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Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009 Genealogy Recap

Note: I would like to credit Randy Seavers of Genea-musings for the topic headings in his post "Grading on my Progress on 2009 Goals and Objectives" I did not use a grade but did a recap instead.

My Genealogy Research
oPosted to gs Genealogy blog Research Blog on Blogger
oGates research on the internet and in the Carlsbad Georgina Cole Library.
oResearched step family: Bartnicki and identified step father’s siblings in photograph.
oMore research on the DeWitt Clinton Graham family of Washington County, PA on World Vital Records website. Discovered that there were two possibilities of Graham families at this location at this time. George Graham, Peter Graham or (the most promising one…Aneas Graham) according to an email contact.
oDiscovered that a fellow Lost Treasures committee member and I were related by a second Wescott marriage (she was a descendant from Wescott and I am descended from Coon)
oWashington County, PA research for Coon
oResearch in Jefferson County, Palmyra for Coon, Congdon, Charley, Dow, Graves.
oConducted land Research for Leander and Milton Coon in Palmyra, Jefferson County, Wisconsin

Obtained a external hard drive for back up.
Sorted step dad’s family photos emailed some to his relatives.
Interviewed step dad’s family.

Genealogy Education:
Joined NSDGS in October 2009: attended program meetings, learned about Google Earth and its applications for Genealogy mapping, attend COG Computer User’s Group: learned about Ancestry new and old searches..Thanks to Randy Seavers of CVGS and his blog: Genea-musings. Learned to search Genealogy websites more effectively. Purchased “More Evidence” by Elizabeth Shown Mills and I am currently reading it.

I took a Photo Shop Elements online class to learn to repair damaged family history photos.

Genealogy Society:
member and chair of the SDGS Lost Treasures Committee: inventoried society collection of items to place with descendants, placed 150 photos which contained five branches of one family with a University Archives, Wisconsin diary, family bible, Rachel Wedgeforth will copies with San Diego Zoo/Wild Animal Park Archives, placed military documents with Sacramento Military museum library. Placed ten items total 2008-2009 average per placement was three months.
Obtained estimated auction value for Brooklyn Bridegooms photos, wrote project volunteer guidelines, conducted orientation for three project volunteers, contacted Ken Kramer (NBC) regarding media coverage of Lost Treasures.
New Chair of Lost Treasures given orientation in August.
Provided internet resources and printed resources to help project researchers get started in finding living descendants.

Monthly volunteer in SDGS library: gave tours, assisted patrons with research, wrote volunteer guidelines for Raw Notes project. Created and maintained website for Lost Treasures. Created Lost Treasures blog regarding item placements.

Genealogy Writing:
Briefly attended Genealogy Writers group at SDGS. Wrote draft regarding my Dutch ancestors. I took an online adult ed class on Biography writing and read three books on the subject. Read four books about writing a family genealogy book.

note: I am not affiliated with Ancestry, although I am a subscriber, I am not affiliated with World Vital Records, although I am a subscriber. I am not an employee of NBC.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

My Favorite Christmas Gift

I really don't remember the gifts so much as the food! I grew up in Racine, Wisconsin and they have a delectable pastry that they make in the region. It is called Kringle. It is similar to strudel but is lighter and flakier with a sugar topping and fruit fillng. My step dad's relatives still order it and send it to us a Christmas Time. I also remember those ribbon candies and caramels with Christmas trees on them. Yum! My great grandmother made wonderful foods from scratch. My favorite was Swedish Meatballs. I also remember the gift of being able to have the day to play with my myriad of cousins which were all close to my age. The best gift was my large extended family who lived in town and being able to be with them.

Christmas Illness?

The saddest Christmas I can recall was about two years ago. I got the flu for Christmas! I could not go to the family Christmas celebration so I stayed home and was miserable. My son took video greetings from the family to me and took pictures with his digital camera to share with me when he got home. I was so sick I could not enjoy the Christmas goodies they brought home. I could not make my traditional sugar cookies much less eat them.

Another Christmas my son and husband ate too much bratwurst and both felt ill on Christmas Day and they could not eat the ham I had prepared. Both went to sleep and ate the ham alone, not the whole thing of course.

So, I guess having a cold during Christmas is better than the flu, at least you can eat goodies like ham and sugar cookies.

Bartnicki, Luczynski research

I am working on a genealogy project as a gift for my step-brother's family. It is by no means a comprehensive genealogy but a family picture in which each of my step dad's ten siblings are identified. I cooberated by email with two of his remaining living siblings to get the names corrected. I also found the father whose name was Leon Bartnicki in the 1920 Milwaukee census, draft registration cards and immigration records. All of which I located on Ancestry. The family surname is Bartnicki and the family is of Polish descent. My step father's mother's (Josephine) surname was Luczynski and the US WWII Draft Registration card for 1942 for her brother Walter M. Luczynski states that he was from Witowo, Poland. His address was 5203 Racine Avenue, Chicago, Cook, IL. His wife's name was Helen Luczynski. They had a child whose name was Wandz (pronounces "Vash") and she shows up in the 1930 census as Martha (name change per my step aunt). Lastly I located some of my step dad's deceased relatives on the website for the Catholic Archdiosese (Bartnicki)

References are listed below:
Bartnicki:
Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Year: 1920;Census Place: Milwaukee Ward 11, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Roll T625_2001; Page: 27B; Enumeration District: 143; Image: 379.

Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
Year: 1912; Microfilm serial: T715; Microfilm roll: T715_1830; Line: 21;
Original Data:
* Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls); Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
* Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; (National Archives Microfilm Publication T715, 8892 rolls); Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm. Registration Location: Milwaukee County, Wisconsin; Roll 1674811; Draft Board: 11.

Ancestry Family History Facts for 1920: Search Bartnicki: map

Ancestry.com. Database: Wisconsin Death Index, 1959-1997

Archdiocese of Milwaukee Catholic Cemeteries
7301 West Nash Street
Milwaukee WI 53216
Telephone
414 438 4420 Fax
414 438 4427
Online Database

Luczynski:
Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. 1930; Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Roll 437; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 509; Image: 461.0.

www.ancestry.com database: U.S. World Ward II Draft Registration cards, 1942:Detail: roll: 30955_165871; Local Board: Chicago, Illinois

(I am not an employee of Ancestry. I am a subscriber to their basic and world database services)

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Family Christmas Performances and games

Extended Family Christmas celebrations have been a tradition since before I was born, probably influenced by my great grandmother’s close knit Dutch ancestors. We were fortunate to have a large extended family located near where we lived in Racine, WI. One of the elements that was always included were our own created games and performances.

One year I remember my mom put a piƱata up in the basement and all my cousins took a whack at it. It was filled with wonderful Christmas candies that melted in our mouths. Several of the Dahlbergs were musically inclined so we always had piano, guitar, banjo etc. to dance to on Christmas Eve.

When my mom remarried in 1979, mom and I carried our extended family gatherings with performances with us to California.

Some of the performances we have enjoyed over the years have been: puppetry (my mom, me and Josh) Christmas joke monologs (my brother or step dad) Christmas carol sing along by my step brother who plays Christmas carols on my mom's slightly out of tune piano and we gleefully sing along, sports related made up games (popsicle stick ball with ping pong balls and paper snowball fights) by my son, singing or signing by me, one year we made a clay model out of playdough of a family member and have others guess who it is, we tried to stump each other with word games and Christmas Quizzes: Christmas celebrations around the world. We always offer little prizes too.

This year my game will be: Funny captions for old pictures in honor of my step dad who first thought of it and used clip art, collected captions and put them in a special family book.