I’ve recently been in contact with a cousin of my father’s, who is also interested in genealogy and still lives in my dad’s hometown. He is older than my dad and has more first-hand accounts of my Oma’s generation. His recent email included an interesting little story – my Oma’s father (my great-grandfather) Valentin Stossier […]
Sunday’s Obituary – Loretta Zillifro-Hutchinson
On 23 July 1948, Roscoe Campbell Hutchinson was electrocuted while on the job at the National Tube company. He was 51 years old, leaving a wife, four children, two brothers, two sisters, and his mother Loretta Hutchinson. A week after Roscoe’s unexpected death, Loretta Hutchinson stepped around a large commercial grass mower and was hit […]
Sunday’s Obituary-David H. Davis
If only all obituaries were this informative! Here we have the complete birth date, location, marriage date, wife’s full name, immigration year, children’s names and locations, and memberships. Finding out the specific area of origin from “across the pond” can be pretty difficult to come by. Cardiganshire, as listed in the obituary, is one of […]
The Ancestors’ Geneameme
Just for fun, prompted from the blog Geniaus. Here’s “The Ancestors’ Geneameme” KEY: Things you have already done or found: bold face type Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional) Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type Extra comments and details are in brackets. Which of […]
Hutchinson Mystery Men
William Hutchison – 3rd Great Grandfather (for family reference, this is Robert Lee Updegraff’s great grandfather) Missing 1900 census Unknown death date (estimate Unknown birth date (estimate 1821-1825) No actual sources for connection to parents (DNA has confirmed though) Williams parents were Forgus Hutchison (1798-1860) and Jane Campbell (1800-1872). William appears in the Census from 1850-1880 […]
Hidden Habitats
Cemeteries are incredible historical resources. They reveal information about settlement patterns, historic events, lifestyles as well as specific details on your ancestors. I love visiting cemeteries. The peaceful atmosphere provides the perfect setting for reflection and contemplation. Cemeteries are also “hidden habitats” with all types of plants and animals. You never know what you […]
Contacting Distant Cousins
Have you ever followed a lead by contacting an unknown non-genealogist cousin? Websites like ancestry.com, findagrave.com, footnote.com etc make it very easy connect with distant cousins that share an interest in genealogy. The rewards of those connections can be quite great. Here’s an example: Last year I found a story on ancestry.com involving my Davis […]
An Unusually Attractive and Popular Girl
On occasion, while researching my family history, I’ve come across a person, photo, or event that touched me personally. Often it was completely unexpected, and mostly about ancestors that I wasn’t even that closely related to. One such instance occurred while reading about my great grand aunt Alma Catherine Updegraff. Thanks to the New Castle […]
Shaking the Family Tree by Buzzy Jackson
Shaking the Family Tree by Buzzy Jackson is not your typical genealogy memoir. I found it both delightful and annoying, yet I couldn’t put it down. Buzzy begins her family research by purchasing plane tickets and traveling across country to visit some distant relatives. After all, the first steps of genealogy is to interview family members… Buzzy then […]
Friedhof Pörtschach
Greetings from Austria! What better time to research my dad’s family history, then while on vacation in his hometown! I’m really starting from scratch and was hoping to visit the church archive and interview some older family members while on vacation. Upon contacting the Archiv der Diözese Gurk (Catholic Church Archives), I found out that you […]
Katie's Grove 