Sunday, December 27, 2009

My 2010 Genealogy Resolutions

This year is almost over, and that means that it is time for me to make my New Year's resolutions for 2010. As you probably noticed from my post on this year's results, I did not succeed in my goals this year, but I hope I will accomplish more in 2010. Here are my resolutions for 2010:
  1. Order William Oswalt's Civil War pension file. I ordered Benjamin's pension file, but I didn't do so for William. Hopefully, I'll be able to that in the upcoming year, and I hope I will be able to determine if my ancestor is related to William.
  2. Research the tax records of Saint Joseph County, Michigan to obtain more information on my Oswalt, Detwiler, Stout and Havens-Mandigo families.
  3. Order a microfilm of a Manchester, England church records for a marriage record of an ancestor.
  4. Locate the German birthplace or home town for my ancestor, Carl.
  5. Obtain Anton's naturalization record.
  6. Determine who are the parents of my great-grandfather.
  7. Uncover Adam's religious affiliation. I do not know what church Adam attended except that it was a Protestant church, but I'll need to figure out what church he or his family attended so that I can continue researching my Oswalt ancestors.
  8. Obtain or order more records from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania to continue researching my ancestors from those counties.
Well, those are my goals for 2010. I don't know how much I will be able to accomplish because of school and because I need to spend my time researching for my Master's thesis. If I am able to accomplish one of those goals by the end of 2010, I'll be happy with my progress. Stay tuned for future updates on my goals ... Enjoy!

My New Year's Resolutions - The Final Results

Well, 2009 is almost over, and I think it is time to post my final review of the New Year's Resolutions I made last year. As you may remember, I posted updates on my research in April and August, but I haven't posted any updates since August. So, here are the updates as of December 27th:
  1. Look up and print other probate records of ancestors who lived and died in Saint Joseph County, Michigan. As of April 1st: I still have not had the chance to look up any more probate records, but I am still hoping to do so this year. As of August 19th: I have not done any research in the probate records of Saint Joseph County, Michigan, and I am unsure as to whether or not I will be able to do before the end of this year. As of December 27th: I have not looked up any probate records for Saint Joseph County, Michigan, and I probably will not have a chance until next year.
  2. Order more microfilms of Trippstadt, Germany's civil records. As of April 1st: I have ordered two microfilms of death records, and so far, only one has come into the Family History Center. I am still waiting for the second one, and after I have obtained all of the death records, I will be ordering birth and marriage records. As of August 19th: I have looked at book the microfilms that arrived earlier this year, and I found the death records of my ancestors and their siblings. I did not order marriage or civil birth records after the death records arrived. Instead, I ordered a microfilm of the church records to look for the births. I probably should order the civil records for those births and marriages, but I will have to put off that research until I have more time. As of December 27th: I have not ordered anymore microfilms of records from Trippstadt, Germany as I have been busy with school work.
  3. Order naturalization records for my German-Russian ancestor Anton and his siblings. As of April 1st: I have not ordered any naturalization records, but I still hope to order some of these records. As of August 19th: I have not ordered any naturalization records to date, and I will probably have to wait until I have the time to do so. As of December 27th: I have not ordered my ancestor's naturalization record. I hope to do so some time in the future.
  4. Obtain the Civil War Pension files for Benjamin and William Oswalt, and try to strengthen their relationship to my ancestor, Adam Oswalt. As of April 1st: I haven't ordered any more pensions files although I would like to do so. As of August 19th: I have not ordered any Civil War Pension files, and I am not sure if I will be able to do so before the end of this year. I might still order them, but I have not decided yet as to whether or not to do so. As of December 27th: I ordered Benjamin's Civil War pension file, and it came a few months ago. I've looked through the pension file, but I haven't found anything yet to directly connect Benjamin to Adam. I have not yet ordered William's pension file, but I hope to be able to do so in the future.
  5. Find more information on my ancestor, Irene Havens. I am hoping to figure out who her parents are, and what her connection is to Rhoda and the Mandigo family. As of April 1st: A man named Jim, kindly looked up two newspaper notices for a couple of marriages in Rochester, New York and shared the information with me a few days after I posted my resolutions. Of course, I still need to do further research to figure out the exact relationship between my ancestor, the Mandigo family and Rhoda (Havens) Lang(e).As of August 19th: So far I have not focused any attention on or researched my Havens branch. I did obtain Rhoda's death certificate from the Seeking Michigan site, but I have not pursued any of the leads that I have. I do not know if I will be able to do any research into this branch before the end of the year, but I hope to do so next year. As of December 27th: I haven't really done any further research on Irene Haven's line, but I did uncover the death date and place for Rhoda's husband from Footnote.com's Civil War pension file index card.
  6. Find more information on my WWI veteran great-grandfather's family and ancestors. As of April 1st: I am doing a little research on my great-grandfather's family, but I haven't finished looking at records in Scotland.As of August 19th: I have had someone help me by looking up records for my ancestor's siblings in Scotland's vital records, but I do not believe I am ready to start researching in Irish records. I think I still need to continue looking at Scottish records before I do so. (The person who has been looking up the records for me has been doing so since I started to research my great-grandfather in Scottish records.) As of December 27th: I haven't focused on my great-grandfather's line since I went back to school.
  7. Order birth, marriage and death records of ancestors from the United Kingdom. As of April 1st: I haven't ordered any vital records from the U.K., but I hope to order some microfilms of church records the next time I visit the Family History Center. As of August 19th: I have ordered a few microfilms of church records from Lancashire, but I have had limited success in my research. I was able to obtain the baptismal record for an ancestor, but I have mostly had setbacks as I ordered the wrong microfilms for a couple of locations. As for ordering civil vital records from the U.K., I recently attempted to order a couple, but I have encountered some difficulties in trying to do so. (I will explain later in a future post.) As of December 27th: Through the assistance of family members, I was able to order a marriage record and birth record for two of my ancestors, and both records confirmed my suspicions as the names of their parents.
  8. I hope to make more connections and to find more ancestors and relatives. As of April 1st: I've contacted a man who had information on a branch of my British ancestors, and he kindly shared the information he with me. Outside of that, I haven't made any other connections. As of August 19th: I was contacted by a woman from Argentina who was also descended from my Kees and Cotta ancestors, and we have been exchanging information over the past few months by e-mail. Outside of those two instances, I have not made any new connections. As of December 27th: I have not made anymore connections since this summer. I hope to do so in the future.
  9. Publish posts listed in the "Coming Soon" box in a timely manner. As of April 1st: I am still working on this resolution, and I am still behind in publishing the posts I have listed. As of August 19th: I think it probably safe to say that I have failed so far with this resolution. I have not posted articles in the box in the time frame that I set up. Many of the future articles listed have been on the list for months, and at the moment, I am unsure as to when I will get around to posting some of the articles or topics listed in that column. Since I am now back at school, I am afraid that I won't improve in this regard. As of December 27th: I have not improved in reducing the length of time spent on articles I planned to post. I am still behind on several posts, and I don't know when I will get those articles published.
  10. Improve the writing quality of my posts. As of April 1st: I am still working on this resolution as well. As of August 19th: I am unsure as to whether or not I have improved my writing or accomplished this goal. Has my writing improved? Please feel free to leave comments on my writing skills. Thanks. As of December 27th: I do not know if I have improved my writing. I will leave the determination up to you, my readers.
So, as you can see, my success rate for this year's resolutions was low. I've only accomplished, partially or fully, two of my goals. I hope to do better next year. Stay tuned for my New Year's resolutions for 2010! Enjoy!

Another Belated Saturday Night Fun - The Best Genealogy Gift

I am late again in posting my response for this past Saturday's Saturday Night Fun, but I'm going to participate anyway. For this Saturday Night Fun, Randy has challenged other genealogy bloggers to write about their best genealogy Christmas gift. So, what was the best genealogy gift I got?

Well, the gift was a history book, The History of Michigan Law edited by Paul Finkelman and Martin J. Hershock (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2006). As you can tell, from the title, the book is on the history of Michigan's laws, although the articles in the book look primarily at important aspects of Michigan law and looks at the law from a social history standpoint. Okay, so the book isn't exactly a genealogy gift, but the articles in the book might assist a genealogist doing research in Michigan. If a research has knowledge of the history of a local area's laws, that researcher may be able to determine if there are any records that might provide potential leads. I haven't had too much time to look at the book, but there appears to be several articles that might be useful in my future research.

(Note, 27 February 2010: I have finally finished this Saturday Night Fun post. I also completed another backlogged Saturday Night Fun post earlier this year, and you can read it here. Enjoy!)

Don't Forget! Submissions Due Tomorrow!

I just want to remind everyone that submissions are due tomorrow for the upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European genealogy. The topic is on Christmas and Hanukkah traditions. If you need more time, please contact me at: jess_history at yahoo dot com. You can submit your articles here.

Also, if you are interested in hosting a future edition of this carnival, you can contact me at the email address above. The months open are:
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December
If you are interested in hosting the month of January, please let me know at the above e-mail as soon as possible. Thanks!

An Award!

I've been busy lately, and I'm just getting around to posting some of my past articles. Earlier this month, Ruby of Nebraska Roots and Ramblings left a comment informing me that she had nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger Award! Thank you Ruby!

As a recipient of the award, I have to list seven facts about myself, and nominate seven other bloggers. Here are seven facts about me that you may or may not already know:
  1. I am currently a graduate student working on my M. A. in history.
  2. I have been researching my family's history for the past six years.
  3. My favorite subjects in high school included history (No surprise there!) and German.
  4. I like to learn different languages, and I have taken several foreign language classes in high school and college.
  5. As for my future goals, I hope to continue on in school and earn a Ph.D. In addition, I hope to become a professor at a university in the future.
  6. Besides researching my family's ancestry, my hobbies include reading, learning foreign languages, and writing.
  7. I have two dogs named Ben and Casey.
And now, I am supposed to nominate seven bloggers. Here are the seven that I have nominated:
  1. Harold of Midwestern Microhistory
  2. Nancy of Fermazin Family Genealogy
  3. Wendy of All My Branches
  4. Find Your Folks
  5. Gray Roots Are Showing
  6. Greta's Genealogy Blog
  7. Heritage Happens
Well, those are the people I have nominated to receive the award. I hope everyone enjoys the award!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!

I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Enjoy!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

19th Editions of the Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted!

The 19th edition of the Smile For the Camera Carnival has been posted, and you can read it here. (I've been busy lately, and I did know about the posting. I'm sorry for the delay.) The topic for the next edition will be on

"'Valentine.' Love is in the air, so celebrate with Smile by sharing a photograph of a Valentine; be that person or paper. The interpretation of Valentine is yours. 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!"


The entry will be due on February 10th. Enjoy!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Carnival Deadline Extended!

I've decided to extend the deadline for submissions to the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. Submissions are now due on December 28th, and the edition will be published on December 30th. You can submit your article here. Enjoy!

Friday, December 18, 2009

86th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 86th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on
"New Year's Resolutions! This year is almost over and a new decade is knocking on the door. This is the perfect time to make your New Year resolutions, goals, aims, declarations, intentions, aspirations, objectives, plans, targets, schemes, wishes, or whatever you want to call them! Figure out how you're going to approach your family history research next year, write it up, and share it with us in the COG. The deadline for submissions is January 1, 2010."

Enjoy!

Don't Forget: Submissions Are Due Today!

I just want to remind everyone that submissions are due for this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. So far I only have one entry. The topic is on Christmas and Hanukkah traditions. If you need more time, please let me know by e-mail: jess_history at yahoo dot com.

Also, is anyone interested in hosting a future edition of this carnival in 2010? Please contact me at the e-mail above. Thanks!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

I Can Finally Breathe ... For A Little Bit

As you have probably noticed, I haven't posted very much since mid-November. Why? Well, I've been busy with school work, and I just finally finished my work for this semester earlier today. I'll be going home later this week, but, I'll have to research over the break for my thesis. So, I won't have much of a break, but hopefully, I will be able to spend some time relaxing.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Holiday Issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine Available!

The Holiday edition of the Shades Of The Departed magazine is now available. You can read it here. Enjoy!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Still Looking For Hosts and a Reminder ...

I'm still looking for hosts for future editions of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy for 2010. I do not know yet how many editions I will be able to host, and I at the moment, I am looking for someone who is willing to host either the January or February edition. Please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com by December 18th. Thanks!

Also, I just want to remind everyone that submissions for the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy will be due on December 18th, and the topic is on Christmas/Hanukkah traditions. You can submit your entries here. Enjoy!

Saturday Night Fun - Dear Genea-Santa

For this Saturday Night Fun, Randy has challenged other genealogy bloggers to write a letter to the Genea-Santa listing one of our genealogy wishes, and I've decided to participate in this challenge. Here is my letter:

Dear Genea-Santa,

For this Christmas, I would like you to bring evidence that connects my ancestor, Adam Oswalt to the Benjamin Oswalt and William Oswalt living in Michigan. I believe they are brothers, but so far, the only evidence I have is circumstantial. I've tried to balance my genealogy research with my school work, and I think I have succeeded for the most part. I think I was able to help one genealogist with her research, if I remember correctly, but I haven't been able to do much more since I was busy.

Thanks,

Jessica

(As a side note, I've finally finished writing my response to the Halloween version of the Saturday Night Fun, and you can read it here. I still have a couple more responses to past Saturday Night Fun challenges to post as well. I hope to finish those some time in the future. Please, stay tuned, and enjoy!)

Friday, December 4, 2009

85th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 85th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on
"The Other Holiday Happenings! Often times December to mid-January birthdays and anniversaries get over shadowed by the Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year holidays. So we're going to shine a spotlight on those family members and ancestors this time around. Select one or more December to mid-January birthdays and/or anniversaries on your family tree. Write a short tribute to or memory of those birthday guys and gals and write a toast to the anniversary couples. Share it in the COG!

And this edition will have a Part 2 as well (separate blog post)! We can't go into the Christmas holiday without our genealogy wish lists for Genea-Santa!!! So write up a list of what you'd like Genea-Santa to bring you and share it in the COG :-) The deadline for all entries is December 15th. This edition will be hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene."


Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Google Analytics Report For November 2009

Another month has gone by, and that means that it is time for another Google Analytics report! Here are the results for November 2009:

The top ten countries, in number of visits, are:
  1. United States - 33o visits
  2. Canada - 43 visits
  3. United Kingdom - 28 visits
  4. Australia - 11 visits
  5. Netherlands - 11 visits
  6. Germany - 9 visits
  7. Spain - 8 visits
  8. India - 5 visits
  9. Philippines - 5 visits
  10. Japan - 5 visits
The top ten states in the United States, in number of visits, are:
  1. Indiana - 51 visits
  2. California - 30 visits
  3. Texas - 24 visits
  4. Illinois - 22 visits
  5. Ohio - 20 visits
  6. New York - 20 visits
  7. Michigan - 12 visits
  8. Georgia - 10 visits
  9. Pennsylvania - 9 visits
  10. Utah - 8 visits
The top ten articles, in number of views, are:
  1. British World War One Records Updated! - 25 views
  2. Call For Future Hosts - 2010 - 19 views
  3. Updates On Researching My British Ancestors ... - 15 views
  4. Shades Of The Departed Has A Magazine! - 14 views
  5. Update on the Possible Griffin Shipwreck - 14 views
  6. Music in the Family ... - 13 views
  7. Google Analytics Report For October 2009 - 13 views
  8. Searching For My German Ancestors - Some Resources - 12 views
  9. Veteran's Day - 12 views
  10. Tombstone Maker Website - 11 views
Well, that is it for this month's report. To my readers, I just want to say, "Thank you for reading!" Stay tuned for next month's report, and enjoy!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just want to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Call For Future Hosts - 2010

As was mentioned in the 24th edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, I will be hosting the December edition; however, I do not have any other editions scheduled. I won't be able to host some of the months in 2010 due to being busy with school work, and I am looking for people who would be willing to host a future edition. Here are some of the months I am looking for a host:
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
I allow the host to chose the topic for the carnival and the dates for the submission deadline and publication of the edition. If you are interested in hosting an edition, please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

24th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Posted!

The 24th edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy has been posted! (Thank you, Al!) You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on Christmas and Hanukkah traditions. Submissions are due December 18th, and the edition will be posted on the 20th. You can submit your article here. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

84th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 84th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "'Orphans and Orphans.' The first type of orphan refers to those ancestors or relatives who lost their parents when they were young. The second type of orphan would be those siblings or cousins of our ancestors whom we think of as “reverse orphans.” They are the relatives who, for whatever reason – death at a young age, never having married or had children, or having children who did not survive to provide descendants – have no direct descendants of their own, so it falls to us, their collateral relatives, to learn and write their story. Greta will be the host this time around." Enjoy!

(Although I did not submit a post to this edition, I really wanted to do so. I've been busy with school work for awhile, and thus, I haven't been able to write as much as I wanted. I've submitted a total of 35 articles to the Carnival of Genealogy. Of course, I could be incorrect about that number, even though I went through my blog's archives.)

Monday, November 16, 2009

18th Edition of the Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted!

The 18th edition of the Smile For the Camera Carnival has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "Gift." It is the holiday season and a time for giving. So give Smile readers the gift of sharing, sharing a family photograph. It can be a gift given or received, it can be the gift of talent, it can be the gift of having the photograph itself. The interpretation of gift is yours." Enjoy!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Searching For My German Ancestors - Some Resources

For this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, I've decided to write about some of the resources and records that I have used to research my German ancestors. Since I have just begun to research in German records, most of my resources will be of American records; however, I will also list resources that might assist people in researching their German ancestors. Here are the resources I have used:

Books

When I first began my research into my German ancestors, I read a couple of books on the topic to uncover the possible problems in researching German genealogy and how to research my German ancestors. One of the books I read, and bought, was A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Germanic Ancestors by Chris Anderson and Ernest Thode, and I gave a brief description of the book here. There are other books, so one does not have to buy or check-out this book. I just happen to own a copy of the book.

Another book that I highly recommend one has for doing German research is a German-English Dictionary for obvious reasons. Two other useful books that I wish I owned are Following the paper trail : a multilingual translation guide by Jonathan D. Shea and Deciphering handwriting in German documents : analyzing German, Latin, and French in vital records written in Germany by Roger P. Minert, both of which I wrote about here. (I should note that Following the Paper Trail is also useful for other countries, and if I remember correctly, has information on translating records in Polish, Russian and Lithuanian as well as French and other languages that I cannot recall at the moment.

Census Records

I've used censuses not only to determine where my ancestors lived and the names of family members, but also to determine where they were born or when they came to the United States. I've also used the information to determine if they were naturalized and how many in the household at a given time came to the U. S. Obviously, I am referring to U. S. census records, but some of this information might be found in the censuses of other countries.

Vital Records

Vital records from the locations where my ancestors resided have been useful as well. I've been able to determine when and where my ancestors married, died or sometimes, when they were born. Of course, most of the vital records I have uncovered have been American records, although I have started to do some research in German vital records, especially for Trippstadt, Germany.

Death Notices

Another American source that I have used to trace my German ancestors is death notices. Death notices are similar to obituaries, except that they are fairly short, and do not include any biographical details. They only list when a person died, the time of the funeral and the survivors. Of course, the information is still valuable, and so far, I have only found death notices for my ancestors in the newspapers. I haven't found any obituaries for my ancestors yet.

Naturalization Records

I've also used naturalization records, but my experience has been limited. Depending upon the place and time, the naturalization records might contain vital information on your ancestor.

Passenger Lists

I've also used passenger lists to determine when my ancestors came to the United States. Depending upon the time period, one can uncover the age, birthplace, occupation and next of kin, although for the earlier years, one might only uncover the name, age and occupation of a person.

Church Records

So far, I have only researched my ancestor in German church records, but I've still been able to confirm or uncover important information on my ancestors and their siblings. I do hope to use church records in America when I get a chance as well.

Well, those are some of the records I have used to uncover my German ancestors. I haven't listed all of the records I have used so far due to being busy, but these are the main resources. I hope this helps someone in researching their German ancestors. What records do you use? As always, you can leave a comment with your opinions or experiences. Thanks!

Another Belated Saturday Night Fun - Nice Things Done

For this Saturday Night Fun, Randy had challenged other genealogy bloggers to write about good deeds other genealogists have done for them, and although I'm late in posting my response, I still wanted to post it.

So, what good deeds have other genealogists done for me? Well, 2 to 3 years ago, I received a large amount of information from a woman in Germany (no relation, though) on my Kees and Cotta ancestors, and from that information, I was able to confirm my suspicions about a Kees ancestor's sibling living in Cleveland, Ohio and I was able to use the information to start researching in German records. Without the information, I do not believe I would have been able to move back as far as I have been able to do so. I might still be stuck with my research into that branch in the United States.

More recently, I have had several genealogy bloggers host editions of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. Al hosted the August edition and hosted the November edition published the week of November 15th. (Note, January 3, 2010: I am writing this weeks after the challenge was published.) Other genealogy bloggers who have hosted editions are Steve, Ambar, Thomas, Diane, and Elizabeth, and I have included the links to those posts as well.

So, as you can see, several genealogists have helped me out within the past couple of years, and I am grateful and thankful for their help. Without the help, I would not have been able to do as much as I have. Thank you everyone!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veteran's Day

I just want to say, "Thank you," to all those who are serving or have served. Happy Veteran's Day!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Belated Saturday Night Fun - Oswalt/Oswald World Surname Distribution

For this Saturday Night Challenge, Randy has challenged other genealogy bloggers to determine the world wide distribution of their surnames, and although I'm late in posting my response, I still wanted to write something before the weekend ends.

For this challenge, I searched for two surnames: Oswalt and Oswald. Why? Well, when doing my research into my Oswalt ancestors, I frequently find their last name spelled both ways (and a few others, as well), and since my last name still gets misspelled, it is not that hard for me to remember. I suspect, but don't have definite proof, that the Oswalt and Oswald surnames have a similar origin. So, to get an idea where the Oswalt/Oswald surname might be distributed around the world, I did two searches. (I do not know how to do save a screen shot, so I'm going to have to present the information verbally.)

When I typed in the results for Oswalt, the countries with the highest distribution were:
  • United States
  • France
  • Germany
  • Austria
  • New Zealand
  • Argentina
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom
For the Oswald surname, the countries with the highest distribution results were:
  • Austria
  • Germany
  • Switzerland
  • Luxembourg
  • Australia
  • United States
  • Canada
  • New Zealand
  • United Kingdom
  • France
In the United States, the Oswalt surname was distributed the most primarily among these states (i.e., the darkest colored states. Most of the states were a turquoise color) :
  • Mississippi
  • Alabama
  • Indiana
  • Arkansas
  • Ohio
In the United States, the Oswald surname was distributed the most primarily among these states:
  • South Dakota
  • Nebraska
Again, like for the Oswalt surname, many of the states in the U. S. were a turquoise color.

I then decided to search for the distribution of each surname in the state of Michigan. For the Oswalt surname, the highest distribution (turquoise colored) of the surname were in these counties in no particular numerical order:
  • Alpena
  • Benzie
  • Calhoun
  • Cheboygan
  • Kalamazoo
  • Monroe
  • St. Joseph
  • Wexford
For the Oswald surname, the highest distribution (dark blue colored) of the surname were in these Michigan counties (again, in alphabetical order):
  • Bay
  • Gratiot
  • Montmorency
Many more counties were colored in a turquoise or green color, especially the highest counties listed for the Oswalt surname.

So, as you can see, the possibility that that the two surnames might have the same origin is possible when one looks at the European countries where the surnames were distributed. Both surnames appear to be distributed similarly as well, and it wouldn't surprise me if there was a common origin. I suspect, though, that there are several Oswalt/Oswald branches in the United States, and that any common origin might be several centuries in the past. Of course, I could be wrong, but only further research will be able to determine if this is case. At the same time, researchers have to be careful not to rely only on one surname distribution map, and there is still the possibility that both surnames have unique origins.

So, what do you think? Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Updates On Researching My British Ancestors ...

Over the past couple of weeks I've received some answers on a couple of my British ancestral lines. A birth certificate for an ancestor and a marriage certificate for another ancestor arrived in the mail a couple of weeks to about one-and-a-half weeks ago, and I was able to confirm my suspicions about the ancestors' parents. The birth certificate confirmed the maiden name of my ancestor's mother, and the marriage certificate confirmed the bride's father's name. Also, I received an e-mail a couple days ago from a distant cousin from another line, and he sent me images of my the 1911 census for my ancestors and the images of another relative's World War One records.

As you can imagine, I'm excited by both of these events, and I do plan on writing about the World War One records of my ancestors and relatives on Veteran's Day. Enjoy and stay tuned for that post ...

Shades Of The Departed Has A Magazine!

I just happened to take a look at footnoteMaven's blog, Shades Of The Departed, and learned that footnoteMaven has created a magazine from her blog. November 2009 is the first edition, and you can read more about it here. Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

British World War One Records Updated!

I just happened to see John's article on Ancestry's updating of World War One records. I've done a little searching with the records so far today, and I might have found a relative. I'm not sure, but if I have, I will write more about the research later. Enjoy!

16th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted!

The 16th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "Irish genealogy show and tell," and you can read more about it here. Enjoy!

Update: Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Submissions Deadline Extended

I just want to let everyone know that the deadline for submitting articles to the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy has been extended. The new deadline for submissions is now November 15th, and the edition will be published on the 20th at Al's Polish-American Genealogy Research. Enjoy!

83rd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 83rd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on

"What the Carnival of Genealogy has meant to you.

The COG has been published twice a month for over three years now, 83 editions thus far! It's covered a wide variety of topics and introduced many, many new bloggers and even a new carnival. Here's an opportunity to look back and reflect on when you first discovered the COG and when you first participated in it.
  • What was your favorite topic to write about?
  • Have you guest hosted the COG?
  • Is there an article you've read in the COG that stands out in your mind?
  • What have you learned from reading or writing for the COG?
  • Have you ever recommended the COG to anyone?
  • If you haven't participated in the COG thus far, why not?
  • How has the COG helped your family history research?
  • Has it impacted your life in any way?
Share your COG experience with us and please indicate the number of COG editions you've participated in at the end of your article."

Enjoy!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Update On the Possible Griffin Shipwreck

Remember when I posted on the possibility that the shipwreck, Griffin, had been found? Well, Brenda has posted an article that gives an update on the story. It will be interesting to see if this ship is the Griffin. Enjoy!

Google Analytics Report For October 2009

As hard as it is to believe, another month has passed, and that means that it is time for another Google Analytics report. Here are the results for October 2009:

The top ten countries, in number of visits, are:
  1. United States - 288 visits
  2. Canada - 33 visits
  3. United Kingdom - 14 visits
  4. Netherlands - 11 visits
  5. Argentina - 5 visits
  6. (Not set) - 5 visits
  7. Germany - 5 visits
  8. Australia - 4 visits
  9. New Zealand - 3 visits
  10. Norway - 2 visits
The top ten states in the United States, in number of visits, are:
  1. Indiana - 72 visits
  2. California - 35 visits
  3. Texas - 20 visits
  4. Illinois - 16 visits
  5. Ohio - 14 visits
  6. Pennsylvania - 11 visits
  7. Michigan - 11 visits
  8. New York - 10 visits
  9. Minnesota - 7 visits
  10. Virginia - 7 visits
The top ten articles, in number of views, are:
  1. Genealogy Societies - My Thoughts - 24 views
  2. If Something Were To Happen ... - 17 views
  3. Tombstone Maker Website - 16 views
  4. Three Book Reviews Posted! - 15 views
  5. Genealogy and History Thoughts Column 18 - An Important Lesson: Never Assume ... - 14 views
  6. 16th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - 12 views
  7. 23rd Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Posted! - 12 views
  8. Saturday Night Fun - Unusual Ancestor's Name - 12 views
  9. Saturday Night Fum - My Most Satisfying Research Moments - 9 views
  10. An Interesting Article On An Archaeological Find In the U. K. - 8 views
Well, that is it for this month's report. To my readers, I just want to say, "Thank you for reading!" Stay tuned for next month's report, and enjoy!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Light Blogging Ahead!

I just want to let everyone know that posting on this blog will be light for the next month or so as I will be very busy with school work. I do plan on posting a couple of few articles in the upcoming weeks, but I don't believe I will be able to do much. I still plan to host the December edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, but I haven't set up the dates yet. Stay tuned ...

Saturday Night Fun - My Most Memorable Halloween Memories

For this Saturday Night Fun, Randy has challenged other genealogy bloggers to write about their most memorable Halloween memories, and I've decided to post mine. In fact, I have so many memories that it is difficult for me to decide which were the most memorable, so I'll probably post several of my most memorable ones.

I can remember several of the costumes that I wore for Halloween as a kid over the years. In Kindergarten, I dressed up as a cross between a princess and Cinderella, and I wore a costume that my mom made for me. (She did a wonderful job.) In the first grade, I dressed up as Belle (from Beauty and the Beast), and in the second grade, I dressed up as Jasmine from Aladdin. Halloween was more memorable in third grade primarily because of the family reunion my family attended shortly before Halloween. For that Halloween, I dressed up as a cross between a cowgirl and Annie Oakley. In the fourth grade, I dressed up a Southern Belle because I wanted to dress up in a historical style costume and because I liked the design of the dress. (I've always like fancy dresses and I've always loved seeing the dresses in historical movies. As you can see, I've had an interest in history since I was a child.) As for my costume in fifth grade, I believe I wore my mom's prom dress (I was pretending to be an early movie star), but I'm not completely sure. In the sixth grade, I dressed up as a bride, and in seventh grade, I dressed up as a sailor. In eighth grade, I dressed up as a cross between a ghost and a vampire. (There was no gore, though). In addition to the black costume I wore, I also wore a silver wig, and painted my face white. By the time I entered high school, though, I wasn't able to do as much trick-or-treating as I had been able to do in the past. (I've only dressed up a few times for Halloween since the ninth grade as a result of having a heavier schoolwork load.)

One of my most memorable Halloween memories that I have comes from my first year of high school. It was memorable not only because it was one of the last few times that I have gone trick-or-treating but also because I went trick-or-treating with my brother and his friends. I wore a traditional German dress, that my family had bought earlier that year when we visited Germany, and my brother was dressed up as the Grim Reaper. We went around to numerous houses, and my brother and I were back at home after trick-or-treating for a couple of hours. As soon as we arrived back at home, another one of my brother's friends stopped by the house, and wanted to go trick-or-treating. Our parents gave us permission, and my brother's friend called his parents to get permission to go with my brother and I. He got permission to go, and we were allowed to be out until 8 pm, for my brother's friend, and 8:30 pm, for my brother and I.

Since we had already gone to the houses nearest to our homes, we decided to go trick-or-treating in areas of the neighborhood where we had not yet gone. To get to one of the block's we had to walk down a dimly-lit area past a bunch of bushes. Looking back now, I should have realized what could happen, since I was oldest, but I didn't think about what it. As we walked through this area, a couple of me dressed in camouflage came out of the bushes, and scared all three of us. After recovering from the shock, I thought one of the men looked familiar, and I asked if he happened to be in a class. The guy denied it, and I decided that my brother, his friend, and I continue to trick-or-treat. (I think the guy was telling the truth, but who knows?) So, we continued on, finished trick-or-treating, and returned home by our curfews.

Since that time, I've only gone trick-or-treating a couple more times, so I think that happens to be the most memorable Halloween experience I've had. I hope you've enjoyed reading my Halloween memories. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

I just want to wish everyone a happy and safe Halloween! Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

A Reminder: Carnival Submissions Due in a Week-and-a-Half!

I just want to remind everyone that submissions for the upcoming Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy will be due on November 8th. Al will be hosting this edition, and you can read more about the topic here. Enjoy!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Saturday Night Fun - Unusual Ancestor's Name

For this Saturday Night Fun Randy has challenged other genealogy bloggers to post the weirdest name of one of their ancestors. I'll try to play along as best as I can.

At the moment, I cannot think of any ancestors with strange surnames, but I can think of a couple of unusual first names for a couple of my female ancestors. The two unusual first names that I can think of off the top of my head are Tryphena and Euphrosyne. The ancestor named Tryphena was from the U. K., and the ancestor with the name Euphrosyne was from Germany. Both names are quite unusual to me, and I've never heard of these names before discovering these ancestors. Does anyone else have female ancestors with either of these two first names? Thanks!

Looking for Hosts - 2010 and a Reminder

I realize that this probably a little early, but I wanted to start listing some of the months I am seeking a host for the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. I will be hosting December's edition, but I don't know how many of 2010's editions I will be able to host. A few of the months that are open are:
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
I've just decided to list the first four months because it is still early. If anyone is interested in hosting an future edition, please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

Also, I just want to remind everyone that the deadline for the November edition of submissions is November 8. Al will be hosting this edition, and his instructions for the edition are here. Enjoy!

Music in the Family ...

For this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, I am supposed to write about musical instruments that I or family members might play. Instead of focusing only on musical instruments, I've decided to expand the idea to write not only about family members who play instruments but also about ancestors who were involved in music as well.

The members of my family who are primarily musically inclined are my mom and her brother, my uncle, and I believe they have been in involved in music in some way for most of their lives. My mom played the flute and piano from childhood through college, and she still plays the piano (as a member of our church's band). I grew up listening to my mom play the piano, and that is probably how I acquired a love for classical music. My mom was also active in her high school choir as well. I believe my uncle plays the saxophone, although I am not completely sure. Either way, he was involved in music as a child, and at one point, he served as the music director for the church he and his family attend.

Other members who have played an instrument, play an instrument or were involved in choir were my dad, grandma, brother and I. My dad sang in his high school choir, and my grandma also sang in the choir at the church she was a member. She also started to learn how to play the piano. My brother is learning how to play the guitar, and I've taken piano lessons at various times in my life. Of course, I'll probably never be as good as my mom, but I still enjoy learning how to play and playing the piano.

Outside of those family members, I cannot think of any other family members who are or were involved in music. I did have a couple of ancestors, as I learned earlier this year, who were musicians. Marianne Pyrker (or Anna Maria) was a famous Eighteenth Century Opera singer and her husband, Franz Joseph Karl Pyrker played the violin. I briefly wrote about Marianne Pyrker here, but I don't believe I mentioned that her husband was also a musician. Of course, at the moment, I only have secondary sources to prove my connection to them, but as I continue researching I hope to obtain primary documents as sources. As I continue my research, I'll probably uncover more information about them and maybe other ancestors who were musically inclined.

Outside of the people mentioned above, I cannot think of any other family members or ancestors at the moment who were involved in music. I hope, though, as I continue researching my ancestors that I will learn more about them. Enjoy!

Monday, October 19, 2009

82nd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 82nd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on:

"Musical Instruments! Do you play a musical instrument or did one of your family members? What instrument did you or they play? If no one in the family played an instrument, tell what is your favorite instrument or band and what is your least favorite one. The deadline for submissions is November 1st. This edition of the COG will be guest hosted by Janet Iles who authors the blog, Janet the Researcher."


Enjoy!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Trippstadt, Germany Civil Death Records, Part One: 1806-1829

(Note: Originally I had planned only to do one post on the subject of Trippstadt's death records, but since I haven't had the time to write a long post, I've decided to split the topic into multiple posts so that I can actually get around to writing about the civil death records as I promised months ago.)

As you may or may not remember, over this past summer and the summer before I began researching my Kees and Cotta ancestors in the death records of Trippstadt, Germany. Of course, when I started, I ended up going through the 1860s death records first, and that was by accident because I ordered the wrong microfilm. (I seem to have a habit of doing that sometimes.) I did eventually work back to the earlier records since most of the Kees and Cotta relatives I was searching for were in the earlier records. Unlike how I started going through the death records, I will be starting from the earliest to later records in this post and future posts.

For this first post in the series, I will be focusing on the years between 1806 and 1829. From 1806 through 1816, the death records were recorded in French. Most of the death records consisted of a document with typed text that left space for the information on the deceased to be handwritten in, although there were a few death records at the ends of each death register book that were only in handwriting. Each year had a separate book, and at the end of the book, a handwritten index listing the names of the deceased was included with the record number of the death record. Additionally, the index also included the town the person had died because at that time, the death records for a few other villages or towns were recorded in Trippstadt's death records. Unfortunately, I did not copy any images of death records or indexes before the 1820s in Trippstadt since I did not have any ancestors living in Trippstadt before 1823. (At least that is what I know at the moment. Adolph Kees and Amelia Cotta's first child was born in Trippstadt in 1823 according to the Protestant church's baptismal records.)

In 1817, the language used to record deaths was switched from French to German. The preprinted forms were kept, and each year had its own book as it did when the records were kept in French. Handwritten indexes were also kept at the ends of the record books with the only difference being that the language was changed. Other towns and villages from the area near Trippstadt were still included in the record books, but unfortunately, I forgot to not when the death records stopped including death records from other towns and villages outside of Trippstadt.

After 1817 through the 1860s, the death records stayed the same, except for changes in the index and some of the wording in the pre-printed forms. The death record below is an example of the death records in the 1820s.
In 1828, Amelia gave birth to a set of twins, but unfortunately, one twin was stillborn and the other died within a few minutes after birth. Adolph and Amelia did not name the children, and as you can see from the above image, the area for the name is crossed out. Although there are two death records, one for each child, I have only posted one of them since the records were the same. Each death record took up half a page in the record book, so two records are listed on each page. In the upper left corner, the record number is listed, and the first portion of the typed text records when, where (down to the district and town of death), and who was reporting the death to the registrar. (In the 1820s, the providence Trippstadt was located was listed as Rheinkreise, but that would change by the 1830s.) Two people were required to inform the registrar of a death, and Adolph Kees and another man were the ones who gave the information on the death of the twins. Additionally, the age, occupation and relationship of the informants to the deceased was recorded in the death records. The name of the parents of the deceased, their occupations, the occupation of the deceased, and the house number of where the deceased died are recorded in the second half of the document. At the bottom, the informants and registrar had to sign their names attesting to accuracy of the information, and as you can see, the signatures for all three men are at the bottom. Strangely, the gender of the children, in lieu of names, were not recorded despite the amount of information the records required.

I did not copy the image of the index for these death records, and thus, I haven't included an image of the index for the 1820s. I did copy images of the indexes in the 1830s, 1840s, 1850s and 1860s, and I will include those in future posts. Stay tuned for a post on Trippstadt's death records in the 1830s! Enjoy!

Three Book Reviews Posted!

Within the past week or so, I just finished writing and posting the last three book reviews of books I read for the Summer Reading Challenge. These three reviews are shorter than the other reviews because I just wanted to get the reviews posted, so here are the links for these reviews:
I hope you enjoy reading this books as much as I did. Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Genealogy Societies - My Thoughts

For this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, I am supposed to write about my favorite genealogy society (or societies), or why I would or would not join a genealogy society.

I did write about my thoughts in regards to membership in genealogy societies over a year ago, but it is probably time for me to update my thoughts on the subject. At that time of that writing, I wasn't a member of a genealogy society, and I am still not a member over a year later. (Thus, I cannot list my favorite genealogy societies because I'm not a member of any society.) I'm not against or adverse to joining a society; it's just that I haven't joined a society yet for several different reasons.

My primary reason for not joining a genealogy society yet is that I am attending school. Over a year ago, when I first posted my thoughts, I was an undergraduate, and now I am a graduate student. My main focus, of course, is on my school work, so I really do not have much very spare time to go to genealogy meetings. If I were to become a member of a genealogy society, I would feel obligated to try to make as many meetings as I could, and at the moment, I would not be able to do so. Even though, I do have a job as a graduate assistant and could probably afford to join a genealogy society, I would not feel like I am getting my money's worth by not attending very many meetings (if I could even attend a meeting). Of course, I probably do not have to attend meetings to be a member; I just feel as though I should be active in any group or society that I join.

Secondly, I still do not have my own car, and thus, my ability to travel to a society's meeting is limited. If I were to attend a meeting, I would probably have to have a family member take me to the meeting because I don't have a car. Additionally, I am living out of the state of Michigan now, and once I am at school, I am pretty much stuck in the city. (The city does have mass transportation, but it is only for the city and is limited compared to the mass transportation of the area of my undergraduate university. There are also shuttles for the campus.) Again, though, unless the society met on campus of the university, it would be inconvenience for me to make a meeting away from campus.

So, as you can see, I would like to join a genealogy society, but as you can see, I either don't have the time or would have difficulty attending meetings. So, what do you think? As always, you can leave a comment. Thanks!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Saturday Night Fun - My Most Satisfying Research Moments

For this Saturday Night Fun, Randy has challenged other genealogists to come up with their most satisfying moments in genealogy research, and I've decided to post my best moments.

So, what are my most satisfying moments? Well, one of them happens to be when I was able to find the burial place of one my ancestors. I won't go into much more detail about the search because I have posted parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 on my cemetery blog, and I don't want to give away too much. I haven't written a post on the search in quite a while, but I do plan on eventually finishing the series. So, if you're interested in that story, I have at least part of it posted.

Other satisfying moments were connecting with cousins and non-relatives who were willing to share the information they had. I've not only made contact with cousins in the U. S., I have also connected with cousins in the U. K. and Argentina. As for non-relatives, a woman in Germany sent me information on my Kees ancestors, and if she had not kindly shared that information with me, I would probably be still struggling to uncover my Kees ancestors. I am eternally grateful that she shared that information with me.

So, those are a couple of satisfying moments that I could think of at the moment. I'm sure there are a few other moments in the past six years that I have spent so far in researching my ancestry, but I can't think of any other ones at the moment. If I do come up with a few more, I'll either update this post or I'll post the information in another post. Enjoy!

Here's Another Interesting Article ...

I just happened to notice that Turkey and Armenia have signed a diplomatic accord. It will be interesting to see what the developments will be ...

Friday, October 9, 2009

Apologies For the Missing Post ...

I'm sorry for the missing post. I started to post on an event that might have been too political for this blog, and I try to keep politics and genealogy as separate as I can. I deleted the post for that reason. So, I'm sorry about that ...

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Genealogy and History Thoughts Column 19 - My Thoughts on the New FTC Blogging Guidelines

I just learned about the new Federal Trade Commission regulations for blogs from Craig's post via Chris' post. To be honest, I don't believe it is the government's job to tell bloggers how they should write their posts. Yeah, bloggers should mention in their posts that they were asked to review a product for a company, but does the government really have to tell or require bloggers to do so?

I don't think so, and that's why I'm posting on this topic. I'm bothered by these new regulations because I feel like the government is treating bloggers as if they are children. As an adult, I resent being treated like a child by the government, and I think the regulations should have been givens for other bloggers way before the FTC created these regulations. Additionally, I wonder if these new regulations will create precedents for the FTC to publish new and possibly, more restrictive regulations in the future.

Why do I worry? Well, from time to time, I write brief book reviews of history and genealogy books that I have read, and I think I've mentioned whether or not I bought the book or had a connection to the author. Is the government going to tell me that I can't write book reviews or that I must put another disclaimer at the end of my book review? I think I make it clear that I've either bought these books or checked them out of the library. I'm not telling people to go out and buy the books. My whole purpose in posting the book reviews was to suggest books that might help other genealogists with their research. People don't have to buy the books; they can check them out from a library.

I was thinking of posting another three book reviews of books I read over the summer, but now I'm wondering if I should bother. Would it be better for me to stop posting my informal book reviews to protect myself? Or should I just continue to post book reviews? What do you think?

As always, you can leave comments on what you think.

Poll Results!

The poll is now closed, and the results are in! The question for this poll was, "Which article topic are you most interested in reading?" 3 people voted, and the results are:
  • Trippstadt, Germany Civil Death Records - 0 votes
  • World War One Ancestor - 2 votes
  • Irene Havens - 0 votes
  • Genealogy and History Thoughts Columns - 0 votes
  • New Civil War Pension File - 1 vote
  • Other topics in genealogy/history - 1 vote
From this poll, it appears that a few of my readers are interested in reading about my World War One ancestor, and I guess that will be one of the future articles I will work on. Of course, I do not know when I will get around to writing that article and possibly the other requested articles due to the fact that I am busy with school work. I will try to write at least one the articles, though, at some point. To those who voted, thank you for voting! Stay tuned for future articles ...

Enjoy!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Congrats!

I just want to congratulate all the genealogy bloggers who made it onto the Family Tree Magazine's Top Genealogy Blogs list.

(I didn't make it into the list, but maybe I will next year.)

Genealogy and History Thoughts Column 18 - An Important Lesson: Never Assume ...

After looking at the title of this article, you're probably thinking, "Shouldn't that be given?" Probably, but my intention for this article is not to lecture others but write about how assumptions can cause problems in genealogy research. Why? Well, I made an assumption about a record, and I've just recently learned and realized that my assumption was wrong. So, by learning how I made a mistake, I'm hoping other genealogists will learn from my mistake.

As you probably remember, I recently received a copy of the pension file for Benjamin Oswalt, and since the file came, I've taken a look at the records. I once believed that I could not find this Benjamin Oswalt in the censuses after the 1850 census, so, when I asked my grandfather to take a look at a probate record for our ancestor, Benjamin Oswalt, did not expect my grandfather to find a Benjamin Oswalt in the 1870 census (see below the paragraph). (The Benjamin Oswalt in the probate record died in 1861 in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, and is the father of Adam Oswalt, according to Adam's death certificate.) This Benjamin was living in Kansas, and had been born in Michigan, and my grandfather, mentioned that he had found this census record will doing research for our ancestor. Of course, I took a look at the census record, and told my grandfather, that that Benjamin could not be connected to us because he was living in Kansas and was born in Michigan, despite the fact that he was the exact age as the Benjamin Oswalt I believe to be Adam's brother. Well, that is what I thought until Benjamin's pension file came ...


(Image taken from FamilySearch's Record Search)

When I looked at the pension file Benjamin's widow, Elizabeth, applied for, I noticed the names of the people who gave testimony on her behalf. I recognized some of the names, but there were a few names that I did not recognize. I already knew from previous research, that Elizabeth remarried, but when I looked at the Michigan death records and marriages that are online, I discovered that the one of the witnesses was probably the sister of Elizabeth's new husband. To try to confirm, my theory, I decided to look for Elizabeth's new husband and the witness in the census records. The search for Elizabeth's husband brought me back to the census image above. Lo and behold, Elizabeth's future husband was living next door to the Benjamin Oswalt I had earlier dismissed. Knowing that the future husband was from Saint Joseph County, Michigan, I realized that the fact that there was a Benjamin Oswalt living next door to him was probably not a coincidence since the Benjamin Oswalt I was looking for was from Saint Joseph County, Michigan. So, even though Benjamin's birthplace is listed as Michigan, I believe I have found the correct Benjamin Oswalt, and I believe it is possible that the census taker put the wrong information down.

So, what is the moral of the story? Well, almost ignored a census record and other possible leads into researching my Oswalt family. The census record indicates that Benjamin had some wealth, and it might be possible that he bought some land in Kansas. Of course, I won't know until I pursue this avenue, but I almost missed this opportunity because I believed it wasn't the right person. Just because a record doesn't necessarily fit all of your known facts about a person does not mean that it isn't your person. If you do write off a source, you might miss another possible lead. So, I guess it is better to have an open mind about possible sources when doing your own research. Now, I've just got to trace this new lead, and figure out why Benjamin was in Kansas about six months after his marriage. Please stay tuned for further posts on Benjamin.

And as always, please feel free to leave comments on you what you think about this article.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Late Saturday Night Fun: Childhood Memories ...

I'm late again in posting a response to the newest Saturday Night Fun, but since I wanted to participate, I'm going to post my response. For this challenge, Randy has challenged genealogy bloggers to post their most vivid childhood memory.

So, what is my most vivid childhood memory? Well, that is a tough one because I have so many vivid memories. I guess the best thing to do would to be list the earliest memory that I have.

My earliest memory is probably of being in a crib. I was standing up in my crib, so I had to have been at least old enough to stand on my own. (I was probably around a year old.) It was at night time because my room was dark, and I could see my parents' bedroom from the crib. My mom was standing in the doorway of her bedroom, and was ready to go to bed. She asked, "What are you doing up?" (She could see my room from looking out of her bedroom.) I just remember that she didn't look very happy, but that probably was due to being tired.

Of course, I don't remember anything else other than it was like a detailed snapshot of a moment. Most of my early memories consist of dream-like images, and thus, I almost feel as though I am recalling something like a dream except for the fact that these memories were too vivid to be dreams and were too life-like. (If that makes any sense.) I don't know why my earliest memories feel dream-like, but I guess that is how my brain preserved my earliest memories. Has anyone else experienced the same thing with their earliest memories?

81st Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 81st edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on:

"The guest host is Kathryn Doyle of the California Genealogical Society and Library blog, and the topic is:

What's your favorite genealogical society?
Do you belong to a society?
Tell us why! Or if not, why not?
Kathryn's COG will be the inaugural edition of the all-new GenSo Blog Carnival, which will focus strictly on genealogical societies and will begin in January 2010. She'll provide more details about the GenSo Carnival in her post, so stay tuned for more."


Enjoy!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

New Poll Created!

I haven't posted a poll in a long time, but I've decided to do one to find out which article topics my readers are interested in reading. The question for this poll is, "Which article topic are you most interested in reading?" The choices are:
  • Trippstadt, Germany Civil Death records
  • World War One ancestor
  • Irene Havens
  • Genealogy and History Thoughts Columns
  • New Civil War Pension File
  • Other topics in genealogy/history
The poll will be open for a week, and you can choose more than one answer. I am hoping that this poll will indicate which articles my readers would like to see, so that I can try to plan ahead in writing my future posts. Any other suggestions for article topics are welcome as well. Thanks!

Google Analytics Report For September 2009

Well, another month has gone by, and that means that it is time for another Google Analytics report! Here are the results for September 2009:

The top ten countries, in number of visits, are:
  1. United States - 221 visits
  2. Canada - 33 visits
  3. Brazil - 30 visits
  4. United Kingdom - 12 visits
  5. Unknown (not listed) - 6 visits
  6. India - 5 visits
  7. Netherlands - 5 visits
  8. Germany - 3 visits
  9. Argentina - 3 visits
  10. Australia - 2 visits
The top ten states in the United States, in number of visits, are:
  1. Indiana - 42 visits
  2. Michigan - 20 visits
  3. Texas - 19 visits
  4. Illinois - 18 visits
  5. California - 18 visits
  6. New York - 12 visits
  7. Virginia - 8 visits
  8. Ohio - 7 visits
  9. Pennsylvania - 6 visits
  10. Wisconsin - 6 visits
The top ten articles, in number of views, are:
  1. Saturday Night Fun - Ahnentafel Roulette - 19 views
  2. Tombstone Maker Website - 15 views
  3. And Another Late Saturday Night Fun Entry ... - 15 views
  4. Good News For the Library of Michigan? - 15 views
  5. Library of Michigan Update ... - 15 views
  6. 80th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted! - 11 views
  7. 17th Edition of the Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted! - 10 views
  8. 79th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted! - 10 views
  9. An Interesting Article On An Archaeological Find In the U. K. - 9 views
  10. The Pension File Came! - 9 views
Well, that is it for this month's report. To my readers, I just want to say, "Thank you for reading!" Enjoy!

If Something Were To Happen ...

For this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, I am supposed to write an obituary for my blog in case something was to happen (ie. the blog was deleted). Instead of writing an obituary, I've just decided to mention the steps I have taken to preserve my writings in case (God forbid!) my blog is deleted by accident.

Last year, I created a mirror blog for this blog after another genealogy blogger's blog was deleted by accident, and since that time, I have been slowly adding posted articles to that blog. I am also copying the articles that I have posted in the past, and I am saving those articles in a word document until I can get all of the past articles posted on the mirror blog. So, if something should happen, I should be able to prevent any loss of work, and I should be able to get the blog back up and running if I needed to do so. You can view the mirror blog here. Hopefully, I will never have to use the mirror blog, but one can never know what the future will bring.

Friday, September 25, 2009

An Interesting Article On An Archaeological Find In the U. K.

I just happened to notice this article about an archaeological find of Anglo-Saxon items in England. I thought someone might find it interesting. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

23rd Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Posted!

The 23rd edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. (Thank you, Ambar, for hosting this edition!) The topic for the next edition will be on "Tips, Tricks, Websites,.... for researching Central and Eastern European Genealogy," and Al of Polish-American Genealogy Research will be hosting this edition. Submissions will be due on November 8th, and the edition will be posted on November 15th. Articles can be submitted here. Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Pension File Came!

What pension file? Okay, I didn't mention that about a month ago I ordered the Civil War Pension file for Benjamin Oswalt, the man I believe to be Adam Oswalt's younger brother. Well, the file arrived this afternoon, and when I came home from class, I saw it. Anyhow, I wouldn't have ordered the pension file while I was at school, except that I need it for school-related, non-genealogy project. So, as you can imagine, I'll be digging through this file, and seeing if I can find any direct proof that connects Benjamin and Adam together. Wish me luck!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Saturday Night Fun - Ahnentafel Roulette

For this Saturday Night Fun, Randy has challenged other genealogy bloggers to post information on one of their ancestors by coming up with the Ahnentafel number of an ancestor, and I've decided to participate in the challenge. The only difference is that I have chosen to divide by the age of my late grandfathers instead of my father's age, as a way to protect the privacy of living relatives. Here are the results that I obtained by following Randy's directions with the modification that I listed:

My grandfather, if he were living today, would have been 91, and when I divided his number by 4, I came up with the number 22.75. Since the number isn't a whole number, I've decided to round it up to 23.

The ancestor who is number 23 on my chart is my ancestor, Anna. I've written a little bit before on her family in my "Searching For My German Ancestors" posts, but I don't believe I have written a post that was specifically on her. Here are three facts about her:
  1. She was born in Germany. (I don't have a birth date for her yet because I jumped ahead to continue researching on her parents' ancestry. I do have a possible birthplace in Germany, but I need to order records from the place to confirm my suspicions.)
  2. She arrived in the United States with her parents and older siblings in February 1864.
  3. She died in Detroit in the 1930s. (I don't have an exact date of death. I haven't been able to determine when she died, but it is one of my goals to do so.)
I do have more information on Anna, but I've only posted those three facts for this meme.

As a side note, I've also recently posted two other Saturday Night Fun memes from August, and you can read them here and here. Enjoy!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Looking For A Host and A Reminder ....

I just want to let everyone know that I am still looking for a host for the October edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. I won't have the time to do the edition because of school, so if anyone is interested in hosting the edition, please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. As for the December edition, I haven't decided whether or not to host the edition, so if anyone is interested in hosting that edition, please let me know.

Also, don't forget that the deadline for submissions to the September's edition is tomorrow. You can submit them here. Thanks!

80th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 80th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on
"Your Genealogy Blog's Obituary. If your blog ended or was lost/deleted today,
how would you write it's obituary? What were the highlights of your blog? What
is its history? This theme was suggested by Schelly Talalay Dardashti of Tracing the Tribe who will be
hosting this next edition of the COG. You can read about the inspiration for
Schelly's choice of topic here.
The deadline for submissions is October 1, 2009."


Enjoy!

17th Edition of the Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted!

The 17th edition of the Smile for the Camera Carnival has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "Travel. Planes, trains and automobiles. Horses, mules, carts, and wagons. Bikes or on foot. Show us your family and how they traveled." Submissions will be due on November 10th. Enjoy!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Library of Michigan Update ...

I just happened to take a look at Brenda's post on the Library of Michigan, and it appears that the Library of Michigan isn't out of the woods yet. I guess I was a little too hopeful in my previous post. Does anyone have any additional reports on the status of the Library of Michigan?

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Good News for the Library of Michigan?

I just received some news about the Library of Michigan from one of the yahoo genealogy groups I am member of, and looks like the Library of Michigan might be preserved. Of course, that is what it sounds like from this news article. Has anyone else heard the same thing?

Although I haven't posted very much on the threat to the Library of Michigan, I have paid attention to what was going on despite the fact that I have been busy with school work. If this news is correct, then we can breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, I'm being cautious as I do not know if this article is accurate. Does anyone know for sure?

Monday, September 7, 2009

Happy Labor Day!

I just want to wish everyone a happy Labor Day! Enjoy!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

79th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 79th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on
"Family Fun! Research an event your ancestor may have attended. Did your
ancestor live within a few blocks of the parade route for the annual Fourth of
July parade in the town where they lived? If your family lived in a rural area,
perhaps they attended a county or state fair. If they lived in a big city,
perhaps they attended a play or movie opening. Was there an amusement park or
traveling carnival near the area your family was from, one they might have
visited? Were there fireworks displays in the town your family was from? How
much do you know about the types of entertainment your ancestors might have
enjoyed? Check into it then write it up! This "fun" edition of the Carnival of
Genealogy will be hosted by Jasia on the Creative Gene blog. The deadline
for submissions is September 15th."


Enjoy!

15th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted!

The 15th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on Irish portraits, and you can read more about it here. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Don't Forget!

I just want to remind everyone that entries for this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy are due the 19th. The topic for this edition will be a carousel, and can be submitted here.

Also, I need someone to host the October edition. (I don't have anyone for December, but I might host that edition.) If you are interested in hosting the October edition please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com as soon as possible. Thanks!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

A Family Reunion From A Child's Perspective ...

For this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, I am supposed to write about family reunions. I have only been to one family reunion so far in my life, and as I do not know about any other family reunions in my family before my time, I'll write about the one I attended.

I was eight years old when I attended the reunion with my mom, brother and paternal grandparents, and in addition to my immediate family, my great-uncle and great-aunt also attended the reunion. They, of course, drove separate from us. The reunion was in Pennsylvania, and my grandfather drove the van we had at the time. (I don't know where exactly it was in Pennsylvania except that it was pretty close to the border with New York.) My dad did not accompany us to reunion because he had to work. I do remember the drive to the reunion, but I don't remember if I saw any road signs. All I knew was that the family reunion was on my grandma's side of the family.

The hotel where the reunion was held (and where we stayed) had, from what I remember, an Irish theme. I can't remember the name, but I can still recall what the place looked like. (Of course, I also took pictures, so that is probably why I remember so much about the place.) Outside of the family members I mentioned above, I did not know anyone else there at the reunion, and I don't really recall interacting with the other people at the reunion. What I do remember was that the reunion was in late October, and was primarily a weekend event. I might have had to miss a day or two of school, but the reunion wasn't very long. Towards the end of the reunion, there was a little trick-or-treat event set up for the children, and I remember wearing the costume I had that year for Halloween. Unfortunately, my brother and I missed most of the event, but our mom took pictures of us in our costumes.

Since I really did not know anyone, I think I hung around my family most of the time, although I do remember wandering around a little bit. (Unfortunately, I don't remember everything.) I did leave the hotel a couple of times, but only with other family members. One of the outings from the hotel was with my grandparents, and I remember we drove across the boarder into New York to buy lotto tickets. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a park (probably a state park) and walked through the park. I think we originally stopped to see a waterfall, because I remember walking to the waterfall in the park. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the park or the waterfall. At one time I did have some information on the park and the waterfall, but the information was thrown out years ago before I had a chance to really look at it.

The second outing that I remember was to a restaurant, and the restaurant was in an old, white house. I don't remember the food at the place, but I do remember the Halloween decorations that were set up behind the building since I took many pictures of them. (I think I drove my mom nuts with all the pictures I took, but mostly I remember being fascinated with the decorations. Of course, as a kid, I was into Halloween, so it was hard for me to ignore.)

Outside of the events above, I don't remember too much more. I do remember that there was a group picture taken of everyone because my grandma held up a copy of the Livonia Observer, so that the picture would end up in the newspaper. The picture was eventually printed in the newspaper, but it wasn't put into the newspaper until some months later. (A classmate happened to see the picture and mentioned it to the class. At the time, we were supposed to pick articles out of the newspaper, and she happened to notice my name in the picture. Of course, I didn't know until then that the picture had been printed.) After it was printed, I cut-out the image, and I still have it in a scrapbook.

Before the reunion ended, I think every family member received a mug and plastic cup with the name and year of the reunion because we brought home a few of them. Of course, I don't know for sure, the mugs are probably the only mementos (besides the photographs) my family still has from the reunion. (My grandma did receive some information on her family, but I wasn't with her at the time so I can't say when during the reunion she received it.)

So, as you can see, most of my memories of the family reunion are random. Of course, I was really young at the time, so I did not know what was going on other than what I saw or heard. As for whether or not I would ever attend another family reunion, I probably would since I had a fairly positive experience with the one I attended. I just only wished I understood better what was going on at the time.

Google Analytics Report For August 2009

Another month has gone by, and that means that it is time for another Google Analytics report! Here are the results for August 2009:

The top ten countries, in number of visits, are:
  1. United States - 244 visits
  2. Canada - 25 visits
  3. United Kingdom - 15 visits
  4. Netherlands - 6 visits
  5. Australia - 5 visits
  6. Germany - 5 visits
  7. Philippines - 3 visits
  8. India - 3 visits
  9. Argentina - 3 visits
  10. Belgium - 3 visits

The top ten states in the United States, in number of visits, are:

  1. Indiana - 29 visits
  2. California - 27 visits
  3. Texas - 24 visits
  4. Michigan - 18 visits
  5. Illinois - 18 visits
  6. Ohio - 14 visits
  7. New York - 14 visits
  8. Virginia - 8 visits
  9. Wisconsin - 8 visits
  10. Pennsylvania - 8 visits

The top ten articles, in number of views, are:

  1. An Award! - 24 views
  2. Classes Have Begun! - 20 views
  3. Breakthroughs and Roadblocks In Researching My German Ancestors ... - 19 views
  4. 16th Edition of the Smile For the Camera Carnival Posted! - 18 views
  5. My New Year's Resolutions - Eight Months Later - 17 views
  6. 22nd Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Posted! -15 views
  7. 14th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted! - 13 views
  8. An Early Irish History Book ... - 12 views
  9. Tombstone Maker Website - 11 views
  10. 77th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted! - 11 views

Well, that is it for this month's report. To my readers, I just want to say, "Thank you for reading!" Enjoy!