Too Many Martins Explained, Sort Of

I am grateful that my parents did not name me Martin Trantham. There’ve been enough of them already. I think my mother summed up the problem of there being too many of them perfectly when she wrote “…one can easily become overwhelmed with all the information and misinformation which circulates regarding all the Martin Tranthams…”. She was very wise and I should have… More →

The Duesenberg Factor

I opted to steer clear of images of the iconic cars that bear the Duesenberg family name and head in a less obvious direction for the first official entry on Fred and August Duesenberg, my 1st cousins, 3x removed. More than one hundred years after their introduction, Duesenberg automobiles still show up in the headlines thanks in large part to avid collector Jay Leno and… More →

Wessel-Mania: From Wheeling to West Point

Tracing my Wessel roots has been a bit of a challenge beyond my 3rd great grandparents. Fortunately I’ve met a Wessel cousin (DNA-matched!) and kindred spirit through Ancestry.com who shares my passion for family research. We’re both on the trail of our common Wessel ancestors. Marsha Fitzgibbon, my 4th cousin, 1x removed, is a direct descendant of Elise “Eliza” (Wessel) Giese Theermann, who came to America in… More →

Trantham Landing

In 1859, my 4th great grandfather, Jesse Trantham, purchased 120 acres of land in Greene County, Arkansas. He packed up his belongings, his 2nd wife and his large family and he left Tennessee. My mother speculated that he made this move attempting to avoid the “looming war between the states”. Things must have been getting tense in Tennessee. Jesse’s brother Robert… More →

Levi Stress

Digitized collections of historic newspapers are becoming more and more available on the Internet. Most of the websites that offer these treasure troves of genealogical information charge some type of fee. But, the convenience of being able to search from your own home usually makes it worth the price. Plus, character recognition software coupled with modern-day indexing makes finding the name of that long-lost relative buried deep… More →

Cousins marrying cousins, Lucky #7

It turns out the wedding of Mary McCracken and Nathan Chamness was not the 1st time the two families were joined through marriage. Mary’s aunt, Ruth McCracken, and Nathan’s uncle, Joseph Chamness, exchanged vows in 1793, earning them the 7th spot on my list of cousins marrying cousins! Here’s the updated list. From left to right, mom’s relative, then dad’s, with my relationship to each of them in brackets: Florence… More →

Mystery Kenfolk Case #2: Duesenbergs Down Under

The United States was not the only country that promised greener pastures to immigrants willing to risk the turbulent waters of the Atlantic to escape the turmoil of 19th century Germany. While my Duesenberg ancestor, Henry Simon Ludwig, headed west and eventually found his new home in Missouri, it appears another branch of the Duesenberg family tree headed south. Way south. I’ve come across the name “Otto Albert Duesenberg”… More →

Trentham Timeout

If you’ve any interest in the old “homestead”, then Trentham Through Time is worth the read. “Local” historian Alan Myatt has written the definitive historical guide to Trentham, which is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. (My Trentham and Trantham ancestors presumably came to America from Staffordshire circa 1700.) In the book’s introduction, the author sums up the idyllic estate as follows: “Trentham has been home to… More →