The story of my family history?

I recently entered Ancestry.com's Branching Out contest. As part of the requirement for entry I was asked to write a short piece on my family history story. It made me think about how this all began in first place...read on.

My family history story is one that started very young and yet too late. As a child, I loved to listen to the stories my Grandparents would tell. In fourth grade, I took my maternal grandfather with his WWII Navy war stories as my show and tell. I didn't know it, but I was bit by the genealogy bug. When my maternal Grandfather was sick and I was away in college, I dreamt of having the chance to interview him one last time and get it on video. After he passed away, life rolled on. I graduated college, got married and then another sickness. This time it was grandma. It was pancreatic cancer, stage 4. In her favorite recliner, still in her pajamas, Grandma struggled through reading a storybook on tape to preserve her voice and sickly image. I know now, no one really wants to be remembered that way; but she knew it meant the world to me and never mentioned she'd rather not be on video. After that, I have done what I could when time would allow it.

Fast forward to the present, 10 years after Grandpa's passing and I finally have a good start at my family history. A great uncle shared a wealth of information on my paternal lineage; a cousin thrice removed shared great detail on my husband’s mother’s side. I have some great family stories from my mother and her 8 siblings, and a few great aunts and uncles left whose brains must be picked before the Alzheimers steals their memories from them and us too. I have found many census records and located some family treasures within the family.

But my story isn’t complete. The family treasures have led to more questions, the yearning for more answers. Some online records seem to indicate perhaps the dry goods store my maternal grandfather’s family owned, whose ledger books are still held by my mother, might have been passed down from the generation before where we thought it began. The notes in those ledger books are priceless. Hand written in the margin “family – will never pay.” Who are these mysterious “family” members? How are they connected? Where do they all fit in?

Oh, if only I had unlimited time and resources!

Exploring the descendants of Robert Lang (1670-1763)

I'm off on my first genealogical research trip today. Just a short jaunt down from where we are vacationing to meet a cousin of hubby's maternal Grandmother. We will explore the descendants of Robert Lang (1670-1763). I'm so excited!

Anna Mae Haney Phillips (July 5, 1920 - June 19, 2013)

It's been a while, but I have something to share.

A few weeks ago during a visit with my husband's grandparents, I hit a genealogical gold mine of sorts. I took my iPad loaded with the Ancestry.com app, signed up for the 3 month trial membership that came with my Family Tree Maker program and got the chance to sit down each evening with Grandma and pick her brain. I'm not sure who had more fun, me or her. I truly came back with a treasure trove of information and many pictures! She had pictures that go back 2 or 3 generations after her, so we have at least 6 generations in pictures on that side of the family.

In our chats and searches, I "met" a lot of new ancestors. Perhaps most exciting was the report we found. It was sent by her cousin in 2007. His research seems to have been well documented from what I can tell based on the report and his emails. It included dates and family members of 6 generations starting with Grandma's parents. That means if we add on her descendants, I have information on a total of 10 generations including my son. What a treasure to be able to pass on to the future generations.

Sadly, this blog post is about one of those ancestors I "met" chatting with Grandma just a few weeks ago. Today Grandma shared the obituary for Anna Mae (Haney) Phillips (July 5, 1920 - June 19, 2013). To view the obituary, visit this link: Anna Mae Haney Phillips Obituary. Below is a copy of the text.

Anna Mae Phillips, age 92, formerly of 85 Country Lane, and widow of Hobert Phillips, died Wednesday June 19, 2013 at NHC of Clinton.
She was born in Avery County and was the daughter of Jeff Haney and Thula Haney Phillips.
Mrs. Phillips is survived by her son Reese (Gay) Phillips of Taylors; her daughter Wanda P. Babb (Steven) of Clinton; five grandchildren, and thirteen great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by four brothers, Sherman Haney, Rosco Haney, Bill Haney, and Lee Haney; and two sisters, Amanda H. Painter, and Atlas H. Green.
Funeral Services will be held Saturday June 22nd, at 4:00 p.m. at the Gray Funeral Home Chapel with burial in Pinelawn Memory Gardens.

May she rest in peace! She'll forever live on in the hearts of those who knew her and in the family genealogy texts.

Who came over on the boat? Bloink Edition

Word Count: 403 Today, 1373 Total

Who came over on the boat? Ahhh, the question that started it all. That was exactly what I wanted to know when I began this journey of family history research. Well, okay, that AND does my family have in its possession any of the trunks that came on the ships with my immigrant ancestors. I've long had a fascination with those trunks in which our immigrant ancestors packed their entire lives and most prized possessions to make the trip from the homeland to America. Oh, the stories those trunks and the artifacts could tell. Stories of the journey, yes. But also of who and what had to be left behind.

So far, I've yet to unearth a trunk in my family lines. My mother has never seen or heard of one. My grandparents never mentioned one, and being the pack rat family that we are, if one were around on that side, I'm reasonably sure we'd have found it by now. On my father's side, well, I haven't done as much research, but if one is around, it's likely that it was passed down through another branch of the family. We just don't seem to be as sentimental about things on that side of the family.

On to the ancestors for this post. Who immigrated on my maternal grandmother's side? (See the chart included below which shows the relationships)

As I was answering this question for my cousin recently, I was delighted to find that in my early days of researching and grabbing as many documents as I could reasonably assume were my relatives during my Ancestry.com trial I nabbed a passenger list that includes Franz and Katerina (Schmitz) Klaes with their 8 month old son, Heinrich. From that document, I know they left from Bremen, Germany and arrived in New York on 31 October 1884. Check out lines 50-52 on the passenger list below! How cool!

The next ancestor on this branch of the tree I assume immigrated is Catherine Bloink. I know her to have been born in Prussia in 1810 and found her in the 1860 census in the township of Hamtramck, Michigan. The census lists her living with who I assume is her son, John. He is listed as 13 years old. Check out the 1860 census below. Catherine and John are on lines 33 and 34.

This branch of the family has yet to reveal any other immigrants.

List of ancestors shown in the chart below: Conrad Joseph Rebandt (1926-2003), Margaret Ann Bloink (1929-2009), Frederick William Bloink (1881-1955), Anna Klaes (1896-1950), John Bloink (1846-1914), Maria Jacobs (1848-1918), Franz Klaes (1863-1946), Katherina Schmitz (1863-1926), Catherine Bloink (1810-?), Johann J Klaes (1833-?), Anna Marie Schneider (1831-?), Johann Schmitz, Christina Pitzen

Who came over on the boat? Rebandt edition

Word Count: 248 Today, 970 Total.

The question of which of my ancestors came to America from another country is the whole reason I got into family history research in the first place. Recently, a cousin asked me the same question. Since I have my notes handy from answering him, I thought I'd share the news with the rest of you as well. The chart pictured below shows the ancestors I'm referring to and how they are related to my more recent ancestors.

According to the 1900 US Census, Joseph Conrad Rebandt (b. 1850 d. 1910) arrived in 1874. In 1900 he was in Detroit, Michigan with his wife, Albertina. The two owned a dry goods store there which they later passed down to their son, Adam Boniface Rebandt (b. 1893 d. 1980). Albertina arrived in 1875 according to the same census. Joseph and Albertina were wed in 1880. Joseph and Albertina's great grand daughter recalls her father (their grandson) telling her the name of the store was "Mrs. A Rebandt's Dry Goods, Ladies & Gents Furnishings" on Junction and Buchanan in Detroit. Google map's panorama shows only one building remaining on this corner when searching the address of the store. Check it out here: https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&layer=c&z=17&iwloc=A&sll=42.335144,-83.114613&cbp=13,102.8,0,0,0&cbll=42.335144,-83.114614&q=Junction+and+Buchanan,+Detroit,+Michigan&ei=vzFlUpbgIcbl4AP-oYGYAw&ved=0CCoQxB0wAA. 

Per the 1910 census, Joseph or George Girsch (b. 1873 d. 1966) arrived in 1880. In 1910 he was in Detroit, Michigan also. He married Mary Bosman (b. 1877 d. 1931).

Mary Bosman's parents, Rudolph Bosman (b. 1842 d. 1919) and Josefina Albertina Balk (b. 1852 d. 1915) arrived in 1870 according to the 1900 census. They were married in 1870. There is some discrepancy on the actual date that Rudolph arrived however. The 1910 census lists him as arriving in 1865. Obviously I have more research to do.

Truly, there is plenty more research to do on all of these ancestors and their families.

~Morgan

List of ancestors in the chart: Conrad Joseph Rebandt (1926-2003), Margaret Ann Bloink (1929-2009), Bernard J. Rebandt (1882-?), Adam Boniface Rebandt (1893-1980), Helen Cecilia Girsch (1905-1966), Joseph Conrad Rebandt (1850-1910), Albertina Bosman (1855-?), Joseph or George Girsch (1873-1932), Mary Bosman (1877-1931), John Bosman, Dorothyea Bosman, Mary Girsch (1824-?), Rudolph Bosman (1842-1919), Josefina Albertina Balk (1852-1915)

Old Iron Butt from Buzzy Jackson's Shaking The Family Tree

In the past three weeks, I've consumed 4 of the 6 library books I checked out on family history. Not bad, if I do say so myself. I've really enjoyed getting back to reading and reading for enjoyment! I'll be off to the library tomorrow to turn in books and renew the other 2 for sure!

As I was reading Buzzy Jackson's Shaking The Family Tree, I couldn't help but identify with her description of Old Iron Butt! And it made me chuckle, so I had to share. 

According to Jackson, the nickname Iron Butt was one given to Richard Nixon in college for his ability to sit in the library and keep studying. Searching for genealogical records, Jackson explains, requires a similar "stick-to-itiveness...[and] being an optimistic idiot helps." (101)  I thoroughly enjoyed both descriptions.

That is all for now.

In the coming weeks, I must begin to tackle the mess I have created by over-zealous linking of records from Ancestry as a newbie. I have to admit, I've been avoiding it for a couple of reasons. One is that my tree already includes over 500 names and organizing that and cleaning it up is a daunting task and one I know I cannot finish to perfection in the amount of time that I have available to dedicate to it right now. That said, I must find a way to break it into more manageable chunks and get at it. My greatest excuse to myself has been that I don't know how to do it. It is true, I do not know every detail of genealogical research. But, between the recent library books, the online reading I've done and the hours I've spent viewing Ancestry's archived videos on Youtube.com, I have more than enough knowledge to begin. If only I would allow myself.

~Morgan

Who Do You Think You Are? The Book

I ended up having a lot of down time at work today so I took the opportunity to finish reading Who Do You Think You Are?  By Megan Smolenyak. I happened to find this book on the shelves at my local library and being a fan of the show, decided I'd check it out. Boy am I glad I did.

This book has many references to websites and books that are considered the standards by many genealogists. The author also includes the basic how-tos for the basic records that many people new to family history will check out first. I was particularly happy to see the summary of the censuses and what they included as well as what makes certain ones unique or particularly good tools for the genealogist. I had seen similar information before but couldn't find it when I needed it recently. Now, I'll have my notes from this book. I also enjoyed the section on military records. I know this is something I will want to delve into more in the future as I research more about my maternal Grandfather. I loved hearing his stories from the time he spent in the military during WWII and look forward to learning more of the specifics about his service to our country.

With all the great website references and information included in this book, I found myself seriously considering adding it to my birthday list to have in my reference arsenal.

Morgan

Ste. Anne de Detroit

I spent this afternoon adding some details to my work in Family Tree Maker.

Most of my time was spent hunting down information related to my Paternal Grandmother's baptism record. I sure learned a lot about Ste. Anne's Parish in Detroit, Michigan where she was baptized. It is a beautiful Church. One day I hope to visit it and the surrounding buildings which have been placed on the National Registry of Historic Places. I have probably driven past that church a few dozen times having grown up in Michigan, but now that I know my Grandmother was baptized there, I feel like I'm seeing it again for the first time. It has a new layer of meaning for me. (Besides the fact that another one of my loves is historic buildings. In fact, what draws me to them are the stories I know they would tell if the walls could talk.)

My "you learn something new every day" moment for today was discovering what I assumed was French in the baptism record was instead Latin. It was also an "ah-ha" moments of sort. I figured the record was in French because I knew the church and Detroit was founded by the French as a fur trade post on the river. What I should have remembered however is that before Vatican II in the 1960's, the main language of the Catholic church was Latin. I knew masses were conducted in Latin, but somehow it never occurred to me that the records would also be in Latin until a friend recognized the phrases when I posted them on Facebook looking for help translating.

Most of the phrases were easy to guess, but based on the names, I wasn't sure if Nomina Patrionrum was Names of the Godparents or Names of the Grandparents. In the case of my Grandmother, it could have been either. With the help of my Facebook friends, I was able to determine it indeed means "Names of the Godparents" (or Sponsors).

Family History Search: Rebandt, Weeg, Therrien and Phillips

I'm baaaack.....It's been a long, long time, but I have a new passion I'd like to use this blog to share. With a 2 year old running around the house, I'm sure I won't have a ton of time to blog, but check in for new posts every once in a while.

I've been researching my family history recently and having a lot of fun with it. I have learned a lot from www.Ancestry.com. And particularly love the video archives at www.livestream.com/ancestry.

I am researching all branches of my family tree which includes the surnames: Rebandt, Weeg, Therrien, and Phillips.

Most recently, I've been working on transcribing the documents I found at Ancestry.com with my free trial. Here's what I learned from the marriage record for Adam B. Rebandt and Helen Cecilia Girsch.

 20 Oct 1925 in Detroit, MI. Michigan Department of Health lists Adam B. Rebandt, age 31 married to Helen C. Girsh, age 20, on record number 300304. Date of License: 12 Oct 1925. Both living in Detroit, Michigan. Both born in Michigan. Adam works as a Clerk. Helen works as an operator. Adam's father is Joseph, mother is Albertina BOSSMAN. Helen's father is Gorge. Mother is Mary BOSSMAN. Neither have been previously married. They were wed on 20 Oct. 1925 by Catholic Priest Patrick T. DUNNE. Witnesses to the marriage were Nicholas DAVIS of Detroit, MI and Eleanor URBANISK (sp could be URBANICK).

What have you learned about your ancestors?