Pawprints Guiding Me to the Past

Scrapbook Memories and Pinterest Inspiration: Life Before Me

2011-11-21T16:22:00.000-06:00

It's been a year since we lost her, and not a day has past when I haven't thought about her. Thinking about Millie on her angel day.

"Life Before Me"

Layout: Inspired by this page: http://simpleaussiegirls.blogspot.com/2011/11/recipe-for-layout.html, found on Pinterest

Text (Consolas font): In front of a Wal-Mart in Missouri she sat in a cardboard box with her brother and sister. Unlike the Girl Scout cookies being sold for $4 a box, she had no price tag. / The two brown spots on her yellow fur made her stand out from her brother and sister, who resembled their mother, a yellow lab. She never met her father, a hound-pointer mix who had lived down the road. She was six weeks old and about to start her life as “Mocha”, a Christmas present for two young boys. / For two years she lived in the yard of the boys’ grandparent's house. Mistreated and neglected, she rarely received food and fresh water. Abandoned and alone, bitten and infested with fleas, she barked for attention. / One dark and stormy night, a distant relative, disgusted by the horrible situation, unhooked her collar (making it look like she had escaped) and brought her to the vet for treatment. Tender and loving despite her past, she was transported to Illinois and put up for adoption. On Petfinder.com she was listed as “Millie”.

TFL!
Visit me on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/curlymelb4230/

Scrapbook Layout: Grateful

2011-11-14T16:20:00.000-06:00

Scrapbook page based on a layout by Leigh Penner, #4, original can be found at http://leighpenner.blogspot.com/2011/06/five-for-friday.html

IPhone/Android app for cemetery transcription

2011-06-10T09:06:00.001-05:00

Have you seen this new site: www.billiongraves.com?

They have an iPhone/Android app where you can take pictures of graves while at acemetery, upload the picture from your phone to billiongraves site with GPS coordinates (!) and then you and/or the research community will transcribe the grave records. The site is only three weeks old, so they're working on a lot of improvements, but I think it's a great start! If you don't have time to go to cemetery to take photos, you can help transcribe user submitted photos.

I was hoping findagrave would come out with a similar app...maybe they still will. In the meantime, I'm going to start using BillionGraves

Melissa

New Web search feature on ancestry.com

2011-06-07T08:09:00.001-05:00

In Ancestry.com's monthly newsletter for July, an announcement was made about a new search feature: Web search.

If you are searching for family on ancestry.com, ancestry will now search web results in addition to their indexed and archived records. If your search generates a web record, ancestry will provide a link to the website. This way the website still gets traffic. Ancestry also provides a citation, so the website will get proper credit for their hard work. Ancestry users (no membership required for web search) can save the information found from the web search directly to their tree with the proper citation.

Right now there are only five or six websites participating, such as obits on rootsweb, during this trial run. (note: Websites not interested in participating can opt out and/or remove themselves from the search.)

Ancestry explains the process a lot better than I ever could, so check it out here:

http://boards.ancestry.com/content-publishers-feedback/3/mb.ashx

I'd love to see more sites participate, as I think this is a wonderful addition to ancestry.com.

I'd love to see more of rootsweb pages, findagrave, internment.net, the US Cemeteries Project, and more.

Which sites would you like to see added?

Melissa

Note: The thoughts expressed in this post are my own. Although I am a paid subscriber of ancestry.com, I was in no way paid or offered incentives to post...just a happy customer :)

Merry Christmas 1983

2010-12-24T07:01:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas! Posted In memory of Millie

2010-12-23T06:05:00.001-06:00

Rocky Mountain Vacation: PageMaps Sketch Contest

2010-12-21T16:52:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of my trip to the Rocky Mountains using Becky's sketch at PageMaps: storyboard kits sketch contest.

Advent Calendar: Childhood Christmas Tree Traditions Remembered

2010-12-03T17:26:00.000-06:00

Although I have most of my Christmas shopping done already, the holiday season does not truly start for me until the Christmas tree is decorated.

I can count the number of times my family had a “real” Christmas tree on one hand, so my family’s Christmas tree tradition didn’t involve the selection of a perfect tree, rather our goal was to create the perfect tree. After turning on the Christmas music, a mix of NSYNC, Kenny Rogers, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and the Beach Boys, the first step was carrying the many boxes of decorations from the basement crawl space to the family room. My two sisters and I would joke about who could carry the heaviest boxes and call for Dad when things were too heavy. The boxes filled almost half of the family room, and seemed to fill more space each year.

We set-up two trees, a small one in the family room which would be decorated with homemade ornaments (and if we were being particularily adventurous, a popcorn garland we'd make while watching Rudolph), and a larger 7 foot tree was set-up in the living room by the bay window near the entrance of the house.

It always seemed like half the day was spent just putting together the artifical tree and fluffing the branches. I usually let my sisters do the fluffing while I helped my dad untangle the lights and test each set to make sure none of the bulbs were dead. After Mom was content with the fluffiness of the tree, which was not an easy process, I helped Dad string the lights and put the angel on the top of the tree. Then, Mom put ribbon, which was white and outlined in gold, around the tree. We all helped to place the tree skirt around the bottom of the tree, a crocheted piece that Mom and Dad had made together when they were newlyweds.

The remaining pieces to be displayed on and around the tree varied each year. In the earlier years of my childhood, Dad set-up a square green turf under the tree on which an electric train circled the tracks. As I became older, Dad started a collection of Department 56 “Christmas in the City” houses which he placed under the tree in addition to the train set. Each Christmas we gave Dad a new house for his collection, and Santa placed a small figurine in his stocking that coordinated with the house we gave him. (I always wondered how Santa knew which house we were going to give to Dad.) The collection quickly grew from a small village to a large city and eventually replaced the electric train set. (Now the collection is so big Dad separates the display between the two trees. In this year’s display, Chicago White Sox themed houses are displayed under the small tree and the remaining houses are strategically placed under the large tree.)

Mom sat on the floor and unpacked the ornaments. She placed them on the floor, organizing them into piles based on the individual to which they belonged. My sisters and I took turns placing our ornaments on the tree, while Mom reminisced about how each ornament was given to us and provided us guidance on the best place for each ornament. (We received an ornament each year for Christmas, a tradition we continue today.) Later during the week while we were at school, Mom would place the ornaments in “better” locations and hope we didn’t notice (less attractive ornaments would be placed on the back of the tree, while the breakable ornaments were placed on top). Dad helped us if we were too short to reach a specific spot and also put up his ornaments, specifically his Star Trek, Chicago White Sox, Bears, Blackhawks, and Bulls themed ornaments.

When we were finished, we sat in silence on the living room couch gazing at our masterpiece while Christmas music played in the background.

Although an adult and have my own tree, I continue many of the same traditions in my home. Decorating the tree is still one my favorite parts of the holiday season.

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

2010-12-01T06:02:00.001-06:00

Rainbow Bridge

2010-11-21T18:08:00.001-06:00

Millie, my baby girl and best friend, went to the Rainbow Bridge today. Missing her already...

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Sad news about Millie

2010-11-03T22:57:00.001-05:00

With deep regret and sorrow, I am writing to bring you some sad news about my "baby girl", Millie.

The poor girl has been through so much in her young life. We had finally figured out her allergies...to chicken and wheat...and was doing wonderfully! Then one day about a month ago she started having tremors in her back leg. The tremors got worse, until she was having trouble standing up, sitting, or going to the bathroom. She started falling while walking. She couldn't jump in the car...one of favorite things...car rides!

I took her to my vet who took xrays and put her on anti inflammatory meds...no success...was referred to the neurologist who we saw saw yesterday afternoon. The vet got her in for an MRI this morning. At 3pm I got a call from the vet saying they found a tumor in her spine.

Other than managing pain, there's not much they can do for her. It's a rapidly growing tumor and the vet gives her one to two months before paralysis and incontinence.

I have a big decision to make. Millie is my first dog, first pet...I've never dealt with any of this before. Brenden is being so helpful and supportive through this, I know he is hurting just as much as I am.

Millie is the best dog anyone could ask for. It's so hard to think that in a month or two she will be gone from our lives. We're going to spoil her rotten and treat her like a queen as long as we can.

Meanwhile, although she's all drugged up from the anethesia, Millie's wagging her beautiful tail. She could barely stand up but she managed to walk over to me to give me a kiss and sit on my lap...the first thing she did when I first met her..love at first sight! A 67 lb lap dog....I thought I'd have so much more time with her. I wanted her to be in my wedding, to meet my future kids, to run around in the yard when we bought a house.

The vet says there is nothing we could've done to prevent this from occurring and has no idea when or why it started. I looked at the MRI...about 70% of her spine is filled with the tumor. The vet is amazed at how wonderful she is doing despite such a horrible thing.

Millie's a fighter. She's a brave girl. I love her so much. Millie is my angel as much as I am one to her.

No need to reply, just please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Melissa

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T00:01:00.002-05:00

Civil War Pension Record: Richard Brown (Rockford, IL)

2010-10-15T10:00:00.001-05:00

I haven't had a lot of time for genealogy since I got back from my Colorado trip (I've been spending a lot of time scrapbooking the pictures).

Although, I did get some genealogy goodness in the mail last week....my third great grandpa, Richard Brown's 23 page civil war pension record!

Although the $22 fee for the record was a bit steep for my liking, it was worth it. Here's some info (and types of info) I learned through the records:

Info about Richard:
1) His MANY addresses from the time directly after the Civil War until his death
2) Death certificate
3) Marriage date and location
4) Civil War entry date and location (he was 16 when he joined)
5) Name of the two units under which he served during the war (he was transferred midway through the war)-- Company E, 95th Illinois Infantry and Company E, 47th Illinois Infantry
6) Medical history during war
7) His signature
8) His occupation (farmer)

Richard's wife and chilldren:
1) Addresses
2) Names...Including the name of my great great grandpa's twin who died at birth, wife's maiden name, and children's married names
3) Birthdates

The most interesting thing I learned was that Richard was disabled as a result of the war. The event took place after the war had ended and one day before Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

Richard's personal account of the incident is contained in his pension record:

[April 14, 1865] Richard and fellow Union soldiers were playing cards on the deck of a steamboat, the "Sioux City", on the Red River in Louisiana, when enemy fire hit a tack box where Richard was sitting. The tack box went airborne and hit Richard on his lower back.

Richard spent some time in a Louisiana hospital before returning to duty. Despite his injury, Richard served until January 21, 1866.

Richard received compensation for his injury, as his ability to work was limited due to his injury.

Richard died many years later, and was buried in Rockford. His burial location doesn't have a marker. I am doing research to determine how to get a marker for his grave, as I was told he should have one due to his service in the Civil War. If you are knowledgeable about this subject, I'd love more information.

Melissa

Madness Monday: RAOGK requests (and vacation)

2010-09-20T08:54:00.001-05:00

I've eagerly been counting down the days until Brenden and my vacation to the Rocky Mountain National Park. We leave Wednesday (EARLY) and gone til Sunday night. It'll be my second time to the Rockys, Brenden's first. It'll be so nice to get away from work and life's everday madness.

Before I leave I am trying to catch up on all my RAOGK requests. In just the month of August, I received 28 requests, and so far in September I have 13 requests....and some have multiple requests in one email... All requests are either for Chicago Tribune obituary look-ups or Queen of Heaven/Mt Carmel cemetery photograph requests.

I'm encouraging people who are interested in cemetery photo requests to post them on findagrave, as someone maybe able to get the photo sooner than I could...do to overtime at work, rainy/cold weather, and limited hours at the cemetery.

I also encourage others to post obit requests on ancestry/rootsweb message boards, as there are some newspapers in Chicago that I don't have easy access to. So if you are looking to help some people find their ancestors....check out the ancestry/rootsweb message boards.

If you have access to old newspapers...most people do through their local library, and others even have online access to newspapers through library, ancestry, or other databases.....please volunteer at www.raogk.org. Even if there is already a volunteer on your area, as they may be overwhelmed with requests like me.

You'll be surprised at how many people you will be able to help.

Happy ancestor hunting!

Melissa

Family Recipe Book: Page 10-11

2010-09-08T07:30:00.001-05:00

Pages 10-11

During the Christmas season, my sister's and I would always make fudge with my dad, which is why I chose this recipe for my dad's featured recipe.

Pictured (Left): My dad and sister, Christina, (Right): Cousin Ryan Swanson, Uncle Eugene Vitraelli, Dad, Uncle Rich Swanson, Cousin-in-law Brent, Bottom: Cousins: Joey and Michael

Scrapbook paper and elements from Hobby Lobby, Old Greeting Cards

Family Recipe Book: 8 and 9

2010-09-07T07:27:00.000-05:00

Page 8 and 9:

Top: My sister, Diana, giving her Maid of Honor speech; Bottom: Me and my two sisters (yeah...that's me in the banana costume) at the Naperville Rib Fest in 2009

Scrapbook paper and elements from Hobby Lobby and Old Greeting Cards

Family Recipe Book: Page 6 and 7

2010-09-06T07:23:00.002-05:00

Page 6 and 7:

Pictured: Top Picture (left to right): Me, my sister Christina, my sister Diana. Bottom Picture: My Aunt Halina Vitraelli, boyfriend Brenden, and me

Scrapbook paper and elements from Hobby Lobby, Old Greeting Cards

Family Recipe Book: Page 4 and 5

2010-09-05T07:19:00.002-05:00

Page 4 and 5

Scrapbook paper and elements from Hobby Lobby, and from Clarabelle Garden Scrapbook Album Kit

It's Football Season: Go Bears!

2010-09-05T06:05:00.001-05:00

Family Recipe Book: Page 2 and 3

2010-09-04T07:13:00.002-05:00

Here's another couple pages (page 2 and 3) of the family recipe (scrap) book I created for my sister.

Scrapbook elements from Hobby Lobby, Clarabelle Garden Scrapbook Album Kit. "CDN" logo created by my sister's husband, and was featured on some of their wedding items. The yellow flowers are from her wedding invitation.

Family Recipe Book: Page 1

2010-09-03T10:13:00.000-05:00

Here's a sneak peek at the family recipe (scrap) book I created for my sister. (Details described on an earlier post).

This is page 1 of a total of 32 pages from the book:

Photo taken by me at my sister's wedding, May 22, 2010. Pictured from left to right: Uncle Richard Vitraelli, Uncle Eugene Vitraelli, Aunt Halina Vitraelli, Mom, Dad, Aunt Donna Vitraelli Swanson, and Uncle Rich Swanson.

Scrapbook elements from Hobby Lobby, Clarabelle Garden Scrapbook Album Kit

Family History Project: Family Recipe Scrapbook (Part 1)

2010-09-01T12:14:00.000-05:00

I was a co-host for my sister's bridal shower for my family this past April. We had a recipe-garden themed shower where everyone who came to the shower was supposed to bring a copy of their favorite recipe. There were about 15 attendees, all relatives.

During the shower my sister tried to guess who brought which recipe. If she guessed right, the owner of the the recipe card received a gift. Gifts for winning the bridal shower games included cookbooks and gardening tools. Another game consisted of each guest writing down their birthday and anniversary. The person with the birthday and anniversary closest to their wedding date received a prize. (We kept the birthdates and anniversaries to add to my sister's address book). After we had lunch, we had all the guests write advice for the bride on the back of the recipe card.

Our favors were tulip bulbs planted in white clay pots with a message saying something like, "watching their love grow". The pots were wrapped in cellophane and tied together with a ribbon. Attached the ribbon was a plantable seed card that was specially ordered online. The seed card had a blue bridesmaid dress with my sister and now husband's name and wedding date. When you plant the seed card, wild flowers will bloom. Similar to this, only in our case, the dress was blue:

I collected the recipe cards and advice and created a Family Recipe Scrapbook that contained a page for each recipe, a picture of the person that brought the recipe along with their words of wisdom for the bride. Due to space constraints and some messy handwriting, I typed the recipe cards on my computer. I saved the original recipe cards as a reminder of all my relatives' handwriting. I also purchased recipe, family, and flowery themed scapbook paper and stickers. I created word art on my computer and used other wordart and graphic freebies I found online.

Although I do a lot of digital scrapbooking, this was a traditional paper scrapbook. I even recovered the album I purchased with fabric and ribbon used at her wedding shower. On the last page of the book I added an extra invite from the shower and an extra seed card from the shower favors.

The book took a long time to put together, as I wanted the book to be perfect.

Three months after my sister's wedding, I finally finished the book!

I'm going to scan the book so I can make a copy for my mom, me, and my relatives for Christmas.

After I give my sister the book, I'll post pictures on my blog.

This was a great current "family history" project, bringing new recipes for the bride, and pictures and memories of relatives. I would highly recommend doing this project!

Recipe Sharing: Mushroom and Cheese Quiche

2010-09-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

I tried a new recipe last night

Mushroom and cheese quiche!

1 cup bisquick
2 cups milk
4 eggs
Mushrooms
Shredded cheese (recipe calls for Swiss, I used cheddar)
Salt and Pepper

In greased pie pan sprinkle cheese and mushroom. In bowl, blend eggs, milk, bisquick, salt and pepper. Add to pie pan. Bake 40 min at 400 degrees. (until knife in center comes out clean). Let cool 5 min, cut and serve. Bisquick serves as crust instead of the usual pie crust.

While it was baking, I made a strawberry and romaine salad with raspberry vinagriette dressing.

I told Brenden I had a taste for quiche after I saw it in a cookbook. Brenden thought I was strange, who has a taste for quiche?!

I thought it was good, although next time I would add more veggies, like tomatoes or green pepper. Brenden thought it would be good with sausage too.

Have you tried any new recipes? I'd love to hear about them! :)

Tombstone Tuesday: Brown's in Cedar Bluff Cemetery in Rockford, IL

2010-08-31T13:00:00.001-05:00

Mabel E. Brown nee Peterson (May 13m 1877-April 21, 1921)

Cedar Bluff Cemetery

Rockford, McHenry, Illinois

*picture posted with permission of Alva, http://www.findagrave.com/ photo volunteer

Here's how Mabel is related to my Brown's:

Richard George Brown (my great great great grandfather)
+Frances E (Kizer) Brown (my great great great grandmother)
----Welcome Asle Brown (4th great uncle)
      +Mabel E (Peterson) Brown (13 May 1877-21 April 1921) (4th great aunt)
----Clarence Brown (buried at Queen of Heaven, my great great grandfather)
      +Elizabeth Galligan (buried at Queen of Heaven, my great great grandmother)
--------------Ruth M Brown (buried at Queen of heaven, my great grandma)
                    +Raymond Mason Peterson, Jr (left the family during great depression, and Ruth and son took on maiden name Brown)
------------------------My grandfather
                                    +My grandmother
------------------------------------My dad
                                                     +My mom
-----------------------------------------------Me

Happy Birthday to me

2010-08-30T00:01:00.001-05:00

Saturday Scrapbook: My first birthday

2010-08-28T06:05:00.001-05:00

My furry family Friday: Priceless

2010-08-27T07:02:00.001-05:00

Fishy Friday: 2009 Fishing Memories

2010-08-27T07:01:00.001-05:00

Follow Friday: Following our ancestors' heroes

2010-08-25T23:48:00.002-05:00

I'm taking this Friday off from work for a much needed break from work, to attend the New Yankees vs Chicago White Sox baseball game (and to fulfill the 17 requests Ive received through RAOGK)....it's the beginning of a birthday celebration weekend (my birthday is Monday). The first 20,000 fans to the game are sopposed to receive a miniature Blackhawk Stanley cup trophy (I hope to be one of them), and all fans treated to fireworks after the game. I am a huge baseball fan, and a die-hard White Sox fan.

Thinking about my upcoming trip to Comiskey Park, aka US Cellular Field reminds me of my childhood. Since I was five years old, I've probably been to one White Sox game a year, more so now that I'm older and can buy tickets. Comiskey Park is one of my favorite places to be. I love the atmosphere, the sounds of the bat hitting the ball, watching someone slide into home, making a diving catch for a fly ball, and the smell of hot dogs on the grill.

My first memory of Comiskey, and probably the number one reason I love baseball so much, was when I was five years old. The White Sox were playing the Red Sox, and Roger Clemens was pitching for the Red Sox. My parents and I were standing a couple rows back from the field on the third base side during batting practice. Roger Clemens walked over to where my parents and I were standing, gave me a ball, and said I was cute. That's enough to make any 5 year old's day. Although he wasn't on the White Sox he became one my baseball favorites and personal heroes.

Now about 22 years later, Roger Clemons is in the news and going to court for charges of lying to the court regarding use of steroids. It saddens me as he was my childhood hero...

Other than Roger Clemons, my two biggest heroes are my parents. I admire and appreciate the way they raised me, the values they instilled upon me, and the way they worked so hard to make sure their children had a better life and mote opportunities than they did growing up. I don't know how how I'll ever to be as good of a parent as they are to me.

I turn the tv channel and hear news about Tiger Woods and his divorce, singers being arrested, movie stars doing drugs, teachers sleeping with their students, and parents abusing their children.

What makes someone a hero? If our hero does something shameful, should we still regard them as our heroes?

It really makes me think about our ancestors, who were their heroes? How have our heroes changed? And our present and future generation: who are your heroes? Who are our children's heroes?

Technology Tuesday: Picasa Desktop

2010-08-24T06:34:00.000-05:00

I just recently discovered Picasa's free software download. The program is very easy to download and install, and best of all it is free. The program will search your computer for pictures and add them to the system. You can sort pictures by face, tags, date, and folders.

Here are my two favorite features:

1) Fast upload from software to Picasa web album, so I can share pictures online with friends, order prints of photographs, and easily access photos for use in my scrapbook pages and genealogy work

2) Ability to make collages of your pictures, like the one pictured below:

Brenden and I at Shabbona Lake in Illinois, 2009.

Although, I've only been using the system for a couple hours, I am finding it extemely useful and easy to learn and work with.

Memories of Mothers on Monday

2010-08-23T07:16:00.000-05:00

Digital Scrapbooking: Two pages using the same layout, but different colors. Edited with Photoshop Elements.

My mom, my two sisters, and me, Fall 1987

Brenden's mom, two sisters, brother, and Brenden, Winter 1983

Sentimental Sunday: My favorite childhood toy

2010-08-22T07:01:00.001-05:00

My favorite toy as a child was my pink stuffed bear, who I affectionately called "Bear Bear"....wasn't I a creative child....

What was your favorite toy as a child?

Saturday Scrapbook: Me: Now and Then

2010-08-21T07:02:00.001-05:00

Inspirational Message to share: Stop, Look, and Listen

2010-08-20T13:37:00.000-05:00

I received the following email message this morning from the hospital director at the VA Hospital where I am employed. Although the director's message is about the way we treat veterans, staff, and family members at our hospial, I believe this message applies to everyone, and wanted to share it with all of you:

"When you were growing up, do you remember adults telling you to “Stop, Look and Listen” before crossing the street? When I was at the Fisher House this week after talking to a veteran and his wife, I thought about that saying as it relates to how we interact with each other. Our lives are centered around multi-tasking...texting while walking, talking on the phone while typing on the computer, having a conversation with your kids while making dinner. It is true that when we multi-task, we aren't really giving anything 100 percent of our attention. So... I thought I would try to "Stop" (doing the other task that I was in the middle of), "Look" (at the person who was talking to me) and "Listen" (really Listen). I truly felt in the moment and engaged and allowed myself to look in the eyes of the person who was talking. I saw more smiles and laughter in people's eyes. I heard words of wisdom, felt more empathy for the pain in their faces, and spent some valuable moments truly engaged with my kids. It really made a difference. I encourage all of you to challenge yourself to soak in the moments with veterans, staff and families. The way we spend our time engaged in the moment is what adds up to how we spent our day. "Stop...look...and listen" -it may be a small thing but the benefits are priceless." -Sharon Helman, Edward Hines VA Hospital Director, email dated 8/20/2010

Have a great weekend and remember to "Stop, Look, and Listen"

My furry family: Before and After Photos, Part 3

2010-08-20T07:02:00.001-05:00

Family Tree Chart: Hubbard L. Ring

2010-08-19T07:05:00.005-05:00

Brenden's ancestor, Hubbard L. Ring:

* Research on this family line still in progress. If you are related, I'd love to hear from you.
* Citations available upon request
* Created with Family Tree Maker 2010 software

Treasure Chest Thursday: My gorgeous grandma abt 1950

2010-08-19T00:12:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday: My family at the wedding of friends, 1959, Capriola and Carriglio

2010-08-18T07:01:00.002-05:00

Wedding of Josephine Carriglio and Jerry Capriola (September 30, 1959)

According to back of picture: Back row (left to right): "Ma" Ellman, Nancy Ellman, Florine Schrimpl, Stark Liparota, Mildred "Millie" Vitraelli (my grandma); Front row (left to right): Betty Sliciano and Jo Bakaries (or Bakaires)

According to back of picture: Back row (left to right): Ed Ellman, Jack Schrimpl, Frank Liparota, George Bakaires (or Bakaries), Front Row (left to right): Al Maroncelli and Nunzio "Nick" Vitraelli (my grandpa)

Tombstone Tuesday: In Memory of a friend, Dana Mangi

2010-08-17T07:02:00.004-05:00

Millie's Quilt: First time sewing, quilting, and applique

2010-08-16T15:29:00.000-05:00

Please pardon this interruption in my genealogy posts to bring you a post to document my first experience using a sewing machine, quilting, and appliquing, and as my post for SewCalGirl's "Pets on Quilts" Show 2010.

Last summer, I made my laborador-hound mix, Millie, a quilt. I wanted to make her a blanket that I could keep in the car for her to sit on during our many car trips. Here's the end result:

How the quilt was constructed:

I found the perfect fabric at Joann Fabrics. The fabric is dog themed with dog words, paw prints, and bones. Then, I picked out a pink fabric to match the dog themed prints.

As I mentioned above, this was the first time I had ever used a sewing machine. I learned how to sew and quilt from the many experienced quilters and sewers who post tutorials and images on their blogs. Although the quilt is my own design, I used many techniques learned through one of my quiliting inspirations, Cluck Cluck Sew, especially in learning how to make quilt stars.

The center of the quilt features my first attempt at applique...also my own design...I used the freezer paper technique for the applique.....first time quilting and appliquing all in one quilt!! Images are a dog, a bone, heart, and a paw print. In the very center is Millie's (and mine) initial , "M".

I finished the quilt top, and added a fluffy bottom and quilted along each square's border (not pictured). When I finished the quilt, I was so proud of it that I only let her sit on it once, because I didn't want the quilt full of hair and doogy drool...

The quilt is now proudly displayed on my couch in the family room, to cuddle up with when it gets cold.

And of course, this quilt was "made with doggy supervision"

Now, I think I owe Millie a quilt she can actually use...

Sentimental Sunday: Me and My dad, Panama City Beach, 1988

2010-08-15T07:02:00.002-05:00

Saturday Scrapbooking: Washington, D.C. Vacation/Work trip in 2008

2010-08-14T07:02:00.001-05:00

Brenden and I in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC in 2008. I was on work related travel, and he got to come with, so we enjoyed some sightseeing.

My Furry Family Friday: Millie's Story, Part 2

2010-08-13T07:01:00.014-05:00

Millie's story, as told to me by her rescuer,

"Millie [originally Mocha] started out as a free box puppy at Walmart. My stepdad's neice and nephew wanted to get their kids (8 and 14 now, 6 and 12 at the time Millie arrived on the scene) a puppy for Christmas and so she came into the family. Unfortunately, the kids were VERY cruel to her. The oldest use to hold her up by her back legs and swing her around while Millie cried to be put down. I witnessed this many times, and saved her from this abuse as often as I could, but Millie went home with these people and I did not. When Millie would puppy bite the kids (they would rough her up and cause it) they would slap her in the face as hard as they could and laugh at her reaction. The kid's grandmother would tell me not to worry, "they're just being kids and puppies are tough." It broke my heart to see such a sweet dog in such a terrible home."

"As time went on, Millie became just a "thing" and quickly forgotten. She began to bark constantly in the backyard and the neighbor called the police and complained enough. Millie was uprooted from one bad home to another- the grandparent's house. She was running loose for awhile but she had a bad habit of jumping on people to eek out even a little affection from anybody, and she was then tied up on a 6 ft chain to live out her days. Everytime I went to the house I would spend hours with her, and I silently made a promise to her that when I was able, she would leave that chain behind.

This went on for 2 years. Then, I seen Millie was losing alot of her hair, she had such a foul odor to her like pure infection, and her skin was bubbly and sticky. I asked what was wrong with her and was told mange, she was being treated. This went on and on and on for 9 months I'd say. It only got worse and worse. Many times she'd not have any water in the winter.. it was frozen solid in her pan. The linens in her dog house were pure grime- never ever changed. They stunk as bad as she did.

Then, at Christmas, I could no longer take it and I took action on my promise to her. I got together with a friend who offered graciously to foster her and take care of her medical expenses. A friend of mine offered to go with me on "the heist" to steal Millie away from her neglectful situation. We snuck up to the house and the other dogs barked continuously.. we thought we woke up the whole neighborhood. Milie never let out a peep. She knew what we were there for. I ran behind her dog house and unbuckled her oily, dirty and too tight collar, slipped a lead around her neck and buckled her collar back up, staging it as she slipped her collar during the storm and ran away. We ran like bats outta hell to my car, parked down the road in a church lot and drove away quickly. My heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest with excitement. Millie stayed overnight at my friend's house and kept him up all night, not wanting him to leave her alone.

Her primary caregivers have been men that took care of the bare neccessities for her. She likes women too, but seems to attatch more to men, since she relates them as the food bringers. She may have been played with (probably close to abusive) by the kids of her first family, but she was completely ignored when at their grandparent's house, (and possibly she developed some seperation anxiety when she finally received the attention she craved from my friend). The kids wouldn't even ackowledge her. She would sit at the end of her chain watching for ANYONE to look at her, say her name or walk just a foot closer, any indications that she might be able to get a pet on the heard or a back scratch. Her whole body would wiggle and shimmy when she seen me coming, because she knew I was always going to give her loads of affection, more than she received in the time between my visits."

The story breaks my heart everytime I read it.....I'm so glad I was able to give Millie a happy home on May 30, 2007.

(Pictures from Millie's rescuer, taken in 2007)

Treasure Chest Thursday: Civil War Ancestor: Richard G. Brown

2010-08-12T13:29:00.000-05:00

I can hardly contain my excitement! I just discovered that my great great grandfather, Richard George Brown, fought in the Civil War. With a popular surname like Brown, how did I determine it was him?

Through his death certificate, I was able to determine that Richard Brown was buried in Cedar Bluff Cemetery in Rockford, Illinois. I posted his information on Findagrave, and hoped that someone would take a picture of his tombstone for me. Good luck and bad luck....someone claimed my photo request...but there was no tombstone marker....but.....Richard is listed in the cemetery record book as: Richard G Brown, buried Block 21, Lot 2, Grave 24, buried March 13, 1920, age 72 years old, Notes: G.A.R.

Richard was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R)! I did some searching on ancestry.com and found his record.

Richard enlisted on February 1, 1864 at the age of 18. He served for the Union for the state of Illinois. He enlisted as a Private in Company E, 95th Infantry Regiment, Illinois and was transferred out of Company E on August 17, 1865, and transferred into Company E, 47th Infantry Regiment, Illinois. He mustered out on January 21, 1866 at Selma, Alabama.

Now, I'm going to do some searching on his two regiments to discover more about his life as a Union Soldier.

Wordless Wednesday: 1947 card game

2010-08-11T22:43:00.002-05:00

My grandpa, Nunzio "Nick" Vitraelli" (the one with his shirt on). Also pictured, Grandpa's friends, John Ranieri and Frank Liparota.

Tombstone Tuesday: Thomas and Martha Tutland

2010-08-10T07:51:00.001-05:00

Pictured below is the tombstone of Thomas and Martha Tutland. While we are not certain if these Tutlands were related to Brenden's ancestors, the Tuntlands, this couple often causes confusion in ancestry records. Brenden's ancestors, Thomas and Martha Tuntland were born 20 years earlier than this couple and also lived in the same location, Sandwich, Illinois. We haven't found the tombstone of his Tuntlands.

Inscription:

Tutland
Thomas
1849 - 1932
Wife
Martha
1853-1826

Tombstone located in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Kendall County, Sandwich, Illinois

Picture taken by me, 2010

My Furry Family Friday: Part 1

2010-08-06T07:16:00.001-05:00

The title of my blog may make this obvious, but let it be known, I love dogs!

I never grew up with a dog, let alone a pet. My only "pet" was a goldfish, Hoover, which lasted a couple of months while I was in college. My mom never had a pet growing up and blocked every attempt of trying to get a dog into our house. My two sisters and I even wrote and signed a contract saying that we'd take care of the dog.

Mom just wasn't a fan of dogs, their hair, or their drool. My dad on the other hand, loves dogs. He grew up with many pets: a cat named Rusty, a turtle, and the infamous poodle named Candy. While we may have had better luck convincing my mom of getting a dog, if we had wanted a small dog....dad wanted a big, hairy, drooling, Saint Bernard, and my sisters and I wanted a golden retriever who we'd name Cookie.

Each Christmas we'd ask Santa for a dog. One year Santa brought us a stuffed Old English Sheepdog who we affectionately named Claus or "Claws". We learned our lesson that Christmas and started putting "dog, real, alive, breathing" on our Christmas lists.

It wasn't until I graduated college and moved into my own apartment that I finally got my dog.

At the time I was completing my Master's degree and working full-time and had just met Brenden. Never owning a dog before I didn't want a puppy, and volunteering at the dog shelters I knew I wanted a rescue. I searched pet finder long and hard for a yellow lab or a golden retriever. Then one day, I saw Millie and read her story......

....to be continued

Touchdown AND Treasure Chest Thursday: An Address Book of Memories

2010-08-05T07:33:00.000-05:00

At a recent family party, I discovered a wonderful source of genealogy goodness: my great grandma, Marie Cicero Gardos Malouf, and my grandma, Mildred "Millie" Gardos Malouf Vitraelli's address book. Two address books!

Although both my great grandma and grandma are deceased, the address book contained wonderful information such as:

1) A birthday card list with their parents, siblings, daughters, sons, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and neighbors birth dates (and death dates)

2) An anniversary list for their parents, siblings, daughters, sons, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and neighbors

3) And of course....Addresses! Addresses of parents, siblings, daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and neighbors, and not just the latest addresses, but a history of past addresses (crossed out with one line, and still legible)

I was able to use this information to fill in some missing information in my tree and add people to my tree....I only knew my great grandma had four siblings, when she actually had 11 siblings!!

What a gold mine of information! An an extra bonus, my great grandmother and grandmother's handwriting

Ancestry.com to Family Tree Maker Import Error: Invalid tag MARR and DIV

2010-08-04T15:55:00.000-05:00

I was finally able to import my gedcom from ancestry.com to my 2010 Family Tree Maker software without the software crashing!

But....Upon looking at the Error log, I am finding the following errors:

Line 14615: error 4 : Invalid tag: MARR. Line ignored.
Line 18588: error 4 : Invalid tag: MARR. Line ignored.
Line 33532: error 4 : Invalid tag: MARR. Line ignored.
Line 61331: error 4: Invalid tag: DIV. Line ignored.

There are over 70 instances of the Invalid tag: MARR and 4 instances of the invalid tag: DIV

I opened the gedcom in Excel to see if I could figure out what was happening, here's the info for the following error code:

Line 33532: error 4 : Invalid tag: MARR. Line ignored. (where 1 MARR is Line 33532)

1 MARR
2 DATE 1 Nov 1960
2 PLAC Cook, Illinois, USA
2 SOUR @S1496203298@
3 NOTE
http://trees.ancestry.com/rdf=sse&db=cookcountymarriages&h=6020371&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
3 NOTE
3 DATA
4 TEXT Marriage date: 1 Nov 1960Marriage place: Cook County, IL
3 _APID 1500::6020371

Any idea why I am getting these error codes? Is there a way to fix them all at once, or do I need to fix each record individually? If they need to be fixed, what part needs to be fixed?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Wordless Wednesday: Grandparents Nunzio Vitraelli and Mildred Gardos Malouf Wedding in 1953 in Chicago

2010-08-04T07:29:00.001-05:00

Tombstone Tuesday: Darius and Maria Finch

2010-08-03T20:50:00.000-05:00

Brenden's ancestors: Darius and Maria Finch.

Inscription:
Finch
Darius Finch
Apr 8, 1815 - May 19, 1867

Maria Finch-Miller
his wife
Feb 10, 1816 - Feb 8, 1900

Tombstone found in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Sandwich, Illinois, and is also posted on Findagrave.

Pictures taken by me, 2010

Madness Monday: Where are the photos?

2010-08-02T14:25:00.000-05:00

After my grandparents passed away my mom and her four siblings were left in charge of cleaning my grandparents' house...deciding which items were worth saving, selling, giving away, and trashing.

I was only in 7th grade at the time, but I remember getting my grandma's gold chain with a gold "M" initial, as I was the only one in the family with an "M" name, and a white stuffed bear my grandma kept in her spare bedroom. I also remember a lot of fighting over who gets what item.

Other items were split between my mom and her siblings. Some of the more valuable items, like my grandparent's record collection containing Frank Sinatra and other 50's and 60's music stars were given to my uncle for safe keeping and eventual selling. My mom received my grandma's Precious Moments navity set, and my aunt received the remaining Precious Moments statues that my grandma had collected. Christmas decorations (a BIG deal in my family), jewelry, pots and pans, and other items were split between each sibling. Each of the siblings also received their baby books that grandma had put together for them when they were born. But what happened to the rest of the family photos?!

No one inquired about the photos until I did, almost twelve years after my grandparents' deaths. My mom and her siblings had planned on going through the photos and splitting up the photos between the five of them. Somehow, life got in the way and the pictures were never looked at, and they forgot who received the photos for safe keeping. (So safe they can't even find them....)

My aunt, the oldest, thought she had the photos, but after going through her attic, basement, and spare bedroom determined she didn't have them. My mom and I searched the basement, crawl space, and picture boxes and albums and couldn't find them. My uncle in Florida didn't have them, and my mom's other sister didn't have them. So that leaves, my other uncle, who we *hope* has them.

The unfortunate thing is I seem to be the only person interested in finding the photos.

With digital technology available, I offered to scan the photos and make a CD for each sibling, so they wouldn't have to "split up the pictures". But....that requires my aunts and uncles to find the photos.

Other than a few emails, reminders, and phone calls, I don't know how to find these pictures. I can't search their houses for the pictures, and I haven't quite sparked their interest in finding the pictures. The pictures are supposed to include pictures of both my grandparents as children and their respective families. Pictures of family members I have never seen.

Any suggestions?!

Wordless Wednesday: Howard Huge and me

2010-07-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

A gift from my dad, and still cherished today

Money saving tips for requesting records

2010-07-27T00:07:00.001-05:00

I had no idea having genealogy as a hobby would cost so much money...

If you're like me you don't buy anything unless it's on sale or there's a bargain. For me, genealogy is no different.

Luckily I have discovered some money saving tips for obtaining my ancestors records.

After a year of genealogy research I have only spent money on the following:
1) ancestry.com world subscription (but only after I got a coupon to pay the same rate for U.S. Edition as world edition
2) $20 for four death certificates
3) gas for cemetery visits
4) family tree maker software (although this was a gift so I didn't have to pay for it)

As a newbie in the field these tips have helped me tremendously. I hope it will help someone else as well:

My money saving advice:

*look on ancestry.com message boards or raogk for people who will either search for a record for free or a discounted price. In my case, I saved $14 for 4 death certificates ( $56 ) by finding someone on the ancestry.com message boards obtain them at a discounted price.

*Offer services in exchange for records..since my library has online access to the Chicago Tribune historical newspaper archive from the mid 1800's to present, I do look-ups for free. My information and available services are listed at RAOGK. I usually get 15-20 requests per month. Every once in awhile a request will come from someone in a location I am researching (like Arizona or Ohio). I'll do a few extra look ups for them in exchange for information about their county's resources, a cemetery look-up, etc. It's fun to talk to genealogists across the country who share the same passion for genealogy.

*look for specials, especially around holidays, where some genealogy websites will give you temporary free access to records...such as footnote giving free access to revolutionary war records during 4th of July weekend

*visit familysearch.org on a regular basis as they keep uploading new images daily. Most early to mid 1900 Chicago birth and death records are now posted with free access

*remember to do data entry and filing! You don't want to request the same record twice because you couldn't find your original copy.

I'll post some more tips soon...in the meanwhile what are some of your genealogy money saving tips?

Tombstone Tuesday: Richard and Frances Brown

2010-07-26T23:36:00.001-05:00

A wonderful woman in Springfield, Illinois went to the Illinois State Archives for me and found four of my ancestors' death certificates. At $5 each, it was much cheaper (and faster) than getting them through the county or Illinois Dept of public Health. I <3 genealogists!!

While I don't have a picture of their tombstones, I learned a lot more about my ancestors through their death certificates.

Richard George Brown, my great great grandfather, was born in New York. He was the son of Joseph Brown and Mary Gullin (a new surname to add to my growing list!). Joseph was born in Ireland, while Mary was born in New York.

Joseph and family moved to the Illinois/Wisconsin border. They moved from Boone county, IL to Walworth county in WI to Rockford in Winnebago County, Illinois.

Richard and his father, Joseph, were farmers. Richard married Frances Kizer in Walworth, Wisconsin. The Kizers were also farmers. Richard and Frances had many children. They seem rather creative with their first born son named Welcome Asle Brown. Another son, Clarence Clifton Brown, is my great grandpa.

Richard passed away in the Rockford Hospital from heart trouble, pneumonia, and bronchial inflammation in 1920. Frances passed away 6 years later from heart trouble and a gall bladder inflammation. Both are buried in Bluff Grove Cemetery in Rockford, IL. I have entered their information into findagrave and am crossing my fingers hoping someone will take a photo of their stones for me. Eventually I'll set up some time to take the hour and a half drive up to Rockford.

I would never have known Richard's mom's maiden name, or Richard and Frances burial location without their death certificates.

Thanks for the Memories: Grandma Mildred "Millie" and Grandpa Nunzio Vitraelli

2010-07-23T17:20:00.002-05:00

Thanks for the memories

This post is dedicated to my maternal grandparents, Mildred "Millie" P. Vitraelli nee Malouf/Gardos and Nunzio "Nick" Vitraelli. Mildred "Grandma" and Nunzio "Grandpa" lived most of their lives in Addison, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). The last few years of their lives were spent in Schaumburg, Illinois (another suburb of Chicago).

Mildred, born in 1927 in New York, was the daughter of Marie Cicero and Eugene Gardos (please see previous posts for information about Eugene Gardos). Marie was born in Castelbuono, Palermo, Italy and Eugene was born in Hungary. The family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where Mildred's brother was born. Eugene passed away in 1935, and Marie married John Malouf. The two kids were adopted by John Malouf, and the kids took on the surname Malouf.

Nunzio, born in 1925 in Chicago, Illinois, was the son of Leonard Vitraelli (aka Vittorelli, Vitorelli, Vittoreli, and Vederelli) and Lucy D'Orazio. Leonard was born in San Marco La Catola, Foggia, Apulia, Italy. Family story is that the Vitraelli's had a vineyard in Italy, and one of Leonard's brothers/family members died from eating an unripe olive. Lucy was born in Alfadena, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy.

Foggia, Apulia Italy:

Pictures courtesy of wikipedia.com

My mom and her sister and brothers have shared some stories with me about the early lives of Nunzio and Mildred, although I am hoping to learn more. Nunzio owned a fruit and vegetable cart which he ran on Maxwell St in Chicago. Nunzio's brother, Michael, was drafted for World War II, and was killed in action in the Phillapines. Nunzio and Mildred liked to dance, in fact that's how they met each other. They had five children together, my mom was one of them.

My favorite memories of my grandparents are my family's weekly Friday visits to their house where we'd watch Wheel of Fortune and "TGIF" with grandma.

Grandpa loved to bowl and loved to talk about bowling. Grandpa worked at Dominick's as a produce manager.

Grandma worked odd jobs at the factory (my mom said she'd bring home a box of items and she'd have to put screws in them. The family would sit around the kitchen table putting the little screws in the different items).

I remember going shopping with Grandma at Straford Mall. She always picked out Alfred Dunner brand clothing. Whenever I see Alfred Dunner clothing, I think of her.
She taught me how to play pinnochle, and we played Scrabble on a regular basis. Grandma was unbeatable at Scrabble! I remember when she called all her friends to tell them that I had finally beaten her at Scrabble.

Grandma was a big fan of Notre Dame football, and wanted one of her grandchildren to attend. There's still a couple of grandchildren left to fulfill her dream (ACT scores and money kept me from attending). Grandma also loved the food channel. We used to tease her that chef Graham Kerr was her boyfriend. I remember making Christmas cookies with her, especially the candy cane cookies, where we had to "roll snakes" of red and white dough together.

I remember visiting her on the holidays at her old house in Addison and playing on the piano in the living room and playing detectives in her "scary" basement. I remember the time when I was finally taller than Grandma, she was only about 4'10" (so it wasn't too hard to do...).

Grandma was a truly loving person, although her heart was as loving to her. She had many heart attacks and bypass surgeries. Grandma passed away in 1995. I need to do some file organization, because I cannot find Grandma's obituary...it's here somewhere... I have created a memorial page for her on Findagrave .

I remember when Grandpa took me shopping for my birthday after my grandma passed away and bought me a jean jacket vest. He took me to McDonalds where we had hamburgers. My grandpa would always stick his french fries in the top of his hamburger so they were standing up...a hamburger castle.

Grandpa would have coffee with Cocoa Puffs in the morning. Grandpa called me and my sisters the "three rozzes (sp?)". Grandpa always held his lips in a scrunched up position that my mom and her siblings called the "funge face". I remember visiting him in the hospital right before he passed away. His face had turned yellow from jaundice and he was hallucinating. He told my cousin there was soccer balls on the ceiling (my cousin loved soccer at the time). Grandpa passed away shortly after our visit in 1996 (cause of death: cancer).

Grandpa's obituary from the Daily Herald:

Prayers for Nunzio "Nick" Vitraelli, 70, a resident of Schaumburg and formerly of Addison, will be held at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, April 3 at Ahlgrim & Sons Funeral Home, 330 W. Golf Road, Schaumburg, going to St. Marcelline Church for 10 a.m. Mass.
He was born June 21, 1925, in Chicago. Burial will be in St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery, Palatine. He died Sunday, March 31 at Alexian Brothers Medical Center. Mr. Vitraelli was a produce manager for Dominick's Finer Foods, and retired after 30 years of service. He was the husband of the late Mildred; father of Richard (Joyce), Eugene (Halina), Donna (Richard) Swanson, Karen (Rick) Brown, and Lynn Vitraelli; brother of Connie Hayford, Mary Vitraelli, and the late Joseph and Michael, and grandfather of Victoria, Richard II, and Michael Vitraelli, Dawn and Ryan Swanson, Melissa, Christina, and Diana Brown, and Anthony and Dominick Censotti. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or Masses appreciated. Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Date: April 2, 1996

I also created a memorial for Grandpa at Findagrave.

I miss them both everyday. Thank you for the wonderful memories.

Peterson family in Chicago-follow-up to Donna's "Hanging from the Family Tree" post

2010-07-21T11:25:00.000-05:00

Blogger won't let me leave a comment, and Donna doesn't have her contact information posted, so I'm hoping she'll see this post:

This post is a follow-up to Donna's Hanging from the Family Tree: Madness Monday - Leo the Liar post regarding Leopold Peterson and family in Chicago.

Dear Donna,

When I read your post I was super excited, as you mentioned a Raymond Peterson born in 1908. My great grandfather, Raymond Mason Peterson, Jr. was born in 1908 in Illinois. Reading your post further, I discovered it was a different Raymond Peterson. For a long time Raymond Peterson was my "brick wall" and have spent a lot of time researching Raymond Peterson's in Illinois as well as the Peterson family in Chicago. You may already have some of this information, but I thought I'd share:

This is the obituary for your Mabel (Mable) Gibney Peterson. She remarried a Mr. Britton. Her children are: Earl (Laverne) Peterson of Hammond, IN; Raymond E. (Bertha) Peterson of Helena, Montana; Hazel Peterson, Harold A. (Adele) Peterson, Helen Peterson, and Dorothy Peterson. She also had a child, Richard T. (Mary Ann) Britton with her second husband. Mabel's siblings were Arthur Gibney, Hazel Brown, and Grover Gibney.

1963-05-01 Chicago Tribune (IL)
Mabel May Britton, nee Gibney of 10920 S. Wabash, beloved mother of Richard T. of Harvey, Earl Peterson of Hammond, Ind., and Raymond Peterson of Helena, Mont., the late Hazel and Harold Peterson, Helen, and Dorothy Peterson; 11 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; fond mother-in-law of Mary Ann Britton of Harvey, Laverne Peterson of Hammond and Bertha Peterson of Helena, Mont.; dear sister of Arthur Gibney, Hazel Brown of Milwaukee, Wis., and the late Grover Gibney. Resting at Cooney Mortuary, 12 E. 112th place. Services 1 p.m. Friday. Interment Hazelwood.
Record Number: 19630501dn001

This is the obituary for your Harold Arthur Peterson.

1959-11-09 Chicago Tribune (IL)
Harold A. Peterson, 16609 Emerald avenue, Harvey, Ill., Nov. 7; loving husband of Adele; dear father of Cathleen June, Lawrence Michael, Patricia, and David; beloved son of Mrs. Mable Britton, Chicago, fond brother of Raymond E. of Helena, Mont., Earl of Hammond, Ind., and Richard T. Britton of Chicago. Resting at funeral home, 15334 Turlington avenue, Harvey, where funeral services will be held Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2 p.m. Interment Hazelwood. ED 1-0044.
Record Number: 19591109dn123

I'm not sure if this person is related, but it caught my attention as it has both a Leo and an Edwin (although the dates don't seem to add up).

1978-09-27 Chicago Tribune (IL)
Leo Peterson, beloved husband of Valentina Peterson; dearest father of Edwin (Valerie) Peterson. Chapel services Thursday, 11 a.m., at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 229 S. Main St., Lombard. Visitation Tuesday and Wednesday 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Member of Fraternica Livonica. Interment Oakridge Cemetery. Info. 627-1400 or Chicago 735-4242.
Copyright 1978, Chicago Tribune. For permission to reprint, contact Chicago Tribune.
Record Number: 19780927dn077

I'm not sure if this person is related, but it caught my attention as a Leo and Raymond were mentioned.

1959-09-08 Chicago Tribune (IL)
Lawrence H. Peterson, beloved husband of the late Elizabeth; fond brother of Alvin, Leo, Virgil, Bertram, Raymond, Ethel, and Loretta. Funeral 9:30 a.m. Thursday from chapel, 5203 Lake Park avenue, to church of St. Thomas the Apostle. Mass 10 a.m. Interment St. Mary's cemetery. HY 3-0013.
Copyright 1959, Chicago Tribune. For permission to reprint, contact Chicago Tribune.
Record Number: 19590908dn081

I was curious, so I did a search for Leo, Leopold, Edwin, and Edward, as well as Caroline, in the Chicago Tribune Historical Archive, but no luck.

Good luck with your research!

Melissa

p.s. I love surname studies and sideways searching.

Wordless Wednesday: Grandpa and me

2010-07-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

My paternal grandpa and me, abt 1988

Wedding Wednesday: Grandma and Grandpa Brown

2010-07-21T06:35:00.001-05:00

Madness Monday: Organizing my death and cemetery files

2010-07-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

I really liked Jen's Preparing for Research trips post regarding the ways in which she gets organized for an upcoming research trip by using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. I think the reason I liked it is because I use the same method to prepare for upcoming research trips and to manage my ongoing research.

Jen discussed her burial spreadsheet that lists names, birth and death dates, burial place, grave location, and death certificate number. I will definitely add death certificate number to my spreadsheet, and I also have a couple of additions for her, and anyone else who likes to use Excel spreadsheets to manage their genealogy data:

In a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet I have a column for each of the following:

1) Cemetery
2) Findagrave.com ID
3) Prefix (I don't use this often, unless I know the person was never married, I'll put in Miss, or if a name like Kelly was a male instead of a female)
4) Last name
5) First Name
6) Middle Name
7) Suffix
8) Maiden Name
9) Nickname
10) Birth month
11) Birth day
12) Birth Year
13) Death month
14) Death day
15) Death Year
16) Plot
17) Notes
18) Marker Transcription
19) Has Photo (Yes/No)
20) (*New) Death Certificate
21) (*New) My spreadsheet contains both Brenden's ancestors and my ancestors. So I'll add a column called Tree and indicate whether it's Brenden or my tree.
22) I'm also going to add a column for obituary, to indicate whether or not I've found the obituary for that particular person.

If you've use Findagrave.com to import multiple names for a single cemetery you'll probably recognize a lot of the categories. I've added a few columns, and have kept some of the columns in the same order/format for easy uploading to findagrave.com.

I used to have a spreadsheet for each cemetery, but every time I added a new record, I'd have to add it in both spreadsheets.....until I found a better way (*Note: This is in Microsoft 2007, but other versions are similar):
1) Highlight the column headings of your spreadsheet
2) From Home, go to Sort and Filter (AZ with filter image)
3) Click the drop down arrow
4) Select "Filter"

Now all of the column heading will have a drop down arrow (pictured below). When you want to find all of the people buried in a particular cemetery, for example Pine Mound Cemetery, I select the arrow in the cemetery column and in the drop down box select Pine Mound. I can also use the drop down box to sort the columns alphabetically. Or if I was looking for the graves of a particular surname, I'd go to the last name column, click on the arrow, and select the right surname from the drop down box. Or if I was looking for all the graves I had not yet obtained pictures for, I'd go to the Has Photo column, click the arrow, and select no.

The spreadsheet also serves another purpose for me. I use ancestry, google, familysearch.org and other websites on a frequent basis. I often find a name or two that could possibly belong to my family, but I'm not sure how or if they really do belong. I put their name and information in my spreadsheet to remind me to find information about that person and see if and how they are related, and so if I find they are related later down the road, I don't lose the information I found.

I need to do some more data entry, as I currently only have my ancestors whose cemetery locations I have found. I need to add the ancestors whose cemetery location is unknown to help me remember to search for the location and remind me to look for them if I am in a cemetery that contains other family members.

I also find this spreadsheet useful to add information when I am not sitting in front of my genealogy software (Family Tree Maker), and can keep the information organized until I can input the information into the software.

What do you use to organize your cemetery/death files? Do you have any suggestions for additional columns?

Wordless Wednesday: Chicago Bears, Brenden, and Me

2010-07-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today's Wordless Wednesday post is a digital scrapbook page I made for Brenden.....future memories for our future children ;)

Wedding Wednesday: Mom and Dad 1980

2010-07-14T06:35:00.002-05:00

My parent's wedding, 1980

Sentimental Sunday: Saying my name

2010-07-11T06:30:00.001-05:00

What I Do Meme

2010-07-09T13:53:00.001-05:00

Thomas McEntee has a great posting suggestion for today, it's the "What I Do Meme". What technology do you use for your genealogy research?

* Hardware: Windows Vista on my Dell Inspiron 1525
* External storage: Maxtor Removable Hard Drive 96 GB
* Online storage: Snapfish, Shutterfly, Picasa, and Flickr for photos
* Backup: CDs, DVDs, USB drives, external storage, hard copy

* Firewall: McAfee
* Virus protection: McAfee
* Spyware: McAfee
* File cleaner: None (?)

* Printer: HP Photosmart printer, copier, scanner, and photo printer. Also on the search for a 35mm, slide, and 4x6 scanner for my large inventory of photos
* Phone: iPhone (best invention! :))
* Mobile media: iPod
* Music player: iPod
* Car audio: CD and AM/FM radio, usually hook up my iPod with connector
* eBook Reader: iPod, free Kindle reader

* Browser: Safari, Internet Explorer (when I have to)
* Blog: blogger (http://pawprintsguidingmetothepast.blogspot.com/)
* RSS: Google
* FTP: Don't currently use

* Text editor: Word 2007
* Graphics: Photoshop Elements
* Screen capture: The "print screen" key on keyboard, then paste into document....

* Social media: Facebook, Scrapbook Flair
* Social bookmarking: Don't currently use
* Social profile: Facebook (?)
* URL shortener: Don't currently use

* Office suite: Microsoft Office 2007
* E-mail: Yahoo Mail
* Calendar: Outlook
* Accounting: Turbo Tax, Exel

* PDF generator: Nuance PDF Converter Professional 6 (use at work, don't own)
* Genealogy database: Ancestry.com, Family Tree Maker 2010
* Genealogy tools: Canon Digital Camera, OneNote (also going to check out EverNote), Google Maps, Google, iGoogle, Olympus voice recorder, Genealogy Gems and Family History Made Easy podcasts, ancestry.com, myfamily.com, familysearch.org, footnote.com, Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK), findagrave.com (and many many more)
* Other tech stuff: TomTom GPS

Hmm...used to think I was pretty tech savvy....now after reading some other posts, I think not

Treasure Chest Thursday: Remembering Vacations and Experiences with a DIY Button Board

2010-07-08T12:47:00.001-05:00

The items found in my treasure chest today are my own treasures.

I have two wonderful parents that took me and my two sisters on some pretty amazing vacations. At last count, I've been to 35 of the 50 states, and a part of Canada and Mexico....all before I was 17, and never flew in an airplane until I was 17. My parents (or me when I finally had money) bought a t-shirt for me as a souvenier and to help remember the visit. You saw what I did with some of the t-shirts in a previous post.

As I grew up, I realized I had way too many t-shirts and wanted something else to bring home to help me remember the visit or experience. Then one day while hiking in the grand canyon, I saw a hiker wearing a hat that contained pins from all of the different places he had been. I saw another hiker with a back-pack with embroidered patches from each place he had been. At the time, I didn't know how to sew and never thought I'd ever sew...so I decided to go with the pins. My first pin was purchased at the Seguaro National Park in Arizona. Ever since, I have purchased a pin to commemorate each place I have travelled. (I'm doing some ebay searching to even find pins from the places I went to when I was younger.) After my uncle passed away I was given some of his pins, some random, but some from his days at the Moose Lodge!

What was I going to do with all these pins (my treasures)?! Like the hiker in Arizona, I tried putting the pins on a hat, but realized I would probably never wear the hat and was afraid I'd lose one of the pins. I thought about a backpack....same problem. I bought a lanyard at Disney...but that wasnt what I was looking for. Slowly my collection has grown (exponentially after my visit to Disney two years ago....they have whole groups dedicated to pin trading....), and pins have found there way into a box on my dresser. I wanted to display the pins, but didn't want it to look childish (if you know what I mean).

I did some searches on google, flickr, blogs, and the Disney pin trader discussion board for ideas. I didn't like the display case idea...too generic for me. I finally went to a couple of craft shops for ideas. I didn't get an idea until I happened to go into the Crate and Barrel outlet (yes, they do exist!) by my house. They had a 17" square bulletin board for $12 in the college section, and some fabric in the clearance bin. I also had leftover fabric at home. Perfect!

I covered the board with the fabric I bought, and left over fabric from when I had made pillows for my couch and added the pins. I left room to add additional pins, and maybe some photos from the trips. I am really happy with the end result.....now I just need wall space to hang it....

Do you have a collection? Did you inherit a collection? How do you display your collection?

Wordless Wednesday: All American Girls Baseball Team

2010-07-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Digital scrapbook page I made in honor of my favorite movie, A League of Their Own, which was based on a true event in America during World War I.

Wedding Wednesday: Vitraelli family 1989

2010-07-07T07:35:00.000-05:00

Wedding for my mom's brother (my uncle). I was the flower girl

Carnival of Genealogy: My Top 2 Websites for Digital Scrapbooking Resources and a few of my own pages

2010-07-06T15:09:00.000-05:00

Today's post is Part 1 for the Carnival of Genealogy.

Before genealogy took a hold of me, scrapbooking was my primary passion. I've spent many days and many hours scrapbooking, taking scrapbooking classes, watching scrapbooking tutorials and videos, and reading scrapbook themed blogs. I used to post my scrapbook pages on Scrapbook Flair (find me as curlymelb4 on the site) but I've spent so much time on my genealogy research, I haven't created a lot of new pages lately. If you are interested in doing digital scrapbooking, I'd highly recommend Scrapbook Flair. Through Scrapbook Flair you can upload your scrapbook pages, download free images to use on your pages, participate in challenges and discussion boards, and comment on other peoples pages. If you do a search for the keyword "heritage" on Scrapbook Flair, you'll get a lot of great ideas and hints on making your own pages. My favorite use of Scrapbook Flair is the ability to print your pages, so you can add the pages to a traditional scrapbook for usually $0.99 for a 12x12" print (which is one of the cheapest and best quality prints I've found over the last two years)

My second favorite site for digital scrapbooking is Two Peas in a Bucket. Similar to Scrapbook Flair, you can upload pictures, download free and purchased elements for your pages, participate in discussion boards, and view other pages. Unlike Scrapbook Flair, the site also features traditional (paper) scrapbooking and card making. The site also has great lessons and tutorials. Again, a search for the keyword "heritage" is a great place to start.

You don't need Photoshop or a fancy image editor program to start digital scrapbooking (I started by using Microsoft Power Point). Digital Scrapbooking is a lot cheaper than traditional scrapbooking as you don't need to buy the paper and elements or print out pictures. There are many free resources available online for downloading elements, backgrounds, and word art for your pages.

CAUTION: Digital Scrapbooking is extremely Addictive! (don't say I didn't warn you...)

The pages I share below were created in 2009 using Photoshop.

My paternal grandpa, 1931

My paternal grandpa, abt 1948

My paternal grandpa's mom, Ruth M. Brown, abt 1930

Tombstone Tuesday: Honoring Pvt 1st Class Michael J Vitraelli

2010-07-06T13:12:00.001-05:00

Photo taken by me, World War I Memorial, Washington, D.C., 2008

Today's Tombstone Tuesday post is to honor my maternal grandfather's brother (my great uncle), Private First Class Michael J. Vitraelli. Michael "Mike" was born July 27, 1923, son of Leonard and Lucy Vitraelli (nee D'Orazio). Michael, US Army Service #36638490, was a member of the 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, and was KIA during WWI, October 21, 1944 in the Phillapines, and is buried in Mt. McKinley (aka Manila American Cemetery) in Manila, Phillapines (Plot A, Row 13, Grave 152). Michael was awarded the Purple Heart.

While I've only been to Washington, D.C. once, while on travel for work, I was able to pay my respects to my great uncle at the World War I Memorial.

Photos taken by me, World War I Memorial, Washington, D.C., 2008

Article from the Chicago Tribune about Michael's participation in WWI:

Article from the Chicago Tribune, 1944

Michael's Obituary:

Date: December 12-14, 1944

Chicago Tribune (IL)

Pvt. 1st Class Mike J. Vitraelli, Oct. 21, on Leyte Island, son of Lucy and Leonard Vitraelli, brother of Conceatta, Nunzio and Mary. Mass will be said Dec. 15, 9 a.m., Blessed Mother Cabrini church.

Mt. McKinley (aka Manila American Cemetery), Milano, Philapines

Picture from findagrave.com

Quilting your family history

2010-07-06T12:07:00.001-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing 4th of July weekend. Of the many things I did this weekend, the one I enjoyed the most was finishing my t-shirt quilt. I started this quilt last summer, and other projects (a quilt for my dog, Millie, and digital scrapbooking) seemed to take precedence.

Why a t-shirt quilt? I started “collecting” t-shirts starting when I was in grade school. Every event I attended, every trip I took, and every school I attended resulted in a t-shirt. Soon there was no room in my dresser or closet, and the t-shirts I could stuff into the dresser never got worn. The t-shirts contained a lot of memories, so I didn’t want to throw them out and I didn’t want to give them away. I read a couple of articles online about creating a t-shirt quilt, and I thought it was the perfect idea. What started as a small project turned into a love for crafting and quilting.

How I made my quilt:

From my stack of about 20 t-shirts, I chose 12.

Requirements for the twelve shirts were:
1) ability to fit the image onto a 12X12” block
2) not too worn
3) didn’t clash completely with my color scheme.

For my background colors, I chose the colors of my family room, burgundy and dark blue. I found the backing at Crate and Barrel Outlet store for $10.

The first half of my t-shirt quilt was sewn by hand….I had never used, nonetheless owned, a sewing machine. Finally, I gave in, read some reviews online, and bought a Brother sewing machine at Wal-Mart for under $90. Using some online video tutorials, I taught myself to use the sewing machine, and finished the quilt. After cutting, piecing, sewing, binding, and quilting here’s the end result:

What does quilting have to do with genealogy?

I never intended for my t-shirt quilt to be a genealogy project. The end result changed my mind. (Hoping my quilt will be passed down to my future children) Each of the twelve “t-shirts”/blocks tells a pretty good story about my background, interests, and hobbies.

The 12 blocks include:

1) Niagara Falls

2) Central High School Softball Jersey

3) Disney World’s Splash Mountain
4) Disney’s Mickey Mouse playing baseball
5) Butler University Marching Band
6) Central Middle School
7) Butler University
8) South Dakota Badlands
9) Central Middle School Volleyball
10) Bowl for Kids' Sake
11) Chicago Bulls Championship Shirt (I’m still wearing my Chicago White Sox and Chicago Blackhawks championship tees….couldn’t cut those)
12) Grade School Softball Jersey

My descendants could use the following adjectives to describe me just by looking at this quilt:

1) Traveler: visiting Niagara Falls, Disney World, and the Badlands in South Dakota

2) Sports Enthusiast: softball, baseball, volleyball, basketball

3) Musical: Played the Saxophone, member of the Butler University Marching Band

4) Student: Central Middle School, Central High School, and Butler University

5) Athletic: Played softball from grade school through high school

6) Volunteer: Bowl for Kids’ Sake

7) Chicagoan: Chicago Bulls

8) Creative

9) Quilter

10) Dog lover (all the remnants of dog hair on the quilt from when Millie tried to help me by sitting on the quilt…)

While these adjectives don’t describe me completely, these words describe me a lot better than my census, birth, or marriage record.

Have some old t-shirts? Give this project a try! If nothing else, it’ll give you a warm blanket to put over your legs while doing genealogy research on those cold nights.

Surname Saturday: Henry Hanxleden, civil war ancestor

2010-07-03T11:35:00.000-05:00

In honor of the 4th of July, I am writing today about the family in my tree that has been in the U.S. the longest. I'd always thought my family were recent immigrants, coming to the U.S. in the late 1800's or early 1900's, so imagine my surprise when I found out one of my ancestors fought in the Civil War.

Henry Hanxleden (also found as Hanxladen, Hauxleden or Hansleden) shares a birthday with me, born August 30, 1819, Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany and died March 19, 1889 in St. Charles, Kane County, Illinois. Henry married Catherine Maas on October 1, 1946. They immigrated to the U.S. in June 10, 1852.

Nine years later, Henry became a member of the 8th Illinois Calvary (at age 42) until he mustered out July 17, 1865. Henry's calvary fought at Gettysburg among many other historic battles. Henry was a member of the G.A.R. (G.A.R. is the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army who had served in the American Civil War).

In, Passing in Review: Reminiscences of Men Who Have Lived in St. Charles, Pliny A. Durant writes about Henry Hanxleden:

"Born in Koln, Germany, in 1819, this hard-working son of the "Faderland" became a citizen of St. Charles in 1852. He never seemed able to master the intricacies of the English language, and as long as he lived it was nearly impossible to understand him when he spoke. His own language was so peculiar that the very best German scholars in the community with great difficulty understood him. He was an honest, upright man, and during the War of the Rebellion, served his adopted country faithfully. In after years he was a member of the local G.A.R. post and always seemed proud of his record as a soldier. He performed many a day's labor on the streets of St. Charles and always seemed to have a special friendship for John F. Elliott, who somehow had a knack of understanding him, which others lacked. Poor Henry was laid away at last, and another of the characters of the place has since been missing."

1885 St. Charles, Illinois city directory:

St. Charles North Cemetery:

Henry's daughter, Elenore (Laura) Hanxleden married Killian Krapf. Their daughter, Emma Amelia Krapf, married Albert Ruebensam, my great great grandpa.

Thank you! Gen Wish List and Chicago Family History

2010-07-02T09:25:00.001-05:00

Thank you so much to Tina Lyons at Gen Wish List for featuring my blog on her Follow Friday post. Gen Wish List: Follow Friday - Pawprints Guiding Me to the Past . I truly appreciate her kind words.

A big thank you to Jen at Chicago Family Feature for also featuring my blog on her Follow Friday post: Follow Friday - Two Great Blogs.

Thank you to those of you who have come to check out my blog because of their posts.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Blogging helped me find my great grandfather who was "lost" for 80 years

2010-07-01T15:47:00.000-05:00

In a previous post, I described my search for my great grandfather Raymond Mason Peterson.  A comment from hummer led me to find Raymond Peterson. Her comment included the World War II Army Enlistment Record for a Raymond M Peterson Jr. Looking further at the record and details, I figured out that it was indeed the Raymond who I've been looking for! I've searched ancestry for the last 6 months for him, and hummer found him in less than a day. This record led me to discover more information about Raymond and his family. I was able to add two more generations to that line on my family tree. (stay tuned for more information....)

There are a couple of lessons I learned:

1) Blogging really does help you connect with other family members or other people in the genealogical community who are willing to help. Genealogists and Family Researchers are the friendliest people I've ever worked with or met. Have an ancestor mystery? Don't have access to a specific database?  Blogging about your brick wall may help you discover the past of your secret ancestor.

2) Sometimes it helps to have someone else look at your tree and search for records.  Sometimes we get so caught up in our own research we forget to look for things....like a world war II enlistment record. Sometimes we're "stubborn" with our searches.....narrowing our searches down to Peterson, when the census taker might have written it down as Petersen......searching for the surname Morrison when the cursive writing made it look like Monison or Marrison....or thinking there's no way an ancestor could have been born in another city or state....or there's no way an ancestor was married previously...(just a few of examples from my research). Whenever Brenden or I get stuck or have a brick wall, we'll ask each other to search for the ancestor. 99% of the time, when I look for his ancestor or he looks for my ancestor, we find what we're looking for.

3) Sometimes two letters make all the difference. Discovering that my Raymond Mason Peterson was a Jr. was the key to discovering his past and where he ended up.

4) It's a small world.....Raymond Peterson died in Sun City, Maricopa County, Arizona.....fifteen minutes from my grandpa's house in Arizona where they moved a few years ago.

5) The smallest details from your family's stories (or the details they forget to tell you) may be be the key to your next discovery. When my dad told my grandpa that I found Raymond Peterson and his father who was also Raymond Peterson, and they shared the middle name Mason, my grandpa said, well, that's because Raymond's dad was a freemason....we had never known that fact. The fact that he was a mason helped me verify an obituary belonged to Raymond's dad.

A BIG thank you to hummer for helping me find Raymond Peterson!

Tombstone Tuesday, Findagrave, and Technology Trouble with Family Tree Maker

2010-06-29T13:34:00.000-05:00

Every visit to a cemetery includes both pictures of my ancestors' graves as well as pictures of random graves found next to or near my ancestors graves. My goal this week is to update findagrave.com and add the people and pictures I've taken. I've finished adding about 75% of the names, but only 40% of the pictures. I've been a member of the findagrave community for 4 months and have added 449 memorials. I've added 250 pictures (although there may be multiple pictures for one memorial) and completed 5 requests (I'm trying to average at least once a month). I've started three virtual cemeteries: Melissa's ancestors, Brenden's ancestors, and Possible Ancestors (people that may be related, that I have to research). So far, Brenden's family has 117 memorials, my family 42, and possible with 140. Looks like I have some graves to add for my side...

I also utilize an option on findagrave which lets me download a spreadsheet with the names and information from the memorials I have entered. I love this option, as I use it to compare to my list of pictures taken and list of graves I still need to visit/find.

I've fallen behind in entering the burial locations in my family tree. Part of the problem is I'm having trouble with the Family Tree Maker software on my computer (Vista), it keeps crashing! I've followed through the helpful advice I've read online about fixing the problem, but so far no luck. I'm frustrated as I spent $75 for the deluxe version, after reading many reviews online about it being one of the best. I love how it has the option of merging duplicates, fixing errors, and printing customized reports. I wish it had the ability to update as I enter information on ancestry.com family tree or vice versa. It seems to work fine until I try to upload my ancestry.com gedcom file. Perhaps there's an error embedded in the file, but I don't know how to fix it without starting all over. Maybe I have too many people in my tree....lol.... Have you had the same trouble with Family Tree Maker? Were you able to fix the problem? What software would you recommend?

Here's today's tombstone:

I found this tombstone to be extremely interesting (note: I am not related). Tombstone found in Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hilliside, Cook, Illinois.

Woodmen of the World Memorial

John Vacco, died June 18, 1916, age 43

Domenico Vacco, died June 18, 1916, age 14

Maggie Vacco, died June 18, 1916, age 9

I was curious, what did "Woodmen of the World Memorial" mean? Why had this family died all on the same day? So I did a little research....According to Wikipedia, Woodmen of the World,

"is a fraternal organization based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that operates a large privately held insurance company for its members. Its history includes the erection of numerous distinctive tombstones depicting tree stumps across the country prior to 1930, a program to donate flags, and broadcast interests...There are 2,000 community based Woodmen of the World (WOW) lodges throughout the nation. Lodges conduct volunteer, patriotic, and charitable activities that benefit the community and its members."

I haven't found the obituaries or any information about the Vacco family and why they all passed on the same day.

More Sources of Background Research: Yearbooks, Gravestones, Heirlooms, and more

2010-06-28T09:23:00.000-05:00

Today's post on Jen's Family History Research Tips Blog is entitled, Background Information Research. Jen describes some great sources for background research including newspaper articles, search engines, and books. Jen asks for other sources used for background research, so here's the sources I've used (I've excluded the items Jen describes so well in her blog)

Other sources I've used for background research include:

1) Yearbooks (found at the library in the city/county of your ancestor, online, or even on ebay) I found a great picture of Brenden's father in his yearbook online. It also had his senior year quote, which provided some further insight

2) City/County History Centers--The Iroquois County Historical Society has a biography on two of my Ruebensam ancestors on its website. I haven't seen the biographies in print anywhere else

3) Family photographs--not just looking at the people, but their outfits, cars, houses, etc. Tells you a little bit for about the family than just what they looked like

4) Gravestones---I found out that Brenden's great grandfather was a freemason by the symbol on his gravestone. Brenden's great grandmother has the Order of the Eastern Star symbol on her grave. You may find other fraternal organization symbols or other symbols that may tell you about your family's background. Not just symbols, but military participation as well. Through a gravestone, I found out my ancestor fought in World War II. I hadn't found a record on ancestry for him, but found it on his gravestone

5) Religious Organizations/Churches---Brenden's family is a lot more religious than mine is, and I've been able to find old church newsletters that have pictures of the family (more recent newsletters) and stories about how the family participated in a community event.

6) Family Scrapbooks---I haven't been luck enough to find such a resource, but as the family historian for my family, I've started the scrapbook and hope it will passed on through many generations.

7) Obituaries--I've found out so much about my ancestors just by reading their obituaries

8) Family Heirlooms--What has been passed down from generation to generation? Obviously the item was important enough to be passed on. What relevance did the item have to the family and their way of life? My favorite heirloom is my grandmother's gold chain that has her first initial "M". As I was the only person in the family with a first name starting with "M", I received the chain after she passed away. We also have costume jewelry from my great grandmother, as she was a seamstress for some of the silent films

I'm sure there are more items I'm forgetting at this moment, but these are my top 8. Do you have any additions to the list?

95th Carnival Of Genealogy "The Annual Swimsuit Competition": Swimsuits from the past, Let's Hear it for embarrassing myself

2010-06-27T23:03:00.000-05:00

My first posting for the Carnival of Genealogy! This month's theme is "The Annual Swimsuit Competition".

It was so much fun going through my stack of photos looking for swimsuit pictures of my ancestors. While the two photos I found of my ancestors on the beach were not in a bathing suits.....unless bathing suits have changed that dramatically... I found it remarkable seeing the changes over time. Here's my family's bathing suits from 1909 to 2008:

Depicted below is Clarence and Elizabeth Brown (nee Galligan) and child, my great grandma, Ruth Margaret Brown. Ruth was born in 1908, so this picture is taken in 1909, most likely on the beaches of Lake Michigan in Chicago, IL.

My grandma: 1950's vs. 2008

Unknown location, circa 1950's

Phoenix, Arizona, 2008

While pictures of my ancestors in bathing suits is limited, I have plenty of myself in bathing suits....I'm sure my future descendants will be proud...lol. So while, I'm younger (26) than most genealogists and people interested in family history, here's a view of swimsuits in the 1980's in Illinois for your viewing pleasure and my personal embarrassment:

Yep, that's me with the squirt gun....also pictured is my mom and two sisters, 1987

Me...climbing the ladder, other three children unknown, 1988

Taking the plunge, 1988

Cheap sprinkler fun in front of the house...me in front, followed by neighborhood friends and my two sisters, 1990.

We made up a game for the sprinkler, sort of like HORSE for basketball or Truth or Dare...whatever the one person in the sprinkler did, the others had to follow....no matter how silly or crazy. Memories...

Graveyard Rabbits Carnival: All items found for Scavenger Hunt

2010-06-27T22:13:00.001-05:00

This is my first blog contribution to a blog carnival.

Today's post is for The Graveyard Rabbit's Scavenger Hunt Carnival.

"Like a traditional scavenger hunt, the object is to find as many items as you can from the list below. In our case, those “items” are to be found in the cemetery"

To make my entry creative and special, all of the below images are either of Brenden or my ancestors...no random graves. All pictures taken by me between May and June 2010.

The first image is my great great grandfather's gravestone. Clarence Clifton Brown (1882-1962). His grave is located in Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois. Three items from the scavenger hunt: Cross (there's actually two...bonus points...lol), Heart, and Hand (two hands too...)

The next picture is my great grandmother's gravestone (daughter of Clarence Clifton Brown). Ruth Margaret Brown (1908-1992). On this gravestone you'll find flowers and a cross. Her grave is located in Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois.

This picture is the gravestone of Brenden's great grandmother, Bertha A. Wagner Myers Minnick (1881-1954). On this grave you'll find one of the scavenger list items, a star, as Bertha was a member of the Order of Eastern Star. This grave is located at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, Oswego, Kane/Kendall County, Illinois.

The next picture is the grave of Brenden's great grandmother, Peter Buchanan Morrison. Peter was a freemason, and on his grave you'll find the next scavenger hunt item, a fraternal symbol...the symbol of the masons.This grave is located at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, Oswego, Kane/Kendall County, Illinois.

The next picture is the grave of my third great uncle, Joseph McCarron. Joseph McCarron was in the US Navy in World War II, and you'll find the next item, a military grave. This gravestone was found in Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois

The next grave is that of Brenden's great uncle, Israel Rogers. Israel was the first bishop of the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints in Kendall County, Illinois. There is a monument in Pine Mound Cemetery in Sandwich, Kendall County, Illinois, for him, the next scavenger hunt item.

The grave of Dominick Censotti, my cousin, who's life was tragically ended in a car accident just short of his 17th birthday, contains the next scavenger hunt item, a bird. His grave was found at St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery in Palatine, Cook County, Illinois.

The next is my second cousin, Brett Humphries, who's life was ended due to a genetic disease. His gravestone contains the next items: Angel and 4-legged animal. His grave is located in St. Michael the Archangel cemetery, Palatine, Cook County, Illinois.

Ok, so if a beanie baby doesn't count as a 4-legged animal, the next picture is that of my grandmother, Mildred P. Vitraelli. My grandma's grave contains a lamb, a 4-legged animal. Her grave is located in St. Michael the Archangel cemetery, Palatine, Cook County, Illinois.

Only a couple more to go....
The next image is from the Mausoleum at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois. (At the bottom, center) Lucy and Leonard Vitraelli are my great grandparents.

The next image contains trees, the next item. These trees were located in Mount Carmel Cemetery near the graves of my ancestors. I hope this isn't cheating....I couldn't find an image of a tree on any of the gravestones...

Another grave from Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois, is the my great great grandparents, Maria and Nunziato D'Orazio. Their gravestone contains photos.

And last....the hardest one to find for my family, is the grave of Jennie Weldon Hall, Brenden's great great (add more greats) grandma....an obelisk....well kind of. This grave was found at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Sandwich, Kendall County, Illinois.

And that's all of them! :)

Adding one more item to the list.....grave with the most amount of names. Below is the grave of the Quinn family. Not blood related, but married into the family. The grave contains 8 names, the most of the one's I've seen so far. This grave is located at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinios

Follow Friday: Great Resources from new blog, Family History Tips

2010-06-25T09:22:00.006-05:00

Today's Follow Friday posting is dedicated to Jen's Family History Tips blog. Jen's blog provides tips for finding your family history. A lot of her postings have been focused on finding Chicago ancestors, which I find very helpful, as the majority of my ancestors are from Chicago. Even though I don't live far from Chicago (and even work in Chicago), I find there are many resources I still don't know about.

My favorite posting...which was hard to choose, there were many...is Women and the Naturalization Process.

This posting describes Jen's search for a female ancestor who was repatriated, even though she was born in Chicago. Jen highlights a wonderful article and resource from KindredConnections entitled “Where are they? Finding Your Ancestors’ US Naturalization Records.” I learned that due to an act passed in 1907, a women's nationality depended on her husband's nationality. So if the husband lost or gained citizenship, so did she.

I have a female ancestor in my line to which this applies to, but I could never figure out why. Thanks to Jen's posting, I now know why.

Keep up the great posts, I know I will continue reading.

Touchdown Thursday: Brother Trouble? Finding Ancestors on Land Ownership Maps

2010-06-24T11:46:00.008-05:00

Today's Touchdown Thursday post is about two touchdowns I made this week using one of the latest and greatest indexes available through Ancestry, the "U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918".

Using Ancestry's searchable index, I was able to locate where some of my ancestors owned land in Illinois.

Chemung Township, McHenry, Illinois in 1872

Highlighted orange in the map above is the land owned by M. Kizer (aka Morris Kizer). Morris Kizer is my fourth great grandfather on my paternal side. He was born about 1811 in New Jersey and migrated to Illinois with his brothers, Warren, Jacob, and Morgan. Jacob's land is depicted in green, and Warren's land is depicted in blue.

Morris and his wife, Maria, were the parents of my third great grandma, Frances Kizer, who married Richard George Brown. There are many Brown's that owned land in Chemung Township. Richard and his father, Joseph Brown, owned land in Chemung, although I have not determined if any of the Browns on this map are my Browns.

I wonder why Morris Kizer's land is so much further away from his two brothers?

Papineau, Iroquois County, Illinois in 1904

Pictured above (in orange) is the land of G. Rubensam (aka Gottfried Rubensam or Ruebensam). Gottfried is the brother of my third great grandfather, August Ruebensam (aka Ruebenson). Gottfried and August immigrated to the U.S. from Germany on the same ship in 1873. Gottfried migrated to Iroquois County, while his brother, August, migrated to Cook County.

I wonder why August and Gottfried went their separate ways?

Looks like there could be some brother trouble in my past. Guess I should be glad I have two sisters, instead of brothers...lol

Source of maps:
Ancestry.com. U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Original data: Various publishers of County Land Ownership Atlases. Microfilmed by the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Mystery Solved: Disappearance of Eugene Gardos (Part 3)

2010-06-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

Continued from yesterday:

Eugene Gardos left his family in 1929 never to be heard from again………that was until Eugene’s great grandson, David, (from his first wife) and I (Eugene’s great granddaughter from his third “wife”) made an ancestry.com connection.

A few months ago I received a message on ancestry.com from David. He noticed that we had posted the same passenger list record to our family trees. He contacted me to determine if our two great grandpas, Eugene Gardos were the same person.

1922 Passenger List, Hungary to U.S.

At first our connection seemed unlikely. My Eugene Gardos had a birthdate of 1891 (which was estimated from a census record), and his Eugene Gardos had a birthdate of 1884. David’s Eugene Gardos showed up in the 1930 Federal Census in New York, while my Eugene Gardos showed up in the 1930 Federal Census in Chicago.

1930 Federal Census, New York, New York, Eugene Gardos and family

1920 Federal Census, Chicago, Illinois, Eugene Gardos and family

Despite these challenges, we kept digging. David shared a story with me his family story about how Eugene Gardos was in the movie business, and had helped Vilma Banky come to the U.S. to get a movie contract with Sam Goodwyn. Then, I told him my story about Vilma Banky…..now we were curious!! Could they really be the same guy, despite the differences in birthdates and census records?

Vilma Banky (1901-1991), Hungarian Actress

Our next step was to share pictures. David had a picture of Eugene Gardos and his family circa 1920 (posted in Part 1 of this blog). We also had the picture of Eugene in his U.S. passport photo (posted in Part 2 of this blog). My family supposedly has pictures of Eugene, but they have yet to be found.

While my grandma, Eugene’s daughter was deceased, her brother, Arthur is still alive. His wife, my aunt, and my cousins on Arthur’s side have seen the picture of Eugene. My family knew I was doing genealogy research on the family, so during my sister’s bridal shower I showed them a couple pictures of family members. Two of the pictures I showed were Eugene’s passport photo and the picture David had shared with me. I actually showed them a bunch of pictures, some related and some not related, and asked them if any seemed familiar....so they couldn't just think it looked like him.

Both Arthur’s wife, Ginny, her two daughters, and my uncle confirmed that the passport photo and the picture David sent, matched the pictures they've seen of Eugene Gardos. They said the only difference in the pictures was that he didn't have a mustache, as most of the pictures they saw of him, he had a mustache.

Talking about Eugene more stories about the family came out. Eugene was in the textile business….his passport application includes a letter from his textile company. Eugene’s third “wife” always told the family that their marriage record was lost or burnt, although my family was always suspicious. I have not found a marriage certificate. Ginny told me that Marie and Eugene were 18 years apart, and they probably lied about their ages in the 1930 Federal Census in Chicago. The 1930 Federal Census of Chicago also stated that my grandma, Mildred, was born in Illinois, when she was actually born in New York. I never knew she was born in New York.

The story began to piece together. Someday, somehow, and somewhere in New York Eugene and Marie were introduced to each other. They had an affair, Eugene was still married to his second wife. Marie got pregnant and had my grandma, Mildred in 1927. Eugene kept the affair and the birth a secret from his other family. During that time, Eugene and his wife Theresa had two kids, Elsa and Robert. The affair continued and Marie got pregnant again in 1929. Only this time, the stock market crashed, and proved to be a good time to run away from his marriage. Him and Marie ran away with their daughter, Mildred, and moved to Chicago where Arthur was born. They remained in Chicago, not able to get married, as Eugene was technically still married. Five years later, Eugene died from a heart attack…maybe all the stress from running away from his family or leading this double life? Meanwhile, in New York, Eugene’s wife didn’t know what happened to Eugene, and when it came time for the 1930 Census, a year after he disappeared, she included him as part of the family.

While the story is just a guess about what actually happened, it matches the family stories and historical records. While his wife, Theresa is deceased, Eugene’s daughter, Elsa, and my great uncle, Arthur are still living….discovering they have half siblings 81 years later. It seems like a movie…..

While I feel horrible for Eugene’s wife and family he left behind, if he had never had the affair with Marie and moved to Chicago, my grandma wouldn’t have been born, my grandma would never have met her husband, my mom would never have been born, and I wouldn’t be here today.

As Brad Paisley sings, “To me it’s all so clear, every one of us is here, all because two people fell in love…”

I thank David for reaching out to me and helping me discover the mystery of Eugene Gardos…I would never have known his birth name was Goldberger. I am so glad I was able to help David solve the mystery of the disappearance of his great grandfather, Eugene Gardos.

Mystery Solved? The Disappearance of Eugene Gardos (Part 2)

2010-06-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

Continued from yesterday:

Here’s my story of Eugene Gardos:

Eugene Gardos and Marie Cicero were 18 years apart. They were never married, to anyone’s knowledge, and had two children. Their first child, Mildred Gardos (my grandmother) was born in New York in 1927. Marie was pregnant with their second child, Arthur, in 1929 when they moved from New York to Chicago where Arthur was born. Eugene died of a heart attack in 1935. He always said he had a bad heart from the war, but the family never had record or knowledge of him serving in a war. Eugene was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. His death record was found under the name, Eugene Jacob Gardor.

How Eugene and Marie met, and Eugene's past were very secretive. The only story anyone knew about Eugene, was that he helped Hungarian actress, Vilma Banky, get a contract with Sam Goodwyn from MGM. Whenever the past was brought up with Marie, she would get extremely mad and defensive. She wouldn't talk about the past and in one incidence called her daughter, Mildred, crazy for wanting to find out about the past.

Marie Cicero Gardos remarried John Malouf a few years later. John Malouf adopted Marie and Eugene's two children, Mildred and Arthur, and the two kids took on the Malouf surname.

Marie died in 1979 before anyone ever found out the truth.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Tomorrow, in the third and last part of the Eugene Gardos mystery, I’ll tell you how Eugene’s great grandson and I made our startling connection and pieced together the mystery of Eugene Gardos.

Mystery Solved? The disappearance of Eugene Jacob Gardos (part 1)

2010-06-22T17:04:00.008-05:00

Eugene Jacob Goldberger (aka Eugene Jacob Gardos) was my great grandfather, father of my maternal grandmother.

This is the story of Eugene, as told to me by Eugene's great grandson in 2010:

Eugene Jacob Goldberger was born March 1, 1885 in Turja Remete, Hungary (now part of the Ukraine). He came to the U.S. in 1910, with his wife and two sons, and lived in Omaha, Nebraska. He changed his name from Goldberger to Gardos, as Goldberger was "too Jewish". In Nebraska, Eugene's wife gave birth to a daughter. The family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, during World War I and eventually made their way to New York. In route, Eugene's wife died during childbirth (the child also died).

Eugene remarried and they had 2 children together. The family story is that Eugene apparently had quite a bit of wealth (probably illegally gotten) during the 1920's. Eugene Gardos was arrested for bootlegging, and tried to escape the law. He obtained a U.S. passport and left the country in 1921. He was arrested upon his return in 1922. {Here's a NY Times article from 1922 describing his re-arrest from that trip, after he previously had jumped bail.}

Eugene was in the movie business, and financed a movie in Hungary, based on a famous Hungarian classic novel ("Pal Utcai Fiuk." -- means "The Boys of Paul Street").

The family story is that Eugene Gardos helped Hungarian actress, Vilma Banky get a contract with Sam Goodwyn (of MGM) in 1925. {note: Vilma Banky's story can be found on wikipedia, her immigration record matches the family story. She arrived in 1925, and she did indeed get a contract with Sam Goodwyn. Eugene Gardos isn't mentioned on the page}

Eugene disappeared from his family in 1929, never to be heard of again.......

Tomorrow, I'll tell you my story about Eugene Gardos and how I developed a connection with family, 81 years later.

Tombstone Tuesday: The Browns, Galligans, RAOGK, and Findagrave

2010-06-22T15:49:00.015-05:00

In yesterday's post I described my search for Raymond Peterson, husband of Ruth Margaret Brown. Today I'll continue with that family line and post pictures of Ruth Margaret Brown's grave as well as her parents, Clarence Clifton Brown (no, not the ice cream sundae guy...) and Elizabeth Brown (nee Galligan).

All three are interred at the beautiful Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, Cook County, Illinois, and are also posted on Findagrave. Luckily, Queen of Heaven and a couple of other Catholic cemeteries in Chicago have a computer kiosk in which you can search for your ancestor and get a print out of the exact location where he or she is buried.

Ruth Margaret Brown 1908-1992

Whenever I go to a cemetery, I not only take photos of the graves I am looking for, but also a couple (ok...more than a couple) graves nearby. I post them on findagrave, and hopefully, others who are searching for their family, can find them. I am thankful for all of the contributers and volunteers at findagrave. I've received pictures of graves located in different states across the country.

When I'm not searching for family or posting on findagrave, I also volunteer through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) to take pictures of tombstones from Queen of Heaven and Mount Carmel Cemetery and do free obituary look-ups in the Historical Chicago Tribune Database. If you live in Chicago or a suburb of Chicago and have access to a library card, you may also have access to this rich source of information. I can access it free from the comfort of my home through my local library's website. The database contains obits from the mid-1800's to 1989. A quick call or visit to your local library or its website to determine if you can access the database may help end your search for that elusive ancestor.

Elizabeth Brown nee Galligan 1886-1954

Clarence Clifton Brown 1882-1962

Note: All three pictures taken by me, April 2010, Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois

Madness Monday: Run-away father, Raymond Mason Peterson

2010-06-21T14:20:00.009-05:00

A BIG thank you to Thomas MacEntee from GeneaBloggers who highlighted my blog in his Saturday blog post. Another BIG welcome and thank you to all of you who took the time to click the link and check out my blog. I welcome any comments and suggestions.

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My grandfather's father, Raymond Mason Peterson, left the family soon after my grandpa was born. His maternal grandparents, Clarence and Elizabeth Brown (nee Galligan) adopted him as his birth mother, Ruth Margaret Brown was having trouble raising him alone during the great depression. My grandpa was an only child. After he was adopted, my grandpa took on the Brown name (maiden name of his birthmom). Although my grandpa is still alive, bringing up the past is difficult for him, and getting family stories or history from him is worse than pulling teeth.

Raymond and Ruth, August 1925, Chicago, IL

I've been able to locate a lot of information on the Brown side of the family, as well as the Galligan family, but I have not been able to find Raymond Peterson or his family.

Raymond and Ruth, September 1925, Chicago, IL

Here's what I know:

Raymond Mason Peterson was born around 1908
Raymond's nickname was "Ray"
Raymond and Ruth Margaret Brown were married in Chicago, IL, between 1924-1929
In August and September 1925, Raymond and Ruth are together in a picture in front of a building, address: 2634 W 15th Place, Chicago, IL
Raymond and Ruth's first and only child was born in 1930 (*details left off, as son is still living)
Raymond and Ruth were divorced between 1930-1937
Raymond's brother owned the Peterson Funeral Home in Chicago, IL
Raymond owned a tent and awning shop in Chicago, IL

Raymond and Ruth, August 1925, Chicago, IL

I don't know when he died, if he moved, or if he remarried, or his exact date of birth

Here's where I've looked:

Chicago City Directories. I've found many Raymond or Ray Peterson's but are they my Raymond?
Obituaries from Chicago Tribune....found over 20 with the name Raymond or Ray Peterson. I've been able to narrow it down to a couple, due to ages
I've contacted the Peterson Funeral Home in Chicago via email to request information---no return email.
Social Security Death Index (SSDI)--found a couple, best match shows he died in Arizona.

My plans:

Request a copy of Raymond and Ruth's marriage and divorce record
Re-contact Peterson Funeral Home via phone

Any other suggestions? Please let me know.

Pictures courtesy of Ruth Margaret Brown's family photo album

Happy Father's Day: Prolific Fathers

2010-06-20T12:06:00.002-05:00

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings has posted his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun. Randy's writes:

Your mission for Father's Day, if you decide to accept it, is to:

1) Determine who is one of the most prolific fathers in your genealogy database or in your ancestry. By prolific, I mean the one who fathered the most children.

2) Tell us about him in your own blog post, ...

John Rufus Joyce, father of 18 children

Happy Father's Day!!

Melissa

Follow Friday: Lisa Louise Cooke, my genealogy hero

2010-06-18T09:40:00.004-05:00

Lisa Louise Cooke and her podcasts, especially, Family History Genealogy Made Easy, inspired me to create this blog. Her detailed instructions, friendly suggestions, and caring attitude caught my attention when looking for the perfect genealogy podcast for my hour ride to work. I've only made it to Episode #43, averaging 3-4/day, but have learned so much.

I finished Episode #43 "How the Calendar Changes Through History Affect Your Research" today on my way to work, and out of all of the podcasts I've listened to so far, this one has been the most educational and helpful. Episode #43's topic was about the historical calendar and how the calendar has changed over time.

I never knew the calendar change affected records in the United States! I learned that in 1752 the calendar went from March 25th being the first of the year to January 1st being the first of the year. I always thought 1735/6 meant my ancestor was born in 1735 or 1736, no one really knew which year was correct. Now I know that 1735 indicates the old system (OS) and 1736 indicates the new system (NS). An ancestor with a birthdate of 12/18/1733 would have actually been born February 18, 1733 (February 18, 1734 in new system), not December 18, 1733. I'll have to go back and look at all of my ancestors that have dates before 1752.

To make matters worse, I also have family from Italy, but they changed their calendar back in the 1500's, and I haven't found family that far back.....yet.......

A big thank you to Lisa Louise Cooke and her great work in the genealogy field. If you are new to the genealogy field or just want an excellent podcast about genealogy, I would highly recommend her podcast, Family History Genealogy Made Easy.

Touchdown Thursday: Finding tombstone of Paul K Joyce

2010-06-18T00:45:00.003-05:00

I'm creating a new daily genealogy blog theme, Touchdown Thursday.

Touchdown Thursday is dedicated to those yay! and hooray! moments in my family history search....those ancestors that seem to hide from me but somehow I find....those brick walls that I can finally take down....

I'd love for you to join me on Thursdays, and tell me how you managed to tear down a brick wall, find a missing piece, hit a homerun, or score a touchdown.

This week's touchdown moment was finally finding the grave for Brenden's uncle, Paul Keith Joyce.

From his obituary and family attending his funeral, I knew he was buried in Spring Lake Cemetery in Aurora, Illinois.

I left messages on the cemetery's voicemail 5 times (office only open a couple hours during the week) and never got a call back.
I searched Kane County's cemetery index online and found a liitle more info....he was buried in the RG section. I took a ride to the cemetery and found all the sections marked... Except for RG section. The other sections were marked east and west, so where was this mysterious section?
I checked online for a map, no luck.
I tried the cemetry office, closed.
I found an internet posting saying that RG stands for Rear Grotto. So, I took another trip to the cemetery and went to the rear. The rear of the cemetery was being renovated and there were dirt piles everywhere, I got upset thinking they had dug up Brenden's uncle!
Brenden was also upset so he called his dad. His dad told us we were looking in the wrong section...sigh of relief....he was near the front of the cemetery about 100 yards from the fence.
We got excited and went to take a look, it just happened to be Memorial Day weekend and Paul was a veteran.

Paul Joyce wasn't 100 yards from the fence near the front, as his dad had promised, he was in the middle of the cemetery in the Rose Garden (RG).

The only reason we finally found him was by searching for graves with American flags in unmarked sections of the cemetery. A lot of searching, but it finally paid off!

Touchdown, score one for me, I found Paul Keith Joyce!

Picture by Melissa Brown, May 30, 2010, Spring Lake Cemetery, Aurora, Kane, Illinois, Section: Rose Garden (RG)

Wordless Wednesday: Scrapbook Family Tree

2010-06-16T08:52:00.011-05:00

Brenden and me

My grandparents, circa 1996, from the left: my maternal grandparents: Nunzio Vitraelli, Mildred Vitraelli (nee Malouf) and my paternal grandparents: Lorraine Brown (nee Ruebenson) and George Brown

My parents, Rick and Karen, who celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this past April.

My immediate family...clockwise from my dad (the only male in the picture): Rick (dad), Melissa (me), Karen (mom), Diana (sister), and Christina (sister) Brown.

Pictures and scrapbook pages developed by Melissa Brown (me), 2009-2010

Tombstone Tuesday: D'Orazio Family in Chicago, Illinois

2010-06-15T11:43:00.004-05:00

I love tombstones with pictures! Above is a picture of the tombstone for my great great grandparents: Maria D'Orazio (nee Di Bartolomeo) and Nunziato (aka Annunziato) D'Orazio and three of their children. This is the only picture I have seen of either of them. Nunziato and Maria had three other children, Lucia "Lucy" Vitraelli (my great grandma), buried in another location of the cemetery, and Josephine "Jo" Ragagli and Vincenzo D'Orazio, both buried in an unknown location. The D'Orazio's were originally from Alfadena, Region: Abruzzo, Province: L'Aquila, Italy. Nunziato arrived at Ellis Island in New York in 1899. Maria and her children arrived later in 1905. I assume Nunziato travelled to Italy between 1900-1905, as one son was born in 1903, although I have not found records to prove that assumption. The family later moved to Chicago, Illinois.

Tombstone is located in Mout Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Cook County, Illinois

(Picture taken by me in April 2010)

Tombstone reads:

Alfred [D'Orazio]

1906-1968

Michele [D'Orazio]

1909-1929

Nunziato [D'Orazio]

1872-1919

Maria [D'Orazio nee Di Bartolomeo]

1874-1947

James C [D'Orazio]

1903-1987

Margaret ["Marge" D'Orazio, nee Fuoco, wife of James]

1912-1989

Madness Monday: The Search for Peter Morrison

2010-06-14T11:47:00.005-05:00

Brenden's great grandpa, Peter Buchanan Morrison, immigrated to the United States from Scotland in 1903. Through a contact in Scotland, I was able to find him in the 1901 and 1891 Census of Scotland in Falkirk, Scotland. Through Ancestry, I was able to find him in the 1930 U.S. Federal census in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, and also found him on a passenger list in 1903. I also found him in the Naturalization index in Cleveland, Ohio on Ancestry in 1907, and also found him in some of the city directories in Joliet, Illinois and Aurora, Illinois where he eventually moved to after 1930. I also found his marriage record to Gladys Olga Wagner in the Cuyahoga County Probate Court Historical Marriage Index and was able to request and receive the record from Cuyahoga County (for free!).

Where is Peter from the time of his naturalization in Cleveland in 1907 and his residence in Cleveland in 1930??? Peter was proving to be quite elusive in the 1910 and 1920 federal census.

That was until I received Peter's marriage record. I was surprised to learn he had been married previously. I had always been looking for Peter as a single male. No mention of Peter's first marriage was ever mentioned to the family. It made sense, him and his second wife were over 10 years apart in age. The date of his divorce was listed on his marriage record, so I contacted the Clerk of Courts Office in Cuyahoga County to request a copy of his divorce record. At the time, I did not know the name of Peter's first wife.

While waiting for the divorce record, I decided to look for Peter once again in the 1910 and 1920 census. There were two Peter Morrison's in Cleveland, Ohio in 1910. One record showed a Peter Morrison born in Scotland, but with a birthdate that was pretty far off, and was a carpenter. The other record showed a Peter Morrison born in Pennsylvania, a lodger, with a birthdate in the correct year, and a salesman. Both Peter's were married. We knew Peter had been a butcher. The record of Peter as a carpenter wasn't looking right, but the Peter as a salesman could be him. I still couldn't find him in the 1920 census, so I decided to look into the two wives listed on the records. I found carpenter Peter and his wife....that record helped prove it wasn't the right Peter. Then, I found salesman Peter and his wife....but it took a little creative searching. His wife in the 1910 census was listed as Olive. The wife listed in 1920 was Oline, and the last name of Manison. When I looked at the actual census record, I discovered a transcription error. It was Olive Morrison and Peter B Morrison! Looking at the occupation, it showed Peter as a butcher, born in Scotland, immigration in 1903! (although, the birthdate was incorrect, about 6 years off) With the spelling inaccuracy and the incorrect birthdate, no wonder I could never find him.

What shocked me even more, was that the record showed Peter had two kids in his first marriage, Margaret and Olive Morrison. The four children from Peter's second wife had never known he had other children. I wanted to find more about his two children and first wife, so I looked on Ancestry and found that his first wife had gotten remarried, his two kids were both married twice, and all three are deceased. Through their obituaries, I discovered his two children both had children....that are still alive.

The questions have changed from where was Peter between 1907-1930, but now.....should we try to contact Peter's newly found grandchildren? After all these years, do they want to know about their four half siblings? Why did Peter leave his first wife? Why didn't Peter mention his two children to his other four children?

I don't know if we'll ever have the answers, but maybe the divorce record will help. Until then, the madness continues.......

How did I get started in genealogy?

2010-06-11T11:10:00.004-05:00

I'm love listening to genealogy podcosts, helps my hour car ride to work seem shorter, so I'll start this blog the way Kory Meyerink starts his interviews, "How did you get started in genealogy?"

During the Christmas shopping season last year I started looking for my significant other's, Brenden, family crest. With a surname of Joyce, I thought it would be pretty easy. Then, I discovered there were multiple crests depending on what country and town his family originated. I started to research his family, hoping to complete my search in a month or two, trying to determine where his family originated. (All while trying to keep my search a secret from Brenden, hard to get information from his family members without him finding out...)

Well, as you probably guessed, or know from experience, the search turned into a much larger genealogy project, as I expanded my search to my family. I purchased an ancestry.com subscription for myself for Christmas, and I got Brenden involved in the search. Now we are both addicted to genealogy and finding our roots.

We still haven't been able to prove what part of the world his family originated. We're pretty certain his family was from Ireland, but records of the Joyce family have also been found in England and Scotland. We were able to trace his line of Joyce's back to the early 1700's in the United States, in Virginia and South Carolina, connected with some long lost relatives, found published genealogies and pictures about his family, census records, graves, and wills, but from there the search has gone cold. We'll keep at it, along with the rest of our family lines. Once you start, you can't stop. I am addicted and loving every minute of it.

Introduction and background

2010-06-10T13:01:00.003-05:00

Welcome to my blog, and join me in my adventures to discover my family history and genealogy with the help of my laborador-hound mix, Millie.

We all leave records, proof of our existence, or "paw prints", during different stages of our lives. Some leave more records than others. Some have been destroyed or have gone "missing" through the years. Some are in different languages or "creative" handwriting. At the minimum, there's records of our birth and eventually our death. Often, there's marriage or census records. Other times there are city directories, pictures, newspaper articles, or maybe even a video, a recipe, a tradition, or a story. Sometimes there's even immigration and naturalization records.

My goal is to find these records and use them as a guide to follow my family's "paw prints" as far back (and sideways) as I can. Using the records, I'll try to piece together the lives of my ancestors to discover who they really were.