A Smörgåsbord of Stories
John Blees (1856-1916) was born in (what we now call) Germany. He lived his adult life in the United States. Last week, we looked at the negative findings (all the places I expected to find evidence of John’s birth and parentage). There is one secondary … read more
Johann “John” Blees (1856-1916) traveled to Baltimore, Maryland from Bremen, German Empire in May of 1882. His immigration paperwork did not provide a lot of details. Persistent questions plague the descendants of Johann/John Blees: In which town was he born? Who were his parents? … read more
Johann Blees (1856-1916) immigrated to the United States in the early 1880s. What does his immigration record tell us about him? Where was he from? What was his birthdate? Did he have traveling companions? From Bremen to Baltimore Often a family historian can find … read more
Mary Mae Lydick Norenberg (1910-2003) was born in Cass Lake, Minnesota and lived her life in that vicinity. She was the daughter of Susan Marie Roy (1889-1957) and Horace Sawyer Lydick (1880-1956). Probably because her mother, Susan, was a devout Roman Catholic, Mary was named … read more
Any entry-level genealogy class will instruct the novice to begin with living relatives. So, back in 1986 I started by interviewing my grandparents. They showed me photo albums, reminisced about their siblings and told lively tales about their parents. As we traveled back in the … read more
My grandmother, Mary Mae Lydick Norenberg (1910-2003) was a crafter and a creator. Working within her means, she created many decorative items for her home and for gifts. She sewed her own clothes, produced crafts to sell at her Ladies Bazaar and taught me the … read more
Bible Records are a wonderful tool for a family historian. Sometimes an old Bible provides the only records of births, marriages and deaths. Each set of records written in a Bible need to be examined carefully. Were the entries written at the time of the event? … read more
John Pile, a native of Virginia, settled in Carroll County, Missouri by 1843. Last week, we noted that by the fall of 1847, John Pile was dead. When did he die? How did he die? Newspaper Research In other blog posts, I’ve extolled the … read more
John Pile married Patsey Allen in Botetourt County, Virginia June 29, 1809. They were the parents of several children, including Oscar Pile. All of their known children were born in Adair County, Kentucky. After Patsey died, John married Matilda Miller, his wife’s niece. Matilda’s mother … read more
Haden family research is built upon the foundation of many talented and thorough cousins, notably: Edith Attkisson Rudder, author of My Father’s Family (1947) Dorothy Kabler Haden, author of John Haden of Virginia (1968) Kay Haden, researcher and blogger at Leaves of the Tree and … read more