12th Edition of the Smile For the Camera Carnival Posted!

The 12th 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

All Creatures Great And Small. Show us a photograph of the family pet. The pet
that made it into every family snapshot. That pampered pet your ancestors took
to the photographic studio to immortalize in an expensive photograph. The best
friend who was there for your ups and downs.

Enjoy!

Question About Pre-1906 Naturalization Records ...

A few years ago, I found my ancestor's naturalization paper in the State of Michigan archives, and since this naturalization occurred before 1906, I figured that this was the only record. Lately, though, I have been wondering: Should I be looking for an additional record even though this is before 1906? I still am not having any luck in determining where my ancestor was born, and I wonder if there is more than this half-page to his naturalization record. Does anyone know?

Although I have posted the image so that other genealogists could look at the record, I have covered up the last name to protect the identities of living relatives.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Forgot To Mention: It Has Been Two Years!

I just realized that I forgot to mention on March 18th, that I began this blog two years ago. I didn't think about that fact until I noticed that other genea-bloggers were posting posts on their anniversaries.

Madness Monday - More on Irene Havens, Part Five ...

I've noticed that several genea-bloggers are taking part in a meme started by Amy Crooks, and I thought I would participate in this meme.

For this edition of the Madness Monday, I've decided to focus on my mysterious ancestor, Irene Havens, and post another article in my series on her. In my previous post, I mentioned the discovery that I made about Rhoda's parents. What I did not add at the time of that post was that I had also some additional information the mysterious Clarissa Mandigo that I recently mentioned in another post.

After looking up Rhoda's death record, I only came to the conclusion that the 1850 Rochester, New York census that included a Clarissa, Rhoda and Hirena Havens was the correct census when another genealogists suggested that the Hirena might be my ancestor in response to my request for help in finding Irene Havens in the 1850 census. (Up to that point, I wasn't sure if that census was the correct one as I have found an 1860 census that included a Rhoda Havens family living in Clinton county, New York. That family, that I mentioned in a previous post, happened to be the wrong family, and it was only Rhoda (Havens) Lang's death registration that revealed how incorrect my assumption was.)

Once I came to the conclusion that my Havens ancestor lived in Rochester, New York before coming to Michigan, I decided to figure out why I could not find the right Rhoda Havens in the 1860 Census. (I could find Irene, but Irene was living with a different family.) This time, I decided to look in Saint Joseph county, Michigan for the Mandigo family, and I came across the household of Archibald Mandigo. Archibald's household included a Clarissa and Rhoda Mandigo, and I began to suspect that Rhoda was listed under the Mandigo name instead of her own name. I also suspected that Clarissa Havens had remarried after the 1850 census to Archibald Mandigo. At the same time, the same genealogist who helped me, pointed out a biography of a Robert Mandigo as a source I should look at, and after viewing the biography, I decided to look for Archibald Mandigo's family in the 1850 census to prove or disprove my speculations. I found Archibald Mandigo and his sons living in Webster, Monroe county, New York in the census, and noticed that a female was not present in the household. This suggested to me that Archibald was probably a widower at the time of the census, and that Archibald might have married Clarissa. To further solidify my suspicions, I decided to go through the Rochester City Directories for 1849 and 1851. In the 1849 city directory, I found a Clarissa Havens mentioned, and in the 1851 city directory, I found a Clarissa Mandigo listed. Again, I suspected that these Clarissas were the one and same person, but until the Rochester, New York newspaper indexes were put online, I did not have a way to confirm my suspicions.

After going through the newspaper indexes, I discovered that Archibald Mandigo did marry a Mrs. Clarissa Novens (I suspect that her surname was misspelled), and that a Darwin Havens had married a Miss Clarissa Howe a few years earlier. I also discovered that Archibald had married a woman previous in the 1830s, and I suspect this woman had died before the 1850 census. To confirm my hypothesis, I needed to find out what the newspaper announcements said, and I put a look-up request on the Monroe County, New York Rootsweb message board, and a few days later, I received an e-mail from an man named Jim, who offered to do the look-up for me.

Due to the fact that this post is getting quite long, I will, for next week's Monday Madness, continue with the research into Irene Havens, and I'll mention the information that Jim uncovered. Eventually, I do plan on posting the sources I have used in my research so far, and I'll try to include my sources at the end of the next part. Stay tuned ...

Happy Easter!

I just want to wish everyone a happy Easter! Enjoy!

Family History Center Visit 6

Earlier today I visited the local Family History Center in my area, and I took a look at the microfilm of Trippstadt's death records from 1803 to 1839. I was able to find four death records for members of the the Kees and Cotta families, among which one of those death records happened to be for the Christoph Friedrich Cotta that I wrote about last year. The other three death records were of his grandchildren who died young, and I was able to print out images of all four of the death certificates.

After looking at the death certificates, I took a look again at the tax assessments for Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, and I tried to find my ancestor, Benjamin Oswalt, listed in the tax records before 1823, but I was unsuccessful in searching the townships of Henderson, Porter and Huntingdon. I did, though, find information on a couple possible Householder ancestors. If I am going to find Benjamin in the tax records before 1823, I will have to order the other microfilms of tax records and look for him in other townships. I was unable to print out copies of the pages of those assessments because I ran out of time for research.

Before I left the Family History Center, though, I ordered three more microfilms. Two of those microfilms are of church records in England and the third microfilm is of church records for Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Hopefully, I will find more information on my Oswalt ancestors when the Pennsylvania church records arrive. Stay tuned for further updates ...

Happy Passover!

I just want to wish everyone a happy Passover! Enjoy! (I think I might be a little late in posting this, and if so, I am terribly sorry for not posting this yesterday.)

Family History Center Update

The Family History Center called earlier today, and I learned that another microfilm arrived. This microfilm happens to be the last microfilm of deaths for Trippstadt, Germany, so I'll soon be able to write my post on Trippstadt's civil death records after I get a chance to look at the microfilm. I just hope to be able to view the microfilm this week. Stay tuned ...

An Unknown World War Two Soldier

Here is another picture from my great-aunt's photo album. I do not know who this soldier or woman in the picture is, and I do not know where this picture was taken. He could be a friend of my great-aunt or a relative, but I don't know. All I know is that this picture was taken during World War Two.

So, What's My Area of Expertise?

I just happened to notice John's post on his area of genealogy expertise, and I thought I would also write about my area of expertise in genealogy as well.

So, what is my area of expertise? Although I am an amateur genealogist, I think I would have to say that my expertise is in Michigan genealogy as I have mainly researched in Michigan and with Michigan records and have ancestors who have resided in Michigan for over 150 years. Most of that research has focused on Saint Joseph county, but I have also researched records in the Library of Michigan, State Archives, Bay county, Saginaw county, and Detroit. In other words, I'm primarily familiar with records in Saint Joseph county, but that doesn't mean that my experience with Michigan records is limited to that county.

Of course, I have only been doing genealogy for the past six years, but I think I have enough experience and knowledge about Michigan records to advise or aid other genealogists who have research in Michigan. So, what do you think? Do you agree?

69th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 69th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "Uncle, Uncle! This edition is all about our uncles. Have you got a favorite or interesting uncle? Tell us about him! Maybe you had a older cousin, neighbor, or friend you called "uncle"... that works too! No uncles in your life? No problem. Write about any gentleman on your family tree who was an uncle to somebody." Enjoy!

34th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The 34th Shades of the Departed guest column has been posted! The author of this week's column is Donna McClure, and you can read it here. Enjoy!

New Year's Resolutions: How Am I Doing?

As you might remember, I posted my New Year's resolutions for this year back in December, and I thought I would update everyone on how far I have progressed in completing my New Year's resolutions. So, here's how I've been doing so far:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
10. Improve the writing quality of my posts. As of April 1st: I am still working on this resolution as well.

So, as you can see, I still have several resolutions to complete, but since I still have several months to go, I should be able to accomplish a few more resolutions before the year ends. Enjoy!

Google Analytics Results For March 2009

March is over, and that means that it is time for another Google Analytics report! Here are the results for March 2009:

The top ten countries, in number of visits, are:

1. United States - 572 visits
2. Canada - 53 visits
3. United Kingdom - 41 visits
4. Netherlands - 13 visits
5. Australia - 9 visits
6. France - 4 visits
7. Sweden - 2 visits
8. Ireland - 2 visits
9. New Zealand - 2 visits
10. Germany - 2 visits

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

1. Michigan - 111 visits
2. Illinois - 50 visits
3. Texas - 41 visits
4. California - 40 visits
5. New York - 35 visits
6. Virginia - 26 visits
7. Ohio - 24 visits
8. Utah - 20 visits
9. Florida - 18 visits
10. Washington - 15 visits

The top ten places in Michigan, in number of visits, are:

1. Hamburg - 32 visits
2. Lansing - 32 visits
3. Whitmore Lake - 19 visits
4. Grand Rapids - 7 visits
5. East Lansing - 3 visits
6. Redford - 2 visits
7. Troy - 2 visits
8. Battle Creek - 1 visit
9. Commerce Township - 1 visit
10. Goodrich - 1 visit

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

1. Celebrate Your Name Week - Day One - 46 views
2. Library of Michigan and State Archives News: Possible Closure? - 45 views
3. 31st Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted! - 42 views
4. Are They Related? Another Mystery Photo ... - 30 views
5. 68th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted! - 28 views
6. Tombstone Maker Website - 23 views
7. 16th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - 23 views
8. I've Left Facebook ... - 21 views
9. Forgot To Mention: 33rd Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted! - 19 views
10. 32nd Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted! - 17 views

Well, that is it for this month's report. For all of those who read my blog, thank you for reading! Enjoy!

17th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Posted!

The 17th edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy has been posted! (Thank you, Diane!) You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on Easter and Passover traditions. How are Easter and Passover celebrated in Central and Eastern European countries? Does you family have any traditions from Central or Eastern Europe? How did you ancestors celebrate Easter or Passover? You do not have to have Central or Eastern European ancestors to participate in this edition. Submissions are due April 20th, and the edition will be posted here on the 22nd. Enjoy!

More Death Records Added to the Seeking Michigan Site!

I just happened to take a look at the Seeking Michigan site and discovered that more death records have been added. You can read more about the records added here. Anyhow, I'm off to see if I can find any more death records for people connected to my family. Enjoy!

Researching My Central and Eastern European Female Ancestors ...

As many of you probably know from reading my blog, I have several ancestors who came from Germany or were ethnic Germans from the Russian Empire, and for this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, I am supposed to write an article about my the resources I use for my research on a female ancestor from those regions in Europe. Instead of focusing on only one ancestor, I thought I would focus on a few of my German female ancestors, and write about the resources I have used or still need to use to trace them.

I have briefly written about my ancestor, Caroline, before, but I did not focus on the resources I have used or might use to research about her. I have not done as much research on her as I have on some of my other female ancestors, but the few sources that I have used have mostly been records created in the U. S. One of those sources happened to be a death notice that was published in a Detroit newspaper a few days after her death, and I have included the death notice below. (Note: I have blackened out the surnames of my ancestor and those of her daughters as a way to protect the identities of living family members.)

As you can see from the death notice, Caroline's surviving children are listed as well as her husband, and when I found this death notice, I was able to confirm relationships between her and other family members. Of course, this death notice was not the only source I used in doing my research on Caroline, and I was able to find her death certificate as well. Unfortunately, her parents were not listed on her death certificate, so I was unable to confirm my family's tradition about her maiden name. I also used the passenger manifest that had her and her three children (at the time) listed as a confirmation of when she entered America in and where she once lived. Unfortunately, her last residence was in Germany, so I'll have to do more research to determine where in Russia she was born. I am hoping that either her husband's naturalization papers or her marriage certificate will be able to answer some of my questions, but I have yet to obtain those records.

As for my other German female ancestors, I have a little more information on them due to the fact that my research into them has been easier than my research into Caroline has been. Emilia (Kees) Klippel is one of those ancestors that I have more information, but even then, I still do not have all the answers I wish I had. My first source of information on Emilia was a family tree that had been printed in the '30s or '40s, and that tree listed where she had married her husband. I used the information to order a microfilm of Trippstadt marriages, and I was able to find her marriage record. Besides finding her census record, I was able to use census records and a passenger manifest to trace her and her family movements in the U. S. Additionally, I used deeds to determine how long she and her family lived in Cleveland, Ohio, and I also used information from two books, provided to me by a woman over in Germany, to determine who her siblings were. Her brother's passport record also helped to confirm the relationship between the two. Besides those records, I also used city directories and her death record to determine where she lived and when she died. Unfortunately, I still have not been able to find the location of her burial, so I'll have to do some more research.

As for Emilia's mother, Amelia (Cotta) Kees, I am still doing research on her, but I have more information on her than I do on Caroline. Like Emilia, I also used the family tree as a resource to find information on Amelia, but I also used the two secondary sources to determine when Amelia married and who her children were. In addition, I used the death records of two of Amelia's sons and her death record to also determine when she died and who her children were. The death record for Amelia is below:

Amelia's death record lists her by her maiden name, and gives the names of her parents and husband. The record also gives her age and a possible birthplace. Thus, I have a few more leads as to where I should look for records, and hopefully, I will be able to do more research on her over this summer.

So, as you can see, I have used several different types of records to find information on my female ancestors. I just hope that I will be able to find more information on these three ancestors, and when I do find more information, I will let everyone know what I have found. Unti then, stay tuned ...

Family History Center Visit 5

Yesterday, I went back to the local Family History Center, and I looked through the Huntingdon tax records microfilm, that I ordered, again. As you may remember from my previous post, I was unable to finish looking through the assessments for Hopewell Township after 1815 on my last visit, so I finished going through the assessments for the township between 1815 and 1823. Of course, I was still able to find an Oswalt in the assessments for that township, but I was unable to find my ancestor, Benjamin Oswalt, in the records before 1823. The Oswalt that I did find in the assessments was an Adam Oswalt, and I suspect this Adam might be Benjamin's father as this Adam is old enough to pass for his father. Of course, this Adam is not to be confused with Benjamin's son, Adam, who served in the Civil War. (If that makes any sense!)

Of course, I was hoping to find Benjamin before 1823 because I am trying to trace his movements. I know that Benjamin did reside in Hopewell Township from 1823 until 1826, and then again from 1829 until 1833, when the tax assessments end, but I have not yet been able to find him or his family in the 1820 census. I did notice that there were other people living with an Adam Oswalt in the 1820 census, so I am trying to determine if that is where Benjamin was living. Of course, I will need to look at other townships in the area as it could be possible that Benjamin was living another township before 1823. I am hoping to narrow his movements so that I can figure out when Benjamin married and his age.

I noticed that at the end of the tax assessments, there was a section for single, freedmen, but I could not find Benjamin listed in that list either, for Hopewell Township. One of the tax assessments recorded that single men who were 21 and older were listed under that list. So, if I was able to find Benjamin in the tax assessment, that would give me an approximate year of birth and the removal of his name from the single men's list would give me an approximate year of marriage. Since I was unable to find him listed under any of Hopewell's tax assessments before 1823, I will need to look for him in another neighboring township. (When Benjamin does show up in Hopewell in 1823, I know he is already married as he is listed with the other heads of households on the assessment and not with the single men.)

So, I will have to visit the local Family History Center again, and look through the microfilm again. Eventually I will do a post on the tax assessments, but that will have to wait until I am able to go through the microfilm again. Stay tuned ...

Don't Forget!

I just want to remind everyone that submissions for the seventeenth edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy are due the 29th of March. M. Diane Rogers is hosting this edition, and you can find out more information about the edition here. You can submit your articles here. Thanks!

Forgot To Mention: 33rd Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

I forgot to mention on Friday that the 33rd Shades of the Departed guest column had been posted, and I am really sorry for forgetting to mention the post. The author of that column was M. Diane Rogers, and you can read it here. Enjoy!