Dora Dietz was one tough cookie!
Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small gave us a new 52 Ancestors challenge for 2015. Each week, we have a different theme about which to write. It’s quite the challenge,…
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The Great Warrior King of Scotland
The week 2 theme for 52 Ancestors is “King”. Gosh … my mind goes directly to royalty! Imagine that! It’s wild to imagine that a family that landed in America…
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I wish I could have met her
In honor of Wishful Wednesday … Have you ever been asked, “If you could sit down with anyone in history and have a conversation, who would it be?”. I have…
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St. Peters Cemetery, St. Clair County, IL
I have been fascinated with cemeteries for as long as I can remember. It feels a little morbid, but there is great history lurking among the grave markers! I’ve wandered through…
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Raisin Pie
If you were to ask me what my favorite pie is, I’d say raisin … or strawberry-rhubarb … or raisin. It’s a toss-up between the two! Raisin was also my…
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52 Ancestors #31: Dorothy Orr
It always seems odd to refer to grandparents as ancestors. I suppose that’s because I’ve been raised around them or grown to know them well in my adulthood. They’re people…
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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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The Thirteen Colonies Cookbook
You probably have concluded that I have an attraction to “old” cookbooks and cookbooks about “old” food. I have always found the cookbooks are one of the best ways to…
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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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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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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 #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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#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 #10: Philip Schuster arrives in USA
Over 900,000 German men, women and children immigrated to the United States between 1845 and 1855. My 3rd great-grandfather, Philip Friederich Schuster was one of them. Philip was 13 years…
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How a 1946 ‘The Joy of Cooking’ added to my family tree
My mom and I frequent the antique stores in Murphysboro, Illinois. We’re almost never looking for anything specific … but almost always find something interesting. On our most recent trek,…
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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #6 Marion Veronica Essler
One thing I find most frustrating about being relatively young and tracing family history is that I don’t hold much of the actual history in my own memory. Someday I…
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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, #2: Jacob Heinrich Mueller
Jacob Heinrich Mueller is my 4th great grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born in Darmstadt, Germany in 1798 to John George Mueller and Anna Maria Rhutz (1800-1844). He immigrated to America…
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Blueberry Muffins and the St. Louis World’s Fair
When I was a little girl, portraits of my dad’s grandparents and great grandparents hung on the wall outside my bedroom. These are from the early 20th century and earlier…
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Thanksgiving Day Menu
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays … and it is, of course, all about the food! Okay, it’s not totally about the food. Our family has a lot to…
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Spätzle with Onion and Mushroom Sauce
I’m continuing with my spätzle (spaetzle) adventure! After learning how this dish is typically served in Germany, I decided to mix variations and add a bit of Italian flavor. Cheesy…
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Applewurst and Kraut – an easy weeknight meal
German wurst (or wurste) can be loosely translated as sausage … and sometimes cold cuts. There are many different varieties of wursts, but only a few are readily available to…
