My Family's Daughters: September 2014

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Amelia

I love family history, but sometimes I want to throw my computer out of a window. My great grandmother was named Amelia, and her mother was named Amelia and her mother, I have no idea.

My great grandmother's full names was Amelia Catherine Kolmann. (I think)

I have seen a great deal of variations to the spelling, here are a few...

Amelia Catherine Kolman

Emilie Kollmann

Emelia Welsh

Emelia Catherine Kolman

Amelia Katherine Kollmann

Amelia Catherin Kollman

....at one point her middle initial becomes an L.

My father only remembers her by "Grandma," and his great grandmother who was also named Amelia he knew only as "Grossmutter." So at least that gives us a country of origin, Germany. But not much else....

I know Amelia Catherine Kolmann was born August 23, 1897 in Pennsylvania. And during her childhood she traveled to and from Germany with her mother. So you would think that would mean she would have a passport, but I have not found her passport or even an application. (Yes, I tried her mother too.)

I found 1 ship manifest in German of her leaving Germany, but nothing heading to Germany in the first place.

I know she married my great grandfather, Patrick Joseph Welsh, but I have not been able to find their marriage license. I am guessing they got married before 1915, since that was the time they had their first daughter, Virginia Eleanor Welsh "Jeanie", but I can't prove it.

Amelia died on August 1, 1977 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. At the time she was living with her youngest daughter and her family in Export, PA. This is the only part of her life of which I am certain.

So many pieces of one life, but as of this moment, that is all they are. Someday I hope to be able to take all these pieces of Amelia and sew a beautiful quilt of her life together for both myself, my daughter, but most of all for my father.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Ladies in the Newspaper

Search for your female ancestors is never the simplest task.

First name, nick name, she hated her first name so she went by her middle name, oh by the way she got married 3 times, and so you must account for all those changes.... It can be a bit dizzying, but there is a gold mind waiting for you if you can just figure out what her name was.

Newspapers, mores specifically Newspapers.com! A virtual oasis of records and stories about your female ancestors. Sometimes as family historians we can get sucked into the vital records, jumping from one census to the next. But if you stop to smell the newspapers, you will find they smell just as good as a bouquet of roses. Today I was researching my 4th Great Grandfather, Noah Kidder Burton (1811-1904), and low and behold I found his wife's obituary!!!

Clearly I am thrilled, but it is extremely frustrating that she would not even be allowed her full name on her own obituary, she is still the wife of her husband. Now, I love my husband, but so help me God, I will have my full name in my obituary if I have to write it into my will! Judith Ann Burton nee Smith (1812-1893) is one of my favorite ancestors. I know it isn't politically correct to have favorites, but both Judith and her husband Noah are some of mine.

Judith's grandfather (Reuben Weed) was a American Revolutionary War soldier. And a link for me to someday join the DAR, but first I have to prove 7 generations of ladies.... Why my connection couldn't be filled with men, I will never know. But alas, I digress....

So, getting back on topic, if you are looking for the ladies in your family, make sure to search for every variation of both her, and every man in her life: husband, father, brother and even her sons.

Here are some ideas for different types of newspaper records to search for:

Obituaries or death notices
Engagement announcements
Marriage announcements
Application for a marriage license
Birth announcement
The Society page
Legal troubles: Example being a land dispute or notice of fraud.
Political news: Did your ancestor run for Mayor or City Council?
Sports: Did you grandfather throw the winning pitch for the State Championship?
Advertisements for a business your family owned and operated
Or even something written by your ancestor, instead of something written about them.

My great grandmother was responsible for writing the social section of her local paper, The Oil City Derrick, for years.

Last thing for today: Websites that aid in your newspaper research!

Newspapers.com

http://www.newspapers.com/

Google News

https://news.google.com/news/advanced_news_search?as_drrb=a

Elephind

http://www.elephind.com/

Library of Congress

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

Questions to Ask for Your Female Ancestors

What is their full name? (first, middle, maiden, all married names, and even their nickname they may have gone by)
Where did her parents select the name from? (family name, named after a close friend, etc)
Where were they born? (Confirm it is the correct location for the specific period in time: borders are constantly changing)
How did she come to live in the city or cities in which she lived?
What was the home or homes like? (Farm house, apartment, how many rooms, electricity, plumbing, etc)
If the woman was an immigrant: How & when did she come to her new home?
Find out any childhood stories that you can.
What type of education did she receive? Was she able to be educated? If so, for how many years and where?
If and when did she get married? How many times did she get married? And to who?
Did she have children? How many children? Did they all survive to adulthood? Were they all born into a legal marriage? Who were her children's father/s?
Was she involved in any activities outside the home? (quilting circle, suffrage alliance, etc)
Did she work outside the home? If so, what did she do?
What religion did she practice? (Catholic, Jewish, Quaker, Methodist, etc)
Was she ever in the newspaper? (birth announcement, engagement or marriage article, or even in the gossip column, etc)
Who were her closest friends? (Neighbors, fellow church members, college roommate)
What was the social setting while she was alive? Where there any world events that may have impacted her?
Do you have any special recipes from her?
What was her involvement in war? (Did she plant a Victory Garden? Work as a nurse with the Red Cross, work in a factory building supplies for the war)
Do you have any family records that would not be found online? (Family Bible, photos, old passports, etc)
Any other stories...