My Trails into the Past

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:  It's Saturday Nigh t again -  Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to: 1)  Find an ancestor who has a life event (e.g, born, baptized, married, died or buried) on Hallowe'en (31 October). 2)  Tell us about him or her -- who were his or her parents, spouses, children, occupation, residences, etc.  NOTE:  No luck?  How about a relative?  Or a famous person?  Here's mine: I also have RootsMagic 12 and ran the “On This Day” report, selecting Oct 31, family events, and color coding. I only got a half page of returns, but I don’t’ have as many people in my database as Randy does. Family Events 1733 - Birth: Nils Jonsson-756 , Sweden 1809 - Birth: Creath Neal-3235, Jessamine Co, Kentucky 1811 - Land Purchase: John Kethley-3248 , Feliciana Parish, Louisiana 1816 - Birth: Eva Charlotta Johansdotter-4264, 1835 - Death: Jacob Bischof-...

We never can really know our ancestors. We locate documents that suggest what they did or not do, where they lived, and who their families were. However, we do not know what they thought, what kind of personality they had, and what their goals were. Sometimes we do find records that hint to a personality. My 2x-great-grandfather, Vincent Sievert, was one of my German-speaking immigrant ancestors, who came in 1852 with his family from a part of present-day Poland where Germans had settled. [1] He first started out in Will County, Illinois, as a farmer, [2] but later worked as a stonecutter. [3] He and his wife, Susanna, had eleven children, eight whom grew to adulthood. [4] Domestic Goose JJ Harrison , CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Assault Charge I was surprised to discover from a newspaper article that Vincent was charged in the County Court with assault with a deathly weapon. [5] Oh, my, what had he done? The next month he was arraigned and he plead not guilty. [6] ...

The Genealogical Proof Standard, also known as the GPS, is the ultimate test to ensure that our genealogical conclusions are sound. [1] There are five elements that genealogists follow to ensure they have met standards. It begins with conducting reasonably exhaustive research. We research in a wide range resources, some easy to obtain, and others that are more difficult. We use the records that will most likely answer our research questions pertaining to identity, relationships, or events. Research should always begin with a research question. A sample research question might be: When was Maria Sievert, daughter of Vincent Sievert and Susanna Radunz, who lived in Joliet, Will County, Illinois, born? See how I identified Maria Sievert? She was the daughter of Vincent Sievert and Susanna Radunz. She lived in Will County, Illinois. There may be more than one Maria Sievert in Joliet, but not likely more than one who was also the daughter of Vincent and Susanna. As we gather evidence f...

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 ...