An Interesting Article On Future Censuses ...

Earlier today, I happened to notice an article on the 2010 Census posted on The Genetic Genealogist, and I thought it was interesting. The article also explains why we have to wait 72 years before we can view census records.

Also, John wrote a response to this article that you might want to read as well.

One Michigan Family's Civil War Experience - Part Two

In my previous post, I began writing about my ancestors' Civil War experiences. My first post was extremely short as I did not have very much time to write the post, so I decided to break it down into multiple posts. But I digress ...

The Civil War Era ancestors that I am writing about are my ancestors who primarily lived in Saint Joseph County, Michigan (or at least southwest Michigan): the Detwiler and Oswalt families. As I mentioned before, the men in the Stout family did not serve, although the eventually husband of my Stout ancestor's sister-in-law did serve. (Of course, he did not marry the sister-in-law until a couple years after the war ended.) I don't know at the moment why the men did not serve, although that does not mean that they were unpatriotic. It is possible that Reuben Stout might have donated some money for the war effort. (I have to recheck the newspaper article as I accidentally cut off some information when I printed it from the microfilm.)

Either way, it was the men in the Oswalt and Detwiler families who primarily made up the Civil War veterans in my family. Of course, I should state that these men did not sign up all at the same time. Three of the men joined a Michigan infantry in 1862. The rest joined a Michigan regiment in February of 1865. The Michigan men that I hope to write about sometime in the future (and not in any particular order) are:

• Adam Oswalt
• Benjamin Oswalt
• William Oswalt
• John Detwiler
• Joseph Detwiler
• Alexander Detwiler
• George W. Detwiler
• Philip Lang(e)

I must state, though, that I still need to do research on most of these men, so I'll be posting on these men as I learn more information about them. Obviously, this will be an ongoing series of posts.

Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 45th Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next carnival is on family traits. Which family traits have you inherited or have been passed down in your family? Enjoy!

A Sad Day In History ...

To be honest, I don't know what to really write for this post. Forty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered on this day, and I don't know what to say. How does someone write a memorial about a man who greatly influenced the United State's recent past when she was not alive when King was living or lived through the Civil Rights Era? All I know about King and the Civil Rights movement is from textbooks and classes. I did not live during that time period, but I still feel as though I should post something today as King and other Civil Rights activists have influenced most of our post-World War Two history. (Of course, I should also note that there were movements for civil rights before World War Two; one cannot ignore the influence those movements had on the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.) The tragedy and influence of today forty years ago cannot be ignored; it was a day that Americans lost a great leader.

Although I wasn't alive at the time of the Civil Rights movement, I understand that the History Channel will have a two hour show on Martin Luther King, Jr. on the 6th (I think). It looks like it will be an interesting show from the ads on TV.

Records Being Indexed At FamilySearch - An Update

In case anyone is wondering which records are currently being indexed at FamilySearch Indexing, here is a list of a few records:

• 1870 U. S. Census
• 1930 Mexico Census
• State censuses of South Dakota and Wisconsin
• Irish bmds
• Philadelphia marriage indexes

As you can see, several records are being indexed. A few of these records have been indexed for a while. You can find out more information here.

So It's April Fool's Day ...

Yes, this is another one of those random posts. As a child, I always wondered if someone was going to pull off a prank on me on that day, and sometimes, I wonder how my ancestors reacted to this day. Did children pull off pranks on this day, or did my ancestors pay little attention to this day? I'm not sure. It is always interesting to read about how people celebrated certain holidays.

More Genealogy Blogs Added!

Today I have added a few more genealogy blogs. The blogs added are:

• Winging It
• Ahnenforschung Genealogy - My Time In History (Note: auf Deutsch/ in German)
• Genealogy Works & Fun Blog

You can find these and other blogs on the lower left side of the blog. Any suggestions for other history or genealogy blogs are welcome.

A Family Affair: One Michigan Family's Civil War Experience - Part One

One of the few family stories that were passed down was that one of my ancestors was a Civil War veteran. Within the first year or so of doing research, I was able to prove that this family tradition was true. In addition, I discovered that my ancestor's brother-in-laws, wife's uncle and possibly two Oswalt men (living in the same county) that might be his brothers. In short, my ancestor's involvement in the Civil War was just as much of a family affair as it was for almost every other family in the United States at the time of the Civil War. (I say almost because another one of my ancestor's family did not have anyone serve in the Civil War, although they may have contributed to the war effort in other ways. I am still doing research to determine what they may have done.)

One detail I am wondering, though, about my Civil War ancestor is what made him sign up for service when he did. My ancestor did not enlist in a volunteer Michigan infantry regiment until February of 1865. I'm not sure, but hopefully, I will be able to find an answer in future research. In later posts, I'll write more about my Civil War ancestor and other relatives' experiences during the Civil War.

The Automotive Industry: One Family's Connection ...

When I read that the next carnival was on cars, I thought I would write about my family's involvement in the automotive industry instead of writing about cars my family has owned. Why? Well, I'm not sure when my ancestors began to own cars as I have never thought to ask when my family first owned a car. Of course, one could argue that I haven't thought about asking because I've taken cars for granted. (I didn't grow up in a time where owning a car was a luxury.) I realize it may seem strange, but I have mostly been concerned with the occupations of my ancestors, especially since ancestors and family members have worked in jobs connected with the automotive industry for the past four generations. Of course, if it weren't for the people who worked in the automotive industry, we wouldn't be a nation of car lovers.

My family's involvement with the automotive industry began with a few of my ancestors moving to Detroit in the early Twentieth Century, around the same time that the automotive industry was being formed. According to family tradition, my ancestors primarily worked for Ford Motor Company. While I am not completely certain as to the jobs my ancestors held, I do know that these jobs were primarily factory jobs. Since that time, someone in my family has worked in an automotive-related job.

Of course, my family did own cars some time around World War Two (maybe?), but I don't know exactly when. Even then, I think owning a car was more a luxury for my family than it was a necessity. From family stories, I've gathered that most of my ancestors traveled to work by streetcar, so I don't know how much of a need there was for a car. I guess I just assumed that owning a car wasn't necessary for my ancestors living in the early years of the Twentieth Century.

I know even less about the jobs my British ancestors had with the automotive industry, but I did have a few ancestors who worked in the automotive industry. They primarily worked for Vauxhall Motors. I'm not sure exactly when my family members became involved with Vauxhall because I haven't thought to ask. (I should start asking a few questions relating to automotive industry jobs.) In addition to knowing very little about my British ancestors' involvement with the automotive industry, I don't know when they began to own cars or if they did own a car, so I can't truly write about car ownership.

So, what could someone gather from my post? Well, I have to admit that I don't always think about how much of an impact that the automotive industry has had on my family. I've understood for a long time that jobs in the automotive industry has put food on my family's table. I'm sure that has been the case for many families that lived in and live in the Detroit area.

More Congrats and Awards ...

Yes, you read that correctly. Three genealogy bloggers have been recognized by the 2008 Artistry of Genealogy Awards, and I want to say, "Congrats!," to Jasia, Miriam and Renee.

I also want to mention that I first learned about these awards from Becky's post. Randy Seaver also wrote a post on these awards.

Congrats to Jasia!

I just read Randy Seaver's article about Jasia's blog being mentioned in Internet Genealogy, and I just want to say, "Congrats Jasia!"

What's My Accent?

I just happened to look at Thomas MacEntee's post on his accent, and I thought I would take the quiz myself. So, here are my results:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

All I can say is that the quiz results did not surprise me as I have lived in Michigan all of my life; however, I had been thinking about regional accents since I read Terry Snyder's post on regional words and accents.

Why? Well, as I have done census searches of my ancestors and their siblings over the past four or so years, I have come across a few unusual spellings of my surname that I would not have thought of if I had not done a first-name only search in the censuses. A case in point would be the 1880 Census. When I first searched for my ancestors in the 1880 U. S. Census, I could not find the family (except for the youngest child), although I had a fairly good idea of where they were living. To be honest, I had expected from day one of doing research that I would have to look for variations in the spelling of my last name. I am used to it as my last name is misspelled by other people from time to time. It is not unusual for me to find my ancestor's surname spelled as Oswald instead of Oswalt as these surnames are virtually pronounced the same. So, how was their surname misspelled? It was written as Olswath. Yes, even in the image. The census had not been mis-transcribed. Even more unusual about the spelling was that the family was not together; the family was split up and everyone was living in separate households. Yet, the spelling of the surname was almost consistent for the whole family. Since the surname was consistently misspelled, I have a feeling that either my ancestor had an accent or the census taker had an accent. At the moment I am leaning towards the possibility that my ancestor had the accent, but then, I can't say for sure. Either way, accents do influence how one might find an ancestor's name spelled in a record. I don't know how many beginning genealogists keep this in mind when they search for their ancestors, but it is a very good idea for beginners to keep this in mind.

5th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

The time for the fifth edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy is here! The topic for this edition was on traditional dishes from the regions of central and eastern Europe. Although this edition is smaller than the previous one, we have several interesting posts. So get ready for a mouth-watering experience and read on.

First off, we have an article from Steve Danko of Steve's Genealogy Blog. In W Polskich Restauracjach - In Polish Restaurants, Steve writes about his dinning experience in restaurants of Poland and his search for the best pierogi.

Next, we have an article from Miriam of AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors. In Alaskan Russian Foods, Miriam writes about two Russian dishes that she ate as child growing up in Alaska.

Next, we have an article from Elizabeth O'Neal of Little Bytes of Life. In My Husband's Favorite Slovak Dish, Elizabeth writes about her husband's favorite dish, Pirohy.

Last, but not least, we have an article from Lisa of 100 Years in America. In Easter Traditions: Decorating Eggs and ... Fighting, Lisa writes about the Croatian and Hungarian traditions of decorating Easter eggs and about a Croatian Easter egg game.

And so this ends this edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. The topic for the next carnival will be a carousel. The deadline for submissions of the next edition of the carnival will be April 27. The carnival will be posted on the 28th. You can submit your article here.

Three More Genealogy Blogs Added!

I've added three more genealogy blogs to the list today. The blogs added are:

• ~Shades Of The Departed~ - I learned about this blog from footnoteMaven's announcement
• A Genealogist's Sketchbook
• The Genealogist

You can find these and other genealogy blogs on the lower left hand side of this blog. Any suggestions for other history or genealogy blogs are welcome.

New Poll Created!

I have created a new poll. The question for this poll is, "Should I change the deadline of this upcoming carnival?"

I am asking this question as I have not received very many entries for this carnival. Any suggestions for another deadline time are welcome.

Update 3/22: The results for this poll are:

• Yes - 0 votes
• No - 2 votes

To those who voted, thank you!

Happy Easter!

I just want to wish everyone a Good Friday and happy Easter!

Snow ... Again!

Yes, you have read that correctly. Michigan has more snow. Over the past two weeks, the weather where I am at had been warm. Okay, the temperature was probably at the most only in the 40s, but after the weather of this winter, that is warm. Either way it had recently been warm enough that I could wear either my spring jacket or winter coat, until today. Since it was fairly warm, I left my window open overnight, and when I woke up this morning, I discovered that my room was cold. All I had to do was look out the window to see that it was snowing pretty well. When I first I looked out the window, I thought there was only a couple of inches of snow. Well, after getting dinner this evening, I have to say that there is more than two inches on the ground. I'm guessing there is at least three or four inches on the ground. And it is still snowing quite steadily.

Of course, I should not be surprised to see snow. Generally, one cannot say Michigan is free of snow until after the second week of April, although three years ago, it snowed as late as the third or fourth weekend of April. Either way, this winter has been quite harsh. Supposedly this winter is supposed to be either the coldest or most severe that Michigan has experienced in fifty years. (At least that is what my dad heard on the radio.) I can definitely say that I don't believe Michigan has had this much snow since the winter of 1998-1999. Oh, well. Winter isn't over yet.

Carnival Note ....

I just want to remind everyone that submissions for this upcoming Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy are due tonight. The carnival will be posted some time tomorrow.

Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The carnival of genealogy has been posted. You can read it here. The topic for the next carnival is on cars and the roles they have played in one's family.

(I did not submit a entry for this carnival as I believed I would not have had enough time to write a post. Hopefully, I will be able to contribute to this next carnival.)

Just A Reminder ...

I just want to remind everyone that entries for this upcoming Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy is due on the 21st. The topic for this carnival is on traditional dishes of these areas.