Research, Classes, and Writing!

What a crazy couple of weeks! It's been a great time, but unfortunately it's meant that I haven't written much for this blog. Are you wondering what I've been up to? Well, regardless... you're going to find out! First of all, I've gotten quite excited about my involvement in writing for The In-Depth Genealogist digi-mag. I'm their "Jewish Genealogy" writer and it's really been great to be able to focus on that aspect of my own research and learning. I really hope that as time goes on I am able to really help some newbies with their research. Or even point out some new sources to those who have been doing Jewish genealogy research for a while. With my participation as a writer for the digi-mag I'm really hoping that with time I will become MORE prolific with my writing. I've always harbored a dream of writing a book... and if it happens to be about my family history research- all the better!

Regardless, as I get to know the bloggers I am working with I find myself more and more energized. In particular, Stephanie & Terri who are the leads on IDG are really quite inspirational women. I've known Stephanie about 4-5 months now and must say that I don't know how she handles all that she does. She works from home as an editor, is taking the ProGen course, home schools her daughter, maintains her own blog/ website, and somehow is starting IDG which is a booming project. Terri is equally amazing- though I don't know her quite as well as Stephanie. She's a mom, travel agent, blogger, and active with IDG starting up. These ladies must not sleep or something. What started as a monthly newsletter has turned into an entire website, community, digi-mag, and who knows what else! I'm loving it! Little did I know when I made the suggested for an alternate title of the newsletter to be "Depth of Field" that it would turn into The In-Depth Genealogist. Literally that day they checked to see if the domain, facebook, and twitter name was available. It was... so in the span of just a few days things were rolling. I'm really impressed and excited to be involved. Please take a moment to pop in and see what we're up to. Regardless of whether you are a professional genealogist or doing it for your own family-- there are some great resources and people to get to know! After all, their mission is: The In-Depth Genealogist is a digital newsletter that contributes to the advancement of all genealogists.

What else have I been up to? Well, I attended two genealogy workshops on April 21st and learned about probate records and also about African American genealogy research. Great speakers! I wrote a blog post for IDG about it and really was inspired to kick it into gear on my research! I plan to use what I learned about probate records next week when I travel with my mom up to South Bend, Indiana (where most of our relatives live). I've requested probate records for my Engel family. I'm not sure what I'll find, but I'm hopeful that there will be a nugget or two of interest in there. I've also been in contact with the South Bend Jewish Historical Society. I'm not sure if they will have much about the Engels, but I'm hopeful. I also plan to meet with some relatives and ask some questions that have been nagging me. I'll see my dad, brother, and sister-in-law while I'm up there too. It will be an action packed couple of days, but energizing in their own way.

Afterwards, I'll drive back to Cincinnati to attend the National Genealogical Society Conference! I'll be staying with Stephanie and several other great women during the conference. I can hardly wait! Did you know they have a conference app for your smartphone? I downloaded it to my Droid and it's great. I've picked out my schedule and know I'll put it to good use. Also, I got a great surprise last week when I found out that I will get to attend Maureen Taylor's half-day workshop! She writes a column for Family Tree Magazine called The Photo Detective. She's well versed in tracking down time-periods and figuring out locations where a photo may have been taken. I can't wait to learn from her!

I've also made a few field trips to libraries to do some research.  Since the Ohio Genealogical Society Library is just 40 minutes up the road from me; I decided to spend a few hours researching.  While there I looked through their obituary collection and also the books that they had on Maine.  I'm still puzzling through some connections on the Morse side and found some valuable books.  Unfortunately they only had three of the four volumes that I needed.  I'll have to hunt around and see where I can take a look at the last one.  Of course most of my people were in that last volume.  Doh!

I also had the opportunity to hang out with my Central Ohio Geneablogger pals and do some 1940 Census indexing!  I managed to do 48 of the 50 states over the past few weeks.  Unfortunately I did not get Utah or Idaho!  It was a fun exercise and now I am focusing on my own states of interest- Michigan and Arkansas.  I can't wait for it to be done so I can finally track down some more relatives.

On this past Saturday I took a trip to Ohio State's Thompson Library to help out a connection on JewishGen.  This guy had put a request out on the message boards asking if someone could do a look-up for him.  I figured that since I was an alum and had not been to the library since the remodel that I could certainly help him out.  The library is beautiful and state of the art (for the first four floors now) and though I had some trouble tracking down the book initially I did end up getting it.  After I scanned the pages he requested I cropped and cleaned them up a bit and uploaded them to my Dropbox site.  Then I just shared the link with him so that he could copy them to his own computer.  Hopefully he got all that he needed.

While there I did some exploring and found a number of great collections on specific historical time periods. Their Civil War collection is pretty extensive.  The volumes of the official records was something that I was quite impressed by.  It had three full bookshelves.  If I'd done some homework ahead of time I could have spent hours looking through for my ancestors.  As it was, I decided to see what kind of Jewish books were in the library.  This turned out to be a good thing because I'd been hunting for a connection between some names that I'd found for my Krueger family and the books on Jewish given names was quite helpful.

What I loved was when I found out what Myer's name meant...  "he shines".  It really made me smile as I thought of how my grandma spoke of her father in her biography.  I think he must have been named well.

With that, I leave you for now.  I have an article to write for the IDG on "Schlepping to the Cemetery" and I've much to do in preparation for my road trip at the end of the week. Have a great week!

My Brain is Buzzing

This weekend I was fortunate to be able to join my fellow Midwestern Geneabloggers for a wonderful time of research, sharing, and learning while visiting the Allen County Public Library (ACPL).  A lot of people don’t know this, but the ACPL is the next best thing to the Salt Lake City Library.  Needless to say, I was very excited about the possibility of seeing some books and records that I haven’t been able to see firsthand.  Not to mention getting to hang out with my fellow genealogists and share stories! 

You may be wondering how "geneabloggers” meet.  First of all, there are lots of hugs.  Though some of us had only met “online” it was like catching up with old friends.  Many of the group had driven together from their area.  There was a contingent from the Chicago area, Canada, St. Louis area, Fort Wayne (so convenient for them!), and of course our gang of Ohio Gals- Shelley Bishop, Stephanie Fishman, and me.  Though it was a three hour drive for us- the time flew by!  We were discussing all kinds of things like what was going on in our families and our own personal histories and even discussing the challenges of learning the ways to document our sources while researching.  I loved it!  I felt like my brain was a sponge absorbing all this great information and I was inspired to do so much more.  Ah if only I didn’t need to sleep at night… I could fit in all that I dream of doing!

After arriving at the library (which is rather impressive with a huge atrium and beautiful marble floors) we made a beeline for the Genealogy Department.  There we were greeted by Tina Lyons   who had put together the event and was our local guide.  She gave us a personal tour of the department and we quickly took over several tables and began to gather books.  I had gathered a large stack of books on Michigan City and La Porte County, Indiana to see if there were any clues I had missed from my past visits to the library in Michigan City.  I was pleased to see a few books that were new to me and I began to pour through for my family surnames of Krueger, Morse, and Shon. 

There were a few new tidbits that I was gathering, but mostly I was confirming things that I already knew.  As we researched we whispered back and forth and welcomed other bloggers as they arrived.  Several of the ladies were tweeting to others about what we were up to, but I chose to try and take advantage of the time in the library to do research.  I did get to meet the famous (infamous?) Thomas MacEntee of the geneabloggers site and he was so sweet and friendly.  It’s funny when you’ve watched webinars taught by these folks and then you get to meet them in person.  I tend to be in awe a bit, but then you get to know them and realize what down to earth, cool people they really are. 

When the library closed at 6pm we went over to an Irish Pub called O’Donnells and met up with more of our group.  It was a fun atmosphere and I sat with Shelley and Susan and got to know them a bit more.  Jen Holek had just gotten her wonderful genealogy series for kids published and we were all excited to see them in print.  They definitely have wonderful lessons for use as a home schooling series or even for teachers.  I’m sure someone I know will be getting a book or two from the series as a gift!

The next day was another marathon of genealogy research.  We got to the library a bit before 10am and gathered for a tour of the facility with one of the librarians.  Once we made the rounds we all settled in and got to our research.  I continued with my list of surnames and counties in Indiana and found a few bits of information that was useful. I think I was getting a bit tired because eventually I thought the titles of some of the books were pretty funny:  “People of Pulaski County, Indiana”, “Some Pulaski County People, Indiana”, and “Tidbits of Pulaski County, Indiana Courthouse”. I just kept thinking, “Can’t they come up with better titles than that?”.

Later a group of about eight of us went back to the Irish pub and actually had the same waitress again!  How funny!  Back to the research!  I started looking at some of my “brick walls” when I returned to the library.  Soon I was combing the shelves for books that might reveal the secrets of my ancestors.  I had some minor success in finding books on my Maine relatives.  I will have to spend more time on this in the future because there were several shelves on Thomaston, Friendship, and Meduncook Plantation.  I did find a surname that I had not known before and that was pretty cool. 

Just before 6pm I gathered up my stuff and got ready to join the rest  of the group at Tina Lyons’ house.  She had invited everyone over to have pizza and hang out.  I must say that the “hanging out” was my favorite part of the whole weekend.  Interesting conversations and thought provoking questions (thanks to Thomas) made me realize how much I still have to learn!  It was a wonderful weekend and I can’t wait till we get together again.  In the meantime, I have a lot more blogs to read and new friends to keep in touch with online.  What fun!

Wordless Wednesday - The Family Shoe Store

Funny Friday- Dressed up for a play?

My Genealogy Goals for 2012

Here are my much-anticipated genealogy goals for 2012.  Some are pretty general and some quite specific.  I am hopeful that I'll be able to go to all the conferences I've mentioned.  I think the main thing is to just set aside time each month to work on one or two of these goals.  I'll keep you posted as I accomplish each one.


General Genealogy Goals..


Education
1.  Attend the Ohio Genealogical Conference in Cleveland, Ohio (April 12-14).
2.  Attend the National Family History Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio (May 9-12).
3.  Visit the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana and learn about the resources available there.
4.  Finish the Advanced Jewish Genealogy Coursework that I began in November.
5.  Take the courses that I won last year through the Family Tree Magazine.
6.  Finish reading the Jewish Genealogy book that I bought last year.
7.  Finish the Methodology Part 1 course through the National Institute for Genealogical Studies.
8.  Attend the Midwestern Roots Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana (July 20-21).

Blogging
1.  Write at least once a week.
2.  Promote my blog on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+
3.  Invite others to write as guests on my blog.

Networking
1.  Continue to meet with the COG's (Central Ohio Geneabloggers).
2.  At all conferences make at least one new connection.
3.  Become active in the Licking County Genealogical Society and volunteer in the library.

Family Interviews
Interview the older generations in my family about their memories growing up.  Use pictures to spur stories about relatives that I know little about.  Record these interviews to digital audio for later reference and sharing.



Specific questions and goals for the family lines that I'd like to examine this year...

Morse
1.  Find out more about Margaret Maude Nolan Morse McGraw.  According to my Great Uncle, she was married once before she met George Frederick Morse.  Was Nolan her maiden name or was it her 1st married name?
2.  Who was George Frederick Morse married to before Margaret?  My Great Uncle said he was married once before... who was she?
3.  What happened to Arthur Morse's daughter Helena Irene?
4.  Join the Morse Family Genealogical Society.

Krueger
1.  Find out more about Alex/ Ellye Kriger in Belarus.  Was he born there or elsewhere?  When & where was he buried?
2.  Did Myer Krueger have any siblings?  According to my grandma there was a sister in Minnesota that married and had several children.  When did she come to America? 
3.  Where is Sophia/ Zipe Soloman Krueger buried and when did she die?  Where was she born?  Did she have any siblings besides Sarah Soloman Shon?

Engel
1.  Did Samuel Hirsch Engel have any siblings?  Did his family remain in Slovakia?
2.  Did Dora Fleckman Engel have any siblings?  Did her family stay in Slovakia?

Alford
1.  Find out more about my dad's half-brother Kenny and Kenny's mother.  Where did they end up & is Kenny still alive?
2.  Find out more about Naomi Reynolds Alford's family and whether any more pictures are "out there".
3.  Join the Alford Family Association.

Clifford
1.  Find out where in Ireland the Cliffords came from originally.

Scrapbook Sunday

This week’s activities have certainly opened my eyes to the benefits of digital scrapbooking.  Though I really enjoy the feeling of working with paper, photographs, and laying it all out… the digital method makes it so much easier to customize and adjust as you go.  Being able to adjust photographs to be the right size without cutting it up is just wonderful.  I was able to put both of these pages together in just over two hours and the nice thing is that I can revise them for different people in the family quite easily.  I foresee some pretty cool gifts for people using these new skills I’ve acquired!
Here’s what I did this week…

It surprised me that I had so many actual pictures of my ancestors and it made me wonder if there might be more “out there” that I just haven’t gotten yet.  Regardless, it was fairly easy for me to fill in this family tree.  I then moved on to the Pedigree Chart.  The example from the class only has the ancestors names, but I think when I get a chance I will add birth, marriage, and death dates and locations.  I might also adapt it so that I could show even more generations then the template shows currently. 

So as you can see, I’ve been busy!  I’m hoping to do some more digital scrapbooking throughout the week, but we shall see if I have the time after I get home from work each night.  I really wish there were more hours in the day so that I wouldn’t have to give up any sleep to get to do all this fun stuff!

Putting a Face with the Name

As I mentioned in my last entry, very little was known about my Krueger side of the family.  We knew they were from Belarus and were possibly from Minsk, but beyond that there was little information.  In May of 2010 I discovered JewishGen.org had a page where you could upload images and they could be translated for you.  I posted a picture of my great grandfather Myer’s headstone in the hopes that the Hebrew on the stone might reveal a new clue as to where he was from. 

This is what I learned instead:

 

Here lies Mayer son of Eliyahu Kriger,

died 24 Cheshvan 5695 (Nov 2, 1934)

May he rest in peace

 

With this information I was anxious to try and find Myer’s father.  Ancestry has a handy tool for those looking to find Jewish Given Names and their translation (which of course, was provided by JewishGen).  I tried out a couple different ways to track down the US version of his first name and got this:

 

Name:	Alex
Gender:	Male
	Similar Names in United States:
	Alex, Eli, Elias
	Name translates in Belarusto:
	Elqana, Elya, Eyliyahu
	Other Name Variants:
Yiddish Names:	Alkon, Alkune, El, Ele, Elias, Eliash, Eliashe, Elie, Elij, Elinke, Eliyohu, Elke, Elko, Elkon, Elkona, Elkone, Elkono, Elkuna, Elkuno, Eltshik, Elyash, Elye, Elyu, Iliyash, Ilyash, Ilye, Koni, Konik, Konyuk, Kuni, Kunik, Kunye, Olev
European Secular Names:	Elia, Eliagu, Elja
Local Secular Names:	Ellya, Elya, Ilia, Ilya
Hebrew Origin:	Elqana - Samuel 1 1:1 Eyliyahu - Kings I 17:1

JewishGen.org. Jewish Given Name Variations [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.   Original data: This data is provided in partnership with JewishGen.org.

So based on this information I considered Myer’s father’s name as Eliyahu Kriger and was probably known as Alex in the US family.   In Belarus I would think he’s have been called Elya or something along those lines. 

Then last year I got a copy of my grandparents’ marriage application.  It revealed that Myer’s father was named Alex and was still living in 1910.  He was living in Orad which I’m still not sure of the exact location of the town.  I’ll pursue that at another time.  The form also revealed that Myer’s mother was in Michigan City, Indiana at the time and her name was Zebra Soloman.    I’m not sure that the first name is right since all I’d found at this point was that her first name was Sophia and that she was often called “Sipie”.  But regardless, it was interesting information and was worth digging deeper to see if she could be found in the 1910 census.  I had been told by several relatives that she had eventually gone to Palestine to live her remaining years.  So there are a lot of loose ends to try and track down and confirm.  It has been challenging to say the least, but as so much has revealed itself I have confidence that with time I will find out more about Sophia Soloman Krueger.

Last week I got a very exciting piece of mail from my cousin Marcia.  She had made a copy of a postcard that had been in the family that was supposedly from Myer’s mother.  It had been kept by Marcia’s mother and handed down to her.  After several gentle reminders Marcia sent me a copy of the card and the writing on the opposite side.  What I had not known was that the postcard was a photograph of Sophia! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The handwritten portion is written in Yiddish and since I cannot read it I took advantage of the kindness of strangers and posted the scan to the JewishGen.org website.  The response was quick and I was thrilled at what the person translated for me.

Ite: This is written in Yiddish.  Part of the first sentence is cut off.  I'll translate what I can read:  "...I am sending this for his beautiful daughter to wear on her little neck because it is a big cure for little children; and for Are's son I am sending...which comes from the Wailing Wall. These strings are very good for small children so I ask you to put this on Are's newly born son Alinke's little neck. This is very good for small children and the ... is for the daughter. She must wear this on her belly for 40 days, and the little bit of earth comes from Mother Rachel's (tomb in the Holy Land probably?). She must drink this and it will be a good remedy for the aunt, and if Sheine Feige wants a little bit you must give her and I will send you more. I am sending you a picture and I ask you to send me your, your wife's, and your beautiful daughter's picture. This will be my satisfaction and pleasure ...(sentence cut off)"

The remarks between brackets are mine.
Ite

Though I had hoped for more facts within the writing it does provide some insight into her thinking at that time.  This letter was written sometime around the time of Myer’s first child’s birth in 1911.  I believe that “Sheine Feige” probably refers to his daughter, beautiful Fern.  Some of the other names mentioned could be siblings or cousins of Myer’s.  “Are” can be translated to be Aaron or Louis.  I’m not sure who this is referring to, but in the context of this letter I’m inclined to think that Myer had a brother possibly named Aaron or Louis.  This is surprising since my grandmother had learned as a child that her dad only had sisters.  Puzzling, eh?  And the name “Alinke” doesn’t seem to translate well online.  I did find the name on a website “The Lidsky-Weinstein Family” and it mentions the son, Alexander, and later calls him Alinke.  So that makes sense since we believe that Myer’s father was named Alex.  (By the way, if you get the chance to visit the website mentioned above you will find a fascinating story about Ella’s family and her life.  The photographs are wonderful and the document translations of personal letters is a beautiful touch.)

With these new names to consider I can not help but wonder if Aaron (or Louis) Krueger and his son Alexander were near Michigan City, Indiana.  Another exciting avenue to explore!  As you can see, once you start digging in to your family history… it could be an ongoing project for the rest of your life!  In the meantime I am planning on taking an Advanced Jewish Genealogy course offered online at JewishGen and I am thinking I will focus on the Krueger family.  After all, it’s been an exciting prospect in the past two weeks and perhaps more will come to light!

Krueger Family Discovery

The past two weeks have been busy ones with travel and catching up from being away.  I took a week off work to drive up to South Bend, Indiana to visit my relatives and do some genealogy research.  I had a few specific items I was searching for on my trip and had high hopes.  Little did I know what a truly successful trip it would be and what a wonderful time I would have with my family.  More about that in a later blog post though.  For now I’d like to focus on some new information that I unearthed.

In Michigan City I stopped at the library to check where to find the original record of the Declaration of Intent for my Great Grandfather Myer Krueger.  I had been so excited last year when I learned that he had come to the US in July of 1901 and had arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from Liverpool, England. 

Unfortunately I have had no luck finding his passenger record.  I knew that perhaps the source of the information might have further detail.  According to the abstract, the full source is available at the La Porte County Courthouse in La Porte.  I was hopeful that I might find it, but doubtful since I had written to the Clerk of Courts previously and they had not found the original.  So for my own peace of mind I decided to go and look for myself. 

Upon arrival at the courthouse I started by going up to the Health Department to request death records for several ancestors.  I had wanted to confirm death dates and names of their parents if possible.  I left my list with the lady at the desk and she said that it would probably be tomorrow before they knew for sure what they had on file.  Luckily I wasn’t far from South Bend so I knew that it would be easy for me to come back.  I then asked who I would need to see about the naturalization records.  She directed me to the Circuit Clerk of Courts and so I headed that way.  After passing through the metal detector I made my way to the Circuit Clerk and waited in line behind several couples who were completing applications for marriage licenses.   I wasn’t sure I was in the right place, but I was directed to come around to the side door where I was asked to sign in.  I was amazed at the room crammed with tons of old record books and boxes.  The sheer possibilities of what could be stored there blew me away.  The lady showed me where all the naturalization records were located and I began to search the indexes of each book. 

After reviewing a half dozen books I came across the record for Myer Krueger.  I was so excited!  To add to the joy of finding it was the fact that it listed his place of birth!  Finally, we knew that he was born in Lachawitz, Minsk, Russia!  The tears filled my eyes as I realized the new avenue of exploration in my family research and could hardly contain my excitement.  I had brought my computer and scanner so I was able to scan a copy for myself. 

I could hardly wait to get online to check on JewishGen.org for the current day name of the town in Belarus. 

Birthplace of Myer Krueger

I then found this site dedicated to the Shtetl of Lyakhovichi.  Needless to say, I’m excited at the prospects now that I know where he came from. 

Happy Holidays

I haven’t had a chance to post about the family history research I have been able to do over the past couple months.  I suppose that happens when you get wrapped up in finding a job (success!), traveling, visiting family, working on home improvement projects, and making Christmas presents.  Anyway, I’ve had a few minor breakthroughs that have opened new doors for my research.

In August, I traveled to Maine with my fiancé and we went to Thomaston where my Morse family lived in the late 1800’s.  After checking out the local cemetery I went to the Rockland Public Library where I did further digging to get more information.  The coolest thing was that I ended up getting books with the history of Thomaston and mentions my Morse relatives specifically.  I learned that James Morse had a lime quarry which produced 4000 casks in 1860.  James also served in the War of 1812 and was on the Board of Trustees for the Methodist Church.  His son, William, came to Muskegon, Michigan where he was a sailor.  His family grew there in Muskegon and eventually moved down to Michigan City, Indiana.

 

In November I went to Michigan City and South Bend, Indiana and found obituaries for many of my great grandparents which revealed some interesting new leads.  In the Abstracts from Declaration of Intents filed in the Superior Court in Michigan City, La Porte, Indiana I learned that great grandpa Myer Krueger came to America from Liverpool, England to the port of Philadelphia on July 3, 1901.  I plan on taking advantage of the Family History Library to request the passenger lists for that date in Philadelphia.  I’m hoping it will list a city that he was originally from in Russia.  Regardless, it proved that he was not in the country for the 1900 census which is contrary to what I’d been told previously.  I’m hoping to find out once and for all if Krueger is really how their last name was spelled too.  It’s been a story in the family for a long time that our name was changed when they came to America.  I’m hoping to finally answer this question once and for all!

I found out that in 1910 when great grandfather Myer Krueger married that his mother was living in Michigan City and his father was living in Orad.  I’d been told that his mother was in Israel and that his father was deceased.  This was all discovered by finding the marriage application.  As a result, I’ve learned that his mother who I had thought was named Sophia Soloman may have gone by the name Zebia or Zebra.  It can be challenging to decipher the handwriting so I try to consider all the different alternatives when I’m searching through the genealogy databases like Ancestry and FamilySearch.  I now also have a new name to look at for Myer’s father- Alex.  I had thought his name was Samuel.  Using the autobiography that my grandma Morse had written is sometimes a risk of following a false lead, but as I uncover more firm details from various documents on file with local government I learn more and more.

Lastly, I went to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as my fiancé interviewed for a job and visited the Family History Library there.  The volunteers there were very helpful and we traded information about helpful websites and research strategies that I had not thought of before.  I didn’t make any big discoveries while there, but I learned how about how requests for microfilms work and plan on putting that information to good use very soon.

Interesting Possibility on Alford Side of Family Tree

This morning I was poking around a bit on the family tree and exploring my great-great-great-grandparents on the Alford side.  Well, it looks like my GGGGrandmother Nancy Cole Moytoy was the daughter of Cherokee Indians.  I'd always heard hints of this in family stories, but I'd always thought it was a stretch.  Now I'm thinking that it would be interesting to get my dad to do a DNA test to see if we really are descendants of Native Americans.  


Which brings me to the topic of DNA testing.  I've been listening to podcasts by Lisa Louise Cooke who does Genealogy Gems and has a packed website at http://www.genealogygemspodcast.com/ that has all kinds of cool tidbits.  Well on Episode 29 she interviews a representative of the  Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation which back in 2007 was offering free DNA testing.  Too bad I wasn't interested in that back then!  Anyway, they are basically trying to prove that ultimately we are all related (at a guess, some kind of Adam & Eve type deal) with the hopes that once we all realize this we'll all be a little more peaceful and understanding.  I like the overall idea of it despite the possible religious connotations.  


So far, I've learned that getting your oldest male relative on that particular family line is your best bet for finding matches.  They basically take a cheek swab (or a swish of mouthwash) worth of DNA to get the Y-chromosomes which can be traced back in the paternal line of your family.  There are a large number of companies that now offer this service with varying levels of detail and many claim to have great databases to match your data.  I did a simple Google search for "largest DNA database in the world" and came up with Family Search which is associated with the Mormon Church.  I've been stumped on the Krueger line of the family for a while, so I checked their database to see how many datasets they have in that line.  They had 43 which was the largest group I've found of the sites I have checked so far.  Plus, they offer a discount for those joining their "project".  It's quite a pricey deal all the same.  The most basic test is $99 and the most expensive is $518 which gets you the anthropological history of your line as well.  I'm pretty sure that we're European in our line, so that seems a bit ridiculous to me.  The middle of the road test is $149 and looks to contain most of what I am interested in learning.


I still have a bit of a learning curve on all of this, but I think that I may be getting more serious about getting the DNA testing done as I hit more and more brick walls in my research.  I've been fortunate that so many of my relatives have shared their memories, family names, birth dates, death dates, and so on that my tree keeps expanding.  I love playing amateur detective and expanding my knowledge of the family history!

Shirley Harriet Krueger (1918-2008)

Shirley was born July 11th, 1918 in Michigan City, Indiana to Myer “Mike” Krueger (1887-1934) and Antonia “Tony” Jeannette Engel (1889-1944). She was the youngest of three children with Marvin “Brother” (1914-1981) and sister Fern Esther (1911-1974) both doting on her.

As a little girl she started dance lessons and through the years she continued dancing into her senior years. Here is an excerpt from her autobiography that describes this aspect of her life.

My mother inspired us to try all sorts of lessons. A baby grand piano was bought by our parents-- that was prestige to have one. So all of us tried our hand at it. Fern took for several years, then Brother, then I for three years. Fern then went into Dramatic Art and was excellent at readings. She later taught it. I used to watch her take dancing lessons and I would try to dance along with them. Mother felt I was going to like that better, so at age 4 I was the ballerina and was encouraged to do toe, tap, acrobatic as well as ballet. Mother was so proud of her children and their talents and was pleased when we were asked to perform and her friends would say we were very good.

In the 1920 and 1930 census the entire family shows up as living at 225 Detroit Street in Michigan City, Indiana. Shirley was very close to her father and often spent time with him in his shoe store. Here is an excerpt from her autobiography that describes her Sunday mornings with her father.

As I grew up, Daddy and I had a ritual on Sundays. Waking me gently in the room I shared with Fern, he would ask me to make some breakfast and go for a ride. Of course, I always said I would like that. Being the youngest and least busy had its compensations – spending time with Dad. Pancakes or French toast, the inevitable menu, we would eat and read the Sunday paper, clear the dishes, and set out for our ride. There appeared to be only two routes for us... the lakefront road beckoned us with its mounding sand dunes and handsome spacious homes of the rich or the crowded apartments of the not-so-rich. Inevitably we turned off at one of the side roads and got lost as we wormed our way around until we came on the Dixie Highway or the beach road. Our other route took us to neighboring towns to learn their ideas of merchandising and displays in the windows. Dad would peer into the store to note the setup and tell me what was good or bad about them. I teased him that he never took a vacation just a businessman's holiday for a few hours. Others took trips away from it all, but Dad said, “This is my work and you are the reason for work. You must have the things I never could have-- especially going to school.”

Unfortunately she did not get to have her father in her life very long. This was one of several losses of family that she experienced. Here she tells the story.

When I was sixteen, Dad and I continued to be close and sometimes I would help out at the store especially in the hosiery department. One evening before Halloween he and I were home alone. Dad was quiet, but he answered the door when trick or treaters came around, patiently giving out the goodies. In the year 1934 children went out to beg on beggar's night, the night before Halloween. We listened to the radio in the little room, our family room, I was trying to get my studying done. At 10:00 he asked me to go to bed because he too would be going up soon. We both went upstairs and said goodnight as he kissed me and I told him I loved him. The next morning the phone rang as I was getting ready for school at 8:00. I answered and the person asked to speak to Mom. Even though I told him she was sleeping, they said it was urgent. When Mother answered, she was informed that Dad had taken poison in the store in a suicide attempt and had been taken to the St. Anthony's Hospital. One of the clerks had come early to help Dad, found him in the back room, and called an ambulance. We were just shattered. Fern and Mom drove to the hospital and told me to go to school. I didn't want to go, but they said they would call me if I was needed. Brother was at school in Ann Arbor. After school I ran to the hospital but he could hardly speak, but I think he said, “I did it for you all-- the insurance.” He died two days later.

Education and opportunity went together in his mind. Little did he know that we would have exchanged any amount of money or education for his being with us. Perhaps we did not convey our feelings to him well enough.

Shirley did eventually go to college and attended Indiana University and the University of Wisconsin. She received her Bachelors degree in Speech and Journalism. On August 3, 1940 she married Edward Herbert Morse (1918-1981) and then remarried with family present on Feb. 9, 1941. They went on to have three children- Brett, Toni, and my mother, Jan. They lived in Gary, Indiana for a few years and then eventually moved to South Bend, Indiana.

I have many memories of Grandma.  When I was young I spent many a night at their house being babysat while my mom worked or was “out on the town”.  Grandma and I would walk around the neighborhood after dinner and would chat with her friends as we went by.  She taught me to tap dance and always encouraged me to take lessons and work hard.   She was funny, witty, and a person that I always admired for her outspoken ways.  I think of her fondly whenever I catch myself saying, "Oy!".

 

My mother describes Grandma's active persona and influence herself in this excerpt.

She was a most excellent editor for all our themes and newspaper releases for BBG and MSTY. She had a degree in journalism which never went to waste, as she was editor of every newsletter for every organization she joined. She wrote silly poems for every occasion, but was a miserable typist. She was always doing something creative. She taught me needlepoint when she learned it. She helped teach me to sew garments and do hemming. I remember the smell from the tiny hot wire that she used to cut all kinds of table decorations out of Styrofoam. She obsessively decoupaged everything she could to wooden boxes and plaques. She would have 30 going at a time all over the bar down in the basement. She tried Japanese brush painting and oil painting. When I became interested in herbs, she had a guy put up shelves across the window in the upstairs hall so I could grow them.

She was a traveler and went all over the place. Her photo albums were full of interesting and exotic places.  I’d always hoped that someday I could travel somewhere with her, but that never happened.  She was a constant volunteer with Temple Beth El and Civitan and many other groups.  Grandma was interested in genealogy and had taken several classes to learn more.  She made contributions to the St. Joseph County Genealogical Society.

As my mom describes, Grandma had quite a few losses in her life.

The sorrows she lived through. Her father’s suicide when she was 16, and her mother’s death from leukemia soon after the birth of my brother Brett. Yet she went on. She lost her only sister, Fern, to cancer in 1974. She had a difficult life with my father, but never gave up on him. He got cancer when I was in my 20’s and she spent a lot of time shuttling between home and the hospital and home. One day a burglar broke into the house and beat her and robbed her, during this her husband’s final illness, and still she went on. That same year she lost her best friend, our Aunt Leah, and her husband, mom’s last living sibling, Marvin. When her only son, Brett and his only son, Danny were killed in a plane crash, still she kept on living a generous life. She never brooded. She found new classes to take, places to travel, and people to help. She spent time with all her grandchildren, encouraging them to also take classes and be in extra-curricular activities at school.

I don't know how Grandma dealt with so much sadness in her life. Somehow she kept going and didn't let it depress her. She was quite the positive person. I think despite these losses she focused on the positive of the many grandchildren and other family members. She was quite proud of all of her children and grandchildren.

Even when my mom remarried and we moved to Ohio, Grandma stayed in touch. She would come down and visit with us and I would show her my latest dance routines. She wrote me letters while I was in college and shared stories of her many activities and what my cousins were up to. Although she always asked if I had met any “nice Jewish boys”, she didn't push the issue.

Eventually her age caught up to her and she suffered several strokes.  It was sad to see the vibrant Grandma fading away and each time I visited her in the nursing home I hoped that she knew how much we all loved her and thought of her.  I was fortunate to see her just an hour before she eventually passed away on April 20, 2008. 

It was a great personal loss, but I believe one that has inspired me to become closer to my family.  Her interest in genealogy became mine and now I continue to pursue her questions about her father and his side of the family.  Perhaps someday soon I will find those answers and be able to share them with the rest of my family.  

Why I have started this blog

In 2008 all three of my remaining grandparents passed away. It hit me hard and as a result I began to wonder about their history and what stories I missed out on. I spoke with my parents and began to become increasing interested in our family history. I joined Ancestry.com and bought Family Tree Maker. I scoured family photographs for clues as to who my relatives were and where they came from. At first I was amazed at the sheer volume of information "out there"! Census records, immigration details including ship manifests, birth, marriage, and death certificates were available for so many of my relatives! It has been quite fascinating for me.

I've always been interested in history and the stories of my past. I knew hardly anything about my Alford side of the family. All I knew about my mom's side of the family is that we were descended from Russian Jews and that my great grandfather, Myer Krueger, had come over around 1900. A great treasure hunt for my roots! I've loved mysteries and have felt a bit like a private investigator hunting down the details. Taking educated guesses at times, but for the most part relying on family stories to pursue leads.

And so I have decided to document my search and share my findings with my relatives and friends. I'm hoping some of the information that I share will lead to memories being triggered and new stories shared. New clues unearthed and an appreciation by all of the family for where we came from and how fortunate we all are that our family took the risks in coming to America to give us all these great opportunities.

The journey continues....