My Trails into the Past

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)   Do you have an ancestor with no defined birth and death dates or places?   2)   This week, please tell us about that ancestor and what clues you used to estimate a birth and death dates and places. Here’s mine: I have not blogged about these ancestors of my husband yet, but James Gorrell (1770-1826) and his wife, Sarah (1771-1849), lived in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. I have dates of birth and death for them, though no marriage date. Also living in Beaver County were James, Senior, and Elizabeth. James Senior disappears after the 1806 tax record, with Elizabeth being listed until 1810. She also appears in the 1810 census. In 1800, James and his wife are over 45 and in 1810 Elizabeth is over 45. I have not put in a birth date for either of them, though I ...

Some of my unexpected discoveries are learning that other siblings of our ancestors also came to the United States. We get so busy focusing on our direct lines, that we do not realize other family members immigrated, too. Sometimes they came to the same area, and sometimes they settled in other parts of the country, especially if they came years later. Unexpected discoveries can also be pleasant surprises. Finding more kin is always great, as their records can aid in taking the family back further generations. My Husband’s Family A good example is the Voehringer family. His great-grandmother, Matilda “Tillie” Wollenweber’s parents were Ludwig Wilhelm Wollenweber and Philappina Margaretha Voehringer. [1] Census records hinted that Ludwig was from Bavaria and Philappina was from Württemberg. [2] There was no obituary for Philappina, only death notices, one in English, [3] and one in German. [4] Neither gave information about next of kin. Her death certificate gave no information ...

I left for Eugene, Oregon, on the Amtrak Coast Starlight on Monday evening and was picked up by Jacqueline Tuesday afternoon. I spent a lovely six days, and board the train back on Sunday afternoon, to arrive back home on Monday at 8 a.m.   Genealogy Genealogy Volunteer/Work: Wednesday, it rained all day and Jacqueline and I spent time on our computers, set up in the dining room. Actually I got in a little bit each morning and evening, when we weren’t doing other activities. I have the draft of the BCG Webinar for April written and approved and I will send it out on Tuesday. I received a request to pick up certificates and court records.    Genealogy Meetings:  I didn’t attend any meetings this week.  Genealogy Writing/Research : I began working on the Wollenweber family for April. I created a timeline for Matilda Wollenweber, as a start in discovering more that I can research on her. Next up would be her father, Ludwig “Louis” Wilhelm Wollenweber. I w...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:  It's  Saturday Night  again -  Time for some more  Genealogy Fun!! O ur assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to: 1)  Family stories are often about "Turning Points" and "Major Decisions."   2)  This week, please describe a "Turning Point" in the life of one of your parents (or for both of them, or for grandparents).  Describe the decision, and discuss the outcome of it. Here's mine: A turning point in my father, and his sisters’ lives was when his mother and father separated sometime in the 1930s. They were living in Southern California. He was probably five or six, maybe even seven. I don’t know what year the split was. The 1937 Pomona city directory lists his dad, William Cyril Hork along with wife, Anna, at 215 ½ N. Euclid Avenue in Ontario. [1] By the 1940 census, they were listed apart. She lived at 236 East Foothill Road in Cucamonga, [2] while he lived at 215 ½ N ...

Because the timeline worked so well last month documenting G.W. Lancaster, I have decided to create a timeline first of what I know about Matilda Wollenweber. Then I can work on filling in any missing information. Some of the documents will need to be revisited as I do not have up-to-date links to them. Some may only have a microfilm number. Matilda Wollenweber is my husband’s paternal great-grandmother. Her daughter, Matilda Davey married Joseph Norman Gorrell, who were his grandparents. Matilda “Tillie” Wollenweber Timeline 1859    Matilda was born on 27 August 1859 to Ludwig Wilhelm Wollenweber and Philippina Veringer. She was baptized by Carl Ludwig Daubert, nearly a year later, on 22 July 1860 at St. Paul’s Evangelical Church in Louisville. [1] COMMENT: From a Wikipedia article, St. Paul’s German Evangelical Church was the first German Evangelical Church to be established in Louisville, being founded in 1836 by Rev. George Brandau. [2] She was baptized in the fir...