Over the years I spent countless hours (and dollars!) at my local Family History Centers. These are the “satellite” libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), where you can rent and view microfilmed genealogy records from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Alas, these centers will soon be no more! It is very apparent, at least in my area, they will soon close and no longer be available to genealogical researchers.
Albert and Mary Pohl Homestead
This is a case of genealogical serendipity. I set out to determine the precise location of the house where my maternal great-grandparents, Albert and Mary Pohl, lived. In this picture taken about 1909, the Pohl family posed in front of their house.1
From something unexpected, I uncovered a trail of bread crumbs that led me to their doorstep.
Footnotes
Brick by Brick
This is another post in a series about finding the ancestors of my paternal great-grandfather Joseph Voisin1 (1858-1916). This is a brick wall I haven’t been able to get beyond for several years. Here I chip away a few more bricks from the wall in hopes of discovering a clue.
Perhaps you can help. If you found this post while searching the Internet, chances are there’s something here that piqued your interest. That means you might know something I don’t know. If so, please post a comment. No matter how small, most any information can provide a clue.
In this installment I’ll remove four bricks from the wall. See also Bricks 1 through 10.
FootnotesBrick by Brick
I’ve reached an impasse trying to find the ancestors of my paternal great-grandfather Joseph Voisin1 (1858-1916). It’s a brick wall I haven’t been able to get beyond for several years. If I remove one brick from the wall at a time, I may discover a clue.
Perhaps you can help. If you found this post while searching the Internet, chances are there’s something here that piqued your interest. That means you might know something I don’t know. If so, please post a comment. No matter how small, most any information can provide a clue.
In this installment I’ll remove ten bricks from the wall. See also Bricks 11 through 14.
Footnotes
Albert and Mary Pohl, about 1909
Who would have thought the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could answer questions about family history? I used NOAA to help solve a mystery about the immigration of my great-grandparents, Albert G. and Maria “Mary” (Pittner) Pohl.
The most important aspect of organizing a collection of digitized photographs and documents is the naming convention used to reference each item.
It is increasingly easy to obtain digital images of evidence used in genealogical research. More online databases now provide images of actual records. It is also easy to scan photographs and documents, or even record them using a digital camera.
I have already begun the process of digitizing the genealogical evidence I accumulated over the years. In the forthcoming series of blog posts entitled “Digital Evidence,” I will describe the system I use to generate, manage and display my collection.
As always, comments and feedback are welcome, especially if you have a better idea!
While in Florida recently, I was delighted to finally meet Betty-Jane, my third-cousin, once removed. We are both descended from Hubert Yuncker and Barbe Gossé who emigrated from Kirrberg in the Alsace region of France in 1847.
Betty-Jane and Mike
I was recently contacted by a previously unknown fifth cousin, Andrea, from Bremen, Germany. We share fourth great-grandparents, Peter Joseph Mauren and Anna Maria Minwegen. Her branch of the family remained in Germany while my third great-grandparents emigrated to America in 1840.
I’ve been researching my genealogy seriously for about ten years now. Earlier this year I applied for a “First Families” certificate during the 150th anniversary celebration of Isabella County, Michigan. This is a certificate presented to descendants of pioneer families who settled in the county prior to 1899. Little did I realize how much effort that application would require.