My Trails into the Past

I found a reference to a database being kept by Judith Irons on the construction workers of the Hoover Dam. I remembered reading that one of my grandmother’s uncles worked on the Hoover Dam. So I contacted Judith to inquire about the CD database that is for sale, wondering if he was on it. She had no reference to Frank but asked me to give her a biography and the source of the work for the Hoover Dam. So here is the story of Frank as I know it from research I have done. Francis Thomas Gleeson, my great-great uncle. Frank was born Francis Thomas Gleeson on 29 Dec 1878 in Carleton County, Ontario, Canada to John Gleeson and Margaret Tierney. He was the youngest of ten children who included 5 boys and 5 girls. His oldest sister, Anna was my great-grandmother on my father’s side. His siblings were all baptized at St. Phillip's Church in Richmond but there is no record for Frank.  The family arrived in the United States through Port Huron sometime in 1879. Perhaps they wa...

The Book of Me, Written by You is a blogging theme where one can write about their own life using blog themes posted each week.  More information can be found at Anglers Rest here . This week's prompt is - Cars and Transport Did you have a car in your family whilst you were growing up? What methods of transport were there? And what did you & your family typically use? Your Driving Test Where Did you learn? - Can you drive? Your first car? Your Favourite Car? I remember a few of the cars our family owned. We had an American Motors Rambler Ambassador which was a station wagon that could fit four kids. Here’s a shot of the car with my two brothers and one of my sisters standing in front. Our Rambler Later, my mother got her own car, a Pontiac Grand Prix, which I drove for my driver’s test. It had a big hood and a tight turning radius. I had to re-do the three-point-turn because I made a U-turn instead. I also remember being pulled over once in the car and o...

The Book of Me, Written by Me is a blogging theme where one can write about their own life using blog themes posted each week. More information can be found at Anglers Rest here . This week's prompt is - Favourite Colour Do you have a favourite colour? and if so why? Do you like vibrant colours or darker colours? Do you associate anyone with a particular colour? If so who and why ? Does your favourite colour reflect your personality? My favorite color has always been blue. I like other colors, but when given a choice, I always chose blue.    I love all sorts of blues but baby blue is my favorite. My first two-wheeler bike was blue and my first 10-speed was baby blue.  I had a blue car once: light blue 4-door Toyota Corona. My current car, a Nissan Leaf, is blue, as is my husband’s beloved Pinto wagon. My work uniform was a light blue shirt and navy pants when working as a train operator at BART.  I sort of got tired of blue for a while af...

This is week 12 of the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge” by Amy Crow from  No Story Too Small .  I am a bit behind but intend to catch up. I am writing about my great-great grandfather, Vincent Sievert. I have no photo of Vincent, so do not know what he looked like, but I have photos of his daughter, Julia, who was my great-grandmother. Vincent was one of my German immigrant ancestors. He was born in Schneidemühl, Kolmar county in the Provence of Posen, which is now in Poland, to Christoph Siewert and Anna Marianna Ewald. [1]   It is thought that Vincent was born on 23 Jan 1823 because his obituary stated he died on his 67th birthday. [2] He married Susanna Raduntz in Posen and they came together to America, arriving on 23 Jun 1852 aboard the Johanna Elise with one child, a 6 month old boy, named August. [3]   Vincent Sievert, wife, susanna, and son, August aboard the Johanna Elise , arriving in NY, 23 Jun 1852 Vincent wasn’t the only one in hi...