Friday, August 15, 2008

19th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The 19th Shades of the Departed guest column has been posted. The author of this week's blog is Maureen Taylor, and the column can read on this page.

(Just as a quick note, this post was pre-published, so I do not have it directly linked to the column. I have just linked to the Shades Of The Departed blog.)

Just To Let Everyone Know ...

I will not be posting for the next several days due to the fact that I will be busy for multiple reasons. I will be primarily busy with getting myself ready to go back up to college. I do not intend to post except for a couple of posts that will be pre-published.

As for blogging when I arrive back up at school, I do not plan on posting as much as I have done this summer. I'll still post, but it will be on a lesser amount. As for the Genealogy and History Thoughts, I still do intend to write and post articles after I go back to school, but I don't know how many I will post in the next few months. I am also still looking for people to host for the October and September editions of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. I might not be able to answer my e-mail right away, but I think I will be able to get back with those interested before I post August's edition.

In the meantime, please feel free to reread my previous posts. Enjoy!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Genea-bloggers' Games - Day : My Progress

Although I did not accomplish as much as I did yesterday, I did make an attempt today. What I did do was leave a comment on a new genealogy blog, In Deeds, and I added the blog to my list within the past few days.

So, I have accomplished another task for the "random acts of genealogical kindness." That task is task A: "Comment on a new (to you) genea-blog."

I do not know how much more I will be able to accomplish, but I hope to be able to do a little more before the games end.

Still Looking ...

I just want to let everyone know that I am still looking for hosts for the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. I believe I have someone for November, but I am still looking for someone to volunteer as a host for the months of September and October. If you are interested, please e-mail me at: jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

Stores I Remember ...

Even though I'm still fairly young I think I can write about a few stores that do not exist anymore.

When I was real young, probably about four, I remember a store a couple blocks away from home (I lived in Livonia at the time) called G. & W. I can only recall visiting the store once, and all I remember is that I got a sheet of stickers from that store. A short time after that the store went out of business, and another business went in. (I don't remember what business it was. I think that one went out of business as well, and eventually a furniture store moved into that location.) Right next door to G. & W., there was a drug store called Arbor drugs. The store that is in there now (or was - I haven't been in that area in some time) is also a drug store but is called CVS. I think CVS bought out Arbor drugs. There was also a Video Jack in that same block, but again, I do not know if it is still there as I did not go by that block on Tuesday.

On another street block over, there used to be another small strip mall, and in that building there was a Blockbuster and other stores. One of the stores at several times was a pizza place. I think there were at least three pizza stores in that one spot, but I can only remember that one of the names, which was Imperial Pizza. Of course, those pizza places were not very successful, although I do not know why. At one point that spot became a cafe, but I think it went out of business as well. (All of this happened in the '90s.) Just this past Tuesday, I happened to go by that block, and I noticed that the Blockbuster was no longer there. In fact, it looked like most of the building had become vacant. I was a little bit surprised, but I think the economy has hit Livonia hard.

Kitty corner from the Blockbuster there used to be Farmer Jack, but the building for that store is also vacant. I don't recall if other stores had gone out of business too in that block; I just happened to notice that that grocery store was gone. Since I was driving by, I really did not get a good look.

Another store that I remember was Crowley's. There used to be a Crowley's in the Livonia Mall, but it went out of business by the time I was in high school. In fact, I do not know if Livonia Mall still has stores in it. When I was a little child I used to go there some times, but it always seemed fairly empty to me. It seems as though stores did not do very well in the mall. There was also a movie theater in that mall, and I used to go with my grandparents to the movies there since the tickets for a movie only cost about one or two dollars. Before my family moved from Livonia, I do recall that the theater had closed and then re-opened under a new management. I don't know if that theater is still open or not.

Again, I did not get to see a lot of Livonia this past Tuesday, but it appears to me that Livonia has been hurt badly by this economic downturn.

4th Edition of Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted!

The fourth edition of the Smile For The Camera carnival has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition is:
"Crowning Glory. Show us those wonderful photographs of hairdos and maybe even a few don'ts. Don't limit yourself to just hair fashion through the ages, got a great photograph of a hat, helmet, bonnet, or some other interesting headgear? Share!Choose a photograph of an ancestor, relative, yourself, or an orphan photograph that is the epitome of Crowning Glory and bring it to the carnival. Admission is free with every photograph!Your submission may include as many or as few words as you feel are necessary to describe your treasured photograph. Those words may be in the form of an expressive comment, a quote, a journal entry, a poem (your own or a favorite), a scrapbook page, or a heartfelt article. The choice is yours!"

Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Genea-bloggers' Games - Day 5: My Progress

Unlike the past few days, I have finally made some progress in the categories I chose. I will give a short run-down on what I did, and then I will post what I have accomplished so far in the categories.

So, what did I do today? Well, I indexed an 1870 census for Pennsylvania and a 1900 Indian territory census. I also finished scanning in the photographs that I had been working on, and I burned the photos to a CD. I also submitted articles for two carnivals: the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture and the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. I did submit an article for the 4th Smile For The Camera, but I don't know if I can count that since I submitted my article before the Genea-bloggers' Games began. I have also joined a few genea-bloggers' blog networks in the past few days.

And now, here is what I have accomplished so far:

Back up your data!

"C. Backup all your data using a flash drive, an external drive, CDs, DVDs, or an online resource" - I'm working on this one at the moment. I've only burned some pictures to a CD, so I don't believe I have accomplished this one just yet."

Write, Write, Write!

"A. Write a summary of what your blog is about and post it on your blog – you may not have done this since you started the blog and it is a great way to have new readers learn more about your site." - I completed this task on August 9th, and you can read the post here.

"B. Participate in a genealogy or family history related blog carnival. See the AnceStories post "August Is..." for a list of these carnivals and their submission URLs and deadlines." - I have already submitted articles for the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture and the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. Also, my article was included in the 4th edition of the Smile For The Camera, although I do not know if that one will count, as I explained above.

Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness!

"B. Join another genea-blogger’s blog network on Facebook Blog Networks." - I joined a few over the past few days, but I can't remember which ones I joined off the top of my head at the moment.

"E. Participate in an indexing project." - I indexed a page for the 1870 census for the state of Pennsylvania and I also indexed a 1900 Indian population census page.

Well, I guess I have done quite a bit. To be honest, I actually forgot that joining a genea-bloggers' network was one of the tasks, so I did not mention it in my previous posts. I still hope to be able to accomplish a bit more in this competition.

Military Reading Challenge: Book Review One

As you may remember, about a week or so ago, I signed up to take part in another reading challenge, except this time the I must read three books on military history. Well, I have just finished reading the first book I chose for this challenge.

The book I chose was Silent Night: The Story Of The World War I Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub (Plume: New York, 2001). As is clear from the title, the book's focus is on the 1914 Christmas truce on the Western Front. The author does give a little bit of background information on the war, but he primarily focuses on how the truce began, how the soldiers from both sides reacted to the truce, and how the truce ended. Accounts from memoirs, letters, diaries and regiment histories are used to recount how the truce began and ended. The conclusion to the book speculates on what might have happened if World War One had ended early.

To be honest, I enjoyed reading the book, and I would recommend it to others. I found it very informative, and at times, I started to laugh at some of the recounting on incidents that occurred during the truce. Of course, not everything in the book was funny. I chose this book primarily because I had a great-grandfather who served during World War One in the British Army, and although I don't know very much about his service, this book does help give me a glimpse into what his service experience might have been like. Even though the author does speculate about what might have been, I still believe that reading the conclusion of the book is important. I do not believe that many people realize just how much of an influence World War One has had upon the Twentieth Century and up to the present, and the author does make clear in the conclusion how World War One changed history. Even if someone were only to read the conclusion, I still think this book is worth reading. To be honest, I believe this book would be fairly easy for people to read who are not into reading history books since the book keeps a person's attention.

Still Looking For Hosts ...

I'm still looking for people to host the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. So far, I really haven't had anyone contact me. I'm looking for hosts for the months of September, October and November at the moment. If you are interested, please e-mail me at: jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

On another note, I just want to remind everyone that the new deadline for submissions for this upcoming edition is August 22nd. The theme for this edition is a carousel, and I will post the carnival on the 23rd.

A Milestone Number I'm Not Proud Of ...

I have reached another milestone in the number of my posts. Read Revelations 13:18 to find out the number of this post.

Looking For My German Ancestors Part 4

In my previous post, I wrote about more of my research into my ancestor Carl. In this post, I want to mention a bit the research that I have done on his possible relative, Fred.

According to the 1894 Michigan state census, Fred came to the United States about 1890. I did look for a Fred in the passenger lists, and I found a man who could be him entering the port of Baltimore in the early 1890s. I'll have to do more research, though, to prove that that is him. Either way, Fred had apparently lived long enough in the U. S. and Michigan to apply for naturalization records, and he became a citizen in 1896. Unfortunately, his naturalization record (or what I have of it) does not indicate where he came from. In that same year, he married a Hulda Witkopf, and by 1900, they were living in Fitzgerald, Georgia. By that time, they would have a daughter as well. In the early 1900s, the Atlanta Constitution reported that Fred's wife and daughter went north to Bay City, Michigan. I do not know who they were visiting exactly, but it could be possible that they visited Carl and his family, since they lived there. Fred, like Carl, also earned a living as a baker.

Fred and his family would continue to live in Fitzgerald, Georgia in the 1910 and 1920 censuses. In September 1926, Fred died, and after that date, I do not know what happened to his wife or daughter. I have not been able to find either his wife or daughter in the 1930 census.

In a future post, I will continue to write about my research into my German ancestors, but I will focus on another branch. Stay tuned ...

Searching For My Ancestors: My Research Plan and Goals For My Ancestors Born in Scotland and Ireland

Although I have briefly mentioned before that I might have Irish or Scot-Irish ancestors, I have never posted any information on that family on this blog. To be honest, I hardly know anything about these ancestors. I primarily know that my great-grandfather was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and that his parents were born in Ireland. Other than dates of deaths for his parents, and names of a few siblings, I do not have much more on this family other than family tradition.

I have not spent as much time researching this family as I have with other ancestors only because I am still learning about how to do Scottish and Irish genealogy. I would love to do more research on this family, but it does not appear that I will have much more time to do research this year. Of course, I'll probably have time next year, so here are some of my goals and plans for doing research into this family:

  • Find all of the birth records for my great-grandfather's siblings who were born in Scotland, and then in Ireland.
  • Look for my great-great-grandparents' marriage record in Ireland. My great-grandfather's birth record listed his parents marriage as occurring in Antrim County, Ireland in December 1865. I think I should start my research into Ireland there.
  • Find out when my ancestors came to Glasgow, Scotland from Ireland. (I still do not have an idea. I have found the family in 1891 census and my great-grandfather in the 1901 census. I have not yet found the family in the 1881 census for Scotland.)
  • Since I already have information on when my great-great-grandparents died in Scotland, I probably should look for a will or probate record. In addition, I should probably look for an inquest record on my great-great-grandfather's death, since he died in an accident.
  • And of course, before I do any of the above, I should familiarize myself some more with Scottish and Irish records.

I think this is a good start. I can't think of anything else I should do. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas about what I should, please leave me a comment. All suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Genea-bloggers' Games - Day 4: My Progress

As with yesterday, I have not worked on any of the categories I chose for the Genea-bloggers' Games. I am hoping that I can get something done soon.

More On Irene Havens ...

Earlier this month, I started to write about my mysterious ancestor, Irene Havens, but to be honest, I realize I left the post unfinished. I'm terribly sorry about that. Anyhow, I'll just start over again.


What I know about Irene primarily consists primarily of estimated birth year, a possible birth location, and her marriage to my ancestor, Peter Stout. As I mentioned before, I suspect she was born sometime between 1840 and 1843 in New York. (That information is based upon census records and her tombstone epitaph at the moment.) On one of my first research trips to Saint Joseph County, Michigan, I found the marriage record for Peter Stout and Irene Havens, and learned that they were married on the 1st of January in 1862. The marriage record suggested she was about 18 years old at the time, and unfortunately, the record in the county did not record the names of either bride or groom's parents. Prior to Irene's marriage, the only census I could find Irene in (at first) was the 1860 U. S. Census. In that census, she is living in the Household of Calvin Johnson in Florence Township, the same township where the Stout family resided, and her occupation is given as a servant. Calvin's birthplace was listed as New York, and I thought at that time that there might be family connection since Irene's birthplace is given as New York. Of course, when I tried to find a location in New York for Calvin Johnson and Irene Havens, I could not find a place where both could have lived nearby each other's family. I then quickly made the assumption that the chances were that Calvin and Irene were not related. So, for a little while after that, I was stuck and I put her line aside for a while.

Later on in that year, I visited St. Joseph County, Michigan again, to do more research. (I was planning to do research on all of my branches, not just on Irene.) In my previous visit, I had been unable to find a death record for Irene. Even though I did not have a death date for Irene, I knew she had died by 1877 since her husband remarried that year. (Of course, I should also state that I noticed that Peter had another wife by looking at the 1880 census, but at that time, it was only a guess.) I would not have a possible death date until towards the end of my visit when I visited Calhoun Cemetery in Florence township. I'll write more about my visit to Calhoun Cemetery in another post, but for the moment, it'll suffice to say that after finding Irene's grave, I had a possible death date and possible age at death in years, months and days. So far, this is the closest I have to a possible birth date and year for Irene.

Of course, finding Irene's grave did not help me figure out where in New York she was from or who her parents were. And I would not have an idea until about a year later. At that time, I was starting to think about what I could do to figure out where Irene came from when I realized that I had not followed her younger daughter forward into the censuses from 1900 to 1930. I knew that Mary Stout had married Clement Albright in the 1880s, but I realized that I did not know what happened to her after her marriage. So, I began to look for her daughter in the censuses. At the same time, I took a look back at the 1910 census for Peter Stout's household, and I noticed that Peter had a granddaughter named Jessie Albright living with him at the time of the census.

After finding one of Mary's children, I decided to look for her and her family in the censuses. I was able to quickly find Mary and Clement in the 1900 census in Kalamazoo County. I then looked for Mary again, and I found her with her children in the 1910 census living in Gladwin County with a Philip Lang (or sometimes spelled Lange). Mary and her children are listed as nieces and nephews to Philip, and since Mary is listed as a widow, Clement probably died sometime between 1900 and 1910. (Of course, I could be wrong, but I'll have to do a little bit more research to find out when he died.) I then looked for Mary again, and I found her living in Gladwin County again in the 1920 census. In this census, Philip was listed in the building below Mary's. After finding them in the 1920 census, I could not find Philip or Mary in the 1930 census. I am uncertain as to when or where they died, and I hope to be able to do some research sometime into when they died.

After noticing that Mary Albright was listed as Philip Lang's niece, I went backwards in the censuses to see who he married, as Philip's wife might be a sibling to Irene. In the 1900, 1880 and 1870 censuses, I discovered that he was married to a Rhoda. I then looked up Philip Lange's marriage record in Saint Joseph County, and discovered that he had married a Rhoda Havens. After discovering that Rhoda was related to Irene (either as a sister, step-sister or half-sister), I decided to look for her in the censuses prior to 1870. I also looked again at the 1900 and 1910 censuses and realized that Rhoda had died sometime between the 1900 and 1910 censuses. I looked at Saint Joseph County's online death index, and learned that there was a death record for a Rhoda H. Lang listed.

On another note, I'll have to continue this article on Irene in another post since this post is getting extremely long. So, in another post, I'll write about searching for Rhoda, and what I discovered. In addition, I will continue writing about my research into my Havens ancestors.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Genea-bloggers' Games - Day 3: My Progress

I did not work on any of the categories for the Genea-bloggers' Games today. Hopefully, I'll be able to work on the categories I'm competing in tomorrow.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Genea-bloggers' Games - Day 2: My Progress

Again, I did not make very much progress today. I scanned in a few old photographs, and saved them to my flash drives. I'm not sure if that would count for a task in the "Back up your data" category, but scanning those old photos are part of a project to scan in old photos. I am almost finished scanning the photos in that album, and once I am completely finished, I will be burning the images on my flash drives to CDs. So, I guess I have part of a task done.

As you can see, I still have not made much more progress, but I'm working on improving it.

And More Databases Added to FamilySearch Labs' Record Search

I forgot to mention this earlier in the week, but FamilySearch Lab's has added a few more databases to Record Search. The records added, that I noticed, were the 1885, 1935 and 1945 Florida state censuses. At the moment, there are only browseable images, so an index is not available. I just thought I would mention this, even though I am late in doing so.