This letter to my great-grandmother, Grace McKee (1887-1964), was tucked inside a notebook with several other letters. Although it is not dated, has no envelope, and is not signed with a full name, I believe it must be from her first cousin, Helen McKee (1890-1958). It could have been written in the 1940s or early... Continue Reading →
Marilynn Bell’s Life in Tweets
The theme of #genchat last night, Friday, 18 January, was Challenges of Writing Family History with guest host Lynn Palermo. If you have never participated in a Friday-night Genchat, I recommend joining in! It's a fun way to network with other genealogists. You can tune in by searching the hashtag #genchat at 10pm Eastern time... Continue Reading →
Finding Walter Bell’s Employer in 1911
In researching my great-grandfather, Walter H. Bell, I have been interested in tracking his employers throughout his life. He worked in so many capacities for so many corporations that it has become a personal challenge to track his place of employment year to year. And it often changed in such a short span of time.... Continue Reading →
Walter Bell’s Second and Third Marriages
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 →
Walter Bell’s First Marriage
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 →
It’s Graduation Day!
Today I am graduating from Indiana University with my Master of Library Science. (Ok, the picture is from my undergraduate days.) I initially made the decision to pursue this career path because I saw it as an opportunity to keep my passion for genealogy close to my work. After a year and a half of... Continue Reading →
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun! January 14
I love participating in the SNGF series from Genea-Musings. You can see the original post about this week's topic here. This week's prompt is: 1) What was your best research achievement in 2016? Tell us - show us a document, or tell us a story, or display a photograph. Brag a bit! You've earned it!... Continue Reading →
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun! April 4 & 11
I always have fun playing along with Saturday Night Genealogy Fun from Genea-Musings! You can check out his prompts on his blog and join in on the fun! I missed last week's prompt, but here are both of them together. The prompt for April 4: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/04/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-when-i-was.html The prompt for April 11: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/04/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-when-i-was_11.html The current series of SNGF... Continue Reading →
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun! March 15
I always have fun playing along with Saturday Night Genealogy Fun from Genea-Musings! You can check out his prompts on his blog and join in on the fun! I'm a little late this week but, what can I say, there was a hockey tournament this weekend! The prompt for March 15: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/03/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-date-your.html This week's prompt is... Continue Reading →
Fearless Females: March 5
The Accidental Genealogist is running her annual “Fearless Females” month of March. I’m so happy to be joining in, although admittedly a little late. I will attempt to catch up before the end of the month. If you want to see her blog and prompts you can look here: http://www.theaccidentalgenealogist.com/2015/02/back-for-sixth-year-fearless-females.html The prompt for March 5: "How... Continue Reading →