St. Peters Cemetery Sign
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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 my fair share of cemeteries, too … sometimes just to imagine the lives of those buried in them. As the family genealogy nut (one of…

Christuskirche Dietzenbach
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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 more research on ancestors I know very little about. I’m determined to make it to number 52, but I think it’s going to take longer…

Sophia Arnold circa 1880
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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 Christine; two sisters Katharine and Barbara; and a brother, George. Sophia is my maternal 3rd great grandmother.   While the Arnold family is found on…