Family secrets were much easier to keep before DNA came along. Especially readily available DNA.
I have over 700 names in my family tree. Many of course are not direct relations, but people who married into the family. And relationships are interesting. The children of one of my second cousins are my first cousins. No, not a typo. The second cousin married my uncle.
I have spent hours researching family and where they came from. I've discovered marriages and divorces I never knew about. Name changes are enough to drive one crazy. And I've discovered relatives I never knew I had and some relatives I thought I had may not be close relatives at all.
My Ancestry DNA has ove 14,0000 matches. I've tried to just figure out who the fourth cousins and closer are. But there have been many surprises.
There is a second cousin once removed who I will not put in my tree. After much sleuthing, she and I figured out that her mother was fathered out-of-wedlock by one of my cousins. It was war time and I am sure a lot of that happened. Neither of us wants to cause any embarrassment, and she has been asked about it and has been vague in her answers to the family. I am like a dog with a bone and wouldn't give up until I pieced it together.
OTOH, I found out today that my supposedly second cousin is a distant cousin and may not be a cousin at all. I have long wondered why a relative who was in America in the 1880's would return to her home in Europe and remain for several years before returning. She left here with her husband and daughter, but they returned here with a son in tow. Now, through DNA, it appears that descendants of that child are related on her maternal side only, and distantly at that, if at all. Did this person bring back an illegitimate child of a relative and raise him as her own? I guess we will never know. Family secrets. If you are gone for more than two years and come back saying you had a child while you were gone, who would know?
Thanks to a distant cousin in Florida, I discovered that my great-grandmother had siblings (we are related though her father's family). I had the address of a family in Pennsylvania that my mother corresponded with. One of the those descendants had no idea who we were. But once I had the name of a sibling, I found her coming to America to be with her sister, marry and have her family in PA. I am kinda amazed that no one other than my grandmother and mother seemed to keep in touch with them.
There are very good reasons to ask questions and learn about family when you are younger. One of my Canadian cousins has lived in New Zealand for many years. She says she remembers me, but I am sure she has me confused with another cute cousin, lol. We have been sending messages back and forth with her trying to figure out who she visited with in the 1960s in Detroit. I am pretty sure it wasn't me. But my memory of old family get togethers gets a little fussy after 70+ years.
I am not sure there is much more I can learn without hiring an expert (pricey). It still amazes me how families all seemed to be so close when I was growing up, but now we are spread all over the world. We see each other rarely, if at all. Then again, there are some I have no interest in seeing, lol. Family secrets and all that.
Showing posts with label ancestry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ancestry. Show all posts
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Finding My Roots in the Frigid North
Hey. I am still here. I have not frozen yet, though as I sit here typing I must say that my fingers are cold. The official temp right now outside is minus 9 F. That is bone-chilling cold. All the schools are closed, mail delivery has been cancelled and because of an explosion at a gas transmission center yesterday, we have been asked by the utility and the Governor to keep our thermostats at 65 F. I normally keep mine at 66 F during the day and 62 F at night so, fortunately, I am used to cooler temps indoors. I haven't left my house since Tuesday noon when I went out to bring the trash can back inside. And then I nearly froze my face 'cause I forgot to wrap my scarf around thinking it was just a minute to walk to the street and back. It looks nice out, but truly, looks can be deceiving.
So, what else have I been doing all month? Finding my roots. I have made inroads. An Ancestry member in Australia sent me info from a Polish website and I have traced back to my paternal great-great grandmothers and grandfathers in northeastern Poland. Finally, after much searching, my cousin in New York (who I never knew about until last year) and I figured out that our grandfathers were born in Zapieczne, Poland - a small village in the Lomza province. Yes, Lomza, not Lodz as I was told, but one can understand the confusion. We think they were first cousins based on family lore. Unfortunately, folks who remember this connection, including my mother who kept in contact with his grandmother, are all deceased. I am still hoping that an uncle may have some old family records from my grandmother.
My paternal aunt, who is 90, says she never really was interested in family history. That just is mind-boggling to me. I have had several people tell me they have no interest in who their ancestors were or where they came from. To me, that is the epitome of thinking you are the most important person in the room, JMHO.
Anyway, I am making headway. I found a distant cousin on my mother's side of the family who actually visited Cordenons, Italy to search old records. Interestingly, he and I are not DNA matches, but I am a match to his brother. He grew up in Fort Frances, Ontario, where my grandparents went when they came here from Italy (even though we have no Italian DNA, lol).
The search is made even more interesting by names. Using the same first names for children born in each generation is a real nightmare on the English and Irish sides of my ex-husband's family. In my family, it is the changing of a Polish first name from Wladislaw to 'Steve', 'Ladislaus', 'Walter', or whatever for example. Then on the Italian side is the spelling of last names. The Marius family in the USA is the Mariuz family in Canada. I am thinking that the use of the letter 'Z' is more in keeping with the Hungarian background we seem to have.
And ages. We always used to laugh about my paternal great-grandmother's age because no one seemed to know how old she really was. Her funeral card says she was born in 1883. If that were true, she would have been eleven when her first child was born. I think not. Going through old census records and her three immigration records of her arrivals in the USA (yes, she travelled back twice to Austria), it seems she was likely born in 1874, somewhere near what is now Nadolany, Poland in the southeast part of the country. But hey, I also found older men who fudged their ages on marriage licenses when they were marrying younger women, lol.
One of my favorite shows is 'Finding Your Roots' on PBS. Every week I am amazed at what celebrities find out about their past. Often you hear a celeb say, 'I was told...' NOT. So, yesterday I called my sister and asked her where she heard that some members of my mother's family left Canada to go to South America. She could not remember who said it, but does remember hearing it. Well, I did too. But, when I searched immigration records, I could find no evidence to support it. I did find records showing them crossing from Fort Frances, Ontario, to International Falls, Minnesota.
So, did they go south to America? and not to South America? Sure seems like it.
I hope to solve more mysteries about my roots. I find it fascinating. Already, one of my sons has had his DNA done. I am thinking of using 23andMe to find more matches. It is an adventure right on my computer and who knows what lies in store. We'll see.
Thanks for stopping by and stay warm if you are living under this air mass that has broken off from the polar vortex.
So, what else have I been doing all month? Finding my roots. I have made inroads. An Ancestry member in Australia sent me info from a Polish website and I have traced back to my paternal great-great grandmothers and grandfathers in northeastern Poland. Finally, after much searching, my cousin in New York (who I never knew about until last year) and I figured out that our grandfathers were born in Zapieczne, Poland - a small village in the Lomza province. Yes, Lomza, not Lodz as I was told, but one can understand the confusion. We think they were first cousins based on family lore. Unfortunately, folks who remember this connection, including my mother who kept in contact with his grandmother, are all deceased. I am still hoping that an uncle may have some old family records from my grandmother.
My paternal aunt, who is 90, says she never really was interested in family history. That just is mind-boggling to me. I have had several people tell me they have no interest in who their ancestors were or where they came from. To me, that is the epitome of thinking you are the most important person in the room, JMHO.
Anyway, I am making headway. I found a distant cousin on my mother's side of the family who actually visited Cordenons, Italy to search old records. Interestingly, he and I are not DNA matches, but I am a match to his brother. He grew up in Fort Frances, Ontario, where my grandparents went when they came here from Italy (even though we have no Italian DNA, lol).
The search is made even more interesting by names. Using the same first names for children born in each generation is a real nightmare on the English and Irish sides of my ex-husband's family. In my family, it is the changing of a Polish first name from Wladislaw to 'Steve', 'Ladislaus', 'Walter', or whatever for example. Then on the Italian side is the spelling of last names. The Marius family in the USA is the Mariuz family in Canada. I am thinking that the use of the letter 'Z' is more in keeping with the Hungarian background we seem to have.
And ages. We always used to laugh about my paternal great-grandmother's age because no one seemed to know how old she really was. Her funeral card says she was born in 1883. If that were true, she would have been eleven when her first child was born. I think not. Going through old census records and her three immigration records of her arrivals in the USA (yes, she travelled back twice to Austria), it seems she was likely born in 1874, somewhere near what is now Nadolany, Poland in the southeast part of the country. But hey, I also found older men who fudged their ages on marriage licenses when they were marrying younger women, lol.
One of my favorite shows is 'Finding Your Roots' on PBS. Every week I am amazed at what celebrities find out about their past. Often you hear a celeb say, 'I was told...' NOT. So, yesterday I called my sister and asked her where she heard that some members of my mother's family left Canada to go to South America. She could not remember who said it, but does remember hearing it. Well, I did too. But, when I searched immigration records, I could find no evidence to support it. I did find records showing them crossing from Fort Frances, Ontario, to International Falls, Minnesota.
So, did they go south to America? and not to South America? Sure seems like it.
I hope to solve more mysteries about my roots. I find it fascinating. Already, one of my sons has had his DNA done. I am thinking of using 23andMe to find more matches. It is an adventure right on my computer and who knows what lies in store. We'll see.
Thanks for stopping by and stay warm if you are living under this air mass that has broken off from the polar vortex.
Monday, September 3, 2018
And Where Did You Come From?
As some of you know, I have been busy on Ancestry.com doing family history research. My side of the family? Well, pretty much done.
On my mother's father's side I got back to 1845 in Italy with the birth of my great-grandfather. I do have the name of his father, but no dates to go with it. On her mother's side, my second great-grandfather was born in 1808. But all of these ancestor's lived in a country that did not unify as Italy until 1860. Good luck searching records.
On my father's side of the family, his mother was born in Pennsylvania with both of her parent's immigrating from Polish Russia (no date established) and Polish Austria (1888). I found my great-grandfather's and great-grandmother's parents somewhere around 1850, but no exact dates. On the paternal side, my great-grandfather was born in Polish Russia around 1860. There is no info further back than that. My grandfather arrived here in 1913.
When I got to my ex-husband's family, what a revelation. Now, my only interest in this is for my three sons. I had a great relationship with my mother-in-law that continued even after my divorce from her son (which irritated my ex no end).
Once when we were talking she gave me some old family photos. We got to discussing her family coming to America from Ireland, her father in 1888 and her mother in 1890. Her parents married in 1901. She mentioned that her mother was a distant relation to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and I have yet to work on that connection.
But, she also mentioned that my husband's father was related to President Warren G. Harding through his grandmother Barbara Capitolia Harding. And so, that has been the connection I have spent hours trying to sort out. Do you have any idea how many Hardings are out there?
First let me tell you that my ex-husband and President Harding were third cousins twice-removed. And that is where the difficulty lies. So many irrelevant names to search through. But finally, after much perseverance I found the common ancestor, Amos Harding 1766-1839. Among his many children were two sons, George Tryon Harding b. 1790 was my ex's 4th great uncle. His brother Benjamin Franklin A. Harding b. 1802 was my ex's 3rd great-grandfather.
Three generations later: Warren Harding is born in 1865 and my husband's grandfather is born in 1880. And here he is, William Frank Hammond, Sr.:
In trying to find this connection I found the Harding relatives who fought in both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. And apparently they originally came over on the Mayflower. I have the Harding ancestor back to 1681, my ex's 7th great-grandfather, Stephen Harding, who was born in Providence, Rhode Island. But then I found some conflicting dates and conflicting wedding records so I need to do some more careful research on his ancestors.
I have to say this is absolutely fascinating. My in-laws were separated when my husband and I started dating, so I really never spent much time talking to my father-in-law when we visited in Chicago. And I know that he never got on with his older sisters so I am not sure how much info he would have provided about family history. But interesting that my mother-in-law had some knowledge.
I just wish I had spent more time talking with my ancestors when they were still around to tell me stories of their early lives, though my Polish grandfather never did want to talk much about it. I really should start writing down notes of what I remember and keep it with the family tree.
Have you ever researched your family?
P.S. I just read that there are over 35 million descendants of the folks on the Mayflower. Wish me luck, lol.
On my mother's father's side I got back to 1845 in Italy with the birth of my great-grandfather. I do have the name of his father, but no dates to go with it. On her mother's side, my second great-grandfather was born in 1808. But all of these ancestor's lived in a country that did not unify as Italy until 1860. Good luck searching records.
On my father's side of the family, his mother was born in Pennsylvania with both of her parent's immigrating from Polish Russia (no date established) and Polish Austria (1888). I found my great-grandfather's and great-grandmother's parents somewhere around 1850, but no exact dates. On the paternal side, my great-grandfather was born in Polish Russia around 1860. There is no info further back than that. My grandfather arrived here in 1913.
When I got to my ex-husband's family, what a revelation. Now, my only interest in this is for my three sons. I had a great relationship with my mother-in-law that continued even after my divorce from her son (which irritated my ex no end).
Once when we were talking she gave me some old family photos. We got to discussing her family coming to America from Ireland, her father in 1888 and her mother in 1890. Her parents married in 1901. She mentioned that her mother was a distant relation to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and I have yet to work on that connection.
But, she also mentioned that my husband's father was related to President Warren G. Harding through his grandmother Barbara Capitolia Harding. And so, that has been the connection I have spent hours trying to sort out. Do you have any idea how many Hardings are out there?
First let me tell you that my ex-husband and President Harding were third cousins twice-removed. And that is where the difficulty lies. So many irrelevant names to search through. But finally, after much perseverance I found the common ancestor, Amos Harding 1766-1839. Among his many children were two sons, George Tryon Harding b. 1790 was my ex's 4th great uncle. His brother Benjamin Franklin A. Harding b. 1802 was my ex's 3rd great-grandfather.
Three generations later: Warren Harding is born in 1865 and my husband's grandfather is born in 1880. And here he is, William Frank Hammond, Sr.:
I have to say this is absolutely fascinating. My in-laws were separated when my husband and I started dating, so I really never spent much time talking to my father-in-law when we visited in Chicago. And I know that he never got on with his older sisters so I am not sure how much info he would have provided about family history. But interesting that my mother-in-law had some knowledge.
I just wish I had spent more time talking with my ancestors when they were still around to tell me stories of their early lives, though my Polish grandfather never did want to talk much about it. I really should start writing down notes of what I remember and keep it with the family tree.
Have you ever researched your family?
P.S. I just read that there are over 35 million descendants of the folks on the Mayflower. Wish me luck, lol.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
My Genealogy Addiction
I am an addict. I can admit I am an addict. I got the addiction back in 2013, but I weaned myself away when my membership ran out. And then they had an offer I could not refuse. And so, I am back on Ancestry.com searching for my ancestors. And once I sit here at my computer, I have a hard time leaving.
I am trying to put together the history for my sons. I have found 261 people on both my side and their father's side of the family. I have found ancestors back to 1806 on my mother's side of the family. If there was a DeBenedet or Mariuz in northern Italy, they are probably related to her. It seems daunting and never-ending. And lots of decisions have to be made. I have 18 pages of hints on Ancestry. That's about 330 documents to read. Many of them are from Canadian or European sources which means I need to purchase an international membership. But I will try to go through all the American documents first.
I have talked to folks that I haven't spoken to in many years and even spoke to someone I have never met. Two phone calls have been made to my father's sister with whom I only ever exchange Christmas cards. She is 90, but still pretty sharp. She could not fill me in on our New York relatives except to say that the family all went to a wedding there in the 50's, but she couldn't remember who got married. But she did remember whose wedding my father took me to when I was two in 1948 and I was able to find the marriage docs online.
As for those New York relatives - My sister inherited everything when my mother died. She copied a few things out of my mother's address book, including the addresses of two relatives in New York. I googled the address in Hempstead and saw that the house was still there. Then I Googled the owners and lo and behold they all had my maiden name. So I checked for a phone number and WOW - there it was. So I picked up the phone and dialed.
A woman answered and I asked if this was the D---- residence. She said it was and I explained that my name was Denise D---. I said I was looking for a Katherine D---- and she said it was her mother-in-law, now deceased. I got goosebumps. During our rather lengthy chat I told her that I found her name on ancestry and was she born in 1935? She was. But ancestry was now showing her married name of D--- which was what confused me. She told me her husband's name and the names of her in-laws. Unfortunately, she had no idea how we were related and her husband had died several years ago. We continued chatting and then I asked her if she had any idea who a Stella K--- was in New York. She said it was her husband's sister. Eureka! Our chat ended with a promise to share whatever I could discover. I am sure her four sons would like to know, too, as one has a tree on Ancestry.
I set about trying to discover the Michigan-New York relationship. I found her in-laws online and when I found the documents for her father-in-law, I found that his father was not the same name as my great-grandfather. So, in order for these New York relatives to be cousins of the Michigan family, was it possible that the fathers of these children were born of brothers in Poland? So, that is what I am supposing.
I called my aunt and asked her if it was possible she went to Stella's wedding in New York and she said I was right and what happened to Stella? She said she had not heard from her in many years and I told her that Stella had passed away. She also remembered the brother whose wife I talked to. She said that her father, my grandfather, never talked much about his family. It was my grandmother who kept in touch. All of those folks who had all the history are long gone. My mother sent Christmas cards to Katherine and Stella which is why we had those addresses.
And more questions arise. I still do not understand how one uncle was born in Poland in 1899 when his parents settled in America in 1888? Did they go back for a visit? While pregnant? Brave souls on an ocean crossing.
I found divorces I never knew about. Dishonorable discharges. And lots of old addresses which proved quite interesting. And wonderful photos. Once I have all the names entered, I will start digitizing old photos so that I can put them online with the family tree.
And then there is my ex's family. My ex-husband was married and divorced when I met him. While I have saved documents about that, I have not added those children to the tree. I have had to limit info on spouses and all of the ancestors if there is no blood line connection. It is overwhelming. On his father's side there is some connection to President Harding, but while I have found the Harding child who married into the family, I cannot find any other connection. And my ex's mother is a cousin of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, but I would need to access Irish docs to discover that.
I have a six-month membership. I am sure I will wear myself out before the six months are even close to being over. It is daunting.
So, that is why I have not been posting. And also getting behind in reading others' posts and commenting. Talk about time flies when you are having fun. Just try searching for your ancestors!
I am trying to put together the history for my sons. I have found 261 people on both my side and their father's side of the family. I have found ancestors back to 1806 on my mother's side of the family. If there was a DeBenedet or Mariuz in northern Italy, they are probably related to her. It seems daunting and never-ending. And lots of decisions have to be made. I have 18 pages of hints on Ancestry. That's about 330 documents to read. Many of them are from Canadian or European sources which means I need to purchase an international membership. But I will try to go through all the American documents first.
I have talked to folks that I haven't spoken to in many years and even spoke to someone I have never met. Two phone calls have been made to my father's sister with whom I only ever exchange Christmas cards. She is 90, but still pretty sharp. She could not fill me in on our New York relatives except to say that the family all went to a wedding there in the 50's, but she couldn't remember who got married. But she did remember whose wedding my father took me to when I was two in 1948 and I was able to find the marriage docs online.
As for those New York relatives - My sister inherited everything when my mother died. She copied a few things out of my mother's address book, including the addresses of two relatives in New York. I googled the address in Hempstead and saw that the house was still there. Then I Googled the owners and lo and behold they all had my maiden name. So I checked for a phone number and WOW - there it was. So I picked up the phone and dialed.
A woman answered and I asked if this was the D---- residence. She said it was and I explained that my name was Denise D---. I said I was looking for a Katherine D---- and she said it was her mother-in-law, now deceased. I got goosebumps. During our rather lengthy chat I told her that I found her name on ancestry and was she born in 1935? She was. But ancestry was now showing her married name of D--- which was what confused me. She told me her husband's name and the names of her in-laws. Unfortunately, she had no idea how we were related and her husband had died several years ago. We continued chatting and then I asked her if she had any idea who a Stella K--- was in New York. She said it was her husband's sister. Eureka! Our chat ended with a promise to share whatever I could discover. I am sure her four sons would like to know, too, as one has a tree on Ancestry.
I set about trying to discover the Michigan-New York relationship. I found her in-laws online and when I found the documents for her father-in-law, I found that his father was not the same name as my great-grandfather. So, in order for these New York relatives to be cousins of the Michigan family, was it possible that the fathers of these children were born of brothers in Poland? So, that is what I am supposing.
I called my aunt and asked her if it was possible she went to Stella's wedding in New York and she said I was right and what happened to Stella? She said she had not heard from her in many years and I told her that Stella had passed away. She also remembered the brother whose wife I talked to. She said that her father, my grandfather, never talked much about his family. It was my grandmother who kept in touch. All of those folks who had all the history are long gone. My mother sent Christmas cards to Katherine and Stella which is why we had those addresses.
And more questions arise. I still do not understand how one uncle was born in Poland in 1899 when his parents settled in America in 1888? Did they go back for a visit? While pregnant? Brave souls on an ocean crossing.
I found divorces I never knew about. Dishonorable discharges. And lots of old addresses which proved quite interesting. And wonderful photos. Once I have all the names entered, I will start digitizing old photos so that I can put them online with the family tree.
And then there is my ex's family. My ex-husband was married and divorced when I met him. While I have saved documents about that, I have not added those children to the tree. I have had to limit info on spouses and all of the ancestors if there is no blood line connection. It is overwhelming. On his father's side there is some connection to President Harding, but while I have found the Harding child who married into the family, I cannot find any other connection. And my ex's mother is a cousin of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, but I would need to access Irish docs to discover that.
I have a six-month membership. I am sure I will wear myself out before the six months are even close to being over. It is daunting.
So, that is why I have not been posting. And also getting behind in reading others' posts and commenting. Talk about time flies when you are having fun. Just try searching for your ancestors!
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