My Trails into the Past

I have completed sixty-three (63) weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. Besides going to the History Center and Phenology, I met with Dave to take the Coast Division Member of the Year Award to Phil. It was really nice visiting with Dave.   Genealogy Blog Writing : 52 Ancestors — Week 21: At the Cemetery—Some Erath County Cemeteries I wrote about my first genealogy road (airplane) trip to Texas with my maternal grandmother, and the trips to cemeteries as part of the tour. Sharing About the Memories of Neighbors: Jerry & Eleanor Carpenello . I wrote about our neighbors and how I rediscovered their surname by searching in the reverse listing in the city directory. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Who is #42 on Your Ahnentafel List? I wrote about Norman’s number 42 which was Edward Nicholas, his third great-grandfather, who lived in Cornwall, England. O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  I attended the Certification Discussion Group and Amigos on ...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's Saturday Night again - Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Here is our assignment this week from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing: 1)  Have you identified #42 on your ahnentafel list?  If not, how about #21 the mother of #42?  If not, how about #10 on your ahnentafel list?  Do you even have an ahnentafel list?  2)  Anyway, tell us about your #42 ancestor (or #21, or #10, etc.) - full name, parents, spouse, children, birth, baptism, death, marriage, burial, etc.  Here's mine: In my database, I placed my daughters into the number 1 position. If I check out who number 42 is with me in the number one spot, it comes to George Wilson Lancaster. I’m working on a project about that family and am not ready to write about him. So, I put my husband in the number one spot and his number 42 is his third great-grandfather, Edward Nicholas. At this writing, I didn’t know much about Edward, except for his marriage to Susan...

When writing the story of your family, have you included those memories of times with the neighbors? Neighbors can often be an important part of your family’s lives. Here is a story of the neighbors of my parents who likely helped out with advice and childcare for my young mother. When we lived in Pittsburg, California, the next-door neighbors were an older Italian-American couple named Jerry and Eleanor. Eleanor did a lot of things for my mother, probably watching one or two of us when she had too much to do with the younger children. By 1960, she had four children under six. I had brought home both the measles and chicken pox during my year in Kindergarten, and subsequently the three younger siblings also got it—even the newborn. There was probably lots of discomfort and crying. I could not remember Jerry and Eleanor’s last name. We always called them Eleanor and Jerry. I had just turned nine when we moved to Walnut Creek in 1963. But I remember her house. It was cozy with stuffe...

I have completed sixty-two (62) weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. This past week was a bit crazy. I had a busy Tuesday with an EKG, haircut, bank trip, and trip to History Center. Wednesday, a trip to the ER. On Thursday, phenology, and Friday a treadmill test and then to Sloat Garden Center. Other than that, stayed home, measuring blood pressure three times a day. Genealogy Blog Writing: Week 20: Cousin Bait—Why I Write This Blog I wrote about how I have used the blog and other sources to capture cousins. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – When You First Left Home I wrote about my parents first leaving their homes. O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  I attended Monday Morning where 15 attended, Amigos on Wednesday, and Peer Group on Friday where just Josh and I had a full hour of conversation. Webinars & Classes Attended : No genealogy classes or webinars this week. Client Work/Presentations : I finished the Bray research for this month and...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's Saturday Night again - Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Here is our assignment this week from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing : 1)  When did you first leave your parents' home?  Why did you leave?  Where did you move to?  What was it like?  What did you learn? 2)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status post.  Please leave a link in a comment to this post. Here’s mine: We did a similar theme on 29 Sep 2020, so I’m going to tell the story from a different point of view: through the eyes of my parents, Bill and Lea. Neither of them had lived on their own before being married. My father lived with his mother at either 3416 or 3418 Wren Avenue in Concord, California (depending on which wedding article one reads). Today, one cannot view the house on Google Maps because it is off a side driveway where a Google camera did not drive. There are photos of me wit...

I have completed sixty-one (61) weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. This past week, I stayed home more. I volunteered at the History Center, went to the meadow for phenology, and ran trains at the club for our open house. I went for a couple of walks but did that alone.   Genealogy Blog Writing : Week 19: Mother’s Day—Compendium of Posts About My Mother I have written about my mother in a number of posts and created a compendium of them. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – How Many Trees or Bushes in Your Family Tree Database? I wrote about my one tree in RootsMagic and that I have a barebones tree on all the DNA sites. O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  I attended Monday Morning where 18 attended, Amigos on Wednesday, and Peer Group on Friday where we continued discussion Blaine’s book. I attended the CCCGS annual meeting on Thursday. Sunday, I attended our last session on the book 1919: The Year of Racial Violence . Webinars & Classes Atten...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's Saturday Night again - Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!   Our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing this week is: 1)  Almost all of us have genealogy software that we use to manage our research and our family tree.  Some researchers use only an online family tree.  What do you use? 2)  For this week's SNGF, tell us how many "trees" (or "bushes)" you have in your genealogy management program database.  How did you figure it out?  Also, where do you have online trees? Here's mine: 1. I have used three different genealogy software programs over my genealogy researching career. I began with PAF (DOS) and upgraded to the Windows version later. I continued using it even when it was discontinued but it worked fine for me. I kept most of my data in the notes area using tags. Later, a group of us attended a talk given by Geoff Rasmussen and he showed screen shots from the program Legacy Family Tree. ...

I have written several posts about my mother, Lela Nell (Johnston) Hork. Here are synopsis and links to those posts. Fearless Females – Day 17 My mother was a social butterfly and joined organizations. This post described her high school years and Junior Woman’s Club. Mrs. William (Lea) Hork in Junior Woman’s Club This post is about the activities my mother was involved in with the Pittsburg Junior Woman’s Club which includes a photo of her standing next to Louis Armstrong. Celebrate Mother’s Day – Show Us Some Photos A post, part of Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, with lots of photos of my mother and me. 85 th Anniversary of My Mother, Lela Nell Johnston’s Birth Her birthday was August 21, 1934 and in 2019 I wrote a post with a story and photos. Three Things About Your Mother This past week’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, I wrote about three ways my mother was creative. This is my fourth year working on this year-long 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompt, hosted by Amy Johns...

I have completed sixty (60) weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. This past week, I stayed home more. I picked up my second internet order from JC Penney, volunteered at the History Center, and went to the meadow for phenology. I got a lot done on the computer.   Genealogy Blog Writing : Week 18: Crime and Punishment—Ludwig Wollenweber Goes to Court I wrote about my husband’s 2x-great-grandfather, who was a saloonkeeper. Newspaper articles mentioned his court appearances for failure to pay fees and taxes. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Three Things About Your Mother I wrote about how creative my mother was with all she did from cooking to crafts. O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  I met with Jacqueline on Tuesday and Amigos on Wednesday, where we talked about our current projects. Friday’s Peer group discussed chapter 4 of the DNA workbook after sharing about our various projects. Webinars & Classes Attended : I attended a class on best pra...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's  Saturday Nigh t again - Time for some more  Genealogy Fun!! Here our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings : 1)  Sunday is Mother's Day in the USA, and usually a time for memories and gratitude to our special birth person. 2)  For this week's SNGF, tell us three things about your mother that are special and memorable  to you. 3)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status post.  Please leave a link in a comment to this post. Here's mine: My mother was Lela Nell (Johnston) Hork (1934-1992). She was born in Texas but came to California during the 1940s. She met my dad, William J Hork (1930-2007) at the Walnut Festival in 1951 and double-dated a week later. They married 19 April 1953 at Queen of All Saints Church in Concord. They had six children and I’m the oldest. 1. My mother was very artistic. She had a little studio in back o...

Not all people who end up in court commit crimes and experience punishment. Here’s a short tale of my husband’s great-great-grandfather who lived either in Jeffersonville, Indiana, or Louisville, Kentucky, which was just across the Ohio River. Ludwig “Louis” Wollenweber, my husband’s 2x-great-grandfather, was a saloon owner in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1860s and 70s. In 1861, he appeared in the local city directory on four pages, where he was really covering his bases on his cliental: selling wines and liquors on 520 E. Market Street manufacturing bitters at n.s. Market between Jackson and Hancock sirup manufacturer at 520 E. Market and wines and liquors wholesales at 520 E. Market. [1] Four years later his saloon was at 90 Market near 3 rd and lived at the same address. [2] Running an establishment dealing with liquor or tobacco involved regulations. Licenses and special taxes had to be paid. It turns out that if one is late in paying, the court gets involved. This happen...