What I've Been Up To Since Mid-December ...

As you've probably noticed, I haven't posted much recently, although I've wanted to do so. (At the time of this writing, I have about 13 backlogged articles that I am trying to finish and post.) Of course, I haven't had much time because I'm a grad student.

One of the articles I wanted to post was a summary of the genealogy research that I did over Christmas break. Well, it wasn't very much, but while I was doing research for my thesis at the Library of Michigan and State Archives of Michigan, I was able to do a few quick look-ups on a couple of branches. At the Archives, I discovered that my Klippel ancestor had filed a Declaration of Intent (I'll write about this later.), and in the Library, I found the burial records for a few Saint Joseph county ancestors and relatives. Unfortunately, I did not copy the burial records down as a result of being too tired from doing research for my thesis earlier in the day. Since I know where to find the burial information, I'll make sure to copy the information on my next visit to the Library of Michigan.

So, as you can see, I did not do very much genealogical research on my time off from school. Most of the time I did research for my thesis, or read the textbooks for my upcoming classes, and since I've returned back to school, I am still researching and reading for my classes. I do not know how many posts I will be able to publish in the upcoming months because of my school work, but I do hope to post whenever I can. So, there maybe periods of time when this blog is quiet, but it will be due to being busy with school work rather than neglect. Stay tuned for future articles ...

88th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 88th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on

"Ode to My Family's History! This time around we'll be composing a poem that tells our family's history. It can be long or short, rhyme or not rhyme, funny or serious, illustrated or not... you choose, but make it appropriate as an introduction for a book or video on your family history. The challenge is on! The deadline for submissions is February 1st, 30 submissions accepted."

Enjoy!

Surname Saturday - Can I Conclude That These Oswalts Are Related? - Part One

I've never participated in this meme before, but I did learn about the meme from reading Randy's post. Instead of just writing about where I've researched a certain surname, I thought for my first post in this meme series I would write some more about a research problem I have. Since I will be posting on all of my research on my Oswalt ancestors up to this point, I'll have to split this Surname Saturday into two or more posts to make the reading more manageable.

I did write about my problems trying to connect Adam Oswalt to Benjamin Oswalt and William Oswalt, but I only wrote about my research in general terms. I am hoping that by writing in more specific terms will generate more of a response on whether or not those three Oswalts are related. (I am hoping that other genealogy bloggers will comment; and give advice or suggestions on whether or not I can conclude that they were relatives, or where to continue my research.) In other words, would including Benjamin and William as brothers of Adam be acceptable? Do I have enough evidence to prove a relationship? How would a professional or experienced genealogist view my research? These are all questions that I am hoping other genealogy bloggers might be able to answer or at least suggest what I should do next in my research.

As you probably already know, I am descended from the Civil War veteran, Adam Oswalt. From Adam's pension file, I learned that he was born outside of Huntingdon, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania on May 15, 1836. (I have not yet confirmed this information with any primary sources yet, but hopefully, I will uncover church records some day.) Adam did not name his parents or any other relatives, but mentioned that his parents were illiterate. (1). Census records from 1880 through 1910 indicate that he was born about 1836. For some reason, the 1870 census suggests a birth year of 1837. His marriage certificate and muster-out military papers also suggest a birth year of 1837. (I do not know if those years are a mistake, or if the earlier records are correct. Again, I am hoping church records will resolve that issue.) (2). Adam married Barbara Ann Detwiler in 1861, and his age was given as 23 years old. His parents' names are not listed in the county marriage record as they were not required at that time. (3). The first record that gives Adam's parents' names is Adam's death certificate, and the certificate lists a Benjamin Oswalt and Mary Rough as his parents. (4). As to whether or not the informant is related, I do not believe he is, although there is always the possibility. What I do know about the informant is that he worked at the Old Soldier's Home Hospital as a clerk. Where did he get the information, if he was not related? It's probably very likely that he got his information from Adam's daughter, Myrtie, as she was listed as his nearest relative in his admission papers to the home. (5).

After uncovering the names of Adam's parents, I looked for them, and found them in the 1850 Census in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Among the children living with Benjamin and Mary were a Solomon, William, Margaret, Benjamin and Nancy Oswalt. Adam does not show up in the household. (6). Of course, the absence of Adam in the 1850 census does not mean that he was not Benjamin and Mary's son, and there are probably multiple reasons as to why Adam did not show up in the census. I also found Benjamin Oswalt and Mary living in Huntingdon County in the 1860 census, but Adam is not listed in that census either. (7). To this date, I have not been able to find Adam in the 1850 or 1860 census, even though Adam stated on his admission papers that he had been living in Michigan since March of 1859. (8). There is another Adam Oswalt living in Blair County (which was once part of Huntingdon County), but that Adam is too old to be my ancestor. It is completely possible, though, that this Adam is a relative of Benjamin Oswalt. I have yet to determine whether or not that Adam is a relative, though.

While I haven't been able to find Adam in the 1850 and 1860 censuses, I do know that he was living in Pine Grove Township, Van Buren County, Michigan at the time of his marriage in 1861. (9). Whether or not Adam began living in Michigan in 1859, I have yet to determine. It is possible that tax records for those years will help me narrow down when and where he was living in Michigan at that time. Although I haven't been able to find Adam, I did find a Solomon and William Oswald living in Saint Joseph County, Michigan in the 1860 Census. Solomon was living in the household of John Heinback in Park Township, while William was living with a Daniel and Margaret Black in Fabius Township. (10). The odd thing about Solomon was his age. He was still in his twenties in this census like he was in the 1850 census. Oddly enough, the age given was about the same age as Adam would have been. Could Adam have been living in the same household as Solomon but missed or mixed up? (11). All I can do is speculate until I go through the tax records of Saint Joseph County for those years. Of course, I do know Adam lived in Saint Joseph County after his marriage in 1861.

As for the Solomon Oswalt who was living in Park Township at the time of the 1860 census, he was not living there in the 1870 census, nor was I able to find a Solomon Oswalt that fit the previous censuses in Pennsylvania. (There is a Solomon Oswalt in Pennsylvania in the 1870 census, but that Solomon does not appear to fit the Solomon Oswalt in the 1850 Census.) (12). Originally I believed that he had died in Saint Joseph County after the 1860 census, but after looking at the Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania newspapers and Civil War records for Pennsylvania, it appears that Solomon returned to Huntingdon County. How was I able to determine that fact? Well, the newspaper, Huntingdon Journal, carried a marriage notice for a Solomon Oswalt who married a Mary Morningstar on February 14, 1861, and since the only Solomon Oswalt around the Huntingdon County area was the Solomon connected to Benjamin and Mary Oswalt, I think it is safe to assume that it is him. Additionally, the Pennsylvania Archives has a Civil War Veteran's index file, and it lists a Solomon Oswalt who served in September of 1862. This Solomon enlisted at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and I suspect that Solomon is Benjamin and Mary's son. (13). In 1869, a Mrs. Mary Oswalt is listed as marrying a Jno. Westbrook in a marriage announcement, which suggested to me that Solomon had died some time before the newspaper published the announcement and that his widow had remarried. To confirm my theory, I searched the 1870 census for a John Westbrook living in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania with a wife named Mary, and I found the couple. Included in the household were two children: William and Ann Oswalt. (14). Of course, my connection to these children and Solomon are tenuous, and I still have to confirm the relationship with some other form of documentation. Additionally, I only have the 1850 census to connect Solomon to Benjamin and Mary Oswalt.

Benjamin Oswalt (the father) died sometime before 28 September 1861 when his widow, Mary, renounced her right to administer his estate. She requested that their son, John, take care of his estate, but unfortunately, only John's relationship is stated in the will book. (15). When I looked at the Orphan Court's records to see if any further documentation might list Benjamin's heirs, I did not have luck. The court records only mention that the estate had been assessed and that the administration of it had been approved by the Orphan's Court. (16). Short of finding any other court records, I'll probably have to look for church records, but at the moment, I am not sure as to what my Oswalt ancestors religious beliefs were.

In the next post, I'll continue with my research into this Oswalt family by analyzing the information I have on William and Benjamin Oswalt. If I have rambled too much, I apologize for any confusion.

So, what do you think so far? Do I have enough information to conclude that Adam and Solomon are brothers? Any advise or suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
____________________________________________________________________
Sources

(Some of the citations are not complete due to the fact that I do not have all of the documents in front of me at this time. I am relying upon my memory at the time of this writing.)

1. "1907 Statement." Civil War Pension File of Adam Oswalt.
2. U.S. Federal Censuses of 1870, 1880, 1900 and 1910. (For the first three censuses, Adam is living in Saint Joseph County, Michigan. For the 1910 census, Adam Oswalt is living in Kent County, Michigan.)
3. "Marriage of Adam Oswald to Barbary Ann Detweiler." Saint Joseph County, Michigan Marriage Records. Book C, page 307.
4. "Death record of Adam Oswalt." Kent County, Michigan Death Records. His death certificate can also be viewed online at http://seekingmichigan.org/.
5. "Admission papers of Adam Oswalt to the Michigan Old Soldier's Home." Microfilm at the Grand Rapids Public Library. Admission number 5205.
6. U. S. 1850 Federal Census, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, Walker Township, household of Benjamin Oswalt.
7. U. S. 1860 Federal Census, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, Juanita Township, household of Benjamin Oswald.
8. See record in source number 5. Page 2.
9. See record in source number 3.
10. U. S. 1860 Federal Census, Saint Joseph County, Michigan, Park and Fabius Townships, households of John Heinback (sic) and Daniel Black.
11. See record in source number 10 for Park Township.
12. U.S. 1870 Federal Census for Saint Joseph County, Michigan and Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.
13. "Marriage of Solomon Oswalt to Mary M. Morningstar." Huntingdon Journal. 20 February 1861. http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/civilwar/Client.asp?skin=civilwar&AppName=2&AW=1257601112239; "Solomon Oswald." Civil War Veterans' Card File, 1861-1866. Pennsylvania State Archives. Between Oswald, John P. and Otis, Ora L. Item 17. http://www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp?view=ArchiveItems&ArchiveID=17&FID=1350300&LID=1350349&FL=O&Page=1.
    
14. "Marriage of Jno A. Westbrook (sic) to Mary M. Oswalt." Huntingdon Globe. 3 March 1869.http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/civilwar/Client.asp?skin=civilwar&AppName=2&AW=1257601112239; U. S. 1870 Federal Census, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, Township, household of John Westbrook.
15. "Administrative letters for the estate of Benjamin Oswald." Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania Wills, 1787-1918, Wills v. 5-6. FHL US/CAN Film 854233. Will Book 6, page 142.
    
16. "November 1861 Session." Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania Orphan's Court Dockets, 1788-1866. Volume I, FHL US/Can Film 900592. Page 59 (?).
    

Update to Looking For 2010 Hosts ...

As you probably remember, I posted a few requests within the past month or so for hosts of the 2010 editions of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. A couple of people have already offered to host a few of the editions, but there are still some months available, if anyone still wants to host an edition. The months still available are:

• May
• July
• August
• October
• November
• December

If you are interested in hosting one of these editions, please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

Light Blogging Ahead!

Well, I'm back at school again, and after looking at my schedule, I have come to the conclusion that my workload will be greater for this semester than the previous semester. Thus, I do not know how often I will be able to post in the upcoming months. I'll try to post some articles, but I cannot make too many promises. So, if my blog is inactive for awhile it is because I am busy with schoolwork. I just thought I would let everyone know. Enjoy!

January Issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine Posted!

The January issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!

17th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted!

The 17th 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 the Saint Patrick's Day Parade, and you can read more about it here. Enjoy!

Update to the Carnival of Genealogy and Topic for the 88th Edition

An update on changes for the Carnival of Genealogy and the topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on

"Volunteerism! Here's a chance to toot your horn about whatever genealogy projects, organizations, or events you voluntarily give your time and efforts to. What do you get out of volunteering? How did you decide what to volunteer for? How much time each month do you spend volunteering for genealogy projects/organizations/events? Is there an organization or project you'd like to recommend to others? Tell us all about it! The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2010."

Enjoy!

25th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

Welcome to the 25th edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. The belated edition has finally arrived! The theme for the December (and now, January, as well) edition was on Hanukkah and Christmas traditions. Here are the articles for this edition:

First off, we have an article from Zenon of PolishOrigins. In "Christmas Eve - Wigilia," the Polish tradition of Wigilia is described.

Last, but not least, we have an article from Greta Koehl of Greta's Genealogy Blog. In "Advent Calendar Day 24: Christmas Eve - Holy Supper," she describes her family's Christmas Eve dinner tradition.

Well, that is it for this edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. The topic for the next edition will be a carousel. Submissions for the topic will be due on February 18th, and the edition will be published on February 20th. You can submit your articles here. Enjoy!

87th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 87th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be announced later. Enjoy!

Google Analytics Report For December 2009

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

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

1. United States - 430 visits
2. Canada - 49 visits
3. United Kingdom - 25 visits
4. Spain - 12 visits
5. Germany - 11 visits
6. Malaysia - 10 visits
7. Australia - 8 visits
8. Sweden - 7 visits
9. Philippines - 5 visits
10. Italy - 5 visits

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

1. California - 52 visits
2. Illinois - 27 visits
3. Texas - 25 visits
4. Michigan - 23 visits
5. Indiana - 20 visits
6. Virginia - 20 visits
7. Ohio - 18 visits
8. Georgia - 17 visits
9. New York - 15 visits
10. Massachusetts - 14 visits

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

1. Happy Thanksgiving! - 29 views
2. Holiday Issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine Available! - 22 views
3. My 2010 Genealogy Resolutions - 22 views
4. Tombstone Maker Website - 17 views
5. 85th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted! - 15 views
6. British World War One Records Updated! - 14 views
7. Carnival Deadline Extended! - 14 views
8. My New Year's Resolutions - The Final Results - 11 views
9. 86th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted! - 10 views
10. Trippstadt, Germany Civil Death Records, Part One: 1806-1829 - 9 views
    

Well, that is it for this month's results. To my readers, I want to say, "Thank you for reading!" Enjoy and stay tuned for next month's results!

Happy New Year's Day!

I just want to wish everyone a happy and safe New Year's Day. Enjoy!

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!

Merry Christmas!

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

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!

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!