My Trails into the Past

I checked my genealogy database calendar and found the following birthday and marriage anniversaries. I wondered how they celebrated their birthdays and marriages on Christmas. Or was Christmas the more important day? I always found it interesting that couples married on Christmas. Perhaps it was because family was altogether to help them celebrate. Or perhaps it was a day when they didn’t have to work and had time to have a wedding. My Dad’s side: Maria Catharine Trösster was born 25 December 1813 in Oberhundem, Westfalen.   Maria is my 2nd great grandmother. She was the daughter of John Joseph Trösster and Maria Elisabeth Döbener , and married Joseph Henrich Horoch 2 Aug 1825. My Mom’s side: J ohn Stubbs Stackhouse was born 25 December 1854 in Copiah County, Mississippi.   John Stubbs Stackhouse married Laura Ellen Coor 29 Apr 1886, who was the daughter of Daniel K. Coor & Susan Allen .  Laura is my first cousin 4 times removed. John Samuel ...

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings has challenged us to find where our ancestors were living on 1 Jun 1863.  This was very challenging but lots of fun.  I found that I need to do land research to learn more about exactly where my ancestors were living!  I have no photos of their residences.  Here are my father's side of the family: My second great-grandmother, Maria Catharine (Trösster) Hork (1813-1874) was living in Oberhundem, Westfalen (present day Germany).  I do not have a photograph of their residence, nor do I know exactly which house it is.  I would love to visit the small community someday.  My great-grandfather, Johan Anton Hork (1843-1906) was part of this household, as he had not left for America yet. My second great-grandparents, Vincent (1823-1890) and Susanna (Raduntz) Sievert (1832-1911) were living in Joliet, Will County, Illinois.  I do not know where their residence is located, although in later years they lived on Hicko...

Ah, Genea-folks, it's   Saturday Night   again - are you ready for more   Genealogy Fun? Your mission tonight, should you decide to accept it, is to: 1)  List your 16 great-great-grandparents with their birth, death and marriage data (dates and places).  [Hint - you might use an Ancestral Name List from your software for this.] 2)  Determine the countries (or states) that these ancestors lived in at their birth and at their death. 3)  For extra credit, go make a "Heritage Pie" chart for the country of origin (birth place) for these 16 ancestors. [Hint: you could use the    chart generator   from   Kid Zone  for this.] [Note: Thank you to Sheri Fenley for the   "Heritage Pie" chart idea.] 4.  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a post on Facebook or google+. Here's mine: My 16 Great-great grandparents are: 16.    Joseph Heinrich Horoch , born 2 Feb ...