Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Working on the Railroad: Samuel Louis Martin (1866 - 1943) From Coal Heaver to Locomotive Engineer

Samuel Martin is one of my second cousins, twice removed, through my great grandmother Rufina Tomlinson's lineage. He lived in Iowa his whole life and worked for the Chicago & North Western Railway Company for 51 years, rising from coal heaver to locomotive engineer during his career.



[Ancestry.com. U.S., Chicago and North Western Railroad Employment Records, 1935-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Original data: Chicago and North Western Railroad Employee Records. Chicago & North Western Historical Society, Berwyn, Illinois. Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Employee Records. Chicago & North Western Historical Society, Berwyn, Illinois.]







Here's how we're related:

[Ancestry.com]





© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

i4gg DNA Conference in San Diego in Only 38 Days and Counting!




Now only 38 days away!:
2018 i4GG registration Now Open!
Just since our last conference the popularity and public interest in Genetic Genealogy has seen a formidable explosion. Data bases have mushroomed as Genetic Genealogy has gone from exclusive or elite, to mainstream. This begs the question; what will the next 12 months hold for Genetic Genealogy? How are the testing companies preparing for continued explosive growth? How can we stay on top of the latest advancements in this field, including the most comprehensive and most effective  techniques for the successful application of DNA testing to genealogy available now? This and so much more will be the theme of i4GG 2018.

Hosted by CeCe Moore’s DNA Detectives the i4GG 2.5 day Genetic Genealogy conference will kick off with a “company” day Friday December 7 when the major DNA testing companies will own the stage. This is followed by two full days December 8 and 9, 2018 in San Diego CA. As is i4GG tradition, the conference will cover the most cutting edge Genetic Genealogy methodologies for any genealogy application, including unknown parentage.

The talks at i4GG will be professionally video recorded and be provided free of charge to those who purchase tickets for both (2.5) days. For those who opt for one day only, the recordings will be available for purchase at $99 for all videos, or $10 for purchase of individual video recordings.

Newbie or Pro, makes no difference, at i4GG there is something for everyone. i4GG has been called “the most important DNA conference in America” and we will strive to live up to this esteemed repute.


One of my goals this year is to learn more about DNA, obviously.  But another goal is to be as comfortable as possible (I find all-day meetings like this physically excruciating, despite my interest in the subject).



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday, October 29, 2018

Monday Is for Mothers: Emma Maria Worden (1861 - 1939)

While working on last Friday's post I realized that we have a portrait of young Emma that hasn't been shared here. It was probably taken in Jones County, Iowa, sometime before her marriage to Madison Monroe Kuder in 1884.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

This picture from my great grandmother Elnora Worden Webb's photo album that we scanned during the epic session with Cousin Sue and her husband Bob at her mother's house in 2011.




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Sunday Drive: Anciennes voitures françaises - Old French Cars

Given my current location in not far from Avignon, this subject seems appropriate.

Here's the short version:



And if that wasn't enough, here's a much longer one.



One thing to remember--none of these cars had air conditioning.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Repost from 2015 - San Diego Nostalgia: Bit of Sweden

It's amazing what you can find on the Internet!  An image Bit of Sweden in 1966 from a postcard (wasn't much different when I went there during the 1970's).
Every now and again I think about going to Bit of Sweden with my dad and Grandmother (Margaret Fister Hartley) as a child.  Grandmother's parents Ben and Mary were from Norway, and Grandmother's mysterious maternal grandfather, Gustav Andersson Bergehoin, was from Sweden.


As a kid I never thought to ask Grandmother if this was like the food her mom cooked, although I always assumed it was.

Bit of Sweden featured in a 1953 Food Basket ad (talk about blast from the past).  "Another Food Basket "Super Service" Mary Morgan reveals first of Famous-Restaurant Recipes; This Week: "Bit of Sweden," advertisement, San Diego Union, 22 Jan 1953; Genealogybank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 8 Aug 2015).

They sold shoes beginning about 1965!  "Shoe Sales in a Restaurant?," advertisement, San Diego Union, 6 Feb 1970, p. 23; Genealogybank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 8 Aug 2015).

I likely ate his cooking when I went to Bit of Sweden.  "Harry Prather Succumbs at 87," obituary, 18 Feb 1980, page 24; Genealogybank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 8 Aug 2015).

I wonder if this Chicago Bit of Sweden was from the same people?  So now I wonder, did Grandmother eat there in Chicago?  She did work in Chicago in the 1930's as a secretary, where she met and married my grandfather George Hartley, Jr (1907-1977):
"Favorite Swedish Dishes Provide Changes," San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram, 15 Apr 1936, page 9; Genealogybank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 8 Aug 2015).


Image of the Bit of Sweden's entrance from Dan Soderberg's 2007 blog post Little Sweden, where he commented: "I remember when Bit Of Sweden at 2850 El Cajon Blvd. was open for business. I probably ate there. It is now a banquet facility for rent. And sometimes it is also referred to as Vasa Hall or Club."
A shadow of its former self.  On the corner of El Cajon and Utah.  From Google Maps Street View, March 2015.


You can get a similar food experience now at Ikea.  I love this kind of food, and I suspect you can go to Illinois and Minnesota and find places like this now.  Scandinavian smorgasbords are hard to find here in San Diego.

Now I'm really hungry.



© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.





© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, October 26, 2018

Family Friday: Emma Maria (Worden) & Madison Kuder

Emma is one of my maternal third great aunts--she's the sister of my great great grandfather Dick Worden. I've already shared a family portrait of Emma, Madison and four of  their seven children.

[Madison & Emma Kuder-=Waterville, Douglas, Washington.
Originally posted to her public Ancestry.com family tree by FrancesGilmore45]


After Emma's marriage to Madison Monroe Kuder in Iowa in 1884, the couple moved to the Dakota Territory briefly before returning to Iowa where they remained until about 1898 when they re-located to Waterville, Washington.




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

More New Features at AncestryDNA

My son's view of his matches.  There are THREE new features at AncestryDNA.

What I missed in my post on Tuesday (1: "AncestryDNA Now Includes Automatic Display of Amount DNA Shared in Matching Lists") is that there two other new features to play with at AncestryDNA.



2: Matches Map (Beta)
My son's matches (4th cousin and closer) that Marc has in living Southern California.  My mom and I are at bottom.  These locations are not historical.




You are mapped if you volunteer your location.



3: Compare

My son's view of his grandmother Pat's profile.





What ethnicities he shares with his grandmother.




People my son and grandmother Pat have in common (there is a link to more matches if that applies). The presentation of this information set  reminds me a little of 23andme.




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Working on Wednesday: Luella May LaJuett (1895 - 1977) Carnival?

I don't know what to make of the comment one of her descendants added to these photos: "luella 32 years old when she was with the carnival." I've not been able to find any information about what Luella's role was.

[Brenda Tabor posted these photos to her public Ancestry.com family tree]

Luella is one of my maternal third cousins, twice removed:

[Ancestry.com]




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

AncestryDNA Now Includes Automatic Display of Amount DNA Shared in Matching Lists

"Shared DNA:..." now shows at a glancethe amount of DNA shared with cousin matches.

For years now I've been methodically going through DNA matches and adding the amount DNA shared in the notes section of each match, but now it shows up as part of the results list.  One less step to do!


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Monday Is for Mothers: Notre Dame Shrine - Cour Mirabeau, Aix-en-Provence, France - October 22, 2018

Shrines dedicated to Notre Dame (Our Lady) on secular buildings are common in France. This one on the corner of a building on Cour Mirabeau in Aix caught my eye this afternoon because it was larger than usual and more artfully sculpted than most. Also Mary is often depicted holding her son but in this case I don't know what she's doing.


[From my personal collection]



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Sunday Drive: Marseille Harbor - October 21, 2018

On our way to the Fort Saint-Jean which overlooks the old port of Marseille, we passed this sail boat named for the city.

[From my personal collection]



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Too Funny: Elizabeth Warren's DNA Test


Comic from Dana Summers.


Welcome to the noise-level Native American DNA club, Elizabeth Warren!  My father gets a consistently tiny reading in most ethnicity calculators of Native American/Amerindian, and if real (which is unlikely) it is due to an ancestor from the 1700s.  Although it seems that the ethnicity estimates seem to point to some Arctic origin, possibly Greenland or Siberia, and possibly Saami.





I think Roberta Estes has the most thorough discussion on the topic.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, October 19, 2018

Family Friday: Amanda J. (Hardy), George Bartley & Family - 1895

Amanda is one of my paternal second cousins, three times removed. Our common ancestor is John H. Hardy.*

[Mandy (Hardy) Bartley is standing. Her husband George Bartley is seated holding their daughter, Hazel. The boys, left to right, are Willie and Chester Bartley.   The photo was taken at the Brady and Medaris Studio in Monticello, Illinois, in early 1895. Posted by lorenandkathy on a public Ancestry.com family tree]


This branch of the Hardys left North Carolina for Illinois and that's where Amanda was born in 1869. She married George Bartley in 1887 and together they had four children, one of whom died soon after birth.

Amanda died in Piatt County, Illinois, in 1960, having survived George by 38 years. They are buried in Bement Cemetery in Piatt County.


*Here's our relationship:
[Ancestry.com]


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, October 18, 2018

"Will be invaluable for cleansing impure blood"

Back in the day: "All the Blood In the Body Can Be Pumped Out and Cleaned of Disease Germs," The Day Book. (Chicago, Ill.), February 05, 1914, NOON EDITION, Image 12; Image provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL; digital image, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1914-02-05/ed-1/seq-12/>




Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy (Star Trek)


Yes, we are in the stone age.  I hate dialysis.
I'm not alone.  There is a very active message board called "I Hate Dialysis."

Still, I appreciate living in a time and place where I can get dialysis.  I also appreciate the people who continue to work on the problem of kidney failure.

Dialysis is a very recent development::
"..in 1945, a 67-year-old comatose woman regained consciousness following 11 hours of hemodialysis with the dialyzer and lived for another seven years before dying from an unrelated condition. She was the first-ever patient successfully treated with dialysis."


Before I began peritoneal dialysis in 2014 I posted about a patient surviving on peritoneal dialysis 54 days after complete kidney failure.  I've survived on it for over 3 years so they have obviously made dramatic improvements on the procedure.

There is a dialysis museum in Seattle!



Every day we get closer to solving the kidney failure problem.  Screenshot from today of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Walking on Wednesday: Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France

That's where we spent the day. It was constructed between 1905 and 1912 by Baroness Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild* after she fell in love with the region following a visit to a seaside villa built by a cousin of her husband.**

The Villa Ephrussi, designed in the Venetian style, is a treasure house filled top to bottom with beautiful things.







But although we toured the house, we were really there to see the grounds, classified as
one of the Notable Gardens of France. There are nine themed gardens including Florentine, Spanish, Japanese and French. And as you stroll along the many paths the views of the Mediterranean continually appear.









[All photos from my personal collection]


*Both of Beatrice's parents were both members of French Rothschild banking family and her husband Maurice Ephrussi came from another wealthy banking clan.
**Villa Kerylos which was built in the antique Greek style.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Cousin Donald Nielsen Worked at The Royal Gorge Bridge & Park

This guy is my 1st cousin 2x removed, which is a fairly close relative. Donald's mother was Nora (Webb) Nielsen, sister to my great grandmother Anna Delilah (Webb) Slater.

Donald's obituary (published in The Canon City Daily Record on Nov. 25, 2011 and at Legacy.com)
Donald Dean Nielsen, 84, passed on November 24, 2011, in the comfort of his home with his family by his side 
Don's life was filled with many successes. His experiences, knowledge & wisdom came from a life well lived. Don's life partner & wife of 51 years Rosella T. Nielsen preceded him in death in 2002. They owned & operated the Sky Valley Motel for 26 years, where they raised & nurtured their family. In his retirement years, Don worked full time as the Senior Incline Operator at the Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City, CO. Don excelled in his professional trade as a Heavy & Highway Superintendent building & engineering many of Colorado's highways & bridges. His skills and talents led him to be a part of building the infamous NORAD in Colo. Springs, CO
He proudly served his country as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, 1st Infantry Division, "The Big Red One", stationed in Germany during the Korean War. Prior to his military service, Don was a Singer Sewing Machine Rep & Repair man in the South Dakota/Nebraska area. 
Don was born on May 22, 1927, in Verdigre, Nebraska. He believed in honest hard work, loved a good cigar and a good running truck. He loved prospecting and would trek for miles, deep into the Colorado mountains. 
Don was a dedicated father. Family life was a priority for him. 
We, his children, honor his life and strive to live our lives ever grateful & mindful of his...[list of family members] 
A sincere thank you to all our dear family, friends & Fremont Regional Hospice who assisted in this last year of our father's life. We are eternally grateful. 
Daddy, you are forever cherished. Thanks for being our Dad! Rest in peace & comfort, our beloved father. 
Funeral will be held in his home church, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 801 Sheridan Ave, Canon City, CO. Visitation 10:00 till 11:00 a.m., prior to Funeral Service at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, November 30, 2011, Pastor Robert Kippley officiating. Interment will follow at Lakeside Cemetery in Canon City. Reception will follow interment at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church.

Sounds like a great guy!

Some videos (I had them directly on this page, but then I got a weird error message and here are the links):
Royal Gorge Bridge


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday, October 15, 2018

RePost: Monday Is for Mothers: Hannah M. Leonard & her Mother, Jemima White

This is the first post for Monday Is for Mothers way back on October 13, 2013. (I don't think we know any more about Hannah and her mother than we did then.)

Here is a portrait of my great great great grandparents, Porter Worden and Hannah M. Leonard; the earliest of my ancestors that I've seen a photograph of. Both of them were born in New York State in the second decade of the 19th century, where they got married in 1838. It was most likely taken in Iowa, where they moved in 1853 and where they are to be found in subsequent censuses, although they apparently also lived in Missouri and Nebraska at times.

[Photo courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

From the style of her dress, I think this photo was taken in the early 1860s (or possibly the late 1850s). Although her husband looks like he just showed up for the photographer, Hannah has taken some pains to look her best. She's wearing a broach with three white stones or pearls attached to her stiff white collar; her earrings are hoops that may have something longer hanging from them; there appears to be a ring on one hand and a handkerchief or gloves held in the other.

Probate records have confirmed that Hannah's father was Isaac Leonard who was born in Montgomery County, New York, about 1780 and died in Jefferson County, New York, near the end of 1862 and whose will is recorded there.

[Source: Seeking Michigan website, owned and operated by the Michigan History Foundation, all rights reserved]


It's her mother that's been the mystery here because she appears to have died before the 1840 U.S. Census and of course never appeared as more than a tick mark in those earlier censuses. From the death certificate of one of her other daughters, Cynthia (Leonard) Belcher, we learned that her name was Jemima White, always assuming that the information written there is correct. (I would like to confirm the name through other sources, but haven't been able to.)




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Sunday Drive - Automobile Club de Côte D’Azuré, October 14, 2018

 During our walk through old Nice today we happened on a car show being held next to the beach sponsored by the local auto club. Here are some of the cars we saw.





[From my personal collection]



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.