52 Ancestors #30: From Germany to Mud Creek, Illinois
As I continue to answer the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge set forth by Amy Johnson Crow over at “No Story Too Small”, I find myself doing more and…
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A ghost in the clock?
It stormed really bad this morning and well into the afternoon. The kind of storm that makes you wonder what’s coming next. When it quieted down a bit, Mom, Noodle…
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52 Ancestors #28: Joab Moore of Saline County, IL
Joab was a very popular name in my dad’s family. My grandfather’s name was Joab. His grandfather’s name was Joab, and so on back to my 4th great grandfather, Joab…
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52 Ancestors #27: Sophia Arnold of Lenzburg, Illinois
Sophia Fredericka Arnold was barely 6 months old when she arrived in New York on June 19, 1843 from Hamburg, Germany. She came to America with her parents, Leonard and…
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52 Ancestors #26: Philip Wolf’s Gunshot Wound
I am forever amazed at how the life of someone long passed has impacted my own … how the life and death of a man who lived 150 years ago…
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Map of Germany
If you have Germany ancestors and need help figuring out where – on the map – they originated, this is a great resource! Personally, I can never remember where the…
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52 Ancestors #25: What’s that say?
Grandpa Douglas is a bit of a household name, even though Winfield Scott Douglas is my maternal 2nd great grandfather and died 5 years before my own grandpa was born….
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Reuben Bramlett of Illinois: 52 Ancestors #24
I am utterly amazed at how much information is available on the Internet, especially if you know how to dig around and find it! I have compiled stories, photos, and…
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52 Ancestors #23: Nellie Davis, Wherefore art thou?
Was Nellie Davis born on January 26, 1886? Or, was Nellie Davis born on February 25, 1886? The short answer is … both. The Davis Family I haven’t done a…
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52 Ancestors #22: The Almost Civil War Deserter, Joseph Dunn
Last week, I wrote about Lucy Jane Land and her long-lived life. While researching Lucy and her husband, Joseph, I found Joseph Dunn. Joseph is Lucy’s father-in-law and my 3rd…
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Reflections on a WWII SeaBee
We’ve just passed the 70th anniversary of D-Day. My family has been watching WWII documentaries on the History channel, including The World Wars series which is one of the best…
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Four Generations of Babies
I absolutely love that I have baby pictures of my Grandma Raines, my mom and me. My mom and I look alike, and sometimes I…
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52 Ancestors #21: Lucy Jane Land
Lucy Jane Land was the daughter of the farmer. She lived to the ripe old age of 92 and was spry until the very last year of her life. She…
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52 Ancestors #20: From Grandma Moore
I don’t remember my Grandma Moore. She died when I was 2 years old. The only thing I have that connects me directly to her is a book titled “The…
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52 Ancestors #19: Adaline Isabell LeMaitre
It’s hard to know where to begin my family history story about Adaline Isabell LeMaitre. Belle is my paternal 2nd great grandmother. Her portrait has hung on the wall of…
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52 Ancestors #18: Joseph Lemaitre, Indian Scout
Imagining what my ancestors looked like is akin to devising physical attributes of characters in novels. I put together descriptions, stories, history, and even old movies … anything that helps…
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52 Ancestors #17: The Outspoken John Greene
Writers suffer from writer’s block and I’m convinced that genealogists suffer from something called ancestry block … that moment when you think the branches and leaves on your family tree…
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Jake and Anna Mueller Wedding Photo
My Grandma Raines’ grandparents, Jake and Anna Mueller, were married on October 29, 1895 in Ava, Illinois. This wedding photo was nestled in a box of family portraits that Grandma…
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52 Ancestors #16: The Man, the Myth, the Mob
When I was a little girl, my bedroom door was right across from the “family portrait” section of the hallway. Portraits of my dad’s grandparents, great grandparents and an as…
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52 Ancestors #15: The conundrum of James Lindsay
Piecing together family history from 18th and 19th century published genealogies is like putting together a puzzle with frayed pieces … nothing fits quite as perfectly as you’d like. It…
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Pleasant Grove Memorial Park
My Grandpa Raines always took care to place flags on grave sites of his veteran ancestors … my mom would handle flowers for the rest. Grandpa’s people are…
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#TBT Fritz Schuster and Family
My Grandma Raines kept all of the Schuster family photos in a box marked “trophies” on the top shelf of the linen closet. She would often get it out and show…
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52 Ancestors #14: Pick a Lindsey, any Lindsey!
I have spent the better part of the evening deciphering my Lindsey heraldry. Okay, it was actually only one family, quite a distance from any royal line, but I had…
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#TBT: ‘Hold on there, youngin!’
It’s Throwback Thursday, and that means it’s time for me to showcase another favorite family photo. I have many portraits of ancestors, but very few snapshots … I like the…
