Family History

Letters from the Front, Part One: Don’t Worry, Please

The war hasn’t affected me the way you might think it would, and I have seen things that I never thought I would see, but they just seem everyday.  After it is over, the letup on my nerves may make me jumpy for a while, but that is all…  I’ll be home soon, I hope, and I will be happier than I can ever say.  I have the folder with your pictures in it, and the Bible that Aunt Ithel gave me in my pocket, and when things are hot, I feel them and think, ‘How can I miss with these in my pocket?’”…

How Wildcard Searches Can Uncover Ancestors

As part of the exercise, we matched the records to the on-line index of the NYC Health Department. While initially creating some of the records and, later, doing some of the matching, I gained a renewed appreciation for wildcards. First, while at least 90% of the records created by the Church were readable, I could not guarantee some of my transcriptions. Then, when I did the matching, it became clear I was not alone. I found some obvious mistakes in both databases and even some data entry errors where one groom was matched to two different brides and visa-versa. Having spent over 30 years in Information Technology, I was not at all surprised. To err is human.

Finding Your Female Ancestors Through Pension Files

Pension files are a great place to find our female ancestors. I didn’t know who my great, great grandmother was until I obtained my great, great grandfather, John Malin Carder’s Civil War pension files. In those files, I learned that John had been married three times.  First, to Elizabeth Steen and then to Caroline Morris. Both died very young. John then married Eliza Jane Dobbins to whom he was married until his death nearly sixty years later.

Richard Wyatt: A Daughter Remembers

My sister-in-law Susie lost her beloved father a few months ago.  She asked me to share some thoughts about him.  So I combined info from his obituary with the pictures and notes she gave me, and this is what I came up with.  I hope you like it, Susie.  I’m so sorry for your loss.

The Curse of the “Medium Build” Description

Images of our ancestors bring so much life to a person previously only known through census records and cemeteries. But for many we simply don’t have the coveted photograph. Our imagination does the heavy lifting. I don’t know about you, but I tend to conjure up all farmers about the same! Sad really. You’d think that I would be pleased by the descriptions offered in some documents, most specifically the World War I Draft Registration Cards (DRC).

Never Trust a Document – or a Patronymic

After my last blog, Linda gave me some food for thought. So we’re getting away from actual documents this time, and looking at patronymics. Not to be confused with patronising, which is something the British are REALLY good at. (British forces arrive in somebody else’s country: “Oh, you don’t have a flag? Oh dear. That’s a shame. You can’t have a country without a flag. Very sorry. Look, we’ll plant ours. Now your country belongs to us”)

Therese Peterson: A Life Too Brief

My paternal grandmother, Sara Peterson Wallin, came from a Swedish family of six girls and two boys, all long dead now.  Several of her siblings have stories which intrigue me—particularly the story of Aunt Therese.

The Lottery Winner: A Man Discovers His Lost Family After 73 Years

In March 2011 I had no interest in genealogy. For 73 years the knowledge that I was adopted as an infant satisfied my need to know my origins. My adoptive parents were a loving, nurturing couple who always made it evident that I was an important part of their family. From before I knew what ‘adopted’ meant, I knew that was what I was. Under the care of my adoptive parents I grew up, went to college, married and raised a family. My education opened the door to a rewarding career that provided adequate income, interesting work and travel. Who needs more? Not I.

Robert Milo Wallin: Dad’s College Letters – Part Two

“Betty and I had a big fight today.  She started it, so I’m going to let her cool her heels for 3 or 4 days.  I can get 4-to-1 odds off of anybody in the house that she’ll call up and apologize within 72 hours.  Boy, is she going to eat dirt then!”