Goodbye GenLias

So my favorite dutch genealogy site is going to be replaced soon.  GenLias is being replaced by a new site that is currently in Beta, WieWasWie.  I did test out the new site and the search function is not as versatile.  But some of the records do have the original documents scanned and attached.  But I was not able to open them to get a better view.  Plus the site doesn't have an English option so it is difficult to figure out what is happening.

The new site supposedly has the ability to create online trees.  I didn't see if the records could be attached but the would seem to be a logical outcome.

In other news, my computer has used up all the disc space and I cannot seem to free up enough space.  This has slowed the scanning process down a LOT!

1940 Census Again

Ancestry.com finally has 1940's Michigan indexed so I was able to located my other grandparents.  I had looked through a number of sections for Holland but wasn't able to find them before.  Above is page two with Martin being on the first page.  This page has my Grandmother Agnes, their first son and then a brother from each.  Art's mother had passed so he was living with his older brother during high school.  Herman Stremler is the brother of Agnes and I hadn't know he was living with them at that time.  I am curious about that but not sure anyone alive would be able to explain!

Death Certificate Found

Look what I found in the stack off stuff - Grandpa Green's death certificate!  I love finding something when you least expect it!  Now I didn't actually learn anything new but I am now one more step toward sourcing my file, yeah!!

I didn't know that social security cards were ever made of metal!  Behold the original social security card for my husband's grandfather.  I really have nothing else to add so this is a SHORT entry!

Mrs. Roxanna Kidder; 1895

Started scanning again.  This time I was going through a file folder of newspaper clippings and other stuff.  There were quite a few Livingston clippings and some other interesting things.  One of the great things was an 1895 funeral pamphlet for Mrs. Roxanna Kidder, Died Aug. 8, 1895.  This is actually one of my problem areas so it is great to have a specific death date!  This should be the grandmother of Jennie Kidder who married Clark Green in 1886.  I only wish there had been more information :)

Last Day of May

It is hard to believe that today is the last day of May!   This picture is from the Holland Tulip Time Festival's, stem festival. My daughter and two nieces are the only ones who still want to have their pictures taken.

I have once again been waylaid to a different task.  I started scanning photos but now my computer is acting up so I am afraid to add more files.  So now I am digitizing videos.  It is actually a lot of fun to see some of those old videos!  But now I am using up the memory on the other computer.  I just cannot win.  What I need is a new computer with a HUGE amount of memory!

Next week is the last day of school for the kidos.  That will guarantee that I will not be able to get anything done all summer.  Well it is exciting for them to be moving to different schools in the fall, I will miss my free days!

Interviewing My Grandmother

I'm currently uploading my very first you-tube video!  In 2002, 2003 and 2004, I did a number of family interviews (most were with my mother).  One of my favorites is my Grandma Naber's interview.  It started with my niece needing some information on the great depression and my sister asking me to videotape.  I think we planned on expanding it right from the beginning to a more in-depth interview.  My grandmother wasn't very convinced that she had any information of interest, but we did end up with almost 2 hours of footage.  The actual interview was done in March 2003 and she died later that year.  After re-watching and digitizing, one of the best parts is hearing Grandma laugh again!

I will post the video link after it is upload.  It is still only 1/2 done.

(update - part one is done and posted!)

1940 census

As you know the 1940 census was released at the beginning of April. I was very excited and I thought that was the first year that I would find my grandparents together.  But no, they were not married until 1941.  So 10 more years and 4 kids later, they will finally be listed together!  But I have been able to find a number of other folks.  Of course I have to page through each district but it does go pretty fast!

I found almost all of my great grandparents.  I did know where they would be located since they didn't move around much.  My other set of grandparents I haven't attempted yet since I only know they lived in Holland.  I also found a few the the great-great grandparents.  A couple as I was looking for other names and some because I looked through all three of the districts in Zeeland!

The census above is of my great-grand father Benjamin Groenhof.  My father remembers him so I went looking since I knew he had been living in Zeeland in 1940.  I found him living with his second born son.

Nellie & Asahel Tillotson

abt 1947

This is a great picture of Nellie & Asahel Tillotson.  Nellie died in 1951 and this is the last picture I have of the two of them together.  Asahel looks quite the gentleman in his suit and hat.    He died in 1963.  They had three children together, Harold, Bessie and Grace.

Wall Photo Collage Update

It has been a few months since I did an update on my wall photo collage.  We added a cabinet and the size of the cabinet changed the layout of the wall.  I switched the mirror out for the family tree.  This turned out to be a good move since I really like how it looks on this wall.  The place where the mirror is now was to small for the tree.  I have added some more pictures to the frames as well.  A couple are works in progress and I still need to have a family picture taken for the upper right frame.  I have some small frames to add under the tree but need the right drill bit.  Those frames will hold ancestor photos, probably some of the ones I have show on the blog.  So it isn't quite a year yet and I am still working on it!

Sarah Jane Case Burnett Case Ramsey

Sarah 1880??

We believe this is a picture of Sarah Jane Case.  Comparing it to a known picture of her, it does look likely.  This is also the tintype that is in the best shape of the lot, very few serious scratches.  She is sitting in front of a backdrop and has nothing in her hands.  She does have something white on her lap, maybe a handkerchief.  She also has some type of jewelry that is gold tinted.  By 1880, Sarah was a widow with two children.  She remarried in 1880 to Truman Case, possibly a relative.

Unknown Person

Here is one of those older pictures I received from my in-laws.  I think this is a tintype since the photo is actually on metal.  There has been some damage.  One thing that surprised me is that there is actually some pink coloring on her checks!  I noticed this in a few other pictures of the same type as well.  We don't know the name of this women or if she is actually related.  Some of the others are more damaged and there are a few that are hardly scratched at all.

Harold Vorce, Boy Scout

abt 1920

Still going through pictures and came across this little gem!  Harold Edwin Vorce wearing his boy scout (I think) uniform.  This might be in Flint.  If I am remembering correctly, the family lived there.  (I will have to check the 1920 census.)  I don't think anyone in my family was part of the scouts but my son was for a while and my mother's husband was even an eagle scout!

Found Treasure: John Nelson

abt 1920's

Found another little treasure while scanning pictures: a picture of John Nelson!  John Nelson is  my husband's great-great grandfather.  John Nelson was born in June 1862 in Sweden to Nils Johnson & Olivill Mudgoen.  He married his first wife Bertha Anderson in 1888 in Traverse City, Michigan.  They had three children together Olive, Edith and Albert.  Bertha died in 1894 and John remarried in 1900 to Henrietta Hansen.  Together they had an additional 6 children Nels, Lester, Leslie, Leslie, Harold, and Leonard.  John died sometime after 1930.

Unidentified Pictures

unknown

I have run across some photos that were not labeled, including the one above.  My mother-in-law had labeled them with the family name so I know where they belong but little else.  Some of these photos were taken in Stanton so I will need to do some research into the photographer to see if I can get a date range.  I can also ask my husband's great aunt to see if she might recognize anyone!

50th Anniversary

1942

In 1942, Asahel Geer Tillotson and Nellie May Burnett Tillotson celebrated their 50th anniversary.  The picture is not in great shape but most of the damage is in the darkened part at the bottom.  Asahel is the eldest son of Ardennes who was featured in the last post.  Asahel, or AG, lived a long life - 93 years, from 1869 to 1963. Nellie lived for 86 years - 1864 to 1951.  They had three children, Harold, Bessie and Grace.

Ardennes Geer Tillotson

abt 1900

Ardennes was born in 1849 to Samuel and Margaret (Allen) Geer.  She married Oscar Tillotson in 1869.  They had 6 children together: Asahel, Ada, John, Nelson, Oscar and Sabra. Almost everyone in the family lived into their 80's.  The youngest daughter died when she was only 64 but the oldest son lived until he was 93!  I would like to know how she got such a unique name.  It wasn't passed to any of their children but I also don't see it in the parts of the family tree I already have.  The other thing I would like to know is if this picture is a copy from a different picture.  The quality isn't great and it looks like there is part of a dark sleeve on her right side.

Shingle Mill Workers

Beemer Hefferman Mill Shingles and Ties

As noted in a previous post about Clark V. Green, the family worked in the shingle mills in Michigan.  (The discoloration in the lower corner is caused by the bend in the photo which is glued to a cardboard piece.)  There are no markings on this photo or the others that identify anyone, including Clark and Jennie, my husband's ancestors.  But based on other photos, I am guessing Jennie is the woman in the center sitting down with a child in her lap who is shielding her eyes.  With only 1 photo of Clark it is even more difficult to hazard a guess about him but just guessing, my husband & I agree that the most likely Clark is the man on the ladder with his hat on an angle!  I tried to get a better look at the man's hand since we know Clark was missing some fingers but only 1 hand is visible and the other is bent so it is hard to tell.

More research is needed to date this photo.  I will need to determine when they were working in the mills using the census records.  Clark died in 1930 at the age of 71 but he most have stopped working in the mills years before that so guessing the late 1800's for this photo.

Sarah Jane Case Burnett Case

1913

Great-Great Grandmother of my husband, Sarah Jane Case.  She was born in 1840 to Ira Case & Phebe Bagley Case in New York and married Charles Frank Burnett in 1860.  They had two children, Frank Charles & Nellie May.  Charles died in 1876 in New York.  At some point she moved to Michigan with her family.  She married Truman Case in 1880.  I am not sure if he was a relative but he could have been a cousin.  Truman died in 1907.  The last husband I have listed is Charles Ramsey, 1910.  The reason I am starting to question this one is because she is named as Grandma Case in the above photo.  This might have just been out of habit but maybe not.  Sarah died in 1915 in Bay Shore, Michigan.

Possible 4 Generation

1956

I'm in the process of finishing up the Philmore and Margaret Leita photos.  I came across an interesting photo where I can pretty solidly identify three of the people.  They are all labeled on the back but I haven't done much research on this family.  So the woman on the arm of the chair is my husband's grandmother, Leita Green.  This picture was in her stuff so it was probably her camera.  The woman on the opposite side with the pearls is her sister Florence.  The older woman is their mother Ida Cook Livingston Johnston.  On her lap is the baby Susan and the other woman is probably the baby's mother.  She is called Gerry.  Which is a nickname, most likely.  My best guess is that Gerry is short for Geraldine which is the name of Florence's oldest daughter.  But I have no dates or marriage or any other information other than her name.  So that is why this is only a possible four generation picture!

The Project Has Begun!

1960's Grace & Harold

My mother-in-law divided up all the old family photos by family group.  So the first set I pulled out was her own parents, Grace & Harold Vorce.  This is one of the photos I scanned.  Grace was born in 1901, Bay Shore Michigan.  Harold was born in 1903, Cross Village Michigan.  They were married in 1927 and had three children.  Duane Edwin was born in 1928, Harold Gale in 1931 and then Leah Grace in 1941.  Grace died at the age of 75 in 1976.  Harold died at the age of 90 in 1994.  (He did remarry in 1978.)  Leah died at the age of 64 in 2006 and Gale died at the age of 78 in 2010.

Winter Is Finally Here!

January 2012

Snow has finally arrived in Michigan!  It was a weird December without any of the white stuff but now that has changed.  Although I hate driving in it, I am glad it has arrived.  It is very beautiful and hardly winter in Michigan without any!