In my first post on the topic of cousins marrying cousins, I presented a list of cousins of mine who’ve married other cousins of mine. Lest they be tempted to sue me, let me restate emphatically that they are related to ME and not to each other. That said, I have come across a few instances of my relatives who were 1st… More →
Month: July 2015
It’s Wathel, Not Walter
When I came across the name of my distant cousin “Wathel” Rogers recorded in the 1920 census, I thought surely it had been transcribed incorrectly and was meant to have been “Walter”. I checked the photograph of the actual census from Kit Carson County, Colorado and found that it was not a mistake. Sometimes the names can be difficult to decipher but this was not the case. In the1930 census “Wathel” became “Mathel”.… More →
Sophia’s Mutter und Vater
I came a step closer this week to knowing the names of all 32 of my 3rd great grandparents. It took a little digging but I’ve identified the names of #29 and #30. As far as I can tell, this is new information so I’ve accomplished my goal of picking up where my mother left off. (#31 and #32 may require a trip to Itawamba County,… More →
First Baseman, Once Removed
If the Kansas City Athletics had not traded my mother’s first cousin Norm Siebern to the Baltimore Orioles in 1963, then the conversation I had about a month ago with my friend and coworker, Jon, would have been much less interesting. Jon is a diehard Baltimore Orioles fan. His blood runs orange in the spring and summer and then Ravens purple when the leaves begin… More →
Fingerprints
I learned early on from author Marsha Hoffman Rising that there is a difference between searching and researching. Genealogists should always search for research that’s been done by someone else. So far that’s proven to be very good advice. If the other researcher did their homework and it’s well documented, it’s much easier to verify the same information and you’re not starting from scratch. I’ve grown… More →
Will Power: Joseph Clingman Trantham
Thy will be done. Joseph Clingman Trantham bequeathed large sums of cash and land to his children Elizabeth, Belinda, Minerva, Joshua, James, Thomas, David, Riley and Margaret. Proved in 1850, the will stipulated that the older children were to receive 50 acres of “mountain land” each. Upon their mother’s death, the younger children were to split the land set aside for her. Middle child “Jepthey” didn’t fare so well. To him,… More →
Mystery Kenfolk Case #1: The Düwels
Friedrich and Catherine (Springmeyer) Düwel are 3rd great grandparents on my father’s side. They are one of several genealogical “cold cases” I am currently working. Some branches of the family tree are more difficult to research than others. Essentially, I know the middle of their story but not the beginning or ending. I’ve been able to determine from German church records that they married October 4, 1840 in… More →
Cousins marrying cousins
Gedmatch.com is a website where you can upload your raw DNA data from other websites and analyze it in fun and interesting ways. Thanks to Gedmatch.com I know conclusively that my parents are not cousins. However, this might have been a more meaningful conclusion had it not predicted the color of my eyes as puce. They are more of a greenish puce. My mother’s family… More →
Pancake Wisdom
Wishing my dearest Aunt Jodi the happiest of birthdays today! I believe aunts and uncles play important roles in our lives. While our parents focus on the big stuff like knowing the difference between right and wrong, playing nice with others, and “hey, don’t touch that it’s hot”, our aunts and uncles are responsible for imparting little gems of wisdom that might otherwise have been… More →
Peachy Keen Kenfolk
Bill Peach, born William Strickland Peach, is an accomplished author, philosopher, blogger, social activist, entrepreneur and preacher so sayeth the various biographies I found online. All true, I believe. But his day job for many, many years was that of a men’s clothier. He and his wife, Emily, owned the Pigg & Peach men’s clothing store which is located in the Historic Downtown part of Franklin, Tennessee.… More →