10th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

This edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy is the tenth edition, which is a milestone in itself. The topic for this edition was a carousel, so the topic of this edition's submission could be on anything. Five people submitted articles, and here are this edition's articles:

First off, we have an article from Amir Dekel of I Dream of Genea(logy), who is a first time submitter to this carnival. In Almost no oaks in my forest, Amir writes about the effect of the Holocaust on his grandfather's family, and the reason for his grandfather's emigration to Israel.

Next, we have an article from Elizabeth O'Neal of Little Bytes of Life. In Slavic Folklore for Kids: The Little Einsteins, she writes about a Disney's show that incorporates a Slavic folk story about a firebird into the episodes storyline.

Next, we have an article from Stephen J. Danko of Steve's Genealogy Blog. In Finding the Village of Trelkowo, Poland (Gross Schöndaerau, Germany), he writes about his attempt to find the village of Trelkowo and how he found the village. He also writes about the name change of this village after World War Two.

Next, we have an article from Al of Polish-American Genealogy Research. In Adeline Sopa Q & A Interview, he shares a transcript of his interview with Adeline Sopa, an expert Kashubian genealogy.

Last, but not least, we have an article from Jessica Oswalt of Jessica's Genejournal. In Looking For My German Ancestors Part 4, she writes about the research she did into Fred, the relative of her ancestor, Carl.

Well, that ends this edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. For the next edition, we have a bit of change. Instead of the edition being hosted on my blog, the edition will be hosted by Steve Danko. The topic, as suggested by him, will be on: "First (Given) Names: Did any of your ancestors have an unusual given name? Have you discovered the meanings behind the given names of your ancestors? Did your ancestors use any naming patterns for their children? Are there any given names that are particular common in your family history? Did any of your ancestors have given names that you particularly like or dislike? Does your family celebrate "Name Days"? Did your immigrant ancestors change their given names after they arrived in America? Tell us about the first (given) names in your family. You can concentrate on one name, a few names, or you can go wild and write about the first names of all your ancestors!" Submissions for the next edition are due on September 21, and the edition will be posted on September 24. You can submit your article here.

So, Where Was I?

Last week I mentioned that I would not be posting any major articles or be available due to the fact that I was preparing to go back to school. What I did not tell anyone was that I would be away on vacation.

So, where did I go on vacation? Well,I went on a cruise with almost all of my family. In addition to going with my parents and brother, I went with three of my cousins, my grandparents, an aunt and an uncle. The cruise lasted for five days, and we stopped at Cozumel, Mexico and Grand Cayman Island. At the moment, I do not have any pictures of our trip. When I do get some, I'll post a few and write more about the trip. At the moment, I'm not going to post anymore on my vacation because I want to post an article with pictures from my trip.

The Genea-bloggers' Games: My Final Statistics ...

Well, today happens to be the deadline for all of the statistics for the Genea-blogger's Games. I haven't worked on the Genea-bloggers' categories since August 14th, so I'll just do a recap of what I did do up to that point.

Just as a reminder, I chose to participate in the "Back up your data," "Write, write. write," and "Reach out & perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness." So, here is what I have accomplished:

Back up your data!

To be honest I have not completed any of the tasks. All I have done so far is burn some photographs on my flash drive to a CD, so I don't believe I have even completed task C.

Medal Earned - none

Write, Write, Write!

Here are the tasks that I have completed:

• Task A - I wrote an article explaining what my blog was about.
• Task B - I submitted an article to the upcoming edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture and an article to the upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy.
• Task C - I did write a couple of articles (small ones) that I scheduled to publish later on in the week. (I took care of those on the 14th.)

Medal earned - Gold

Reach out & Perform Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness!

Here are the tasks I completed:

• Task A - I left a comment on a new genealogy blog, In Deeds.
• Task B - I joined a few blogline networks during this time period, and I also joined two more yesterday.
• Task E - I helped to index a couple pages of census records for FamilySearch Indexing.

Medal earned - Gold

Well, that I all I have accomplished since the Genea-bloggers' Games began. I guess I have completed a lot more than I expected to do. In addition, I just want to say thank you to the creators and hosts of this year's Genea-bloggers' Games.

Still Looking For A Host ...

I think I have a host for the September edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, so I'm just looking for one more host. I still need a host for October, and if you are interested, please email me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

Another note, I will post the tenth edition later on today.

I'm Back!

I just want to let everyone know that I am now back. (I'll explain later.) Even though I am back to blogging, I will be posting articles less frequently than usually due to the fact that I am now back at school. In the meantime, I am still catching up on what I have missed for the past week. Stay tuned ...

20th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The twentieth Shades of the Departed guest column has been posted. The author of this week's article is Bob Franks, and you can read the article here. Enjoy!

54th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 54th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read the edition on Donna's blog.

(As a note, I have pre-published this, so I do not know what the upcoming topic will be or the link to the article.)

19th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

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

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

Just To Let Everyone Know ...

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

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

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

Genea-bloggers' Games - Day : My Progress

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

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

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

Still Looking ...

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

Stores I Remember ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

4th Edition of Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted!

The fourth edition of the Smile For The Camera carnival has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition is:

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

Enjoy!

Genea-bloggers' Games - Day 5: My Progress

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

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

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

Back up your data!

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

Write, Write, Write!

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

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

Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness!

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

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

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

Military Reading Challenge: Book Review One

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

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

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

Still Looking For Hosts ...

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

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

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

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

Looking For My German Ancestors Part 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Genea-bloggers' Games - Day 4: My Progress

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