The 4th of July is a big holiday in the United States. It is celebrated by picnics, family gatherings, parades, festivals, and fireworks. I thought it might be a nice time for some reflection on some of the past celebrations.
Category: Family History Page 10 of 24
Genealogy, family lore, memoirs, and so forth.
Last week, I posted about finding that a large number of relatives were from a smallish area in Germany. I had some requests from people who wanted to know where their relatives were from. So here are some tips you can use to try to find out.
When we were working on last week’s post about Henry and Anna Vonderhaar, I was interested to note that their parents had all immigrated at about the same time. I started looking at where they were from and discovered it was very likely they knew each other before they moved to Iowa. They were all from the area near Ankum, Germany.
On June 16 1908, Henry G. Vonderhaar married Anna Wellman at St. Mary’s Church in West Point, Iowa. Anna Wellman was Walt’s first cousin twice removed.
Sarah Pearson was born on June 2, 1795 near the Bush River Settlement in South Carolina. Her parents were Abel and Anne McClure Pearson. Sarah is Walt’s great, great, great grandmother.
William Bert Durfee was born on May 26, 1921 to Joseph and Nina Warren Durfee in Upton, Wyoming. Bill was Michelle’s first cousin twice removed. Her grandmother, Hazel Durfee Kellogg, was Bill’s cousin.

William Delbert Hoel was born on May 19, 1911 to Alvah and Adaline Maffett Hoel. He was born in Sheridan Michigan. Delbert, as he was known, was Carl’s (Walt’s dad) cousin.
William J Link was born on May 12, 1827 in Ellabach (Oerlenbach), Bavaria. He was the son of George Link and Anna Mary Limbach (Eihnbach). William was Walt’s great, great grandfather.