As genealogists, we eagerly seek photographs of our ancestors. But photographs are more than mere snapshots; they are time capsules, capturing fleeting moments and preserving them for future generations. These visual records are more than faces and places, but stories, emotions, and a tangible link to those who came before us. A Cherished Photo: Frank & Anna’s 1895 Wedding Scanned copy of Frank Kaechle & Anna Adam’s 1895 wedding portrait in my collection with unknown origins Children of German immigrants, my great grandparents, Frank Kaechle (1868-1911) and Anna Adam (1867-1936), were united in matrimony on 17 July 1895 at St....
In November 2013, I experienced a milestone in my genealogical journey: my first leap “across the pond.” Now, a decade later, the thrill of that discovery still lingers vividly in my mind. Seeing a document that connected me to my family’s origins, in their own homeland, was not just incredible—it was a profound moment of revelation and connection. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Certificate of Death no. 113815 (1923), Sarah Jane Merrill; digital images, “Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1970,” Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 January 2024). Sarah (Eastwood) Merrill (1848-1923) was my 2nd great grandmother. Her death certificate...
My grandmother, Hazel, holding her baby sister Beulah, who got me interested in genealogy Do you have family lore or legends passed down through generations? My genealogical journey began with a fascinating tale: a link to Pocahontas. This story, proudly shared in newspapers for almost a century, sparked curiosity in my great aunt Beulah. Twenty-five years ago, she ignited my passion for genealogy. A 1927 Newspaper Clipping In 1998, Beulah introduced me to genealogy and shared her digital research files. Among these was a 1927 obituary transcript for James Madison Randolph, first cousin of Josiah Randolph Coppenbarger (1844–1934)—Beulah’s maternal grandfather...
If you aren’t familiar with WikiTree, it’s a free, crowdsourced, single-family tree that stresses collaboration, accuracy, and sources. This year they are doing the WikiTree Challenge where teams of amateur genealogists attempt to break down brick walls of “leaders in the genealogy industry and top professional genealogists.” I’m honored and thrilled to have been chosen as one of the September guests! My week kicked off last Wednesday, September 15th, with an interview, and my “big reveal” was this Wednesday, September 22nd. (You can watch them on YouTube here and here.) The WikiTree Challenge created a highlight page for my week....
While visiting a flea market this week in Kentucky, I noticed a booth with pile after pile of receipts from the 1950s. Hidden among them, I spotted this genealogical document among the receipts: Ancestry.com Public Trees At home, I searched the public member trees on Ancestry.com for a George Washington Helm who was born in 1867 and died in 1950. I found three trees. This typed vellum sheet of paper did include information that was not found in any of those trees including: George’s middle name, Malissa’s middle name, the middle names of several of the children, and the two...
“How many grandparents did your grandparents likely know?” That’s a question my friend Jen at “The JenGenX Files” recently asked in a post called A Grand Idea. Fascinated, I decided to look at my grandparents, too. MY PATERNAL GRANDFATHER Photo of me with headstones of my grandfather’s maternal grandparents’ headstones (June 2016) Ed, my paternal grandfather, was born in 1910 in Pennsylvania. He likely knew all four of his grandparents since they also lived in Pennsylvania. All four grandparents died between 1920, when he was about 10, and 1929, when he was about 19. That sounds like a difficult time for such...
Are you a genealogy blogger? If not, have considered blogging? I have found blogging to be a wonderful tool which helps me to dig deeper and to share my genealogy research. image from www.famicity.com, “Another Bog About Genealogy Bloggers” post Recently, Erin Harris with Famicity interviewed me about my genealogy blog. Some of the questions she asked: Why did you become a genealogist? When and why did you start your blog? Where do you get inspiration for your blog posts? What do you find easy/difficult about blogging? What impact does social media have on your blog? What have you learned...
The only Hedwig my American ears have ever heard of was Harry Potter’s owl. I thought the owl was a male. Imagine my surprise when I discovered my 4th great grandmother’s name was Hedwig! Snowy Owl photo by Michael Gäbler, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22773653 I did research the name online and discovered it is a feminine name. And, Harry Potter’s owl was a female, though she was played by a male in the show. Evidently, snowy owl males are smaller and whiter and they decided they liked the look better. My American ears have trouble with Hedwig’s surname, too: Borgward....
It’s my birthday, and I thought I’d share this photo from my 3rd birthday party. It was taken in front of my childhood home in Kansas. The older woman in the photo is my grandmother, Hazel, who died when I was 5. I only have a few photo with her. I’m in the red dress on the far right, and my older sister is standing next to me. The other three children are a cousin and two friends.
As I did in 2014, I’d like to share my top 10 genealogy finds for 2016: Number 10: Finding myself in several newspaper articles as a young child was lots of fun! One article was about a city-wide contest where I won 3rd place in jumping rope. Another article was about a trip I took as a Campfire Girl where I fell off a statue and got a nasty bump on my forehead. (I think this picture is pretty pathetic, but it’s the only one I could find with this injury!) St. Joseph (German) Catholic Church, Detroit, Michigan (Wikipedia image) Number...
