young. Although no names are on this late 1920s photo, I believe Mom is on the left and Auntie Dorothy is on the right. 

As shown below in the 1919 index of births in Bronx, New York, Dorothy's birth cert is 14223, and Daisy's birth cert is 14224, confirming that Mom was the younger twin.

Remembering Daisy and Dorothy's birth 105 years ago today. Always in our hearts.

Holiday Gifts with Family History in Mind

There are so many ways to add a family history touch to holiday gift-giving.

At left, a personalized holiday ornament showing a beloved ancestor with name, dates, and the inscription "in memory of" with a dove. 

Below, a woolen scarf from the area of Scotland where my husband's McClure ancestors originated. A few years ago, we gifted these to his siblings for winter wear.

Below, a tall mug personalized with the century-old photo of a cute young lady from the family tree. Our relatives treasure mugs and tumblers with reunion photos and other meaningful family photos from today and yesterday.

Above, an example of adding family photos old and new to personalize a calendar. Calendars like these have been part of my family's tradition for 16 years. A niece actually asked to take over the creative side because she enjoyed the calendars so much! This is her 4th year making the calendar.

Below, an ancestor woodcut (scanned and enlarged from a 135-year-old newspaper) transferred to a T-shirt. My husband wears this one all summer long and we gave shirts to the younger generation, too.

Finally, are you looking for a gift for yourself or a friend/relative who loves genealogy? Please consider my book, Planning A Future for Your Family's Past, a concise guide to organizing, storing, preserving, and sharing family history for today and tomorrow. Thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving from 1913

This holiday penny postcard was sent to my husband's uncle in Cleveland, Ohio in 1913. The eight-year-old recipient might not have been able to read the greeting written in cursive. The sender, living in Chicago, says she has "company just now and will write a longer letter very soon."

I'm not sure about the turkey's unique coloring but I do appreciate how my husband's ancestors stayed in touch for every holiday and in between.

Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

Family History: Ration Book Thanksgivings

 
On Thanksgiving weekend, my husband will be showing these ration coupons to our family and telling the story of how his parents (Marian Jane McClure Wood and Edgar James Wood) needed to bring their ration books to the store when they bought certain foods during World War II. Coffee rationing began in November, 1942, and ended in late July, 1943--spanning a single Thanksgiving. Other foods and items were rationed much longer.

I'm sure the younger relatives will have heard of wartime food rationing but most likely never saw actual ration coupons inside a personalized ration book. These coupons belonged to Marian, whose name and address are on the front of the book. 

Thankfully, the Wood family's ration books survived the past 80 years and are now stored in archival boxes in my home office, to be passed to the next generation along with stories. 

Do you have family history artifacts you can share on Thanksgiving to stimulate conversation and tell stories about ancestors' lives?

Remembering Leona Walaszczyk, Former Director of the Macy's Parade

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Polish-born Lee Wallace (1903-1989) was the head of public relations for Macy's in New York and therefore the boss of the store's hugely famous Thanksgiving Day Parade. In fact, 2024 is the 100th anniversary of this incredible parade!

The Parade always took place around the time of Lee's birthday, November 24th, so I doubt she had time for any personal celebrations. Lee was my aunt Dorothy Schwartz's beloved life partner. 

Walasyk to Wallace

Before I began writing this post, I reviewed my research and looked for anything new. It wasn't so long ago that I found out Lee had Americanized her surname from Walasyk to Wallace. 

Now I've uncovered a 1951 newspaper legal notice mentioning Lee and her brothers and their children. New news about Lee's original surname!

Walaszczyk to Walasyk to Wallace

Published in the Record newspaper of Hackensack, New Jersey, the notice announces that the undersigned will apply for a judgement authorizing them to "assume other names."

Interestingly, Lee was using the name "Leona Z Wallace" as long ago as 1936, when she applied for a Social Security number. I have a copy of that application. I wonder why the family, together, took legal steps to change to the Wallace name in 1951? (Update: A BlueSky follower suggested it might be due to one or more of the Wallace family members intending to apply for a US passport. That sounds quite likely!)

Anyway, by discovering their original surname was Walaszczyk, I was able to find her and her parents and siblings in the 1915 New Jersey Census and the 1920/30 US Census records. Her father Anthony was a silk weaver, as was her mother Frances. Lee's parents never simplified their surname to Walasyk, but her brothers did, and after their parents passed away, they all ultimately switched to Wallace in 1951.

Happy birthday to Leona Z. Walaszczyk (pronounced VALASHCHICK), who headed the most well-known Thanksgiving parade in the United States, with my Auntie Dorothy at her side. 

Did David Light Join the California Silver Rush?

My husband's Bentley ancestors moved from upstate New York to settle in Elkhart county, Indiana in the mid-1830s. William Tyler Bentley (1795-1873) and his wife Olivia Morgan Bentley (1799?-1838) had seven children before she died during a particularly severe winter in Indiana. 

William never remarried. About 1850, he went west to begin farming in Tulare County, California as it became a state. Many of his family members also went to California at that time to farm or raise livestock.

William's daughter Elizabeth E. Bentley (1821?-1898?) married widower Emanuel Light (1815-1897) in Elkhart, Indiana in 1847, becoming a stepmother to his sons David and Eugene. The family moved to California and settled in Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco. As adults, David Light and Eugene Light also became farmers in Santa Rosa (see top left of map).

Then why did David die in Silver City, California in 1863? He was reportedly 22 years old, and multiple news reports of his death only provide a date and a place.** Silver City is in the area now known as Sequoia National Park, a mountainous region that today has no year-round residents. Interestingly, Silver City (bottom right of map) is much closer to Tulare (where William Bentley died in 1873) than to Santa Rosa, where the rest of David's family lived.

Silver City was apparently part of the California Silver Rush. Was David seeking his fortune there? Or was he in Silver City for some other reason? As the map shows, it was more than 300 miles from his farm (and his father and brother), quite a long distance to travel in 1863. 

Remembering David Light (1839-1863), outlived by his brother Eugene Light (1840-1908) and his father Emanuel Light.

**UPDATE: Two wonderful readers recommended doing further newspaper research. Several newspapers, which I looked at previously, indicated Silver City without any state. This matters because other reports of deaths in those papers indicated a state only when the death took place outside of California. 

But! One report, in the Sonoma County Journal, indicated David M. Light died in "Silver City, N.T." which translates to Nevada Territory--the site of lots of Silver Rush action! (Nevada didn't become a state until 1864.)

Since Silver City, Nevada is closer to David Light's farm in Santa Rosa than Silver City, Calif., as shown on map above, it is very possible that David sought his fortune there in early 1863. I'm going to go with Nevada now that I've seen this additional death notice.

Sharing Ancestor Bite-Sized Bios More Widely Because LOCKSS

Another post about bite-sized ancestor bios! Many of my husband's US, Canadian, and UK ancestors served in the military over the years. Researching them over the past year, I prepared bite-sized bios as part of a family history booklet for the family. 

Most of the bios are 4-8 sentences long. I mention parents' names, birthplace, spouse, children, not just military service. Sometimes I include a sentence or two about significant military battles or awards, if appropriate. But even a couple of sentences will help flesh out a bit of the life of each military ancestor.

The next step was to share the bios on multiple websites so these ancestors and their military service is not forgotten. Remember, LOCKSS (lots of copies keep stuff safe).

Bite-sized bios on Fold3

You don't have to subscribe to post a bio on an ancestor's memorial page on Fold3, which is owned by Ancestry and focuses on military records. Searching the Honor Wall of service men and women is free, as is adding a bio. Search the wall using this link. Also on that page is a link to create a new memorial (free) if none shows up in your search. Sharing ancestor/veterans' bios on that site has been an ongoing project for me.

As an example: For my husband's great great uncle Benjamin Franklin Steiner (1840-1924), I added a bio by clicking the add button on his memorial page (see yellow arrow in image above). You can either type it in or copy from a document and paste it in. Once you save it, you can edit if you like by clicking the pencil tool (see green circle on above image). 

Be sure to bookmark or tag the memorials so you can easily return to them later. The tag tool is at top right (orange circle on above image). You can tag with a phrase like "US Civil War" or use a bookmark tag for a later visit.

Bite-sized bios on Find a Grave

Many (but not all) Fold3 memorials include links to the person's Find A Grave memorial. Since the bite-sized bio is already written, it's easy to copy and paste onto that person's Find A Grave memorial. Above, a slightly edited version of the bio I wrote for Benjamin Franklin Steiner's Fold3 memorial is also posted on his memorial at Find A Grave. 

Benjamin's memorial page is managed by someone else, so I submitted the bite-sized bio using the suggest edits function...also indicating that this man was a veteran. The edits were accepted. A small V shows next to this ancestor's name, a visual symbol of military service that any visitor to his Find a Grave page will see.

Wash, rinse, and repeat

You can post bite-sized bios on even more sites. I added Steiner's bio to WikiTree (above), FamilySearch (below), and MyHeritage (at bottom).  

LOCKSS in action! I don't want family history to fade away--I want to perpetuate it for future researchers and descendants.

Book Review: Storytelling for Genealogists

Since my emphasis these days is on writing family history for the sake of future generations, I was drawn to this concise and affordable new book by Doug Tattershall, Storytelling for Genealogists.

Tattershall packs a lot of ideas and info into nine chapters plus a humdinger of a worksheet, and an index. The table of contents includes:

1. Why Family Story? - "We work hard to discover our family tree," writes the author. "But what we really want to know is our family story." So true. Names and dates don't illuminate ancestors' lives. That's why this book is so helpful.
2. How to Tell a Good Story - Engage readers. Then plot a course and find a theme to keep readers interested.
3. The Stuff - Put meat on the bones by researching and interpreting history, biography, and "affective history."
4. Puzzle Pieces - We have facts, but we may also have fiction. How to put the puzzle pieces together in the right way and in the wider context.
5. The Value of Things - Going beyond words to tell the story with images, heirlooms, places, and more.
6. Format - Text, audio, and/or video? Considerations as you choose a format to tell your ancestor's story.
7. True and Good - "You've done fact-finding. Now it's time to spin a tale," the author says, and he goes on to explain how to make the story interesting without getting bogged down.
8. Before You Write - Tattershall recommends outlining first to establish how to organize and present your story, with examples. Yes, outlining really works.
9. Conclusion - "Your family history is a story worth telling, and therefore a story worth telling well." 

Although I would have preferred a little more elaboration on the key points in this slender book, I appreciate and agree with Tattershall's emphasis on telling an engaging story, well beyond names and dates with sources. 

In particular, I recommend his Family Story Worksheet, shown on p. 81. The worksheet serves as a quick-start guide to completing the components needed to spin a tale that will interest the next generation and beyond. 

Storytelling for Genealogists is an excellent, practical, readable book for anyone who wants to bring family history alive through storytelling.

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.

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