Mrs. Owen's Illinois Cookbook
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Senator Samuel Casey and his Catfish

Illinois Senator Samuel Casey is my husband’s 1st cousin 5x removed … and he liked catfish.  Senator Samuel Casey Samuel King Casey was born on June 27, 1817 in Smith County (now White County), Tennessee to Zadok Casey and Rachel King. Later that same year, the Casey family moved to what is now Jefferson County in…

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…