Wordless Wednesday ~ Just Married

Creative Sailing to the Right Passenger List

My 3rd great-grandfather traveled from France to the US in 1854. Niçolas Schmitt and his oldest son Jules François arrived at the port of New Orleans in April of that year.

Based on the ages of the two American-born children who appear in the 1860 Cincinnati Ohio census, Nicolas' wife and French-born children joined him before 1855. Daughter Elizabeth is my direct line ancestor and it was she on whom I focused many fruitless passenger list searches.

Today instead I looked for each of Elizabeth's siblings. Within 10 minutes I located Marie-Anne with nine of the Schmitt children on the passenger list of the Ocean Home's May 1854 journey from Le Havre France to New Orleans. (See pg 6 left.)

Although Marianne 35, Jean Nicolas 11, Pierre Ferdinand 9, Anne-Marie 8, Sophia 7, Elisabeth 6, Christina 5, Pauline 4, Emilie 9/12, and François 5/12 are listed as Suisse (Swiss), this is clearly my French family.

This means the family was separated for only a short time - just a few weeks. But oh, how difficult it must have been for Marie-Anne to care for seven small children and two infants while crossing the ocean to their new life in America!

And while finding this passenger list was wonderfully exciting, it does raise a few questions. For starters, how can Emilie (9 months old) and François (5 months old) have the same mother?

Rather than focus on that just yet, I think I'll spend May Day enjoying this precious new genealogical treasure. And thanking Pauline, my 2nd great-grand aunt, who guided a search engine to the right page.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Easter Bonnet

Genealogy Success Team Wanted

I'm stuck. And I need your help.

This year my family history progress is pitiful and its nearly May. There is much more I'd like to accomplish, but I just can't seem to do it alone.

When I was a young entrepreneur, I met with three people once a week for an hour. We gave each other 15 minutes; five to review, five to brainstorm, and five to set new goals.

We were accountable to each other. We guided each other over bumpy roads, cheered each other on, and forced each other to acknowledge and overcome perceived shortcomings.

I need a new virtual success team focused on family history. Are you interested? Here's what you'd have to do:

• Be committed. Once you join, you must attend 95% of meetings.
• Be prepared to share your accomplishments or lack thereof with three other researchers.
• Be receptive to suggestions and generous with suggestions for others.
• Be sensitive to the privacy of your team members.
• Be prepared, organized, brief, and focused during each meeting.

If you are passionate about your family history but making less progress than you'd like, please consider becoming a member of my Success Team.

The I'ds of March

Already March is drawing to a close. My to-do list has fewer checkmarks than I'd wished for and that got me thinking. What if all my genealogical wishes could come true?

I'd vigorously rattle cages in Chicago and get those darn documents I've been requesting forever.

I'd travel to Washington County Maryland and sort through dust-covered boxes in several church basements. If I could do the looking myself, I would find those missing membership files.

I'd locate more living descendants, especially the ones with pristine antique photo collections of our mutual ancestors.

I'd pay all those cemeteries rent to keep my overseas ancestors in their graves so I am able to see the headstones with my own eyes.

I'd convince my boss that time spent working on my family tree keeps my investigative skills sharp.

There are so many family history-related things I'd like to do. All I need is a bottomless bank account and all the time in the world.