Wish Mistakes Like This Happened More Often

Jacob B. Rittgers, my 3rd great grandfather, died in 1879, and the 1880 Census taker originally wrote down his being in the household, and when he died.  This date is backed up by the 1880 mortality schedule, probate, and grave records.  1880 U.S. Census, Polk County, Iowa, population schedule, Valley Township, enumeration district (ED) 172, p. 541C (stamped), dwelling 131, family 134; Jacob B. Rittgers; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Jan 2018); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 360.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive on Monday: Baja California, 1938

During the summer of 1938 the Curreys took their new trailer down south of the border. Here are six photos from their album.*

[From my personal collection]

Somehow I managed to forget what day it was when it came time for yesterday's post so this week my Monday topic was added on Sunday and I'm making up for it now.


Note: I have no idea who Bill is.


*I tried to scan all six pictures are the same time but my scanner screen wasn't large enough to do that.





© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Jane Hunt (1757 - 1838)

The Sill Family memorial in the McKeesport and Versailles Cemetery names this fifth great grandmother and her husband William Sill, but it's clear that their gravestones are part of a large memorial constructed at a later date.

[Findagrave.com, MEMORIAL ID 58313727; photo by Todd Walder - #46600954]

[Findagrave.com, MEMORIAL ID 58313727; photo by Todd Walder - #46600954]

Her maiden name is usually given at Hunt although I don't know where that information comes from and haven't found any evidence to corroborate the claim. There is another William Sill living in Pennsylvania which complicates matters.

Here's my relationship to Jane:

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Free Limited Time Webinar: Nicka Smith presents "Full Circle: Tracing the Descendants of a Slaveholding Ancestor"

When Ben Affleck insisted that his "Finding Your Roots" not include mentioning his slave-owning ancestor he missed a real opportunity to help a broad audience explore and understand a very real and painful era in American history, and how it might relate to their ancestry.  One one level, I understood his reluctance to associate with any ancestors who owned slaves. I was upset when I realized that a hefty portion of my mother's father's ancestors were slave owners, but I also immediately saw that this opened up new possibilities for helping in the enormous task of drawing out and distinguishing and naming at least some of the individuals who were trapped in slavery.

My mom has done some work toward this already in her series of posts on Mary Warren of Virginia, Georgia, and Texas (c. 1810-c. 1885).  She also covered incidental information on a few of the slaves of my 4th great grandmother Timney Watts (1805-1863) who racked up medical bills at the end of her life.

Nicka Smith presented "Full Circle: Tracing the Descendants of a Slaveholding Ancestor" yesterday showing steps in tracing people like me and my mom (and even Ben Affleck):

Descendants of former slaveholders come from all walks of life. DNA and renewed interest in family history research continue to unearth this phenomena for thousands of people every day. In this session, learn how to confirm slaveholding ancestors and the tools needed to trace and identify living descendants of their formerly enslaved.

1 hour 37 minutes
Free through January 19, 2018


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Mary Jane (Peebles) Calhoun and Family

Mary Jane Peebles, the daughter of Joel C. Peebles and my 4th great aunt Jane Webb, was born in Lincoln Township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in 1829. She married Thomas Calhoun (1828-1893) in 1851 and was the mother of eight children including John Alexander Calhoun (1858-1927) who is the man seated on the left in the family portrait below. Mary Jane is seated in the center, holding John Calhoun, one of her great grandchildren.*

[Photo taken about 1908 from left to right standing Edith Calhoun Haberman, Dora May Helsel Calhoun, William Henry Calhoun, Mary Calhoun Luehm. Seated left to right John Alexander Calhoun, Mary Jane Peebles Calhoun with John Calhoun on her lap and Sarah Jane Edmundson Calhoun. Shared on her public Ancestry.com family tree by vivkifretz.]

As far as I can tell, Mary Jane never moved out of Allegheny County and died in McKeesport in 1915.

As you can see from this chart, she is my first cousin, four times removed. While I sometimes find a family resemblance in cousins' photos I don't see it in this family portrait.

[Ancestry.com]

*Baby John's parents are standing behind him--William Henry Calhoun and his wife Dora May Helsel Calhoun.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved. 

Limited Time Free Webinar: "Quality, Time and Completion: Developing a Research Plan (Part One)" by J. Mark Lowe

Is part of your New Year's resolutions to research more effectively?  Whether you are new to the process or just need a refresher on good methods, "Quality, Time and Completion: Developing a Research Plan (Part One)" by J. Mark Lowe is a great place to start (I'm not sure when Part Two is being presented):

This session will focus on the effort to balance time, quality and completion of a research project. The first segment will look at the process from research concept to logistics including the conflicting issues between the researcher and previous research. This will include the movement from basic data collection, evaluation and analysis to the development of a direction and specific actions.

1 hour 36 minutes
Free to non-subscribers through January 17, 2018



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Some Cultivator

The Curreys always had a vegetable garden at their home place in Encanto. This photo of Dad showing off his latest acquisition is undated, it was probably taken about 1923.

Here, in his handwriting, is Dad's comment:

I don't know what happened to this machine but by the early 1950s it had been replaced by a real tractor.

[All from my personal collection]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.