My Trails into the Past

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:  It's  Saturday Night  again -  Time for some more  Genealogy Fun!! Our assignment tonight from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to:  1)  What are your major genealogy challenges - the family mysteries that you haven't been able to crack to date?  2)  Tell us about five of your real genealogy challenges with a short paragraph, and link to blog posts if you have written about them. Here's mine: 1. I would like to know the origins of Samuel Johnston and his wife Elizabeth McCormack , both of South Carolina. I have them firmly in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, and many of their children were born in the 1840s somewhere in Alabama. The issues are I have no idea where in South Carolina they came from, Johnston is a common name, and South Carolina didn’t require marriage registrations until the 20th Century. I have written about them here and here . 2. I would like to know the origins and parents o...

Not having any documentation on why my ancestors came to the United States, it becomes guesswork. My maternal ancestors likely came either before or soon after the Revolution. I have not yet discovered who the first ancestors were. My mother’s ancestors were all in the south and as I research back, I start in Texas and work back east through all of the southern states until we hit Virginia. Records are sparse for most of the families. Now my father’s side of the family are more recent immigrants, arriving in the United States during the 1800s. The Sullivans were the first, coming in 1860s. I have searched for the ship list but have not found it. Jeremiah and Mary Sullivan had eight children born in Ireland and one in Michigan. There is a nine-year gap, so they likely came before 1869, when Michael was born in Michigan. This was after the Great Famine. Jeremiah was a miner, so perhaps the mines were closing and the draw to the Upper Peninsula Michigan was a strong draw. Johan Anton ...

All outside activities past week included the trip down to Miami aboard the Floridian, staying two nights in Miami and two nights in Key West. Today, we head up to Ocala to visit Norman’s cousin. Genealogy Genealogy Volunteer/Work: I had to correct the BCG press release with an updated link. I accepted an invitation to speak to the Sacramento Public Library. Genealogy Meetings:  I attended no meetings this week. Genealogy Writing/Research : I continued writing about the Sievert and Hork families in my 12 for ’26 challenge. Blog Posts Published: Resolving Conflicts in Censuses – A Hork Family Example For the theme of “ What the Census Suggests ,” I wrote about how I resolved the conflict of Johan Anton’s ages in the U.S. census. This post was highlighted by Linda Stufflebea and Randy Seaver. SNGF—What Was the Great Love Story in Your Family Tree? I wrote about my in-laws, George & Thelma Gorrell. Vincent Sievert in Joliet, Illinois - 12 for ’26 – Part 2 This is...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:  It's  Saturday Night  again -  Time for some more  Genealogy Fun!! Our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to:  1)  It's Valentine's Day - a day for lovers! We all have hundreds of love stories in our ancestry. 2)  What was the great love story of the ancestors in your family Tree?  What wedding had a great story in it?  Choose one ancestral couple. Share how they met (if known), when and where they married. Note how long they were married. Highlight something that suggests affection or partnership. Here's mine: I have written about my parents a few times before. My paternal grandparents split up after 15 years or so. My maternal grandparents had issues but stayed married until my grandfather died. My grandmother lived another 40 years. I shall write instead of my husband’s parents: George Joseph Gorrell and Thelma Marie Nilsen. They married on 6 October ...

This month for 12 for ’26, I am working through documents I have collected over the past 30 years concerning the Sievert and Hork families. My great-grandfather, Johan Anton Hork, married Julia Ann Sievert. This week, I am continuing the focus on the Sievert family in Joliet, Illinois. The Sievert Family in Joliet Vincent and Susanna’s first child born in America, Julia Ann, was born on 31 October 1854. It is unknown where she was baptized as the German Catholic Church’s records begin in 1855. [1] Their son, Peter, was baptized at St. John’s German Catholic Church on 5 July 1857. He was born on 29 June 1857. [2] Vincent became a naturalized citizen on 28 December 1857. [3] Their son, John was born on 23 August 1858 and baptized on 27 August as Johanes Siebert. [4] His cousin, Ana Elisabeth Feitag was born on 24 August and baptized on the same day. [5] Joseph and Henrietta Feitag were his sponsors and Vincent & “Dorothea” Siebert were Ana’s sponsors. In 1860, Vincent was ...

My great-grandfather, Johan Anton Hork, appeared in just two U.S. census records: 1880 and 1900. He arrived in the United States in November of 1870, so missed that one. He likely appeared in the 1890 census, but that one does not survive. He died in 1906. 1880 Census The 1880 enumeration was conducted in Aurora, Kane County, Illinois. [1] The surname is indexed on Ancestry as Hark, but the vowel could easily be an o. His wife, Julia, and their first four children are listed in the correct order. Mary, who was born in 1873, is 7 years old. Ida, who was born in 1875, is 5 years old. Susan, who was born in 1877, is 3 years old and listed as Susie, a close enough name to Susan. And Albert, who was born in 1879, is listed as 10 months old. His wife, Julia, who was born in 1854, is 25. So far, these facts match with what is known about the family whose last name is Hork. Anton’s age of 36, suggests a birth year of 1844. That matches the age he put down on his marriage record when stating...

Outside activities included trips to the History Center, Kaiser for a colonoscopy, and the beginning of a 26-day trip to Florida, New York City, and Kansas City aboard Amtrak.   Genealogy Genealogy Volunteer/Work: I worked on answering queries and clearing the donation receiving desk at the History Center. I did not go to the Oakland FamilySearch Center this week due to preparing for the colonoscopy the following day. I have prepared the BCG webinar press release for February and it is scheduled to go out today. Genealogy Meetings:  I met with Jacqueline and we discussed attending GRIP in person this summer and then I signed up for the advanced AI class with Mark Thompson and Steve Little. I attended the Kinseekers Labor SIG and it was a roundtable discussion this month, so I talked about the community college district who did not have records of my grandfather’s employment and the school district that did not have records of my grandmother’s employment. The Communicat...