Thursday, January 11, 2024

My Bohemian Lineage ~ Origin


Son visiting Branice (homeland of ancestors)

When I was young my mother's family talked about our Bohemian line. The elders would speak of the "old country" and share various recipes.

Being a kid, I didn't pay much attention to this discussion. The cousins were more concerned about spare change for the corner store. I should have paid more attention and soaked up information from these family members. Most are no longer with us.

As a teenager in the 70s, the idea of being Bohemian had a very different meaning. I'd tell friends "Yes, I'm a hippie!" Wearing peasant blouses and funky jewelry. To me, this heritage suddenly meant I was cool. Mom would just shake her head and try to explain. But, you know, teenager.

Fast forward to my forties and I began this "family history" journey. The first line to research had to be the Bohemians. 

Bohemia from Wikipedia:

"Bohemia is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohemian kings, including Moravia and Czech Silesia, which case the smaller region is referred to as Bohemia proper as a means of distinction."

An 1892 map showing Bohemia proper outlined in pink, Moravia in yellow, and Austrian Silesia in orange

I began research with my great-grandmother, Anna Jerousek. Anna was born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 13, 1879. Her parents were (my 2nd great-grandparents) Frank Joseph Jerousek and Barbara Fuka. This was our Bohemian ancestral couple.

Finding records for Anna on Ancestry proved challenging. I couldn't locate her family on the census records. Spelling variations for Eastern European ancestry proved very tricky for a novice researcher. I found several online articles about the topic. 

Lisa Alzo wrote several were extremely helpful:




Also, from several websites, I learned an excellent research technique. You leave out those pesky surnames. Use first names of family members, birth dates, where born and where resided.

Using these methods, I located the family in the 1880 United States Federal Census. They were listed as "Gerushek". Without help from more seasoned researchers, I never would have located them!

Enumerated as Frank Gerushek

Looking at the record the surname is listed as "Yerushek". Sharing this with my mother proved interesting. As a child, she heard the surname was spelled with a "y" instead of "j." The moral of the story, talk to the older generation before hitting your head on brick walls! 

We see Frank and Barbara declaring they were born in Bohemia. 



Anna Jerousek baptism record; Maryland State Archives
St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church; Baltimore, Maryland

Knowing the Jerousek family were Catholics, I researched church records on the Maryland State Archives website. Pay dirt! So excited to see the town where Frank and Barbara were born in Bohemia! Branice.

When I researched this town on Wikipedia there was a small entry that stated:

"Branice is a municipality and village in Pisek District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 300 inhabitants".

Wonder if I'm related to all of them.

On the page was a link to the town. Listed is the historical information about the town, photographs, virtual tours, societies and additional links. 

This brings us to the photograph at the top of this post. Several years ago my son was trekking in Eastern Europe. On his list was Prague. Right away I started researching how close Branice was to his destination. It was a little out of the way, down a long and winding rural road. I asked him if he had time he could swing by and get a picture.

Imagine my surprise when I got a text message with the photograph attached! He fit in a few minutes for a picture under the town sign. Maybe someday he will get the genealogy bug and revisit his Bohemian roots.

Monday, January 1, 2024

Springer Fortune ~ Family Lore


Image by Annette from Pixabay

My favorite part of family history is discovering fantastic stories. All the rumors, secrets, scandals and scalawags hanging about the tree.

For years, my mother-in-law would entertain us with tales of the "Springer Fortune". A story of hidden treasure passed down through generations. My husband's paternal grandmother, Emma Springer, supposedly shared this "legend" with her children and grandchildren.

When I started researching the family line, my husband constantly asked "have you found the fortune yet?" 
To appease his curiosity, I did a cursory search. Imagine my surprise when this bit of lore was true! Well, sort of.

I discovered many newspaper articles about the fortune on the Chronicling America newspaper website. It was fun to read about various members of the Springer family coming forward for their piece of the pie. 

First up is "The Spirit of Democracy" from Woodsfield, Ohio, dated January 20, 1880. Here were learn about "heirs of the celebrated Charles Christopher Springer estate" making their bid for the fortune. Fun to find the genealogies of claimants listed. 

So, maybe there is or at least was a vast fortune. Before linking my husband's line to Charles Christopher Springer, I did a little more newspaper research.

And then we find ...


Interesting to discover others being "told about it by their fathers and grandfathers". Same fashion the tale was shared in our Springer family.

No great bounty was unearthed. Just an interesting bit of family lore. Do you have a tale of fortune and treasure?

Wikipedia has the following entry about the subject:

"The Springer Hoax was a scam starting in the mid 19th century, often using a phony genealogy in various ways to collect money based on the supposed estate of prominent colonialist Carl Christopher/Christoffersson Springer and debts said to be owed to him by various government agencies of Wilmington, Delaware and Stockholm, Sweden. The alleged estate was said to include 1,900 acres of land, 228 acres of which ran though the center of Wilmington, worth up to $150,000,000. Other claims included $100,000,000 deposited in a Stockholm bank."

Further reading about the hoax:

Rootsweb: Springer Hoax

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Our Ancestor Was ~ a Missionary



Emma Naomi Ruth Shellabear, husband's aunt
b. 11/26/1886 - d. 05/14/1972

A favorite website for researching ancestors is the Library of Congress newspaper website, Chronicling America. I have been fortunate enough to find tons of interesting articles. Also, additional information was discovered on Newspaper.com.

While researching Rev. C.W. Ruth (husband's grandfather), I discovered this unknown family history story about my husband's aunt, Emma Naomi Ruth.

Naomi was Christian's oldest daughter. She was born November 26, 1886. She began missionary work at a very young age. Over her lifetime, she traveled to many out-of-the- way places. I discovered the above photograph on her passport from Ancestry.com, dated September 13, 1916.

Doing further research, I located the articles, which detailed a very anxious time for the entire Ruth family. For a while, they didn't know where Emma was during an earthquake that struck in the path of her travels.



The Sun. (New York, NY) 31 Dec. 1908. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn83030272/1908-12-31/ed-1/.

 

The Indianapolis Star: 31 Dec, 1908; Indianapolis, Indiana; Newspapers.com


The Indiana Star; 01 Jan, 1909; Indianapolis; Indiana; Newspapers.com


The Fairmount News; 06 Apr, 1909; Fairmount, Indiana; Newspapers.com

Can you imagine how harrowing this was for Naomi's parents?! Especially in a time period where communication was not as readily available. 

To learn more about the disaster, searched Chronicling American for "messina".  

          
New-York tribune. (New York, NY) 30 Dec 1908. Retrived from the Library of Congress, 222.loc.gove/item/sn830214/1908-12-30d/ed/1.

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Many at Funeral of Daniel Green

Daniel Green 
1st cousin, 4x removed of husband
photograph taken about time of Civil War
born December 05, 1838, Hazlettville, Kent County, Delaware
died August 25, 1916, Newport, New Castle County, Delaware


The News Journal - Monday, August 28, 1916
Wilmington, Delaware, United States      

Thursday, July 21, 2022

It's A Small World ...


While working on my son-in-law's family tree I made an interesing discovery. Son-in-law's 2nd great-aunt lived down the street from my mother! 

According to the 1940 United States Census record:

Herman and Elise Vollmert Darr (son-in-law's 2nd great-aunt and her husband) resided at 1508 N. Madeira Street.

My grandparents, Charles F. and Anna E. Wakefield, lived at 506 N. Maderia. Included in the household, was my five year old mother.
 
Maderia is a long city street. Doubtful they were borrowing a cup of sugar. But, each family had children in the same age range. Did they attend school together? Play in the park? Shop at nearby stores?

Fun to think, my mother and one of my son-in-law's cousins may have been playmates.

It is indeed a small world.

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Finding Ezra J. Starr ~ One Puzzle Piece At A Time


One truth we learn as family historians - data may not always be true. People may not know the information, have part of the facts, or outright lie. We hope what our ancestors share is gospel. But, that is rarely the case.

Incorrect information caused years of confusion locating my husband's 3rd great-uncle, Ezra Starr. Brother to his 2nd great-grandfather, Alfred Platt Starr. We have very few facts about Ezra. His approximate birth date, place of birth, and the profession of blacksmith. Sometimes he used the middle initial "J". Surprisingly, there are few Ezra's fitting the description.


Several years ago, I discovered what was to be the first puzzle piece. Or, was it?

Here we have a Kentucky death certificate for Ezra Starr [1]. Correct name, age and occupation. But, we see him born in Germany, along with his parents. My husband's Starr line came from England, to the United States, in the late 1600's. This doesn't seem to be our guy. But, just because you never know, I saved the record to my Shoebox on Ancestry.com. Didn't want to lose the "possible" information. 

Kentucky Post
Covington, Kenton, Kentucky
23 Sep, 1904

During my weekly "Starr" family newspaper searching [2], came across the next piece of the puzzle. Located in Covington, Kenton, Kentucky. Same town referenced in Ezra's death record. We link Alfred and Ezra! The case received lots of press. Giving details, confirming the relationship between our Starr brothers. But, why Germany on Ezra's death certificate?

This Starr line moved from Massachusetts, to Connecticut, to New York, to Pennsylvania. Once in Pennsylvania, they settled in and around Littlestown, Adams County. Most of the family records are located in this town.

A podcast led me to the final puzzle piece. One favorite is Research Like a Pro with the Family Locket Genealogists. Listening again to all the previous episodes. Sometimes we miss information that may be vital. A light bulb went off with an episode about locality research. Did I miss something in Pennsylvania?

FamilySearch has wonderful locality pages. Researching the Adams County, Pennsylvania Wiki page [3] we discovered the answer. Listed are boroughs, unincorporated communities and townships. One of the townships being Germany Township.

"Germany Township is in southern Adams County, along the Maryland border. It borders the west and south sides of the borough of LittlestownPennsylvania Route 97 passes through the township, leading northwest 9 miles (14 km) to Gettysburg and south 12 miles (19 km) as Maryland Route 97 to Westminster, MarylandPennsylvania Route 194 crosses Route 97 in Littlestown and passes through the township, turning to Maryland Route 194 and leading southwest 5 miles (8 km) to Taneytown, Maryland."

Ezra most likely told his fellow Kentuckians he was from Germany Township. The official filling out the death record may have interpreted this as a country. Having no knowledge of the area in Pennsylvania, they wouldn't know about the township. Not a lie, just a case of misunderstanding the facts. We see this in many records.

All the pieces have come together. Solving the mystery of Ezra J. Starr. Also, we now have the story of a family law suit. 

Moral of the story? Keep records, even when they seem not to be part of the puzzle. Don't stop digging. Connect with other researchers, in every format possible. And, never give up! The puzzle piece you need to complete the story, could be around the corner.

______________________

Sources:

[1] Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852-1965; indexed database and digital image, Ancestry.com (https//www.ancestry.com : accessed December 8, 2020), "City of Covington, KY, Department of Health,Bureau of Statistics", page 206 (image 223 of 1092), Ezra Starr death entry, February 19, 1904.

[2] "Want Settlement of an Estate, Heirs Filed Suit Against the Administrator," Kentucky [Covington, KY] Post newspaper, Friday, Sep 23, 1904, page 5 column 3, GenealogBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed December 8, 2020).

[3] Adams County, Pennsylvania Genealogy Wiki Page, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org) : accessed December 8, 2020), 

Saturday, December 5, 2020

Tracking Ancestors with City Directory Spreadsheet


If you have been reading the blog, you know that I love spreadsheets. Using them has helped me organize information. And best of all, answer questions.

A research problem has been our Gaphardt/Gephardt surname. At times, my ancestors used one or both of these spellings. Trying to determine relationships has been overwhelming. That is when I began using city directory research spreadsheets. 


This is the template I created. Named with directory title and date range. Added title of each individual directory. Now I can copy for each surname I wish to research.

Located the Digitized Baltimore City Directories on University of Maryland website. These are digitized from Internet Archive. Also, available on Ancestry.com. I find these directories easier to negotiate. Also, placed a link to the website, ensuring I have exact location the information was obtained.


Here is the first entry for my 2nd great-grandfather, George C. Gaphardt. Another surname spelling! Gephart  is now added to the growing list.


By 1871, we see my 2nd great-uncle, John C. Gaphardt appear in the directory. Verifying address for the family. My 2nd great-grandfather is listed as Gaphardt and Gephardt! No wonder I'm having such difficulty with this ancestral line.

Adding subsequent directory information, we discover the family relocating many times. Also, tracked their movements during gap created by the loss of the 1890 United States Federal Census. During this time span, the family relocated three times. Several of the addresses have previously been unknown. I will be searching the Maryland Land Records website for possible deeds. These may have important clues.


By 1901, my line settles on Gaphardt. In each succeeding record, they use that surname. But, we still see the Gephardt surname. This spreadsheet has given me a place to gather facts, and hopefully, discover relationships. I know from DNA matches, both of these surnames are indeed related.


With the directories, I made a fun discovery. How my 2nd great-grandmother met her second husband. 

According to the directories, by 1860 the Judd family was residing at 20 Walker. The last entry for them and this address being 1882.

Looking at the 1868-1869 city directory we see:

  • Henry Horn - tailor - 11 Walker (future 2nd husband of Elizabeth Judd Wakefield)
  • Philomena Judd - tailoress - 20 Walker (2nd wife and widow of 3rd great-grandfather Mathias Judd, step-mother of Elizabeth Judd Wakefield Horn)
  • Henry Wakefield - tailor  - 290 s Ann (2nd great-grandfather, 1st husband of Elizabeth Judd)

This is the last record we found for Henry Wakefield. I believe he passed away somewhere between 1869 and when Elizabeth remarries. The hunt continues!

By 1870 United States Federal Census [1], Elizabeth is residing with Phillipina Judt. Along with her young son, back to the family home.

On October 27, 1872 [2], Elizabeth weds neighbor, Henry Horn. The young widow and little boy, begin a new life. With the widower and his two small daughters. The couple would go on to have seven children. A combined total of ten children.

By the way, did you catch they were all in the tailoring business? Another connection revealed by the directories. 

Love when stories come alive using the records.

Here are a few links about using city directories in family history research:

City Directories for Genealogy When There's Been a Loss of Vital Records by Amie Bowser Tennant on The Genealogy Reporter


How to Use City Directories in Your Genealogy Research by Lisa Lisson of Are You My Cousin?


______________

Sources 

[1] 1870 U.S. census, Baltimore City, Maryland, population schedule, Baltimore Ward 6, page 224 (penned), dwelling/family 1859, Phillipina Judt household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://ancestry.com : accessed 04 December 2020); imaged from NARA microfilm 552073, roll M593_574

[2] Henry Horn entry, Baltimore City Court of Common Pleas, marriage index (marriage index, male), 1851-1885, CM205, reel CR 1672; Maryland State Archives