32nd Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The 32nd Shades of the Departed Guest Column has been posted! The author of this week's column is Sheri Fenley, and you can read it here. Enjoy!

Library of Michigan and State Archives News: Possible Closure?

I've just learned from a genealogy group on yahoo that there is some discussion about closing the Library of Michigan due to the budget. If true, this not good for genealogists. I'll try to find some more information, and post it here later if it is true.

Update at 1:12 p.m.: I've found a message from the State Librarian here. As for whether it is true or not that the Library might be closed, I'm still not completely sure.

I Haven't Posted Too Much Lately ...

As you probably have noticed, I haven't posted at all in the past several days. Part of the reason for not posting has been due to the fact that I have been busy taking care of stuff for graduate school in the fall. In addition, there have been a days where I haven't felt like posting although I have about four to five backlogged posts that I want to write. Of course, I plan to post these articles as soon as possible.

As for the Trippstadt, Germany death records, I'll have to wait a couple of weeks before I post an article on them as I am still waiting for another microfilm of those records to arrive. I still plan to do a post on the records, although I don't know when I'll get around to it.

Even though I haven't posted too much lately, I have added several genealogy blogs and a history blog in the past several months. A couple of the blogs I learned about from other genealogy blog posts, but I have mostly learned about genealogy blogs from the followers application and technocrati website. Unfortunately, I do not remember all of the blogs I have added in the past several months, so I really can't provide a listing of the blogs. Of course, if you happen to notice that your blog isn't listed, please leave me a comment with your blog's URL, and I will add it to my list. Thanks.

31st Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The Shades of the Departed guest columns are back, and the 31st Shades of the Departed guest column has been posted! The author of this week's column is Terri Kallio, and you can read it here. Enjoy!

67th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 67th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "A Tribute to Women. Write a tribute to a woman on your family tree, a friend, a neighbor, or a historical female figure who has done something to impact your life. Or instead of writing, consider sharing a photo biography of one woman's life. Or create a scrapbook page dedicated to a woman you'd like to honor. The next edition will be hosted at Creative Gene."

Celebrate Your Name Week - Day One

I just learned about the Celebrate Your Name Week from Amanda and Sheri's posts, and I thought I would play along. As everyone knows, my name is Jessica, and as a little girl, my parents told me that my name meant wealth. When I got older, I noticed in a store, a card with the meaning of my name. According to that card, Jessica came from Hebrew and means wealthy.
According to Behind the Name, Jessica as a name, "first used in this form by Shakespeare in his play 'The Merchant of Venice' (1596), where it belongs to the daughter of Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name ISCAH which would have been spelled Jesca in his time. It was not commonly used as a given name until the middle of the 20th century." Meaning of Names also says the same, but adds a little more information: "In Hebrew, the name Jessica means- Rich. God beholds. The daughter of Shylock in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice.. Other origins for the name Jessica include - Hebrew, Israeli.The name Jessica is most often used as a girl name or female name. Hebrew Meaning - Rich. God beholds. The daughter of Shylock in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. Origin - Hebrew." So, as you can see, the information that I had learned prior to looking on those websites was fairly close and accurate.

My parents named me Jessica because they liked the name, so I wasn't named after a relative. In addition, my middle name is unique in my family since none of my other relatives have that name. So, that's a little information on the name, Jessica.

Something To Think About ...

I just happened to notice Brenda's post on the Michigan Grange, and I thought I would mention it since the post reminded me about something I read a few years ago.

Since I had ancestors who were farmers, it is very possible that they were members of teheir local grange, and according to one of the local history books, one of my Detwiler ancestors' son was an officer in the local grange of his area. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that old grange records might still exist, but unfortunately, I do not remember where I read about it. Either way, the article I read mentioned that records would probably be held by the state's Agriculture college (or a college originally founded to study agriculture science), and in Michigan's case that would be Michigan State University. I suppose that it is something for me to look into, but I haven't had a chance to find out whether or not that information is true. When I get a chance to investigate the possiblity, I will let everyone know what I have learned. Stay tuned ...

Google Analytics Results For February 2009

Well, another month has gone by, and that means that it is time for another Google Analytics report. Here's are the results for February 2009:

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

1. United States - 660 visits
2. Canada - 76 visits
3. United Kingdom - 52 visits
4. Australia - 13 visits
5. Netherlands - 10 visits
6. Germany - 4 visits
7. Israel - 4 visits
8. Poland - 3 visits
9. New Zealand - 3 visits
10. Spain - 3 visits

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

1. Michigan - 99 visits
2. California - 76 visits
3. Illinois - 57 visits
4. Texas - 49 visits
5. New York - 42 visits
6. Utah - 27 visits
7. Ohio - 25 visits
8. Washington - 23 visits
9. Florida - 21 visits
10. Virginia - 18 visits

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

1. Hamburg - 62 visits
2. Lansing - 8 visits
3. Southfield - 6 visits
4. Grand Rapids - 4 visits
5. East Lansing - 3 visits
6. Clinton Township - 2 visits
7. Washtenaw County - 2 visits
8. Oak Park - 2 visits
9. Redford - 2 visits
10. Detroit - 1 visits

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

1. I've Left Facebook ... - 53 views
2. Updates in FamilySearch's Record Search - 47 views
3. How Does One Become Certified? - 39 views
4. Three Ladies in the 1940s? - 36 views
5. Another Shipwreck Found! - 30 views
6. Has Anyone Heard Anything New? - 29 views
7. Update on the Michigan Death Certificates, 1897-1920 - 29 views
8. Jessica's Genejournal's Best Of The Best 2008 - 25 views
9. 10th Edition of the Smile For the Camera Posted! - 24 views
10. 16th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - 24 views

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

74th Edition of the Carnival of History Posted!

The 74th edition of the History Carnival has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!

Data Back-Up Day: My Experience with Data Loss

As you may of may not remember, about nine months ago, I experienced a major loss in my genealogy data when I had a problem with my flash drive, and a few months before that incident, I experienced another close call with data loss when my computer crashed. So, I am no stranger to experiencing data loss.

So, what have I done since my two experiences with data loss? Well, I have burned CDs of my photos and school work that were on my flash drives, in addition to keeping the files on my flash drives. I have also burned family history information on to CDs. To prevent any data loss that might occur as a result of a computer crash, I have also backed up my files on my laptop, and I have burned the files of my most important applications and drivers onto three CDs. In short, I've made sure that I've backed up my data onto CDs so that I have a back-up in case I experience something similar to has already happened. I think I have done as much as I can, but I do appreciate any further advice on how to protect my data from loss. Thanks.

Family History Center Visit 3

Earlier today I visited the local Family History Center, and I took a look at the Trippstadt microfilm that had arrived. I was able to find two death records for one of my German lines, and I copied those two records. ( I will write a future post on these death records and post some images from those films.)

I also took a look at the Huntingdon county tax assessments, and copied images from the microfilm. In addition, I ordered two more microfilms, and those films I ordered were death records and tax assessments. Hopefully, I will be able to find more information on my family when those microfilms arrive. Stay tuned ...

A Surname Meme: Some of the Surnames I Am Researching

I just happened to notice that Jasia listed the surnames she was researching, and I thought it would be a great idea to do the same thing. Of course, I'm not going to post all of the surnames I'm researching because I want to protect my family members' privacy as well. Thus, I am only going to be posting surnames that are a few generations away from my living relatives. So, here are some of the surnames I'm researching:

• Oswalt: Saint Joseph County, Michigan and Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
• Detwiler: Saint Joseph County, Michigan and Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
• Householder: Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania (specifically interested in information on a Barbara whose father's name might be John.)
• Stout: Saint Joseph County, Michigan and Northampton County, Pennsylvania
• Havens: Saint Joseph County, Michigan and Monroe County, New York (tentative location)
• Kees: Cleveland, Ohio, Trippstadt, Germany and Gelnhausen, Germany
• Cotta: Trippstadt, Germany and Southwestern Germany (Stuttgart area, possibly?)

I thought I would just start with these surnames since I'm researching quite a few and since these surnames do not violate the privacy of any of my relatives. If you have a connection any of these surnames, please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

Update on the Michigan Death Certificates, 1897-1920

I forgot to mention a couple days ago that I heard back from someone who left a comment on my earlier post about the Michigan deaths, that is, until I happened to see Brenda's post on the Michigan deaths. I thought I would share the comment that was left on the previous post, and here is the comment from Mark:

"We are still working on uploading the records and improving the search. The
site is live but has not been officially launched yet. We hope to do that during
the first or second week of March.We hope to improve the advanced seek tab so
you can search across all fields at once."

I will definitely be looking forward to day that the death records will be released online. I hope this has helped someone.

Are They Related? Another Mystery Photo ...

This is another photograph from my great-aunt's album. Again, I do not know who these children are or if they are related to me. In fact, I do not know if any of them are siblings, but my guess is that some of them probably are siblings. If you recognize anyone in this picture, please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

Family History Center Update

I just learned earlier today that my third microfilm finally arrived. The microfilm is of death records from Trippstadt, Germany. I do not know when I will be able to visit the Family History Center, but I hope to do so soon. Before I go, though, I'll make sure I have list of names that I am looking for, and if I find anything, I'll let you know. Stay tuned ...

16th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

The sixteenth edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy has arrived! The topic for this edition was a carousel, so the articles submitted could be about anything as long as they related to genealogy and Central and Eastern Europe in some way. So, what did fellow genea-bloggers write about? Well, here are the articles submitted:

First off, we have an article from a new submitter, John Newmark of Transylvanian Dutch. In the service of Franz Josef, he writes about his attempt to translate his great-grandfather's military records from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

Next, we have an article from Ambar, another new submitter, of Still More Genealogy. In Finding John Kohl (1840-1903), Ambar writes about hiring a pro genealogist to find out more information on his or her ancestor, John Kohl and where he came from in Germany.

Next, we have an article from Stephen Danko of Steve's Genealogy Blog. In Describing Place Names in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, he writes about providing descriptions for places in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in one's genealogy.

Next, we have an article from Diane Rogers of CanadaGenealogy. In Some Canadian research sources - Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, she writes about a few Canadian records that might prove useful for a genealogist trying to trace his or her Central or Eastern European ancestors.

Last, but not least, we have two articles from Jessica Oswalt of Jessica's Genejournal. In Looking For My German Ancestors - Part 5 and Part 6, she continues writing about her research into her German ancestors and explores their connection to Cleveland, Ohio.

Well, that is it for this edition. The next edition will be hosted by Diane Rogers of CanadaGenealogy, and the topic for that edition will be on "Women in Central and Eastern European Genealogy. Have you a female ancestor from Eastern or Central Europe you'd like to highlight, or do you have tips specifically for researching women there, or have you found a good article, book or website that assists in historical research about women from Central and Eastern Europe? You don't have to have ancestors from Eastern or Central Europe to participate in this Carnival." The deadline for the submissions will be March 29th, and the edition will be published on the 31st. You can submit your article here.

Has Anyone Heard Anything New?

I was just wondering: has anyone heard or read anything new about when the Michigan 1897-1920 death certificates will be put online? A few are up on the Seeking Michigan site, but I haven't seen anymore death certificates posted recently. Thanks.

Ancestor Number 21

Randy of Genea-Musings challenged other genea-bloggers to post information on their ancestor listed under the Ahnentafel number 21 on Saturday, and I am just getting around to participating in this meme.

So, who is this ancestor? Well, I have a name for this possible female ancestor, but I am still unsure as to if this is my great-grandfather's mother or not. I'm a bit uncertain due some family traditions and documentation, so I don't know what to put for this post. I am trying to unravel the ancestors of the great-grandfather, but I haven't had much luck yet. (This was the great-grandfather I tried to look for in the Catholic Church microfilm a couple of weeks ago.) Maybe some day I will post some information on my brick wall, but at the moment, I am a bit hesitant to post anything because I don't want to violate the privacy of my relatives. I hope to figure out his ancestry some day.

Submissions Are Due Today!

I just want to remind everyone that submissions are due today for this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy.The topic for this edition is a carousel.

I am willing to extend the deadline if others need more time to get submissions done. Please let me know. Thanks.

Looking For My German Ancestors: Part 6

In my previous post, I started to write about my research into Anna's ancestry, and I mentioned that I would write about her family's connection to Cleveland, Ohio. I want to continue writing about Anna's family, and I hope to mention her family's connection to that city.

After Anna, her parents and her siblings entered to the U. S. in February of 1864, they eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio. Exactly when they did so, I am uncertain at the moment, but I do know that by the 1870 census, they were living in Cleveland. (They might have lived in New Jersey for a couple of years as a few records suggest Anna's brother, Jacob, was born there.) As I mentioned in the earlier post, Anna and her family were living in Cleveland at least until 1876 when her parents are last mentioned in the Cuyahoga County deed records, but what I did not mention was that Anna's older brother, Adolph, continued to live in Cleveland after the rest of the family moved to Saginaw, Michigan. (By the 1880 census, at least, he was living there.) Of course, I do not know why Adolph chose to stay in Cleveland, but he still had family members who remained in the city. Adolph's uncle, William worked as an insurance agent in the city, and land records indicate that they sold and bought land from each other.

Between 1880 and 1894, Adolph and Anna's brother, Jacob, moved back to Cleveland. Exactly when he did, I haven't determined yet, but he had to have been living there by 1894 when he got married. After 1900, their brother, Henry, and sister, Emilia, would also move to Cleveland, although I haven't determined when that was exactly. (And I don't know why they moved back either. It could be possible that they wanted to be near family.) Interestingly, Anna and Carl would move their family to Cleveland for a few years as well, but they eventually returned to Michigan, finally settling in Detroit. Whatever the reasons were for Anna's family to move back to Cleveland, it's probably safe to conclude that they liked living there.

In my next post I will continue to focus on Anna's family and write more about her maternal side of the family. Enjoy!