Genealogical Gems

Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside. Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery. Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he...

Ancestry is always adding new content. One of their recent additions is "US: WWII Hospital Admission Card Files 1942-1954. Knowing my Uncle Paulie - Paul Kurenda - died in the War, I searched for him.  I searched only by his surname. The only entry matching his name, is most definitely him. There were a couple other similar last names, but only one Kurenda. Race: White Rank: Enlisted  Admission Age: 22  Born: abt 1922 Admission Date: Mar 1922 Discharge: Aug 1922 Military Branch: Infantry, general, or unspecified Diagnosis: Tuberculosis, generalized military Type of injury: Disease Injured in line of duty: Injured in line of duty Type of Discharge: Died Length of Service: 1 Year 3 months Service number:  33478954 The original database is:  Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. 1970 - ca. 1970 . NAI:  570973 . Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army), 1775 - 1994. Record Group 12. The National Archives at College Park, MD. USA....

Everyone sets New Year Resolutions or Goals. I personally prefer goals. I set health goals (like I would like to loose 40 pounds this year), and I have financial goals (pay off cards, improve credit score, build savings, improve business revenue). I also set Genealogical Goals each year. My genealogical goals are really five areas I want to focus on. This year, they are: Matys line. ... nothing specific I just felt called to focus on that line this year. Walsh/Welsh descendants ... where are my Uncle Leo's kids and Uncle Gerry's kids? What happened to my great grandfather's siblings and their kids? Where is Michael Walsh? ... what happened to him? where is he buried? Anna Keating ... how did she get from Ireland to Ringtown? What happened to her siblings? How did she get from Ringtown to Shenandoah? O'Flaherty line ... How did they get here? When? Where in Ireland did they come from exactly? Who are Dennis' parents? Any siblings? What are your goals -...

Public Domain Photo: (l-r) USS West Virginia (sunk); USS Tennessee (damaged);  and the USS Arizona (sunk). Every year, on 7 December, the United States observes Pearl Harbor Day. The "Day of Infamy" remembers and honors the 2,403 citizens who were killed in the Japanese surprise  attack on Pearl Harbor  in Hawaii on Sunday, 7 December 1941. That Sunday, by all reports, began as a beautiful, tranquil morning. The morning was soon devastated. The Japanese bombed the ships that were in port. Explosions. Fires. Sirens. Sounds and smells no one ever expected. Our Navy bore the brunt of the attack, obviously. The US National Park Service has compiled a list of those killed in action that day. They are: Navy , Marines , Army , and Air Force . In addition, 68 civilians lost their lives that day as well. Vichnaya Pamyat. Sources: "Military Casualties," National Park Service.  https://www.nps.gov/valr/learn/historyculture/military-casualties.htm Wortman,...

My great great grandfather, Michael Walsh, got lost in the coal strike. The United Mine Workers of America demanded higher wages, shorter workdays, and union recognition in eastern Pennsylvania. On 12 May 1902, the coal miners laid down their pickaxes, hammers, chisels, and pans. At this time most homes in America were heated with anthracite, that is hard coal. It lasted through October that year. In the end, the miners' demands were met. It was also the first time in American history that the federal government stepped in as an arbitrator to negotiate. Most important to me personally is that it was due to this strike that I lost my Michael Walsh. Public Domain Image of miners in Hazelton, PA in 1900. Now, to clarify, when I say I lost him to the strike, I do not mean that he died in the mines. I do not mean that there was an argument on the streets and he died. No, I mean I lost track of him at that point. It was reported by Commissioner of Labor Carrol D. Wright, at tha...

This past weekend, we were at a show down in Solomons, Maryland. On our way back to Pennsylvania, we saw this Historic Marker along Route 2 in Harwood, Maryland. I had to turn around and come back so we could actually stop and read it. I grew up relatively near the Mason-Dixon, yet I never knew this!  A quick search led me to this site:  https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=3042 (c) 2019, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman  

My Aunt Helen used to write me long letters about various family stories and information. Sometimes the letters were nothing more than a specific line's names and vitals. Sometimes she would include little stories about her mother or family stories she had heard growing up. Sometimes it might be a newspaper clipping she thought I'd enjoy. No matter what she sent, even if it was simply a birthday car, she always found the most interesting stamps. Today, it is US Postage Stamp Day. T he United States issued its first postage stamp on July 1, 1847. They were not mandatory thou until 1855. Today, not only are they mandatory, but they cost an arm and a leg. To put this in perspective, Aunt Helen was actually my great grandfather's youngest sister. Born 24 August 1903, Helen Mae Still was the youngest of six children of Franklin & Sarah Jennie Van Horn Still. She was an incredible woman. She grew up on the family farm. All the Still girls were educated and Aunt Helen w...