86th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 86th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on

"New Year's Resolutions! This year is almost over and a new decade is knocking on the door. This is the perfect time to make your New Year resolutions, goals, aims, declarations, intentions, aspirations, objectives, plans, targets, schemes, wishes, or whatever you want to call them! Figure out how you're going to approach your family history research next year, write it up, and share it with us in the COG. The deadline for submissions is January 1, 2010."

Enjoy!

Don't Forget: Submissions Are Due Today!

I just want to remind everyone that submissions are due for this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. So far I only have one entry. The topic is on Christmas and Hanukkah traditions. If you need more time, please let me know by e-mail: jess_history at yahoo dot com.

Also, is anyone interested in hosting a future edition of this carnival in 2010? Please contact me at the e-mail above. Thanks!

I Can Finally Breathe ... For A Little Bit

As you have probably noticed, I haven't posted very much since mid-November. Why? Well, I've been busy with school work, and I just finally finished my work for this semester earlier today. I'll be going home later this week, but, I'll have to research over the break for my thesis. So, I won't have much of a break, but hopefully, I will be able to spend some time relaxing.

Holiday Issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine Available!

The Holiday edition of the Shades Of The Departed magazine is now available. You can read it here. Enjoy!

Still Looking For Hosts and a Reminder ...

I'm still looking for hosts for future editions of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy for 2010. I do not know yet how many editions I will be able to host, and I at the moment, I am looking for someone who is willing to host either the January or February edition. Please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com by December 18th. Thanks!

Also, I just want to remind everyone that submissions for the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy will be due on December 18th, and the topic is on Christmas/Hanukkah traditions. You can submit your entries here. Enjoy!

Saturday Night Fun - Dear Genea-Santa

For this Saturday Night Fun, Randy has challenged other genealogy bloggers to write a letter to the Genea-Santa listing one of our genealogy wishes, and I've decided to participate in this challenge. Here is my letter:

Dear Genea-Santa,

For this Christmas, I would like you to bring evidence that connects my ancestor, Adam Oswalt to the Benjamin Oswalt and William Oswalt living in Michigan. I believe they are brothers, but so far, the only evidence I have is circumstantial. I've tried to balance my genealogy research with my school work, and I think I have succeeded for the most part. I think I was able to help one genealogist with her research, if I remember correctly, but I haven't been able to do much more since I was busy.

Thanks,

Jessica

(As a side note, I've finally finished writing my response to the Halloween version of the Saturday Night Fun, and you can read it here. I still have a couple more responses to past Saturday Night Fun challenges to post as well. I hope to finish those some time in the future. Please, stay tuned, and enjoy!)

85th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 85th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on

"The Other Holiday Happenings! Often times December to mid-January birthdays and anniversaries get over shadowed by the Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year holidays. So we're going to shine a spotlight on those family members and ancestors this time around. Select one or more December to mid-January birthdays and/or anniversaries on your family tree. Write a short tribute to or memory of those birthday guys and gals and write a toast to the anniversary couples. Share it in the COG!

And this edition will have a Part 2 as well (separate blog post)! We can't go into the Christmas holiday without our genealogy wish lists for Genea-Santa!!! So write up a list of what you'd like Genea-Santa to bring you and share it in the COG :-) The deadline for all entries is December 15th. This edition will be hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene."

Enjoy!

Google Analytics Report For November 2009

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

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

1. United States - 33o visits
2. Canada - 43 visits
3. United Kingdom - 28 visits
4. Australia - 11 visits
5. Netherlands - 11 visits
6. Germany - 9 visits
7. Spain - 8 visits
8. India - 5 visits
9. Philippines - 5 visits
10. Japan - 5 visits

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

1. Indiana - 51 visits
2. California - 30 visits
3. Texas - 24 visits
4. Illinois - 22 visits
5. Ohio - 20 visits
6. New York - 20 visits
7. Michigan - 12 visits
8. Georgia - 10 visits
9. Pennsylvania - 9 visits
10. Utah - 8 visits

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

1. British World War One Records Updated! - 25 views
2. Call For Future Hosts - 2010 - 19 views
3. Updates On Researching My British Ancestors ... - 15 views
4. Shades Of The Departed Has A Magazine! - 14 views
5. Update on the Possible Griffin Shipwreck - 14 views
6. Music in the Family ... - 13 views
7. Google Analytics Report For October 2009 - 13 views
8. Searching For My German Ancestors - Some Resources - 12 views
9. Veteran's Day - 12 views
10. Tombstone Maker Website - 11 views

Well, that is it for this month's report. To my readers, I just want to say, "Thank you for reading!" Stay tuned for next month's report, and enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just want to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

Call For Future Hosts - 2010

As was mentioned in the 24th edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, I will be hosting the December edition; however, I do not have any other editions scheduled. I won't be able to host some of the months in 2010 due to being busy with school work, and I am looking for people who would be willing to host a future edition. Here are some of the months I am looking for a host:

• January
• February
• March
• April

I allow the host to chose the topic for the carnival and the dates for the submission deadline and publication of the edition. If you are interested in hosting an edition, please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

24th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Posted!

The 24th edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy has been posted! (Thank you, Al!) You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on Christmas and Hanukkah traditions. Submissions are due December 18th, and the edition will be posted on the 20th. You can submit your article here. Enjoy!

84th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 84th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "'Orphans and Orphans.' The first type of orphan refers to those ancestors or relatives who lost their parents when they were young. The second type of orphan would be those siblings or cousins of our ancestors whom we think of as “reverse orphans.” They are the relatives who, for whatever reason – death at a young age, never having married or had children, or having children who did not survive to provide descendants – have no direct descendants of their own, so it falls to us, their collateral relatives, to learn and write their story. Greta will be the host this time around." Enjoy!

(Although I did not submit a post to this edition, I really wanted to do so. I've been busy with school work for awhile, and thus, I haven't been able to write as much as I wanted. I've submitted a total of 35 articles to the Carnival of Genealogy. Of course, I could be incorrect about that number, even though I went through my blog's archives.)

18th Edition of the Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted!

The 18th 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 "Gift." It is the holiday season and a time for giving. So give Smile readers the gift of sharing, sharing a family photograph. It can be a gift given or received, it can be the gift of talent, it can be the gift of having the photograph itself. The interpretation of gift is yours." Enjoy!

Searching For My German Ancestors - Some Resources

For this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, I've decided to write about some of the resources and records that I have used to research my German ancestors. Since I have just begun to research in German records, most of my resources will be of American records; however, I will also list resources that might assist people in researching their German ancestors. Here are the resources I have used:

Books

When I first began my research into my German ancestors, I read a couple of books on the topic to uncover the possible problems in researching German genealogy and how to research my German ancestors. One of the books I read, and bought, was A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Germanic Ancestors by Chris Anderson and Ernest Thode, and I gave a brief description of the book here. There are other books, so one does not have to buy or check-out this book. I just happen to own a copy of the book.

Another book that I highly recommend one has for doing German research is a German-English Dictionary for obvious reasons. Two other useful books that I wish I owned are Following the paper trail : a multilingual translation guide by Jonathan D. Shea and Deciphering handwriting in German documents : analyzing German, Latin, and French in vital records written in Germany by Roger P. Minert, both of which I wrote about here. (I should note that Following the Paper Trail is also useful for other countries, and if I remember correctly, has information on translating records in Polish, Russian and Lithuanian as well as French and other languages that I cannot recall at the moment.

Census Records

I've used censuses not only to determine where my ancestors lived and the names of family members, but also to determine where they were born or when they came to the United States. I've also used the information to determine if they were naturalized and how many in the household at a given time came to the U. S. Obviously, I am referring to U. S. census records, but some of this information might be found in the censuses of other countries.

Vital Records

Vital records from the locations where my ancestors resided have been useful as well. I've been able to determine when and where my ancestors married, died or sometimes, when they were born. Of course, most of the vital records I have uncovered have been American records, although I have started to do some research in German vital records, especially for Trippstadt, Germany.

Death Notices

Another American source that I have used to trace my German ancestors is death notices. Death notices are similar to obituaries, except that they are fairly short, and do not include any biographical details. They only list when a person died, the time of the funeral and the survivors. Of course, the information is still valuable, and so far, I have only found death notices for my ancestors in the newspapers. I haven't found any obituaries for my ancestors yet.

Naturalization Records

I've also used naturalization records, but my experience has been limited. Depending upon the place and time, the naturalization records might contain vital information on your ancestor.

Passenger Lists

I've also used passenger lists to determine when my ancestors came to the United States. Depending upon the time period, one can uncover the age, birthplace, occupation and next of kin, although for the earlier years, one might only uncover the name, age and occupation of a person.

Church Records

So far, I have only researched my ancestor in German church records, but I've still been able to confirm or uncover important information on my ancestors and their siblings. I do hope to use church records in America when I get a chance as well.

Well, those are some of the records I have used to uncover my German ancestors. I haven't listed all of the records I have used so far due to being busy, but these are the main resources. I hope this helps someone in researching their German ancestors. What records do you use? As always, you can leave a comment with your opinions or experiences. Thanks!

Another Belated Saturday Night Fun - Nice Things Done

For this Saturday Night Fun, Randy had challenged other genealogy bloggers to write about good deeds other genealogists have done for them, and although I'm late in posting my response, I still wanted to post it.

So, what good deeds have other genealogists done for me? Well, 2 to 3 years ago, I received a large amount of information from a woman in Germany (no relation, though) on my Kees and Cotta ancestors, and from that information, I was able to confirm my suspicions about a Kees ancestor's sibling living in Cleveland, Ohio and I was able to use the information to start researching in German records. Without the information, I do not believe I would have been able to move back as far as I have been able to do so. I might still be stuck with my research into that branch in the United States.

More recently, I have had several genealogy bloggers host editions of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. Al hosted the August edition and hosted the November edition published the week of November 15th. (Note, January 3, 2010: I am writing this weeks after the challenge was published.) Other genealogy bloggers who have hosted editions are Steve, Ambar, Thomas, Diane, and Elizabeth, and I have included the links to those posts as well.

So, as you can see, several genealogists have helped me out within the past couple of years, and I am grateful and thankful for their help. Without the help, I would not have been able to do as much as I have. Thank you everyone!

Veteran's Day

I just want to say, "Thank you," to all those who are serving or have served. Happy Veteran's Day!

Belated Saturday Night Fun - Oswalt/Oswald World Surname Distribution

For this Saturday Night Challenge, Randy has challenged other genealogy bloggers to determine the world wide distribution of their surnames, and although I'm late in posting my response, I still wanted to write something before the weekend ends.

For this challenge, I searched for two surnames: Oswalt and Oswald. Why? Well, when doing my research into my Oswalt ancestors, I frequently find their last name spelled both ways (and a few others, as well), and since my last name still gets misspelled, it is not that hard for me to remember. I suspect, but don't have definite proof, that the Oswalt and Oswald surnames have a similar origin. So, to get an idea where the Oswalt/Oswald surname might be distributed around the world, I did two searches. (I do not know how to do save a screen shot, so I'm going to have to present the information verbally.)

When I typed in the results for Oswalt, the countries with the highest distribution were:

• United States
• France
• Germany
• Austria
• New Zealand
• Argentina
• Spain
• United Kingdom

For the Oswald surname, the countries with the highest distribution results were:

• Austria
• Germany
• Switzerland
• Luxembourg
• Australia
• United States
• Canada
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• France

In the United States, the Oswalt surname was distributed the most primarily among these states (i.e., the darkest colored states. Most of the states were a turquoise color) :

• Mississippi
• Alabama
• Indiana
• Arkansas
  
• Ohio

In the United States, the Oswald surname was distributed the most primarily among these states:

• South Dakota
• Nebraska

Again, like for the Oswalt surname, many of the states in the U. S. were a turquoise color.

I then decided to search for the distribution of each surname in the state of Michigan. For the Oswalt surname, the highest distribution (turquoise colored) of the surname were in these counties in no particular numerical order:

• Alpena
• Benzie
• Calhoun
  
• Cheboygan
• Kalamazoo
• Monroe
  
• St. Joseph
• Wexford

For the Oswald surname, the highest distribution (dark blue colored) of the surname were in these Michigan counties (again, in alphabetical order):

• Bay
• Gratiot
• Montmorency

Many more counties were colored in a turquoise or green color, especially the highest counties listed for the Oswalt surname.

So, as you can see, the possibility that that the two surnames might have the same origin is possible when one looks at the European countries where the surnames were distributed. Both surnames appear to be distributed similarly as well, and it wouldn't surprise me if there was a common origin. I suspect, though, that there are several Oswalt/Oswald branches in the United States, and that any common origin might be several centuries in the past. Of course, I could be wrong, but only further research will be able to determine if this is case. At the same time, researchers have to be careful not to rely only on one surname distribution map, and there is still the possibility that both surnames have unique origins.

So, what do you think? Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Updates On Researching My British Ancestors ...

Over the past couple of weeks I've received some answers on a couple of my British ancestral lines. A birth certificate for an ancestor and a marriage certificate for another ancestor arrived in the mail a couple of weeks to about one-and-a-half weeks ago, and I was able to confirm my suspicions about the ancestors' parents. The birth certificate confirmed the maiden name of my ancestor's mother, and the marriage certificate confirmed the bride's father's name. Also, I received an e-mail a couple days ago from a distant cousin from another line, and he sent me images of my the 1911 census for my ancestors and the images of another relative's World War One records.

As you can imagine, I'm excited by both of these events, and I do plan on writing about the World War One records of my ancestors and relatives on Veteran's Day. Enjoy and stay tuned for that post ...

Shades Of The Departed Has A Magazine!

I just happened to take a look at footnoteMaven's blog, Shades Of The Departed, and learned that footnoteMaven has created a magazine from her blog. November 2009 is the first edition, and you can read more about it here. Enjoy!

British World War One Records Updated!

I just happened to see John's article on Ancestry's updating of World War One records. I've done a little searching with the records so far today, and I might have found a relative. I'm not sure, but if I have, I will write more about the research later. Enjoy!