A funny thing happened at the library Saturday. I didn't think anyone was going to come to the planned day, so I had determined I wasn't going. Then, one person said she'd come. Changed plans and headed up there Saturday morning. After passing a strange accident (only can decide that the driver must have not known that stretch of the feeder was no longer 2 way), we made it there just before opening. My friend showed later and was only going to be able to stay a little over an hour. It was fun though, showing her around and seeing her excitement at the possibilities ahead of her (yes, she wants to spend an entire day now).
Anyway, after she left, my mother and I decided to go ahead and stay. I was sitting at the table when a lady had asked the librarian a question about Native American research. I looked up and thought she was vaguely familiar. Later, I saw her again with the librarian and heard her mention Pocahantus, but I could tell it was actually about some other name because she said something about a nicname. It made me think about the family folklore of Hortense Pohautas, but I continued on whatever it was I was doing.
Later, my mother was elsewhere in the library and I could hear her as she apparently greeted this lady and they spoke of how they probably hadn't seen each other in about 20 years. They were talking more late and my mother came up and said she might be related to me. Her frend of 30 years (and yes, I knew her too) said she was researching Pages and Martins that had come from SC to MS to TX- hmmm, sounded quite familiar to her. I asked her the name of her Page, and yep, he was in my database. In fact, her father was in my database! I think I may have thought of her when I put in that info but I thought it was her married name, not her maiden name!!! Furthermore, the research on Native American, well,she found out the information from a posting....from me!! She hadn't made the connection and why would she.
So, in just a short time, I have found two people I know are my cousins. So, could you be?? Start researching and we could find out.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Truth is better than fiction...
Have you ever wondered what you'd find when you start searching. Or, maybe, scared of what you might find?
Skeletons in the Closet?
One side of my family is from Sicily. When I first started, my grandmother seemed a little reluctant and I always wondered if it was because she was a bit afraid of what I'd find. Well, apparently a bit, but I haven't found anything in that line that may make her concerned.
I have found few interesting items of interest in other lines.
Who needs soaps when you have....
The Young and the Restless
In 1884, Charles Drakeley went to see a young lady in Boston, but when she refused to accompany him, he ripped off his watch and gave it to her, leaving without his hat or coat, was never seen or heard from again. Since the young lady was living nearby the steamboat docks, it was thought he committed suicide by drowning.
All My Children?
In 1885, Adelle Drakeley sued two doctors and a lawyer. According to a few newspaper articles, Adelle claimed to have given birth recently and that she had had abortions two previously. She named lawyer Thomas H Gill as having fathered all three children. He had persuaded her to have the abortions, one performed by Dr. Ward and another by Dr. Harrington. Apparently Mr. Gill had claimed he would marry her but after giving birth, he still would not and thus she brought suit. According to an article in Nov 1885, the charges were dismissed when she failed to appear and it was said she fled to Chicago due to the "lavish" money placed upon her by Mr. Gill.
One Life to Live?
In 1886, Robert Drakeley (Charles' brother), 19, married Margaret Marwick, a divorce 20 years his senior. The pair were quickly known to have many quarrels. Only 5 weeks later, Mr. Drakeley shot his wife through the heart and killing her instantly.
And a little CSI or just plain gory?
A bloody end
In 1863, Jayne Barnes and her husband William Murket had twin and were living 2 or 3 miles below Fall Rivers in Kansas. Jayne's younger sister Sarah was visiting, apparently helping with the twins when they were brutally murdered. The newspaper stated the details were too "shocking to reveal here". Although the twins were spared, one died soon afterwards due to want of nourishment (although some family information refutes that one did die).
A wicked wind
In 1883, a tornado hit Wesson, Mississippi. The newspapers detailed the injuries of the dead and injured. William G Blackburn was amongst those, receiving a 12 inch laceration wound and frontal bone fracture, receiving 22 sutures, but he later died. The newspapers would actually list those who died between the publications.
So, anyone who thinks genealogy is boring, may want to think again. Anyone who is afraid they may find those skeletons....well, you just might!
Skeletons in the Closet?
One side of my family is from Sicily. When I first started, my grandmother seemed a little reluctant and I always wondered if it was because she was a bit afraid of what I'd find. Well, apparently a bit, but I haven't found anything in that line that may make her concerned.
I have found few interesting items of interest in other lines.
Who needs soaps when you have....
The Young and the Restless
In 1884, Charles Drakeley went to see a young lady in Boston, but when she refused to accompany him, he ripped off his watch and gave it to her, leaving without his hat or coat, was never seen or heard from again. Since the young lady was living nearby the steamboat docks, it was thought he committed suicide by drowning.
All My Children?
In 1885, Adelle Drakeley sued two doctors and a lawyer. According to a few newspaper articles, Adelle claimed to have given birth recently and that she had had abortions two previously. She named lawyer Thomas H Gill as having fathered all three children. He had persuaded her to have the abortions, one performed by Dr. Ward and another by Dr. Harrington. Apparently Mr. Gill had claimed he would marry her but after giving birth, he still would not and thus she brought suit. According to an article in Nov 1885, the charges were dismissed when she failed to appear and it was said she fled to Chicago due to the "lavish" money placed upon her by Mr. Gill.
One Life to Live?
In 1886, Robert Drakeley (Charles' brother), 19, married Margaret Marwick, a divorce 20 years his senior. The pair were quickly known to have many quarrels. Only 5 weeks later, Mr. Drakeley shot his wife through the heart and killing her instantly.
And a little CSI or just plain gory?
A bloody end
In 1863, Jayne Barnes and her husband William Murket had twin and were living 2 or 3 miles below Fall Rivers in Kansas. Jayne's younger sister Sarah was visiting, apparently helping with the twins when they were brutally murdered. The newspaper stated the details were too "shocking to reveal here". Although the twins were spared, one died soon afterwards due to want of nourishment (although some family information refutes that one did die).
A wicked wind
In 1883, a tornado hit Wesson, Mississippi. The newspapers detailed the injuries of the dead and injured. William G Blackburn was amongst those, receiving a 12 inch laceration wound and frontal bone fracture, receiving 22 sutures, but he later died. The newspapers would actually list those who died between the publications.
So, anyone who thinks genealogy is boring, may want to think again. Anyone who is afraid they may find those skeletons....well, you just might!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Are you my cousin?
Whenever I see a name that I’ve researched that may be more unique, I wonder if that person might be related. One thing in my research I’ve wished to find is that a friend of mine is my cousin. Yes, I’ve found a lot of cousins online but these are people I’ve actually met online because we were both researching our families, not because we knew each other already and then found out we are related.
Yesterday, needing a break from being stuck, I asked my mom who’d she’d like me to research. She popped off a name, thinking it was an area of need. I already had the information in my database, but I was naming off names in that line which reminded her that she had wondered to her boss if they may be related way back since we had his name in our line and he was from Vermont (several CT lines ended up in Vermont), so that got me going…..
I put his name in ancestry.com (paid sight but probably available at your local library for free- Montgomery County and Harris County both have it for in house use only). I found a name and asked when he was born- BINGO. From there I found his father’s death certificate and marriage certificate. I also found a book with the surname (which I also found for free on HeritageQuest- usually available online with a library card). Using also the LDS site with images and abstracts: http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=0. I found more information on his line. In a matter of a few hours, I traced him back to the 1500’s and found indeed he was my mother’s 10th cousin, twice removed!
One thing I want to point out is, the only paid site I used was ancestry.com (which again could be free for you at the library) and that was more recent information that her boss could have given us. Otherwise, I used HeritageQuest (free at home thru the library) and the LDS site. I also think I used www.FindAGrave (another free site). Another thing I want to point out is I used multiple databases. One database can get you some information then use another database to get a bit more, switch back and forth.
Word of warning. I did use a compiled book, which are extremely helpful, but be cautious, they do have mistakes. In my research, I found several. You have to remember that someone is doing the same thing you might be doing, researching branches and going by information they are given by family members and at times making assumptions (which I’ve done myself). I have in my own line books saying certain people married but we’ve basically proven it wrong. I was actually in contact with one of the authors and he agreed! So, even if a book states what you think is your Julia Moore married a Mr. Curtis, you may be right in saying she actually married Thomas Barnes (and this was in several books because, like you even other authors use previous information).
Hope to have a get together on the 19th to maybe show how to navigate different databases. Happy hunting!
So, are you my cousin? May be, let's get together and find out!
Yesterday, needing a break from being stuck, I asked my mom who’d she’d like me to research. She popped off a name, thinking it was an area of need. I already had the information in my database, but I was naming off names in that line which reminded her that she had wondered to her boss if they may be related way back since we had his name in our line and he was from Vermont (several CT lines ended up in Vermont), so that got me going…..
I put his name in ancestry.com (paid sight but probably available at your local library for free- Montgomery County and Harris County both have it for in house use only). I found a name and asked when he was born- BINGO. From there I found his father’s death certificate and marriage certificate. I also found a book with the surname (which I also found for free on HeritageQuest- usually available online with a library card). Using also the LDS site with images and abstracts: http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=0. I found more information on his line. In a matter of a few hours, I traced him back to the 1500’s and found indeed he was my mother’s 10th cousin, twice removed!
One thing I want to point out is, the only paid site I used was ancestry.com (which again could be free for you at the library) and that was more recent information that her boss could have given us. Otherwise, I used HeritageQuest (free at home thru the library) and the LDS site. I also think I used www.FindAGrave (another free site). Another thing I want to point out is I used multiple databases. One database can get you some information then use another database to get a bit more, switch back and forth.
Word of warning. I did use a compiled book, which are extremely helpful, but be cautious, they do have mistakes. In my research, I found several. You have to remember that someone is doing the same thing you might be doing, researching branches and going by information they are given by family members and at times making assumptions (which I’ve done myself). I have in my own line books saying certain people married but we’ve basically proven it wrong. I was actually in contact with one of the authors and he agreed! So, even if a book states what you think is your Julia Moore married a Mr. Curtis, you may be right in saying she actually married Thomas Barnes (and this was in several books because, like you even other authors use previous information).
Hope to have a get together on the 19th to maybe show how to navigate different databases. Happy hunting!
So, are you my cousin? May be, let's get together and find out!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Where to Start?
Do where do you start? Well, there’s several ideas for that….
Start with the easiest line
That line could be where you have the most information. You may know the family history more or have more family to ask. With this information, you have more to go on and then can jump start. I had a cousin who had put together a book on the Martin line, so I was able to use that book as a good starting point. She actually still lived in the areas and knew more of the members so she had gotten the family information. Using her information, I had dates, names, and places, but even getting the information “first hand” wasn’t always completely accurate. Still, it was a very viable resource that helped me put together more of the lines she hadn’t ventured into as much. I now am in contact with cousins that we connect by my 5th great-grandfather!
You may not know much about any of your lines, but where your family is from, the information is easily accessible. The Montgomery County Genealogy Library has an incredible collection, especially specializing in southern research. USGenweb relies on contributions by its users, so some areas have more information available than others. LDS Libraries have locations around and you can request information be sent to those locations. Online, there is quite a bit from them. Their newer site (http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=home
), have actual abstracts and even images. For Texas researchers, death certificates are online for deaths occurring before 1977. Louisiana death certificate abstracts are available to about 1954. List of US/Canada records can be found at http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=allCollections&r=0. They are constantly adding new records for US and other countries.
Start with the line that is of most interest
Sometimes you do not know anything about a certain line and would like to know more. It may not be the easiest line, especially with little or no initial information, but it can be the most rewarding. Just watch some episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? (http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/) you’ll see that firsthand. Sometimes you have to be the most patient with this and at times, put it aside, but eventually you’ll get there.
So, I’ve been researching a long time….
I’ve been searching my family lines for almost 20 years now. As I said earlier, I have one line that goes back to my 5th great-grandfather. I have other lines I go back further than that. I have some lines that I don’t go far at all. So, how do I decide what to work on? I have several family trees on ancestry.com. I also have postings on the ancestry.com and genealogy.com boards. So, there are times I receive some form a contact on someone in my database. There are times that is what gets me involved in researching a certain branch. Other times, something just hits me. But, sometimes, something just happens…..
I was watching Who Do You Think Your Are? I had put aside researching for the most part, so I decided to get onto ancestry.com (I have a subscription), and one thing led to another.
Newly added to ancestry.com was Hamburg Passenger Lists. I have on my maternal line Wolter and Busse lines that came from Germany in mid 1800’s and I have on my paternal line Kempners from Austria and Lyons from Prussia who came over mid/late 1800’s. I have info on the Wolter and Busse’s arrivals but nothing on Kempners and Lyons. In fact, all I had on the Kempners was my 2nd great-grandmother Gussie Fannie Kempner Lyons had a brother Joseph. Her death certificate didn’t give much information, so I had ordered Joseph’s and found parents were Israel Kempner and Ella Schauman. Even worse, I had no family info on her husband Max! His death certificate was filled out by his physician! I could find neither of their arrivals, so I could not find where exactly they came from, but that day was different. I found in the Hamburger Passenger list Guste Kempner from Krakau, Osterrich. Not only that, her mother Ella was with her! WOW. I now knew where she was from AND her mom came too!!!!! As for why I had trouble with the NY Passenger list? The pages were difficult to read and she wasn’t indexed as Guste.
So what next? I started trying to find out more info on Ella and also Krakau/Krakow. I eventually found an Arkansas cemetery record site which led me to the grave of Ella Kempner (http://arkansasgravestones.org/view.php?id=242365). I always knew there were many other Kempners in the Little Rock area but could never connect them. So, I contacted the submitter of the photo and information to see if she could clue me into the location of the grave as well to recheck the birth place (she had it was somewhat unreadable). She came back and confirmed that with a second look, it was Cracow, Austria (variant spelling). She also could tell me that the Jacob Kempner family was nearby.
And the search is on….I start trying to find a site containing information on Krakow, Austria. I went around and around and then googled just Krakow. Well, it’s in POLAND now, not Austria! Lesson learned, when researching European family roots, check for where the borders are now (that’s actually a true statement for US research also. You don’t only want to know where the town was located when your family lived there, but you want to know what county it is considered NOW. That is actually where you usually want to go when you are in a library or online looking by state and then by county. Older books may be under the original county, so still look both places.) So, Krakow’s in Poland, redirect google search…..BINGO! Found a Jewish Krakow Documents site. The initial page has a search engine by name and also Early Family Trees, so I go to the family trees….No Kempner but there’s KLEMPNER (http://www.ics.uci.edu/~dan/genealogy/Krakow/Families/Klempner.html). Hmmm, Ella Schauman m. Isaac Kempner. Two children are listed: Leibel Ezyk b. 1851 and Izrael b. 7 Dec 1853 (hey wait, Joseph Kempner was listed as birth 7 Dec 1851- that’s Joseph!) No Fannie, but the information from about mid 1850’s to mid 1860’s seems to more or less missing. Keep looking…Izaak had married previously, son Jakob b. 14 Nov 1844 (hey that’s Jacob of Little Rock). Izrael had a brother Abraham b. ca. 1819 and m. Szeidel Hanna Reiner (hey that’s Abraham and Sharlotte from Hot Springs and Little Rock). Izaak had another brother Josef who had a son Abba Jakob b. 1838 and Izaak Jonas b. 1843 (yep, Jacob lived in Hot Springs and Isaac in Little Rock). That left in Little Rock, Bernard Kempner who only was there in 1870 and I had been in contact some with someone that was researching him by marriage of his daughter Leah. Well, long story short, as it turns out, Bernard is Berek Klempner b. 1841, son of Izaak and his first wife (so he too his my Fannie’s brother). Actually, it was a combination of information I had from the other researcher and finding information on his daughter’s birth in Krakow that helped make the connection. As it turns out, Bernard and his wife returned to Krakow in the 1870’s. They had the one daughter and Bernard soon died there. His wife married again. We’re still trying to figure out if his other two children returned also to Krakow and then came back to the US or what (and if you want an interesting story, Leah Kempner Besser’s is quite interesting!) So, now, all of the Little Rock/Hot Springs Kempners have a connection. And, as it turned out, no wonder I was having so much trouble. I was looking for Kempners in Austria and not Klempners in Poland!!
So, I continued to wonder if there were more family members that made their way to the US, but couldn’t find anything online that helped. My recent trip to the library did! I found several volumes of abstracts from the Van Buren papers. There I found three things. Mrs. Max Lyons’ brother MH Kempner came to visit from Idaho City. I already had a Moses Henry Kempner in my Kempner research and just wondered if he might be the eldest son (from Izaak’s first marriage) Moises Hirsch. Yep! Brother Ike Kempner came to visit from Little Rock. Well, that means Leib Ezyk was one of the Ike’s in the Little Rock info. Not sure exactly what happened to him since I don’t find him in the 1900 census and as of yet, no cemetery info is posted on him. Still to search. Also, her nephew Master Ike Cohn of NYC came to visit. Now, that’s going to be fun! I know she had two older sisters from Izaak’s first marriage Ester Baya and Pessel, but I have no further information on them yet. Either could be the mother. Also, there is a good information gap that would fit a few sisters in between 1853 and 1861. Now, as for timing, it would probably have to be a sister closer to the 1853. So, I don’t know the age of Ike, if he was born in Krakow or in US, who exactly his mother is, did she come to the, did she marry in the us? Another challenge! Interesting how you can get so much from just little abstracts of newspapers…
Actually, it doesn’t stop there! There was interesting information on Max Lyons as well. His brother Rube Lyons from NY came to visit twice (at least), the family took a trip to St. Louis, Missouri, the family left Van Buren for a time to do business in Illinois, upon returning reopened the New York Store, and at one time opened a second store in Atkins.
So, I started the search. Max had a brother Reuben. He had family!!!!! I found a Reuben Lyons in Manhattan b. 1861. In 1900, he had his nephew Morris living with him. Morris was born in Missouri. In 1880, I found Louis, Anna, Abraham, Myer, Reuben, and Flora Lion in St. Louis. Also in St. Louis was David, Rosa, Jennie, Morris, and Julius. Strangely, I had this family already in my online database. Why? Well, as it turns out, my online database is usually more extensive, including family lines from marriages. David Lyons’ son Bentley Harold had married Selma or Selina Haas, whose brother Harry married Mae C Lyons (yep Max and Fannie’s daughter). So, a couple of things to prove or question. Is Myer and Max one and the same? The years of birth were off but that’s not abnormal. And you wouldn’t think Myer and Max would be the same name, but I had learned earlier from Bernard Kempner, they could be. In 1870, his son was listed as Meyer. I looked all over for Meyer/Myer Kempner, but with the recent research and reconnecting with the other researcher I found that Meyer was Max Kempner and he married and died in New York. I just did the Jewish Name variations on ancestry.com and it shows Meyer or Maharam with variations including Meyer, Max, Maks, and Marek ( I actually would then include Mark since I’ve seen Max and Mark/Marc interchanged). Also, is David Louis and Anna’s son? It would seem so since it appears Morris was living with uncle Reuben in 1900, but then again, is this the right Reuben??
More online info gets me closer. So, I’ve turned back to the paid site of ancestry.com. I do find Louis, Anna, and Abraham’s death records. Unfortunately, they do not say parentage, actual birth location, but do give burial location. I tried searching the newspaper records online with hopes of finding an obit. No luck on them. I did find Reuben’s obit, but it only lists his wife and children, no mention of siblings. Hoped to find that one returned to the homeland and had passport application, but if they did, it isn’t online yet. Then, I wandered over to somewhere new for me. Missouri Digital Heritage http://www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/ Here I found David’s death certificate that confirmed his parents as Louis and Anna, but only lists birth location as Poland. I continue on and find naturalization information for David, Abraham, Meyer, and Reuben. I can send off for $1 each for copies (and I will). Then…..I find probate records. I found Louis Lyons probate, administered by Abraham M Lyons. In the records, I see Ruby Lyons of New York City received $50 by American Express. Flora C Lyons of St. Louis received $100 for Hazel Syble Lyons. And, Max Lyons of Van Buren received $1 (I now want to find the will and figure that one out!) For some reason David wasn’t even listed (another reason I would like to see the will). Apparently in 1900, Abraham M Lyons’ executorships was revoked due to failure to settle estate (I can’t read all of the entries). So Max is more than likely Meyers. Flora it appears married a Morris S Lyons (will have to seek if there is a family relationship there).
I am now trying to find out if there are any connections to the Samuel Lyons family of Arkansas or to any other Lyon or Lyons family in St. Louis. Many there were actually from Ireland, but I’m ordering the naturalization records of those who were from Germany/Prussia/Poland.
Hoping to find where the Lyons family originated. I found one record of arrival that fits someone but if it is the correct record, the recorder was quite sloppy. The family shows an Abraham, Anna, L, Reuben, and Phillip. Some of the info matches but I think the Abraham and L info is switched and the Philip would have to be Flora. Reuben fits perfectly along with the year of arrival.
So, in the last few months, I’ve been able to go a generation back on two lines that had given me a lot of trouble. A few more pieces of the puzzle in place, now to find some more……
Start with the easiest line
That line could be where you have the most information. You may know the family history more or have more family to ask. With this information, you have more to go on and then can jump start. I had a cousin who had put together a book on the Martin line, so I was able to use that book as a good starting point. She actually still lived in the areas and knew more of the members so she had gotten the family information. Using her information, I had dates, names, and places, but even getting the information “first hand” wasn’t always completely accurate. Still, it was a very viable resource that helped me put together more of the lines she hadn’t ventured into as much. I now am in contact with cousins that we connect by my 5th great-grandfather!
You may not know much about any of your lines, but where your family is from, the information is easily accessible. The Montgomery County Genealogy Library has an incredible collection, especially specializing in southern research. USGenweb relies on contributions by its users, so some areas have more information available than others. LDS Libraries have locations around and you can request information be sent to those locations. Online, there is quite a bit from them. Their newer site (http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=home
), have actual abstracts and even images. For Texas researchers, death certificates are online for deaths occurring before 1977. Louisiana death certificate abstracts are available to about 1954. List of US/Canada records can be found at http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=allCollections&r=0. They are constantly adding new records for US and other countries.
Start with the line that is of most interest
Sometimes you do not know anything about a certain line and would like to know more. It may not be the easiest line, especially with little or no initial information, but it can be the most rewarding. Just watch some episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? (http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/) you’ll see that firsthand. Sometimes you have to be the most patient with this and at times, put it aside, but eventually you’ll get there.
So, I’ve been researching a long time….
I’ve been searching my family lines for almost 20 years now. As I said earlier, I have one line that goes back to my 5th great-grandfather. I have other lines I go back further than that. I have some lines that I don’t go far at all. So, how do I decide what to work on? I have several family trees on ancestry.com. I also have postings on the ancestry.com and genealogy.com boards. So, there are times I receive some form a contact on someone in my database. There are times that is what gets me involved in researching a certain branch. Other times, something just hits me. But, sometimes, something just happens…..
I was watching Who Do You Think Your Are? I had put aside researching for the most part, so I decided to get onto ancestry.com (I have a subscription), and one thing led to another.
Newly added to ancestry.com was Hamburg Passenger Lists. I have on my maternal line Wolter and Busse lines that came from Germany in mid 1800’s and I have on my paternal line Kempners from Austria and Lyons from Prussia who came over mid/late 1800’s. I have info on the Wolter and Busse’s arrivals but nothing on Kempners and Lyons. In fact, all I had on the Kempners was my 2nd great-grandmother Gussie Fannie Kempner Lyons had a brother Joseph. Her death certificate didn’t give much information, so I had ordered Joseph’s and found parents were Israel Kempner and Ella Schauman. Even worse, I had no family info on her husband Max! His death certificate was filled out by his physician! I could find neither of their arrivals, so I could not find where exactly they came from, but that day was different. I found in the Hamburger Passenger list Guste Kempner from Krakau, Osterrich. Not only that, her mother Ella was with her! WOW. I now knew where she was from AND her mom came too!!!!! As for why I had trouble with the NY Passenger list? The pages were difficult to read and she wasn’t indexed as Guste.
So what next? I started trying to find out more info on Ella and also Krakau/Krakow. I eventually found an Arkansas cemetery record site which led me to the grave of Ella Kempner (http://arkansasgravestones.org/view.php?id=242365). I always knew there were many other Kempners in the Little Rock area but could never connect them. So, I contacted the submitter of the photo and information to see if she could clue me into the location of the grave as well to recheck the birth place (she had it was somewhat unreadable). She came back and confirmed that with a second look, it was Cracow, Austria (variant spelling). She also could tell me that the Jacob Kempner family was nearby.
And the search is on….I start trying to find a site containing information on Krakow, Austria. I went around and around and then googled just Krakow. Well, it’s in POLAND now, not Austria! Lesson learned, when researching European family roots, check for where the borders are now (that’s actually a true statement for US research also. You don’t only want to know where the town was located when your family lived there, but you want to know what county it is considered NOW. That is actually where you usually want to go when you are in a library or online looking by state and then by county. Older books may be under the original county, so still look both places.) So, Krakow’s in Poland, redirect google search…..BINGO! Found a Jewish Krakow Documents site. The initial page has a search engine by name and also Early Family Trees, so I go to the family trees….No Kempner but there’s KLEMPNER (http://www.ics.uci.edu/~dan/genealogy/Krakow/Families/Klempner.html). Hmmm, Ella Schauman m. Isaac Kempner. Two children are listed: Leibel Ezyk b. 1851 and Izrael b. 7 Dec 1853 (hey wait, Joseph Kempner was listed as birth 7 Dec 1851- that’s Joseph!) No Fannie, but the information from about mid 1850’s to mid 1860’s seems to more or less missing. Keep looking…Izaak had married previously, son Jakob b. 14 Nov 1844 (hey that’s Jacob of Little Rock). Izrael had a brother Abraham b. ca. 1819 and m. Szeidel Hanna Reiner (hey that’s Abraham and Sharlotte from Hot Springs and Little Rock). Izaak had another brother Josef who had a son Abba Jakob b. 1838 and Izaak Jonas b. 1843 (yep, Jacob lived in Hot Springs and Isaac in Little Rock). That left in Little Rock, Bernard Kempner who only was there in 1870 and I had been in contact some with someone that was researching him by marriage of his daughter Leah. Well, long story short, as it turns out, Bernard is Berek Klempner b. 1841, son of Izaak and his first wife (so he too his my Fannie’s brother). Actually, it was a combination of information I had from the other researcher and finding information on his daughter’s birth in Krakow that helped make the connection. As it turns out, Bernard and his wife returned to Krakow in the 1870’s. They had the one daughter and Bernard soon died there. His wife married again. We’re still trying to figure out if his other two children returned also to Krakow and then came back to the US or what (and if you want an interesting story, Leah Kempner Besser’s is quite interesting!) So, now, all of the Little Rock/Hot Springs Kempners have a connection. And, as it turned out, no wonder I was having so much trouble. I was looking for Kempners in Austria and not Klempners in Poland!!
So, I continued to wonder if there were more family members that made their way to the US, but couldn’t find anything online that helped. My recent trip to the library did! I found several volumes of abstracts from the Van Buren papers. There I found three things. Mrs. Max Lyons’ brother MH Kempner came to visit from Idaho City. I already had a Moses Henry Kempner in my Kempner research and just wondered if he might be the eldest son (from Izaak’s first marriage) Moises Hirsch. Yep! Brother Ike Kempner came to visit from Little Rock. Well, that means Leib Ezyk was one of the Ike’s in the Little Rock info. Not sure exactly what happened to him since I don’t find him in the 1900 census and as of yet, no cemetery info is posted on him. Still to search. Also, her nephew Master Ike Cohn of NYC came to visit. Now, that’s going to be fun! I know she had two older sisters from Izaak’s first marriage Ester Baya and Pessel, but I have no further information on them yet. Either could be the mother. Also, there is a good information gap that would fit a few sisters in between 1853 and 1861. Now, as for timing, it would probably have to be a sister closer to the 1853. So, I don’t know the age of Ike, if he was born in Krakow or in US, who exactly his mother is, did she come to the, did she marry in the us? Another challenge! Interesting how you can get so much from just little abstracts of newspapers…
Actually, it doesn’t stop there! There was interesting information on Max Lyons as well. His brother Rube Lyons from NY came to visit twice (at least), the family took a trip to St. Louis, Missouri, the family left Van Buren for a time to do business in Illinois, upon returning reopened the New York Store, and at one time opened a second store in Atkins.
So, I started the search. Max had a brother Reuben. He had family!!!!! I found a Reuben Lyons in Manhattan b. 1861. In 1900, he had his nephew Morris living with him. Morris was born in Missouri. In 1880, I found Louis, Anna, Abraham, Myer, Reuben, and Flora Lion in St. Louis. Also in St. Louis was David, Rosa, Jennie, Morris, and Julius. Strangely, I had this family already in my online database. Why? Well, as it turns out, my online database is usually more extensive, including family lines from marriages. David Lyons’ son Bentley Harold had married Selma or Selina Haas, whose brother Harry married Mae C Lyons (yep Max and Fannie’s daughter). So, a couple of things to prove or question. Is Myer and Max one and the same? The years of birth were off but that’s not abnormal. And you wouldn’t think Myer and Max would be the same name, but I had learned earlier from Bernard Kempner, they could be. In 1870, his son was listed as Meyer. I looked all over for Meyer/Myer Kempner, but with the recent research and reconnecting with the other researcher I found that Meyer was Max Kempner and he married and died in New York. I just did the Jewish Name variations on ancestry.com and it shows Meyer or Maharam with variations including Meyer, Max, Maks, and Marek ( I actually would then include Mark since I’ve seen Max and Mark/Marc interchanged). Also, is David Louis and Anna’s son? It would seem so since it appears Morris was living with uncle Reuben in 1900, but then again, is this the right Reuben??
More online info gets me closer. So, I’ve turned back to the paid site of ancestry.com. I do find Louis, Anna, and Abraham’s death records. Unfortunately, they do not say parentage, actual birth location, but do give burial location. I tried searching the newspaper records online with hopes of finding an obit. No luck on them. I did find Reuben’s obit, but it only lists his wife and children, no mention of siblings. Hoped to find that one returned to the homeland and had passport application, but if they did, it isn’t online yet. Then, I wandered over to somewhere new for me. Missouri Digital Heritage http://www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/ Here I found David’s death certificate that confirmed his parents as Louis and Anna, but only lists birth location as Poland. I continue on and find naturalization information for David, Abraham, Meyer, and Reuben. I can send off for $1 each for copies (and I will). Then…..I find probate records. I found Louis Lyons probate, administered by Abraham M Lyons. In the records, I see Ruby Lyons of New York City received $50 by American Express. Flora C Lyons of St. Louis received $100 for Hazel Syble Lyons. And, Max Lyons of Van Buren received $1 (I now want to find the will and figure that one out!) For some reason David wasn’t even listed (another reason I would like to see the will). Apparently in 1900, Abraham M Lyons’ executorships was revoked due to failure to settle estate (I can’t read all of the entries). So Max is more than likely Meyers. Flora it appears married a Morris S Lyons (will have to seek if there is a family relationship there).
I am now trying to find out if there are any connections to the Samuel Lyons family of Arkansas or to any other Lyon or Lyons family in St. Louis. Many there were actually from Ireland, but I’m ordering the naturalization records of those who were from Germany/Prussia/Poland.
Hoping to find where the Lyons family originated. I found one record of arrival that fits someone but if it is the correct record, the recorder was quite sloppy. The family shows an Abraham, Anna, L, Reuben, and Phillip. Some of the info matches but I think the Abraham and L info is switched and the Philip would have to be Flora. Reuben fits perfectly along with the year of arrival.
So, in the last few months, I’ve been able to go a generation back on two lines that had given me a lot of trouble. A few more pieces of the puzzle in place, now to find some more……
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Genealogy Free Sites
I put this together from sites that I actually use. These are different searchable databases. The last one is actually not a searchable database but a list of different sites by subject. It lists both free and paid sites. Hopefully this is helpful.
www.usgenweb.com various records submitted by users. Go to state, then county. Amount of records varies from state/county. Check out the archives.
www.familysearch.org various records, including family trees (careful-submitted trees may not be correct)
http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=0 various birth, marriage, death records; including images
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ various records, family trees- limited information
http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/index.php various book records
Arkansas
http://arkansasgravestones.org/ Arkansas grave records
Illinois
http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/index.php
Georgia
http://appweb.augustaga.gov/Graveside_Search/graveside_default.asp cemetery records of Augusta, GA
Louisiana
http://neworleanspubliclibrary.org/spec/speclist.htm
http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/633/Default.aspx search birth/marriage/death
Maryland
http://mdvitalrec.net/cfm/index.cfm
New York
http://www.italiangen.org/
North Dakota
http://www.ndgenweb.org/
South Carolina
http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/onlinearchives/search.aspx
Wisconsin
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/
Other Countries
Denmark
http://www.emiarch.dk/home.php3?l=en
http://ddd.dda.dk/ddd_en.htm
Italy
http://italiangenealogy.com/Forums.html forum- free registration required
Poland
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~dan/genealogy/Krakow/ birth, marriage, death records- Jewish-aka Austria or Galacia
Specific Interests
Cemetery Records
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi
http://www.interment.net/
Civil War
http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/
Immigration
http://www.ellisisland.org/ free search 1892-1924-free registration required for view
Jewish Records
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/ free registration required; various records of US and other countries
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/index.html
Great Resource
http://www.cyndislist.com/ List of various websites, free and for pay, by subject/interest/country
www.usgenweb.com various records submitted by users. Go to state, then county. Amount of records varies from state/county. Check out the archives.
www.familysearch.org various records, including family trees (careful-submitted trees may not be correct)
http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=0 various birth, marriage, death records; including images
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ various records, family trees- limited information
http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/index.php various book records
Arkansas
http://arkansasgravestones.org/ Arkansas grave records
Illinois
http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/index.php
Georgia
http://appweb.augustaga.gov/Graveside_Search/graveside_default.asp cemetery records of Augusta, GA
Louisiana
http://neworleanspubliclibrary.org/spec/speclist.htm
http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/633/Default.aspx search birth/marriage/death
Maryland
http://mdvitalrec.net/cfm/index.cfm
New York
http://www.italiangen.org/
North Dakota
http://www.ndgenweb.org/
South Carolina
http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/onlinearchives/search.aspx
Wisconsin
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/
Other Countries
Denmark
http://www.emiarch.dk/home.php3?l=en
http://ddd.dda.dk/ddd_en.htm
Italy
http://italiangenealogy.com/Forums.html forum- free registration required
Poland
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~dan/genealogy/Krakow/ birth, marriage, death records- Jewish-aka Austria or Galacia
Specific Interests
Cemetery Records
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi
http://www.interment.net/
Civil War
http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/
Immigration
http://www.ellisisland.org/ free search 1892-1924-free registration required for view
Jewish Records
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/ free registration required; various records of US and other countries
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/index.html
Great Resource
http://www.cyndislist.com/ List of various websites, free and for pay, by subject/interest/country
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
What now?
I wasn't sure where I wanted to go next. Do I start with researching or database. I've decided a database maybe the best choice. Why? Why not have somewhere to enter the information before you have some much information that it would take a long time to enter?
When talking about a database and genealogy, you may wonder why you might need this. Basically, it is where you can keep the information together. It is especially useful to when sharing with others. In sharing, you want to be able to create and add gedcoms.
What is a gedcom? Well, I think Cyndi says it best, but its a in short a way to share information in a generic way. Below is a link to Cyndi's List for information on gedcoms and also on different gedcom programs, including some free ones.
http://www.cyndislist.com/gedcom.htm
When you talk about purchased programs, one is probably best know. That is Family Treemaker. Family Treemaker is a product of ancestry.com. It runs $39.95. This isn't the program I use, so I can't tell you much about it.
http://store.ancestry.com/ProductDetail.aspx?P=mfsku4751(shops)
What I use is RootsMagic. I have use it for many years. In fact, I basically used this product before it was RootsMagic. If I remember correctly, the makers of it had it under the name of FamilyOrigins. When FamilyOrigins wasn't available, I temporarily moved to another product before finding RootsMagic. It runs $29.95. I think it has all the necessary features and is still fairly user friendly (their last big update I bought had numerous changes that I'm not used to).
http://www.rootsmagic.com/RootsMagic/
Once you have a gedcom, you can share your information in many ways. You can email your gedcom to others. There are several online locations that you can upload your gedcom or you can develop your own website.
When entering the information, you will want to add the sources. This is not only to give credit where credit is due, but also someone else (or even you) begins to question information, you know where you found the information in order rate its reliability (in fact my program allows you to rate the reliability of sources when you enter them).
All and all, a good database is necessary in order to keep your research organized and make receiving and sharing information easier.
When talking about a database and genealogy, you may wonder why you might need this. Basically, it is where you can keep the information together. It is especially useful to when sharing with others. In sharing, you want to be able to create and add gedcoms.
What is a gedcom? Well, I think Cyndi says it best, but its a in short a way to share information in a generic way. Below is a link to Cyndi's List for information on gedcoms and also on different gedcom programs, including some free ones.
http://www.cyndislist.com/gedcom.htm
When you talk about purchased programs, one is probably best know. That is Family Treemaker. Family Treemaker is a product of ancestry.com. It runs $39.95. This isn't the program I use, so I can't tell you much about it.
http://store.ancestry.com/ProductDetail.aspx?P=mfsku4751(shops)
What I use is RootsMagic. I have use it for many years. In fact, I basically used this product before it was RootsMagic. If I remember correctly, the makers of it had it under the name of FamilyOrigins. When FamilyOrigins wasn't available, I temporarily moved to another product before finding RootsMagic. It runs $29.95. I think it has all the necessary features and is still fairly user friendly (their last big update I bought had numerous changes that I'm not used to).
http://www.rootsmagic.com/RootsMagic/
Once you have a gedcom, you can share your information in many ways. You can email your gedcom to others. There are several online locations that you can upload your gedcom or you can develop your own website.
When entering the information, you will want to add the sources. This is not only to give credit where credit is due, but also someone else (or even you) begins to question information, you know where you found the information in order rate its reliability (in fact my program allows you to rate the reliability of sources when you enter them).
All and all, a good database is necessary in order to keep your research organized and make receiving and sharing information easier.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Where do I begin?
Sometime when we hear the question "where do I begin?" the answer is start at the beginning. In genealogy, you're actually trying to find the beginning, so you have to start at the end.
So,seriously, how does one start working on one's family past? There are two things to do.
1. Your Memories: Write down all that you know. Your parent's names, birthdates, birth place, grandparent's, great-grandparents... as far back and as much as you know. Two forms that are helpful in this are a Family Group Sheet and Pedigree Chart.
Family Group Sheets are for recording information on each single family.
http://c.mfcreative.com/pdf/trees/charts/famgrec.pdf
Enter as much information as you can on each family. If you don't know exact dates, put about what date. If you don't know where, put probably where. The more information you can place the better. Below is an online sample of my 5th great-grandfather's family.
http://www.fgs-project.com/mississippi/groups/m/martin-francis.htm
Pedigree Charts are for documenting your direct ancestry.
http://c.mfcreative.com/pdf/trees/charts/anchart.pdf
On this chart, you start with yourself, then your parents, then grandparents, as far back as you can. You enter in as many dates and places as you possibly can.
I'm not sure if you can view this or not, but below is a link to my ancestry.com family tree. I am hoping you can view the pedigree tree starting with my grandfather.
http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/79146/family?fpid=-1257456190
2. Family Memories: Ask your parents, grandparnts, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc (basically whoever) their memories from family stories. You may want to record some of these just to have. For those who live further way, have them write it down or call them. Whatever way you can, get all the stories you can. I have a video of my great-uncle doig a Yiddish prayer. Ok, so it doesn't help the genealogy but it does help the family history! With the added information, you can fill in more blanks.
Word of caustion, memories aren't always 100% correct. Take several witnesses. They say stories will usually be consistent but not exact (and sometimes not even the same!) A distant cousin of mine did a book on the Martin family. In it, she has a letter written my one of the older family members recalling one of the family lines. He was just a boy and apparently didn't know exactly how everyone was related. To him then, they were all grown ups so they must have been from the same generation. Once I worked on the family line, I found where he didn't quite get it right, but he did have the names.
You might not always get great reactions from all family members. Some are more private than others and may feel you may reveal things about the family. I initially didn't think my grandmother was too keen on me researching the family. I joked a bit that it was because we were from Sicily and she was afraid I'd find out the family secrets. Funny thing is, apparently her older sister insisted that their parents came in thru Ellis Island. Well, I found that they had come in New Orleans. Boy was she glad to share that with her sister! (I wonder if I do the research I'll find out the ship did stop off at Ellis Island and some passenger got off there but they went on to New Orleans. The records are for where the immigrants deboard. Also, Papa's sister and her family did go thru Ellis Island. They then got on a different ship to come to New Orleans. It is possible Aunt Jo confused the stories....)
So, off you go and start collecting that data. If you have any questions on how to input the information (the pedigree chart can be tricky), let me know.
So,seriously, how does one start working on one's family past? There are two things to do.
1. Your Memories: Write down all that you know. Your parent's names, birthdates, birth place, grandparent's, great-grandparents... as far back and as much as you know. Two forms that are helpful in this are a Family Group Sheet and Pedigree Chart.
Family Group Sheets are for recording information on each single family.
http://c.mfcreative.com/pdf/trees/charts/famgrec.pdf
Enter as much information as you can on each family. If you don't know exact dates, put about what date. If you don't know where, put probably where. The more information you can place the better. Below is an online sample of my 5th great-grandfather's family.
http://www.fgs-project.com/mississippi/groups/m/martin-francis.htm
Pedigree Charts are for documenting your direct ancestry.
http://c.mfcreative.com/pdf/trees/charts/anchart.pdf
On this chart, you start with yourself, then your parents, then grandparents, as far back as you can. You enter in as many dates and places as you possibly can.
I'm not sure if you can view this or not, but below is a link to my ancestry.com family tree. I am hoping you can view the pedigree tree starting with my grandfather.
http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/79146/family?fpid=-1257456190
2. Family Memories: Ask your parents, grandparnts, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc (basically whoever) their memories from family stories. You may want to record some of these just to have. For those who live further way, have them write it down or call them. Whatever way you can, get all the stories you can. I have a video of my great-uncle doig a Yiddish prayer. Ok, so it doesn't help the genealogy but it does help the family history! With the added information, you can fill in more blanks.
Word of caustion, memories aren't always 100% correct. Take several witnesses. They say stories will usually be consistent but not exact (and sometimes not even the same!) A distant cousin of mine did a book on the Martin family. In it, she has a letter written my one of the older family members recalling one of the family lines. He was just a boy and apparently didn't know exactly how everyone was related. To him then, they were all grown ups so they must have been from the same generation. Once I worked on the family line, I found where he didn't quite get it right, but he did have the names.
You might not always get great reactions from all family members. Some are more private than others and may feel you may reveal things about the family. I initially didn't think my grandmother was too keen on me researching the family. I joked a bit that it was because we were from Sicily and she was afraid I'd find out the family secrets. Funny thing is, apparently her older sister insisted that their parents came in thru Ellis Island. Well, I found that they had come in New Orleans. Boy was she glad to share that with her sister! (I wonder if I do the research I'll find out the ship did stop off at Ellis Island and some passenger got off there but they went on to New Orleans. The records are for where the immigrants deboard. Also, Papa's sister and her family did go thru Ellis Island. They then got on a different ship to come to New Orleans. It is possible Aunt Jo confused the stories....)
So, off you go and start collecting that data. If you have any questions on how to input the information (the pedigree chart can be tricky), let me know.
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