Stories of family, creativity, and diverse distractions.

Category: Family History Page 7 of 22

Genealogy, family lore, memoirs, and so forth.

Which cousin is that? First, once removed?

When you are doing family research, it can be tricky to track all of the relationships. I thought it might be helpful to explain what some of the relationship descriptors actually mean. My software helps me sort it all out, but it’s not too complicated if you know where to start.

Happy birthday Wyberta Johnson Walney

Wyberta Johnson was born on August 11, 1920 to Walter and Ellen McCabe Johnson. She was born in New London, Iowa. Wyberta is the sister of Walt’s aunt, Eleanor Johnson Hoel. You can read more about Eleanor here.

Happy birthday cousin Kenneth Shively!

Kenneth Andrew Shively was born on August 4, 1913, to George and Dana Hoel Shively. Dana Hoel was the daughter of John and Lydia Hoel. He was born in Lansing, Michigan. Kenneth is Walt’s first cousin once removed.

Happy birthday Cousin Tillie Link Brockway!

Mathilda Rose Link, best known as Tillie, was born on July 28, 1915. She is the daughter of John H and Josephine Schulte Link. She was Walt’s 1st cousin once removed.

Happy Anniversary Arthur and Myrtle Hoel Hilbrands!

Arthur Hilbrands and Myrtle Ester Hoel married on July 21, 1936 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Myrtle is Walt’s 1st cousin once removed.

Happy birthday great, great grandfather James A Hole

James Anderson Hole was born on July 14, 1809. He is Walt’s great great grandfather. James is the furthest back we have been able to trace on the Hole/Hoel family line.

Happy birthday cousin Catherine Wellman Pomberg

Catherine Wellman was born on July 7, 1892 in Alsage by Ankum in Germany. Her parents were Herman and Mary Brinker Wellman. The family came to the United States in 1897. Catherine is Walt’s 1st cousin twice removed.. Herman and Walt’s great grandfather Gerhard were brothers.

Happy 4th of July!

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.

A Follow Up on Howdy Neighbor – How to Find a Location

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.

Howdy neighbor! Where are you from?

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.

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