Happy New Year!

In Germany, my husband's homeland, New Years Eve (Silvester) is celebrated by eating filled donuts (Berliner).  When I was a very young child, I was allowed to walk to the local donut shop, Donuts Delite, with my cousin and sister.  We were so small we sat on the baseboard heaters because we could not reach the stools.  Just the smell of those donuts brings back such memories, and the shop has a great history also.  I just braved the dark frigid weather to fulfill our holiday tradition for this year:

Heritage Scarves

As I have written about previously, in addition to genealogy, I am a fiber artist.  One of my favorite products are my heritage scarves.  These are inspired by my family's and my own past adventures and places we love.  You can view these at my Etsy shop: Keen Tied Heritage Scarves, where I have little descriptions of the inspiration.

Combining Genealogy with Fiber Art

In addition to my profession as a genealogist, I am also a fiber artist.  This is more a hobby gone out of control than a profession.  This Saturday I will be combining the presentation of both at the East Rochester Christmas Festival.  I will have a booth where you can pick up marketing materials and ask questions about Family Sherlock, my genealogy research business, and you can purchase family history themed art scarves and gift items.  If you cannot make the show, you can also find my fiber arts for sale at my Etsy shop, Keen Tied.

Genealogy Mecca

I am going to Salt Lake City in January.  The Association of Professional Genealogists is holding their Professional Management Conference.  I will arrive a couple of days early to do research at the Family History Library and to see the sights. The Family History Library has 5 stories of books, microfilm, and reference materials!  I am sure this will not be my only trip to Salt Lake City.

Holiday Shopping Time

I have to confess that my holiday "shopping" is almost complete, but this is because I have a short list and many handmade gifts.  I can offer two suggestions if you need help with your lists.  Family Sherlock offers genealogy packages starting at $50.  These make a great gift for a family member.  Family Sherlock is also going to be at several holiday craft shows in the Rochester, NY area, and you can find out more about these genealogy packages or you can buy handmade gifts made by me.  I have scarves, pins, dolls, knit animals, and gift tags to go with your handmade gifts.  The first holiday bazaar starts Thursday at Historic Palmyra, a really cool museum complex on the Erie Canal. 

Historic Palmyra Holiday Bazaar

Alling Coverlet Museum, 122 William Street, Palmyra

Thursday, November 21, 2013, Friday, November 22, 2013, 10am-5pm. Saturday, November 23, 2013, 10am-2pm

http://www.historicpalmyrany.com/events.htm

 

I hope to see you there!

Happy Halloween and Merry Christmas

I met the Gravestone Girls at the New York State Family History Conference in September.  They were one of the exhibitors there.  I did some of my Christmas shopping at their booth.  Very appropriate gifts from someone who digs up figurative skeletons! 

Where to find Keen Tied and Family Sherlock

Family Sherlock

a genealogy, ancestry and family history research service (www.familysherlock.com)

and

Keen Tied

heritage crafts (www.etsy.com/shop/keentied)

will have a table at the following shows this winter:

Historic Palmyra Christmas Bazaar

Alling Coverlet Museum, 122 William Street, Palmyra

Thursday, November 21, 2013, Friday, November 22, 2013, 10am-5pm. Saturday, November 23, 2013, 10am-2pm

http://www.historicpalmyrany.com/events.htm

East Rochester Advent Craft Sale

East Rochester School Complex

Saturday, December 7, 2013, 9am-3pm

http://www.eastrochester.org/annual_events.php

East Rochester Christmas Festival

Piano Works Mall

Saturday, December 14, 2013, 10am-3pm

https://www.facebook.com/EastRochesterChristmasFestival

Keen Tied

Keen Tied means No Time in Plattdeutsch, a dialect spoken in Northern Germany.  It is, appropriately, the name of our boat which we never got out of storage this summer.  It is also the name of my Etsy shop where I have been showcasing hand-knit, hand-spun and hand-felted art scarves that I design on the fly, so I can work on them while watching TV.  This started when I was working in a cubicle farm and had way too much yarn and no time to knit sweaters.

Now that I have established Family Sherlock, I am considering ways to combine the two businesses.  This winter I will be in several craft shows in the Rochester, New York area. Some of the genealogy-related items I will be selling are art scarves based on my heritage and places I love, Aunt Eenie dolls, which are clothespin dolls my great-aunt designed, and maybe a magnifying glass scarf or two.  And a growing "litter" of knit cats, since I am a crazy-cat-lady-in-training as well as a professional genealogist.

Irish Roots

Many people in this area (Upstate New York) have Irish ancestry.  Family Sherlock even has a little, but never thought much of it except on St. Patrick's Day.  It turns out she was very close to her ancestor's hometown in 1989 but did not know it!  The following is a good example of a research report you could hire Family Sherlock to write for you.

Although most of my heritage is German, with a little British and Sicilian, there is some Irish blood in my veins. My great-grandma (who I remember calling Big Grandma) Ida Glossner's mother was Margaret (Margret) McCarthey Goodman, and she was born in Ireland¹ in August, 1865².

Family lore told us two things- she immigrated to the US on the "Bremen" from Cork to Baltimore, and she was a cousin of the boxer, John L. Sullivan. I was not able to find immigration records as many from Ireland to Baltimore were lost.  Cork was a main port for Ireland, and it did not necessarily mean that the McCarthey's lived there.  The information about the ship they sailed on was passed on to me by my paternal grandmother, Ida's daughter-in-law.   I was not successful searching for Margaret's birth records in Cork, as there were many McCartheys, but then I changed my tactic.

John L. Sullivan's father was Michael Sullivan of Abbeydorney, County Kerry³. When I search in Kerry for Margaret McCarthey, with a mother named Sullivan, I found her birth record from Sneem, County Kerry. Her parents were Charles McCarthey and Mary Sullivan, and her birth date was August 19, 1865.⁴

I was able to confirm this is my great-great-grandmother because I also found her death certificate which gave her parents' names as Charles Mccarthy and Margaret Sullivan and her birth date as August 18, 1865⁵. I was originally confused by this because she died in Illinois, but one of her children lived there. Otherwise the matches are very close.

Areas of further research are to trace the McCarthey and Sullivan lines back further, and to make a more definitive connection between Mary Sullivan and John L. Sullivan.  Also, further documentation into Margaret's relocation from Rochester to Chicago should be researched.

1"New York, County Marriages, 1908-1935," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XVGG-MHV : accessed 17 Mar 2013), August C. Glossner and Ida M. Goodman, 1910.

2"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MSJH-JZN : accessed 17 Mar 2013), Margret Goodman in entry for Frank Goodman, 1900.

3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L_Sullivan#cite_note-1, accessed 3/17/2013.

4"Ireland, Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F557-4ZQ : accessed 17 Mar 2013), Margret Mc Carthy, 19 Aug 1865.

5"Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N3HZ-GXZ : accessed 17 Mar 2013), Margaret Goodman, 25 Feb 1941.

Genealogy on Television

There has been a lot of talk in the genealogy community about Genealogy Roadshow, a new PBS show.  The other recent TV show was the new season of Who Do You Think You Are? on TLC.  The shows demonstrate the spectrum of family history research.  Genealogy Roadshow solves a mystery in a couple minutes on television, but in reality, some of the top genealogists in the country have done hours of research behind the scenes.  Who Do You Think You Are? sends celebrities all over the world in search of their ancestry.

Real people can have their ancestry researched, and they do not have to travel all over the world to do it.  If they do not have the time or the resources to do it themselves, they can hire a professional, like me (shameless plug- this is my blog after all!) to do the research for them.  The Association of Professional Genealogists has a great search engine to help with this.  It can be searched for location of the ancestors or the researcher, or by other specialties.   You can also search by name or company.  Try searching for Family Sherlock!

Maybe it runs in the family...

Maybe it runs in the family...  My sister is an incredibly talented writer and storyteller.  When we were little she would tell me stories at night after we were supposed to be asleep....  I am sure my parents knew we were awake as they would hear us laughing.  I have never been a creative writer, but as I research my genealogy, my ancestors become characters in my head.  I am working on two books now.  She has had many short stories published and more on the way, and is completing a novel.

My sister featured me in her blog, and I will do likewise!  http://emilyglossnerjohnson.blogspot.com/2013/09/family-sherlock-genealogy-business.html.

A Mother's Love or the Mystery of Uncle Bruce's Adoption, Solved

The family has always wondered why Clara Eckhardt's oldest child was adopted. We theorized that he was her illegitimate child, or the illegitimate son of a close relative. When evidence that she had been married more than once surfaced, we thought he may have been her son, and was adopted by George Eckhardt. However, none of these hypothesis were true.

Clara Louise Hermann was born on April 6, 1885 in Pittston, PA, fourth child and second daughter of William Hermann and Elsie Jeanette Harding.^{1 2 3} On May 20, 1907, Clara married Roland Broadhurst in Pittston, PA. It was the first marriage for both of them.⁴ Roland was born in England on October 30, 1879 to Daniel and Mary Broadhurst.^{5 6 7} Clara was 22 and Roland was 27 years old.

On July 8, 1909, Clara lost a baby. She gave birth to a stillborn baby boy named Roland in Scranton, PA.^{8 9} Between July 1910 and July 1911, her husband Roland relocated to Rochester and worked as a machinist at the Gleason Works. ^{10 11 12} Presumably Clara moved to Rochester with him.

On November 14, 1911, Hazel Kirk gave birth to a baby boy, John Alden Kirk, in Rochester.^{13 14} There were two Hazel Kirks in Rochester at this time. Hazel Kirk was born on March 13, 1889¹⁵ to Henry and Bertha Kirk.¹⁶ She married William Pfaffle on September 1, 1912. ¹⁷ They had one child, Richard, born about 1918, and they lived in the New York City area. ¹⁸ She died in December, 1980.¹⁹ Hazel M. Kirk was born about 1890 to John and Mable Kirk.^{20 21} She married Herbert Bietry on July 20, 1916.²² They lived in Brighton, NY and had no children.^{23 24} In July 1911, there is only one entry in the Rochester City Directory for Hazel Kirk, and she has moved to Denver, Colorado.²⁵ This would have been during her pregnancy with John Alden Kirk. However, in the 1910²⁶ and 1912²⁷ directories, both Hazels appear. Hazel M. (Bietry) is a bookkeeper in 1910²⁸ and 1912²⁹, while Hazel (Pfaffle) is a bookkeeper only in 1912³⁰, and is only a boarder in 1910³¹.

John Alden Kirk was adopted by Clara and Roland Broadhurst on January 4, 1912 in Rochester.³² He would be renamed Bruce Frank. Clara must have assumed that she could not have children, but wanted one so much that she adopted. Then she divorced and took the adopted baby with her into her new marriage. On March 6, 1913, Clara and Roland divorced in Scranton, PA.³³ Then on May 5, 1913, Clara married George Julius Eckhardt.³⁴ George was born November 11, 1878 to William Eckhardt and Amelia Muisus Eckhardt.^{35 36 37} He was 34 at the time of the marriage and Clara was 28.

In February, 1914, Clara lost another baby. She gave birth to William H. Eckhardt, but the baby was premature and only lived for 5 hours.³⁸ Clara gave birth to three more children who survived: Edith Amelia was born on April 10, 1917, Elsie Louise was born on September 15, 1919, and George Julius was born on August 13, 1921.³⁹ George Eckhardt died on February 24, 1929⁴⁰, leaving Clara with 4 children. 

Roland Broadhurst continued to live in Rochester, first with his mother⁴¹ and later with his second wife, Wilhelmina. ⁴² They apparently did not marry until the late 1930's and did not have children. ^{43 44} He died in July, 1963.⁴⁵

 The look on Clara's face in the photo above speaks volumes. 

1"New York, County Marriages, 1908-1935," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XVPS-JQN : accessed 05 Apr 2013), George J. Eckhardt and Clara L. Hermann, 1913.

2"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M3QW-9GL : accessed 05 Apr 2013), Clara L Herman in entry for William Herman, 1900.

3"Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KHFF-GJC : accessed 05 Apr 2013), Roland Broadhurst and Clara L Herrmann, 1907.

4"Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950.

5"Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950.

6"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JKKT-VY7 : accessed 05 Apr 2013), Roland Broadhurst, July 1963.

7"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NJNR-JBL : accessed 03 May 2013), Roland Broadhurst, 30 Nov 1879.

8"Pennsylvania Department of Health Death Indices, 1909, page 283, index 66540, http://www.health.state.pa.us/indices/indices%20-%20death/1909%20Death/D-09%20A-B.pdf, accessed 5/3/2013.

9Heritage Quest Online, 1910 US Census, http://persi.heritagequestonline.com/hqoweb/library/do/census/results/image?surname=broadhurst&series=13&state=2&hitcount=17&p=1&urn=urn%3Aproquest%3AUS%3Bcensus%3B6211010%3B39954222%3B13%3B2&searchtype=1&offset=13, accessed 4/5/2013.

10Heritage Quest Online, 1910 US Census.

11Rochester City Directory, 1910, http://www.libraryweb.org/rochcitydir/images/1910/1910complete.pdf, page 149, accessed 4/25/2013.

12Rochester City Directory 1911, http://www.libraryweb.org/rochcitydir/images/1911/1911complete.pdf, page 154, accessed 4/25/2013.

13 New York State Vital Records, Film 454B, Record 63470, accessed 4/17/2013.

14 Anonymous source of Dick Halsey, http://mcnygenealogy.com/vr/adoptions.htm, accessed 4/10/2013.

15"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VMVW-6ZF : accessed 03 May 2013), Hazel Pfaffle, December 1980.

16"United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M5MV-MNM : accessed 03 May 2013), Hazel Kirk in entry for Henry R Kirk, 1910.

17"New York, County Marriages, 1908-1935," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XVGR-GMN : accessed 03 May 2013), William Pfaffle and Hazel Kirk, 1912.

18"United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X4G4-ZYR : accessed 03 May 2013), Richard K Pfaffle in entry for William Pfaffle, 1930.

19"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VMVW-6ZF : accessed 03 May 2013), Hazel Pfaffle, December 1980.

20"United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M5MV-7VQ : accessed 03 May 2013), Hazel M Kirk in entry for Mable Kirk, 1910.

21"New York, County Marriages, 1908-1935," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XVGG-VYD : accessed 03 May 2013), Herbert J. Bietry and Hazel M. Kirk, 1916.

22"New York, County Marriages, 1908-1935," Herbert J. Bietry and Hazel M. Kirk.

23"United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X7ZB-PDS : accessed 03 May 2013), Hazel M Bietry in entry for Herbert J Bietry, 1930.

24"United States Census, 1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KQT5-V6W : accessed 03 May 2013), Hazel M Bietry in household of Herbert J Bietry, Brighton Town, Monroe, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 28-6, sheet 16A, family 267, NARA digital publication T627, roll 2678.

25Rochester City Directory, 1911, page 548, http://www.libraryweb.org/rochcitydir/images/1910/1910complete.pdf, accessed 5/3/2013.

26Rochester City Directory, 1910, page 568, http://www.libraryweb.org/rochcitydir/images/1911/1911complete.pdf, accessed 5/3/2013.

27Rochester City Directory, 1912, page 584, http://www.libraryweb.org/rochcitydir/images/1912/1912complete.pdf, accessed 5/3/2013.

28Rochester City Directory, 1910, page 568.

29Rochester City Directory, 1912, page 584.

30Rochester City Directory, 1912, page 584.

31Rochester City Directory, 1910, page 568.

32Anonymous source of Dick Halsey.

33"New York, County Marriages, 1908-1935".

34"New York, County Marriages, 1908-1935".

35"New York, State Census, 1892," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MQSR-1WR : accessed 05 Apr 2013), Amial Eckhard, 1892.

36"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MSJQ-2N9 : accessed 05 Apr 2013), William Eckert, 1900.

37"United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KXBH-R23 : accessed 05 Apr 2013), George Julius Eckhardt, 1917-1918.

38Mt. Hope & Riverside Cemetery Records, http://www.lib.rochester.edu/IN/RBSCP/Databases/IMAGES/MtHope/disc2/00000095.pdf, accessed 4/5/2013.

39Harding Family History, unpublished.

40Harding Family History, unpublished.

41"United States Census, 1920," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MJGS-4WD : accessed 06 May 2013), Roland Broadhurst in entry for Mary Broadhurst, 1920.

42"United States Census, 1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KQYG-GP8 : accessed 06 May 2013), Roland Broadhurst, Ward 10, Rochester, Rochester City, Monroe, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 65-82, sheet 63A, family , NARA digital publication T627, roll 2844.

43Rochester City Directory, 1938, page 415, http://www.libraryweb.org/rochcitydir/images/1938/1938complete.pdf, accessed 5/6/2013.

44Rochester City Directory, 1939, page 367, http://www.libraryweb.org/rochcitydir/images/1939/1939complete.pdf, accessed 5/6/2013.

45"United States Social Security Death Index".

Why a blog?

When people simply ask what I do, the quick answer is that I can research their family history or solve genealogy questions for them.  My website, www.familysherlock.com, has all of the basic information about my business.  I will use this blog for the other types of questions and requests that come up.  I will not blog about client's projects unless they give me permission, but I will blog about my own projects.  So no client has to worry about those skeletons in the closet!

I have been asked a couple interesting questions recently: 

Can I research adoptions?  In general, no, and this is for two reasons.  If an ancestor was adopted in the 19th century or earlier, the family may have just taken the child in, with no paperwork, etc.  If it is a recent adoption, the records are most likely sealed.  However, there are exceptions.  I found my great-uncle's birth records recently, and I will put that story on this blog later.  So, if a client has an adoption in their ancestry and wants me to do some research on it, I certainly can, but there will be no guarantee of any results. 

Can I find an ancestor's health history?  Again, medical records are sealed, so I cannot provide this information.  Occasionally death certificates, cemetery records, or obituaries indicate cause of death, but this is not really a health history of the person's lifetime.  Again, I could research cause of death but with no guarantee of results.  A client could also take a DNA test such as 23andme to find out a little more about their inherited health history.  Although I have little experience with these test, I could refer clients to a genealogist with more experience. 

NY State Family History Conference

This past weekend Family Sherlock attended the first New York State Family History conference.  It gave her a chance to meet many local genealogists and several prominent national ones, including D. Joshua Taylor, one of the hosts on Genealogy Roadshow, which premiered on PBS last night!