It has taken me a couple of months to work my way through the History and Genealogy of the American Descendants of John and Ann Chamness of London, England. I have painstakingly transferred all 126 typewritten pages of Chamness distant cousins into my family tree. While this might seem like cheating or circumventing the research process, I should point out that the book… More →
Category: Utlaut Kenfolk
Unhappy Hollywood Ending
I will admit I was a bit excited when I came across the entry for Lynn F. Reynolds, my 5th cousin, 2x removed, in the History and Genealogy of the American Descendants of John and Ann Chamness of London, England. His entry appears as follows: “2c. Oscar A. now resides at Hollywood, near Los Angeles, Cal; has a son, Lynn F.,… More →
Truth Be Told
The title of the book written by C. L. Poehlmann, my 4th cousin, 1x removed, is Truth. Thus, it seems fitting that I should start with a confession: I did not read the entire book. There’s nothing wrong with it. Eventually, I’ll go back and pick up where I left off. It’s a perfectly good story. From what I’ve read so far, the characters are believable and the plot… 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 →
Cousins marrying cousins, the threequel
I had no intention of posting yet another tale of my cousins marrying each other so soon, if at all. But this was too rich to pass up. Plus, it ties the knot, so to speak, between my first two postings on the same topic. I introduced 1st cousins and star-crossed lovers William McCracken and Abigail Holladay in my second posting. They are… More →
Flight Plans
The life of Albert Ulysses Rupel came to an abrupt end five shorts days after a rusty nail penetrated his foot. Because of this unfortunate event, today, Albert’s name is little more than a footnote in the annals of aviation history. In 1903, news of the Wright brother’s successful flight at Kitty Hawk reached rural Jay County, Indiana where Albert lived and worked. A year later, inspired by… More →
It’s Wathel, Not Walter
When I came across the name of my distant cousin “Wathel” Rogers recorded in the 1920 census, I thought surely it had been transcribed incorrectly and was meant to have been “Walter”. I checked the photograph of the actual census from Kit Carson County, Colorado and found that it was not a mistake. Sometimes the names can be difficult to decipher but this was not the case. In the1930 census “Wathel” became “Mathel”.… More →
Sophia’s Mutter und Vater
I came a step closer this week to knowing the names of all 32 of my 3rd great grandparents. It took a little digging but I’ve identified the names of #29 and #30. As far as I can tell, this is new information so I’ve accomplished my goal of picking up where my mother left off. (#31 and #32 may require a trip to Itawamba County,… More →
First Baseman, Once Removed
If the Kansas City Athletics had not traded my mother’s first cousin Norm Siebern to the Baltimore Orioles in 1963, then the conversation I had about a month ago with my friend and coworker, Jon, would have been much less interesting. Jon is a diehard Baltimore Orioles fan. His blood runs orange in the spring and summer and then Ravens purple when the leaves begin… More →
Fingerprints
I learned early on from author Marsha Hoffman Rising that there is a difference between searching and researching. Genealogists should always search for research that’s been done by someone else. So far that’s proven to be very good advice. If the other researcher did their homework and it’s well documented, it’s much easier to verify the same information and you’re not starting from scratch. I’ve grown… More →