Resolutions Revisited

Thank you Stephanie for encouraging New-Year-Resolution-setting-bloggers to post goal updates once a month. Great idea! Could be just the push I need to stay on track; although my geneabuddy does a pretty good job of that too!

I only set six resolutions this year. In January I gathered files and folders from (too many) file cabinets, paper stacks and file boxes. I established one place for the documents associated with those all-important 12 surnames. I worked my way through the mess collection of paper in the Clarin and Clarke folders. That helped with this goal:

2.) Focus my research on 12 direct-line surnames...Start by organizing the surname-related computer files, manila folders, family group sheets, and pages on my web site.

My new-and-improved filing system includes folders labeled "Requires Further Action" for each surname. I found the coolest colored folders with graph paper-fronts and backs. Once the contents of the folder are prioritized, I can use the graph paper to create an index/to-do list so next-steps are easy to determine.

I worked on my web site, adding a page for Bidenharn and updating pages for Clarin, Clarke and William Penrod Clarke, Landstrom and Johan Peter Landstrom, Mangels and Gustave Robert Mangels, Peterson, Thompson and Peter Thompson, and Walton. That addressed goal #2 above and this goal:

4.) Keep other living descendants up to date on our family history research progress through emails, letters, Twitter, this blog and my web site. Search for as-yet-unknown cousins in the same way.

In January I devoted quite a bit of time to this goal:

5.) Honor the relationship between genealogy and scrapbooking: Scan and digitize old photos. Preserve hard copies of pictures. Archive online photos off-site. Organize, label and safely store slides and negatives. Share pictures with relatives. Assemble heirloom photo albums.

I've fallen in love with Picasa. It's free and easy to use. I have a million photos to scan and Picasa makes the save, edit, categorize and file steps fast and easy. I averaged 150 scans a week in January and stored the originals chronologically in archival-safe containers. There are still a million minus 600 photos left to scan, but I'm making progress!

Thanks again Stephanie for encouraging me to revisit my goals, check my progress and set my sights on February!

Serendipity in Genealogy

My ancestors are not generally among the movers and shakers in history. They were average people living average lives. That doesn't make them any less interesting to me; it just means that if they appear in a newspaper at all, it won't be on the front page.

So when I visited the Depot Museum in Batavia Illlinois several years ago, it was to get a glimpse of the work done at the U.S. Wind Engine and Pump Company. My second great-grandfather was a blacksmith there for many years.

The museum was very interesting. The displays were wonderful - I took many pictures of the USWE&P display and was grateful to the volunteer who answered my many questions about 19th century life in Batavia. At the end of my visit, Marilyn Robinson encouraged me to sign the guest book and add the surname I was researching. She said other guests sometimes look through the book and connections are made. I signed the book and wrote the name "Tolf".

A few days later Marilyn mentioned my from-out-of-state visit to another volunteer. The volunteer asked what surname I was researching. Together they looked at the guest book. The volunteer (also named Marilyn) said Tolf looked familiar. When she returned home, (the second) Marilyn looked in the scrapbook created by her husband's great-grandfather Charles Wenberg. He had been a professional photographer in Batavia during the time my family lived there. Inside the scrapbook she found these pictures:

l-r Charles Wenberg, Peter Tolf and Claus Pederson
These three men were instrumental in founding the church below 

First Swedish Mission Church in Batavia Illinois

Peter Tolf (center wearing tie) blacksmith foreman
at US Wind Engine and Pump Company

Peter Tolf and his wife Augusta Landström with their children
(l-r) Ranghild Henrietta Katarina, Harry Wilhelm, and Raymond Johan Carl

Helena Åman Tolf with daughters Christina Tolf and Amanda (Tolf) Peterson

I know I thanked both women at least a hundred times. Marilyn Robinson has since passed away, but her extensive work in the Batavia Historical Society surely guaranteed her a place in genealogy heaven. I will be forever grateful to the second Marilyn who gave me something I would never have seen without her generosity. I'm also grateful to Charles Wenberg who wrote captions at the bottom of his photographs without which his great-grandson's wife couldn't have made our connection.

And to my Tolf, Åman, and Landström ancestors: For putting the two Marilyns and me in all the right places at all the right times - there are not enough words in my vocabulary to express the depth and breadth of my feelings.

2012 New Year's Resolutions

Another year comes to a close. The past 12 months were sprinkled with equal parts levity and laughter, wonder and worry, pitfalls and proud moments. I'm glad I was on the planet to see all the ups and downs firsthand and I very much appreciated your company along the way.

With family group sheet in hand, I nervously reviewed my 2011 resolutions. Not as bad as I thought - whew! 

2012 offers new opportunities to make check marks on my genealogy to-do list. Look out family tree, I'm getting serious about climbing you this year! With weekly encouragement from my Success Team partner Jenny, I plan to will:

1.) Attend at least one out-of-state genealogical conference or convention.

2.) Focus my research on 12 direct-line surnames; Clarin, Clarke, Gury, Landstrom, Littrell, Mangels, Mueller, Peterson, Schmitt, Thompson, Tolf, and Walton. Start by organizing the surname-related computer files, manila folders, family group sheets, and pages on my web site.

3.) Answer the following burning questions:

• Did Esther give birth to the Clarin/Mangels child I recently located? Was her divorce from Gustave really as public as family stories suggest?
• From what country did the Maryland Clarkes originate?
• Who is the child that accompanied Marie-Anne Gury and her children from France to Cincinnati?
• When (and at which port) did Augusta Landstrom arrive in America?
• From what country did the Virginia Littrells originate?
• What did the inquests into Herman Friedrich Carl Mangels and Frank Mangels' deaths reveal?
• In which Swiss town was Jacob Mueller born? Were Otto Mueller and his wife Alvina Schmitt really cousins?
• Where did Maria Fredericka Peterson's sisters settle after leaving Sweden?
• What were the circumstances around Elizabeth Schmitt's divorce from Anton Bidenharn and marriage three days later to Jacob Mueller?
• Where did Peter Thompson die and where is he buried? Was his daughter really institutionalized so her husband could obtain a divorce?
• At which American port did James Walton and his parents end their voyage from the Isle of Man?

4.) Keep other living descendants up to date on our family history research progress through emails, letters, Twitter, this blog and my web site. Search for as-yet-unknown cousins in the same way.

5.) Honor the relationship between genealogy and scrapbooking: Scan and digitize old photos. Preserve hard copies of pictures. Archive online photos off-site. Organize, label and safely store slides and negatives. Share pictures with relatives. Assemble heirloom photo albums.

6.) Share (and create more) family history with my glorious grandchildren.

Every one of my goals interests and excites me. 2012 could be a great year for my family and me. I hope yours is even better. Happy New Year!

Sentimental Sunday ~ Birthday Boy

My first grandchild was born on this day a decade or so ago. I remember driving fast across hundreds of miles to be with my firstborn child and her firstborn child for this momentous event. This young man now stands eye to eye with me. He's beyond handsome with an incredible personality and a very dry sense of humor ~ my favorite kind. Happy Birthday baby!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Mississippi

Written in Stone

Some words last a lifetime. Others fade before the ink is dry. But when something is written in stone, we expect it to transend time; to be with us forever. That's why grave markers are made of stone. They are supposed to provide eternal remembrances of our loved ones.

On a recent road trip, Husband and I stopped at a pretty little cemetery in Darien Wisconsin. We took 94 headestone pictures. I was moved by the War of 1812 star below. There are pioneers and farmers and heroes buried here.

The condition of some of the headstones was troubling. This stone is almost completely under ground and so weathered it is illegible.

The marker above was the most sunken, but others follow close behind.

Some stones are sinking vertically, taking information they contain with them.

Those are signs of aging. But vandalism is also an issue in this cemetery as it is in so many others.

The top of the headstone below was broken off and lying face-down in the dirt. It was hidden under the branches I'm holding over to the right so Husband can take a picture of the part still standing. I'm so proud of the commitment he has made to Find A Grave.

Once we found the missing piece, we could see Abner Long was buried here. There are other Long family members in this cemetery too.

At least the broken pieces below are all present and standing.

This cemetery really is lovely. The grass is mowed, flowers are on several graves, caretakers are evident. But no one can stop the ravages of time. Lichen, wind, and rain wreak havoc on these beautiful old stones.  

Written in stone. Only temporarily.

Those Old Photographs



First Grandchild's First Christmas


I know the little girl in this picture. I catch a glimpse of her every time I look in a mirror.

The hand in the upper right-hand corner belongs to my Grandpa John. I'm sure his unlit cigar is in his left hand; it always was. Makes me smile just remembering.

But who is the woman on the left? I'm pretty sure it's Judith, my great-grandfather's second wife.

Shall I assume I'm correct? There isn't anyone left to ask. Or should I mark the picture with "my guess is..."?

My family looks at me a little strange when I label my photos with:

• the date of the event
• a description of the occasion (so-and-so's birthday for example)
• location in which the picture was taken (address-specific)
• all participants' first and last names; and age when appropriate
• all participants' relationships to one another

Okay, maybe that's excessive. But it sure would have been nice if someone had labeled this picture with more than "First Grandchild's First Christmas".