Leap Day in my Family Tree

Leap Day in my Family Tree

A leap year is a calendar year that has an extra day. This day is added to keep the day/date calendar lined up with the astronomical year. Because the movements of the planets do not repeat in exactly whole days, a “leap day” is necessary … read more

Naming Patterns: Victoria Prosser

Naming Patterns: Victoria Prosser

Family naming patterns give us a deep-rooted sense of tradition and family bonding. Victoria Prosser (daughter of Joseph Prosser and Brigitta Winkler) was born in 1856. Yes, the baptism record (shown below) spells her name as Viktoria and the German pronunciation would be fick-TOR-iah. See this … read more

Finding Victoria

Finding Victoria

The only photo I have of Victoria Blees shows a strong, confident, mother of five posing in a St. Paul, Minnesota studio, circa 1900. But who were her parents? Where was she born?     When I wrote about the Blees lineage in 2007, Victoria’s early … read more