On the fence You know how sometimes it’s easier to not do anything when you don’t know what to do? That has been exactly the case. Indecision has been my companion, but I’ll get back to that. I love family history, and I’ve been trying to sort the piles of documentation our family has collected…
I don’t usually find humor in an obit. I do usually avoid them since they give me the heebie jeebies. I abhor everything they represent. They are so, final. This one, though, discovered while researching my mother’s ancestors, gave me pause. OK, fine, I smiled…but I’m guessing you may too when you see why. First,…
For the genealogically minded: The link below opens a 15 page document detailing my ancestors back to 1717. Appel Peter_Nidda Germany_1717_descendants of The document was sent to me recently by a woman I met on a Volga Germans social media page. My mother, an Appell, is a direct descendant of the people listed here. They…
I’ve hit a brick wall. I’ve been poking around on my father’s side, curious about the Kansas line, but one ancestor has me befuddled. I decided that if I introduced her here, to you, it might clear the fog and jump start my gray matter. Grab a maple bar and settle in…this one’s a bit…
INTO IRONWOOD When I found Josiah’s letters, my work on everything else came to a screeching halt. My series The Malevolent Matriarch about my unkind great grandma took a back seat. Our matriarch wrote hundreds of letters in the 40s and 50s. When I came across letters her father Josiah had written to his parents in the…
INTO IRONWOOD I found myself giggling like a kid when researching this one, had to force my eyebrows down. It was an “Oh, goodie!” moment, and I thought, “this is too much fun.” Today I share #5 of 14, letters written by my great, great grandfather Si Smith from Ironwood, Michigan beginning in 1889. The…
finding merle 