Adventures in Anderson genealogy!
If you have not already read the other transcribed portions of Lewis Anderson's Revolutionary War pension file, you may find them here: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV. Interrogation of Lewis Interogatories put by the Court to the above named applicant. 1. Where and in what year were you born? Answer I was... Continue Reading →
Lewis Anderson, my 5th great-grandfather, is the first patriot ancestor of which I was aware and remains my most documented patriot ancestor. He is likely to also have one of the most interesting stories in my family tree and I am still awed that have an account of it in his own words. I thought... Continue Reading →
A few months ago I wrote about my great-grandfather's first marriage. When we last left Walter Bell, he had just eloped with Anna Hertel in January 1907. Walter and Anna divorced in January 1910 and she succumbed to tuberculosis in 1921. What did Walter do after the divorce? In 1910 Federal Census, taken in... Continue Reading →
You’d think with an unusual name like “Straughen” that it wouldn’t be difficult to identify my ancestors, but it hasn’t been easy! My 2nd great-grandfather Isaac Straughen (pictured at the top of this post) was born in 1817 in New Jersey. He reported in the 1880 census that his father was also born in New... Continue Reading →
One of my favorite things about using Ancestry to host my primary tree is that it is discoverable to other researchers. I especially love that my photos and documents will soon become a little shaky leaf waiting for others to find, and hopefully enjoy. I just get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I think... Continue Reading →
A mystery has been solved! A few weeks ago I posted a video about my 2nd great grandfather George Edgar Earley. George had 10 children and in the video I was struggling to identify his daughters in a family photo. I did my best to label them by age and other things I knew, but... Continue Reading →
If you have looked at visiting a library or archive as a part of your genealogy research, you might have seen or heard the terms "closed stacks" and "open stacks" before. What do these phrases mean? And how will these designations affect your visit? Let's examine each one. Open Stacks If you have ever been... Continue Reading →
Although my attempts to begin writing about my ancestors have fallen flat in the last year or two, I have found a new method of sharing that I do enjoy: making videos! It all began last summer when I was taking an online local history course for my library science degree. I was tasked with... Continue Reading →
Please enjoy this video about my 2nd great-grandfather, George Edgar Earley (1840-1931) from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. https://youtu.be/NLBFaym7REY
I recently started a new job as a Local & Family History Librarian in St. Joseph Co., Indiana. (Dream job, I know.) I am loving every minute of it so far! The library has a beautiful genealogy department and a treasure chest of resources. If you are in the area, you should definitely take a... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago I attended a fantastic webinar put on by the Guild of One Name Studies. If you haven’t heard about their free webinar series this year, I highly recommend signing up for some of their offerings! During the webinar a really interesting resource was mentioned in passing and afterwards I immediately went... Continue Reading →
There are two ancestors in my family tree that I continue to revisit whenever I'm up for a challenge. One of those is Walter H. Bell (1881-1934), my great-grandfather. Chipping away at Walter's past has been tricky but fascinating. He moved all over the country during his life. It seems he had three or four... Continue Reading →
I love the “street view” feature on Google Maps. It helps me know what I can expect to see when I visit a new place. Sometimes I wish I could do the same thing for my ancestors’ hometowns. I wish could find their house on a map and walk down the street in their shoes.... Continue Reading →
I forgot I had written this post a while ago, but I finally remembered and finished it this week. It's a long one, so don't say I didn't warn you! Over my spring break from graduate school in March 2017, I visited the National Archives in Washington, DC. With my mother in tow, I navigated... Continue Reading →
Ellen Anderson