Genealogical Gems

George Van Horn is my 4x great grandfather. He was born 3 January 1815 in Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Jane Dudbridge, had seven children. The children are: Chrispin Pierson (my 3x great grandfather), Asher (who lived only one year), Benjamin Franklin (a Civil War veteran), Martha Elizabeth, Joanna D., George W. (who lived only one year), and William G. The 1850 Census shows George and his wife Jane living in the 5th Ward of Kensington in the City of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. The Census was taken that year on 28 July. George lists his occupation as a lawyer and his age as 34. Jane is three years older, at 37. Their children are: Pierson, 10; Franklin, 7; Martha, 5; and Joanna, 2. Samuel Tyler, age 30, was also living with the family. He was a team driver. He was born in New Jersey. The Van Horns were all born in Pennsylvania. Ten years later, George has hung up his shingle as a lawyer in a major city and now shows up as a farmer in Valley Township, Chester County. His age...

Sorting Saturday came early this week as we prepared for hosting Thanksgiving at our place this year. While hubby and girls were downstairs prepping the food, I worked on emptying off my second desk (basically a folding table) that would be needed for dinner. There would eight maybe nine people coming so our little dining room table would be a tight squeeze. Hence, Sorting Saturday came a few days early this week. Found photo frames and photos and even one of our wedding albums. That photographer just ... /breathing deeply .... water under the bridge. I found a "Gardens Map" from our trip to Longwood Gardens this summer with the girls. There was no special reason for the day trip, except that I had found half off coupons on Groupon and it was too good a deal to pass by. I remember going there often with my grandfather (he was a painter there) and my cousin Beth. She is a week older than me so we ended up at our grandparents normally at the same time. Moving on, I foun...

These are a sampling of the genealogy related blogs I follow personally. Happy hunting. A Family Tapestry  by Jacqi Stevens AnceStoriers: The Stories of My Ancestors by Miriram Roberts Branching Out Through The Years by Fran Ellsworth Dear MYRTLE Diggin' for Family by Christopher Shaw Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter by Dick Eastman Empty Branches on the Family Tree Family Search Blog Find Lost Russian & Ukrainian Family  by Vera Miller Finding My Civil War Ancestor Gen Disasters GeneaBloggers Genealogy and Online Research by Claudia C. Breland Genealogy: Beyond the BMD by Dianne Nolin Lara's Family Search Leaves for Trees  by Heather Kuhn Roelker Tangled Roots and Trees The In Depth Genealogist The Keough Corner  by Tessa Keough Worldwide Genealogy ~ A Genealogical Collaboration They are listed in alpha order to simplify things and to make it easier for additions, deletions and corrections in the future. This list...

  This circa 1912 postcard is a Tuck & Sons' card from the "Thanksgiving" series No 186. Printed in Saxony.   I am thankful for family, friends and you - those reading Genealogical Gems.     Thankful Thursday is a genealogy prompt of GeneaBloggers.

Gloria Elaine Webster was born on 22 March 1926 to Elwood J. and Helen Still Webster. The family lived in East Fallowfield. She passed away less than two months later, on 15 May 1926. She died, according to her death certificate, of Catarrh Pneumonia with Convulsions. Catarrh pneumonia is defined as an inflammation of the lung tissue with inflammation of the bronchial membranes. She is buried at Doe Run Presbyterian Cemetery in East Fallowfield. Wednesday's Child is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers.

  Twaddell John J. 10 December 1913 - 4 June 1995 Rita D. 17 September 1945 - 8 February 2002     I came across the Twaddells while "visiting" my grandparents and uncles at St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery in Kennett Square, Chester County. I just thought the stone itself was so unique.     Tombstone Tuesday is a genealogical prompt by GeneaBloggers.    

The Civil War affected everyone in every profession. The medical field was no different. John F. Huber, MD, served the Union as a surgeon. He enlisted on 25 August 1861 as an Assistant Surgeon. That day, he was commissioned an officer in Company S, where he served - during his tenure in the service - in the Pennsylvania 49th Infantry Regiment, the Pennsylvania 131st Infantry Regiment, and the Pennsylvania 50th Infantry Regiment. He was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Volunteers Medical Staff Infantry Regiment on 07 November 1863. On 13 March 1865, Huber was promoted to Brevet Lt Colonel. He was finally mustered out on 04 June 1866. Huber is buried at Woodward Hill Cemetery, in Lancaster. That is actually where I first stumbled upon the doctor. He was born 22 November 1825 and passed on 15 February 1868. He left a widow, Louisa. Source: Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ance...

Nora Kilpatrick Beattie is one of my great grandmother's (Mary Kilpatrick Still) sister. There were five sisters and two brothers who all came over, though not all at the same time. I have not yet been able to pinpoint and document their exact place of birth. Instead, I know only they were from Ireland and they were Protestant. They all settled originally in around the Philadelphia/Main Line area. Nora first shows up in America in the 1910 Census. She is listed, at that time, a servant to Harry and Alice Riley, a young couple with two children. Harry Riley is a poultry farmer and they live on Valley Road in Tredyffrin, Chester County. Nora's age is recorded as 29. She is listed as the family nurse. The Riley family employs two other servants - waitress Catherine Ayer and Nora Jane, a cook - also from Ireland and a gardener from Italy named Carlo Angelonia. The 1910 Census asks about immigration. Nora, according to the census, immigrated in 1902. Ten years later, Nora is...

Today began shortly before midnight for me. The first few hours I spent organizing and cleaning my Facebook groups. Wow did I have a lot! The Facebook groups mostly center around genealogy or history in general. Some are serious. Some are fun - like Cemetery Scavenger Hunt ! The idea is each week a different theme is chosen (usually by vote from the week prior) and people submit photos from cemeteries with those themes in the photo. For example this week the theme is "Bicycles, Motorcycles, and ATVs" so a photo may be a tombstone in the shape of a bike or an image engraved in the stone. Some groups are location specific. For example, I joined the Schuylkill County Genealogy  page hoping to connect with any Walsh/Welsh or Keating families and descendants. There is a page for almost every location! One such group is Clearfield County PA Genealogy . I am researching the Novakosky family, specifically Ludwig Novakosky, so I added a note there: Looking for info pls on a Lud...

My Uncle Leo was born Leo Francis Welsh . He was my grandmother (Mary Welsh Still)'s brother and son of Martin and Catherine O'Flaherty Welsh, of Phoenixville, Chester County, PA. Funeral Card Friday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers.

Today is Lancaster County's Extra Ordinary Give. This is a day on which area non-profits participate in a 24 hours online marathon giving marathon sponsored by the Lancaster County Community Foundation. Many historical societies and venues are included today! The Lancaster Historical Society (which now goes by LancasterHistory.org) focuses on the history of the entire county and maintains Wheatland, home of President James Buchanan. Buchanan is the only president from Pennsylvania and the only bachelor president. The Lititz Historical Foundation is also participating today. The Foundation focuses on the history of the Lititz area. The Foundation also maintains the Lititz Museum and the Johannes Mueller House. The Lititz area received her first settlers - the Moravians - as early as the 1740s.  The Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society preserves the culture of Anabaptist communities connected to Lancaster County. The Conestoga Area Historical Society aims t...

Coatesville was once a bustling town. Main Street was filled with stores. People walked the streets and, at Christmas time, Santa came to town. The annual Christmas Parade still brings Santa to town. This postcard shows Coatesville in a different era. Notice the Sears Roebuck and Co., located in the Central Building. It is between Beneficial Loans and Woolworth Co. Other stores seen here on the North side of East Main Street are: Newberry Co., Young's Pharmacy, and Lipkins. The undated Chrome card is clearly from the late 1960s or early 1970s time frame, judging by the cars.   Those Places Thursday is a genealogy prompt of GeneaBloggers.

Ancestry.com has a wealth of informative videos on You Tube. One of those videos is You've Received Your Ancestry DNA Results. Now What? I learned some vital information from the video. Crista Cowan does an excellent job simplifying DNA. She explains that my sister and I, for example, may not have exactly the same DNA makeup. Obviously we have the same bloodline but we each got 50% of our DNA from Daddy and 50% from our mom. Nothing says we got exactly the same 50% from either one. So where, my DNA results showed a less than one percent European Jewish background, she may not have got that handed down to her. The video below here explains the results in a simple manner. When I had received my DNA results, I was surprised at the percentages. The ethnicities however did not surprise me. I thought I was doing great going back through my generations. When Cowan did a little mathematical chart showing 10 generations back, it struck me how little I actually know and how m...

  Eckman J Martin 1850 - 1910 Anna Elnora 1853 - 1935 Enos M 1879 - 1926 Chester R 1892 - 1893   buried at Woodward Hill Cemetery Lancaster City, Lancaster County, PA       James Martin was the son of Daniel Washington and Grace Helm Eckman. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Anna Elnora, went normally by Elnora. She was the daughter of Jacob and Mary Rowe Myers. She died of arteriosclerosis chronic myocarditis. The couple had seven children: William Ross, Laura Viola, Enos Myers, James Wesley, Mary Elizabeth, Miles Washington, and Chester Reid.   Sources: Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.     Tombstone Tuesday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers.  

War, by its very nature, concedes losses and casualties. World War II was certainly no different in that regard. In June 1946 the US War Department issued a report honoring the injured and deceased soldiers. The casualties were itemized as such: KIA - Killed In Action DOW - Died Of Wounds DOI - Died Of Injuries DNB - Died Non-Battle FOD - Finding Of Death M - Missing The report breaks the figures down by county. Chester County, for example, had 187 KIA, 26 DOW, 1 DOI, 75 DNB, 23 FOD, and 2 M for a total of 314. My uncle - Paulie they called him - was among those included in the report. Paul Kurenda was Baba's brother. His death is listed as DNB - died of non battle wounds. My grandfather told me once that Uncle Paulie got gangrene over in Europe and the Army sent him back to the States to Valley Forge so he could be near his family. Unfortunately the family had not been notified quickly enough and he passed shortly before they got there. His death certificate sh...

There is a flag at Uncle Jim's grave. He is buried at the Old Doe Run Presbyterian Cemetery out on Strasburg Road in East Fallowfield Township in Chester County, PA. He shares his plot with his father, Pierson G.; mother, Mary K.; and his two sisters, Margaret and Dorothy. My aunt, Pierson's sister Helen, had told me that my great grandfather was in the National Guard but never actively served. So process of elimination dictates the flag is for my uncle ... but he never spoke of the military. James Franklin Still, the oldest of two sons (my grandfather Lloyd being the other), was born 5 September 1910 in East Fallowfield Township. He passed on 18 February 1979. Uncle Jim lived with my grandparents in his later years, when he moved back East. He had worked for King's Ranch in the Unionville area and he went out West through them. He would often tell us kids stories of his cowboy days! But ... what about that flag? A quick search on Ancestry.com revealed the Departm...

The census records are great resources. Each census adds a little different information which can eventually compile a nice picture of someone. However, the census records do not always show the whole picture. Today, I would like to illustrate that point using my great grandfather, Panko Hruszczak, as an example. My grandfather, Joseph Ruczhak, had always told me he was the oldest son and the family always lived in Coatesville once his dad immigrated here from the Ukraine. Wow. Well, Panko is his father. Panko first shows up in the 1920 census . The enumerator recorded his name as Panka Hruegak. By 1920, he was married to Bessie and they had two sons: Joseph, age 2, and Theodore, four months. Both he and Bessie, ages 27 and 23 respectively, are still aliens. He immigrated in 1910, according to the census, while she arrived in 1913. They both state they were born in Austria and their native tongue is Austrian. Both can read and write. He was a machinist in a pipe mill. ...

Finding a good woman is hard. Many a man has said this ... as well as many a genealogist! Traditionally most of us have given up our maiden names to take the last name of our husband. So how then do we find our ancestor's maiden name? Years ago I belonged to the Irish Genealogical Society . They offered sheet with suggestions for finding maiden names. They took the information from The Pathfinder , vol.18, Issue 4. The Pathfinder was published by the Genealogical Association of Southwestern Michigan. Birth certificate Birth certificates now provide the maiden name of the mother as well as the full name of the father. Mine, dated 1969, however does not list my parents. Nor does my husbands, but he is also older than me. Our oldest was born in 1993 and her certificate does include both our names. Church records Church records may or may not include more family information than civil sources. It may also include a surprise or two that will help with another step. The...

Frank Casino passed away 19 November 1996. Born in Tamaqua 28 November 1915, he was the son of Franklin and Providence Casino. The 1930 Census reveals the family lived on Hunter Street in Tamaqua. His parents and older brother Michael were born in Italy. Frank and his younger brother John were born in Pennsylvania. Frank attended Saint Jerome High School in Tamaqua. He was a freshman in 1932. In 1940 he married Anna M. Theis at St. Peter's in Philadelphia. He passed on 19 November 1996 and the arrangements were made through Koller Funeral Home in Philadelphia. Sources: Ancestry.com. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Marriage Index, 1885-1951 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Ancestry.com. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011....