My SWEET Dutch Genealogy!

I was reading the newest issue of the Family Tree Magazine (August 2010) today and was on page 6, checking out the readers responses. The first one jumped out at me called "Dutch Sweet". This man in Lockport, Ill. (I won't put his name here since I don't know him but you can look in the magazine!) responded back with two websites covering Groningen and Friesland provinces which have SCANNED images of the ledgers recording birth, marriages and deaths! I was so excited! I went to the Friesland site, www.allefriezen.nl, and put in my maiden name since that family came from the Friesland area. WOW! I immediately found my 3rd great grandfather, Gerben Groenhof who died in 1871. I posted the copy I downloaded above. I totally cannot believe I have never heard of these sites before! The other site is www.allegroningers.nl and I feel to overwhelmed by the one document to look for more! (Maybe I will print it out so I can drool over it :) The genealogist work is never done, especially with the greatest invention on earth, the internet!

The Time Capsule

More Saturday Night, Genealogy fun! The new assignment is to go to dMarie Time Capsule Website and look up a day that is relevant to your family tree and then share it.

I am picking May 21st, yesterday, which was my Grandmother's birthday. Gertrude Wilma (Brandt) Naber was born May 21, 1921. The picture posted above is her as a teenager and is a personal favorite.

In 1921, the president was Warren G. Harding with V.P. Calvin Coolage. Bread cost $.10 per loaf and gas was $.26 per gallon. The top book was Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence.

Union Loom - No. 36

My mother currently owns a union loom that she purchased from her former mother-in-law, Agnes Stremler Groenhof. This is the loom that my mother (hopefully) will pass along to me! As far as I know, my grandmother Agnes worked in the textile industry in Michigan and at one point purchased or received this Union Loom manufactured by the Union Loom Works in Boonville, N.Y. I don't have any memories of my grandmother working the loom but she did save a clipping from the Holland Sentinel showing her working the loom at a craft fair (which is posted above).

I do have lots of memories of my own mother working on the loom making rag rugs. I can still hear the banging when she pulled on the reed piece to tighten up the weave. My mother, and apparently my grandmother, always worked standing up since there is an extra board attached to the bottom of the loom to make it taller. (My grandmother was about 6 feet tall, as am I!)

The reason I am bring up the loom now is because my mother asked me to find a new source of warp since she hasn't purchased any in a long time and will need some more soon. So I was looking around the internet and finding out stuff about this loom and where to get warp. It looks like I am fortunate to have an original instruction manual. So at some point, I will scan this booklet and post it to this site (or link to its location) so that anyone looking for a copy can get what they need.

Fresh Start Tree

A "Fresh Start Tree" is starting a new family file with sourcing for EVERY person and event. And, yes, I have contemplated doing this for a long time because I really want to have a clean tree. Today Genea-Musings posted discussing the problems with his tree and how he doesn't really want to start fresh. But he comments about another blogger, Amy Coffin, who did start over. So I went to her blog. (Turns out she is a Librarian also!) She started fresh with a new genealogy software program and went from there.

I really think that my work with Bento will make sourcing a lot easier, if or when I start fresh. I could start right now but I don't have a new genealogy program to use yet. My current program, which I love, is iFamily for Leopard but there isn't going to be any updates unless the program is sold to someone else. It has been over a year and there has been nothing new. But Dick Eastman blogged about a new program called Branches. He was very impressed with it after giving it a test go which makes me excited! But the downside is that there is only a Windows version available. At least there is talk about a Mac version unlike Roots Magic which I would love to use, if I could use it on Mac without running Windows. I don't want to pollute me Mac :)

A missing wedding picture

Many years ago, I created a wedding (or at least a picture of the couple around that time) genealogy picture album. The idea was that it would start with me and my husband and then go to our parents, our grandparents and out to our great-grandparents. (I don't have any pictures of the next level so I never even put those pages in the book.) As of yesterday, I was missing 3 pictures for the album, 2 from my husbands side and 1 from my own. Well, I was picking some stuff up yesterday and I found some pictures. Of course I have to scan them but I thought I would take a look before I put them on the scan pile. Well, I found a picture of my mother-in-law, who passed away a few years ago along with one of the missing pictures with a note from her! I actually had this picture for a number of years but totally forgot. WOW! I am very excited! The copy is not great but I fixed it up a bit and it is posted above. This is Duncan Livingston & Ida May Cook married in 1901.

My daughter loves this album as much as I do so I showed her the picture and she noticed something interesting. (Figures!) If you look closely at the broach Ida is wearing, it looks like a picture of her husband. I will have to see if my father in law has the original at his house since the orientation of the photo is wrong for the album and I would like to rescan it.

So the only pictures I need are Edwin Charles Vorce & Susie Augusta Stinchfield, married in 1895 AND Ben Stremler & Lucy De Vries married in 1908. Of course it might not be a wedding picture but I would like something for the album!

Matrilineal Line

I haven't done a Genea-Musings Saturday Night Challenge in a while so here it goes! This one is to post your matrilineal line, your family tree traced back through your mother and then to her mother, etc. The second part of the challenge is related to testing of the DNA which I haven't done so I am skipping that!

My Matrilineal Line:
1) Elizabeth Ann
2) Janice Elaine Naber
3) Gertrude Wilma Brandt (1921-2003) married Gordon Naber
4) Jeanette DeVries (1899-1975) married Otto Brandt
5) Gertrude Boes (1866-1936) married Johannes De Vries
6) Hermina Beld ( 1936-1920) married Egbert Boes
7) Jantje Bekker (1805-1893) married Jan Beld

My Husband's Matrilineal LIne:

1) Eric Nelson

2) Leah Grace Vorce (1941-2006) married Nelson Green

3) Grace Vea Tillotson (1901-1976) married Harold Vorce

4) Nellie May Burnett (1864-1951) married Asahel Tillotson

5) Sarah Jane Case (1840-1915) married Charles Burnett

6) Phebe Bagley (1798-1874) married Ira Case

7) Sarah (??-??) married Ichabod Bagley

PS) the picture is my mother-in-law with her only granddaughter, my beautiful daughter, Claire!