It’s hard to believe we are nine weeks into the new year! This week’s topic is “Gone Too Soon”. This is a bittersweet one for me. I think of my mother and how I would have loved more time with her. I was a child when she died from complications of diabetes. My mother and…
I Can Identify
This week’s topic is “I Can Identify”. This made me think about my maternal grandmother’s parents. I’ve mentioned before how I knew little of her family, outside of their names and where she was born. I would pick up the research and put it back down again. Ironically, I live in the city where she…
Oops!
The theme for this week is Oops! It made me think about a mistake I made early in my research days in associating the wrong father to my maternal grandmother. My grandmother’s name is Grace. Born in a city, she was placed in foster care as a teenager with a German Quaker farm family. She…
Out of Place
This week’s theme is “Out of Place”. It makes me think about a book I ordered just a few months ago, called the “The Woodworkers of Windsor, A Connecticut Community of Craftsman and Their World, 1635-1715”, by Joshua W, Lane and Donald P. White III. I’m a descendant of Thomas Barber, a young man who…
My Favorite Picture
This week’s challenge is about our favorite picture. I chose this one, from my father’s side of the family. These are the three Pelz brothers, Valerian, Albert, and Anton. Polish homesteaders, they emigrated to Hay Lakes, Alberta, Canada in the early 1900’s. Albert (Wojciech) is my great-grandfather. Two stories come to mind about Albert. When…
Week One – I would like to meet
Week one’s theme prompt is “I would like to meet.” In response, I would like to meet Rachel Kilburn. Rachel is my fourth and fifth-times great-grandmother (my great-grandparents were second cousins hence the clarification). Rachel was born in 1777 in Farmington, Connecticut, the daughter of Richard Kilburn and Mercy Bronson. Rachel married Alexander Barber (born…
The 52 Ancestors 2023 Challenge
I just finished two years of intense genealogical studies with Boston University, Professional Genealogists (ProGen) Study Group, Genealogical Proof (GenProof) Study Group and Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG). These learning opportunities have been amazing experiences, both from what I have learned about the field as well as the peers, instructors, and mentors I have…