Genealogy Do-Over, My Way: Rules of Engagement and Progress

Headng into Week Two, I have managed to avoid the “shiny objects” pretty well this week.  I also heard some great presentations on organization and time management at Virtual APG.

Here are My Rules of Engagement:

1.      I will set up a new tree as my “source of truth” using either RootsMagic or Legacy Family Tree.

a.      To start, I will enter only “bare bones” data (BMD) for no more than 5 generations back.

b.      I will add supporting media and documentation for each item added to the new tree at the time of adding it.

c.      I will use standard source citation formats to document in my tree.

d.      I will decide which software to use by the end of the 13 week do-over.

2.      I will set up a new file system on Dropbox for all my current electronic documents.

a.      I will use the “Lastname_Firstname_ date_document type” naming convention instead of my current one.

b.      Currently held items will be moved and renamed as they are added to the new tree.

3.      I will use a research log and the “to-do” list function in the new tree to track the items I want to follow up on or search for in the future.

4.      I will use the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge as a method to expand the information I have on existing people or to add new people to my tree.

a.      I will focus on what documentation I already have and search for new information only for the Ancestor of the week.

5.      I will follow the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). The GPS consists of five elements:

a.      A reasonably exhaustive search;

b.      Complete and accurate source citations;

c.      Analysis and correlation of the collected information;

d.      Resolution of any conflicting evidence;

e.      A soundly reasoned, coherently written conclusion.

I still have not committed to color-coding, but I will continue to evaluate doing this.

Progress: 

Reading through the Do-Over Facebook page for ideas and suggestions.  Investigated several web sites and blogs on organization and managing images/photos.  Learning a lot!

As a test, I have started saving some things to Evernote, particularly information which has one or more images and requires a translation or information.  Rather than keep the information in several files, they will be in one. 

I have set up my “skeleton tree” in both RootsMagic and Legacy to test which I like working with better.  I am focusing on my “52 Ancestors” targets to work with the trees and fill them in.

So far so good!

Marion Elizabeth Brennan 1917 - 2014

Marion 1989

Marion Elizabeth Brennan was born on 1 Oct 1917 in Chicago, Illinois as youngest child and the only daughter of Stephen Francis Brennan and Anna Elizabeth Marcusen. She had two older brothers: Clarence Francis, who died as an infant, and Charles Joseph.

About 1918:  Front Row:  Henry Hanson, Berjetta's nephew and Marion's Godfather; Charles Brennan (Marion's brother), Marion Brennan on her father's lap.

Back row:  Berjetta Hanson Marcusen (Marion's grandmother); Anna Elizabeth Marcusen Brennan (Marion's mother); Stephen Brennan (Marion's father).

     

 

Marion – c. 1923

She grew up in a two-flat at 4242 Wilcox Street in Chicago, Illinois as noted in the 1920, 1930 and 1940 US Census enumerations.  Her grandmother Berjetta owned the home and ran her laundry business out of the basement.  Marion helped with the business when she was old enough.  She also had a pet dog that she adored.

Marion and her dog

 

4242 Wilcox indicated by X in photo

4242 W Wilcox St, Chicago

She graduated from John Marshall High School in January 1936. 

High School Yearbook picture

    

  

She attended and graduated from Northern Illinois State Teachers College, now known as Northern Illinois University (NIU), on 17 June 1940. 

Schaeffer House Friends – c. 1939

Her first teaching position was in a one-room school in Brookfield, Illinois. Marion told us she took the trolley to get to the school.  After she married and moved to DeKalb, she taught third grade at Ellwood School in the DeKalb school system, teaching a total of 43 years.

Marion – c. 1940

Marion married Eli Enich, son of George and Yeka Enich, on 9 January 1943 in Chicago, Illinois. They did not have any children.  They lived in DeKalb all their married lives.  As newlyweds they lived with Eli’s parents. 

Eli and Marion Enich Wedding Picture - 1943

  

DeKalb City Directory - 1959

By 1959, Marion and Eli bought their own home at 129 Harrison Street in DeKalb.  I was told that they had NIU college students rooming with them for several years.   Marion’s mother Anna lived with Marion and Eli from the early 1960s when she sold the family home in Chicago until 1988 when she died. They moved back to Market Street after Eli’s parents died. They were living there in 1978 when I first met them.

25th Wedding Anniversary

After Eli died in 2002, Marion continued living in their home on Market Street until she moved to Green Bay in 2007, first to an independent living community and then to an assisted living residence.   When I asked her about the timing of her move, she told me she was waiting for her 20+ year old cat to die, so she would not have to move him and upset him.  Finally she had no choice and the cat went with her.   The cat lived for a few more years with her in Green Bay and to the best of her knowledge was 27 years old when he died.

1160 Market St, DeKalb IL

Marion Brennan Enich passed away peacefully in her sleep October 23, 2014 at the age of 97 years and 22 days old. Funeral services were held Monday, October 27, 2014 at 2:00PM in the Ronan-Moore-Finch Funeral Home in DeKalb, Illinois.

Here are some things I learned about Marion over the years I knew her.  She loved her brother Charlie and her cats.  She read the Chicago Tribune every day until she was 96 – it was delivered to her in the retirement community.  She kept in correspondence with her college classmates for many years.  She kept her favorite doll from when she was 6 years old – it is now in my care.  She saved and shared many very old photos of her mother’s family.  Some are old tintypes!

We shared an interest in genealogy.  She was distressed because she never found her Brennan grandparents.  She searched for years trying to find her father’s family.  The story was that the Catholic Brennan family disowned Stephen when he married a Lutheran.  Marion told me she thought her grandparents were Michael and Annie Brennan who came from Ireland and ended up in Chicago, but she had no documentation.  Marion believed that her father Stephen was born in Chicago as he reported in the 1910 and 1920 US Census, but was unable to obtain a birth certificate.  According to the Cook County Clerk’s Office “it burned up in the Fire.”  She was told he had “several brothers and sisters” but the only one she ever met was her father’s sister Mary Brennan a few times as a child.  Her Aunt Mary worked (and lived) in a convent on the North side of Chicago, but was not a nun. Marion couldn’t remember the name of the convent.  It would have been in the early to mid-1930s.  We were able to get a DNA sample from Marion before she died.  We are hoping it leads us to finding her Brennan family.

Genealogy Do-Over, My Way

I have been watching with interest the genealogical challenges for 2015.  Thomas MacEntee’s “Genealogy Do-Over” and Amy Johnson Crow’s (she blogs at No Story Too Small) “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2015 Edition."

As part of the prep work for the Genealogy Do-Over, I have been comparing my current method of organization to others being suggested.  I have been using document oriented organization (file folders for Birth, Death, Marriage, Census, etc.) but I am considering moving to surname oriented with the document description at the end of the file name.  

My current view:

Diana Ritchie’s example from the Genealogy Do-Over Facebook group:

I am thinking about combining the challenges as a way to clean up my family tree.  I have been collecting many scans, pictures and other items but have not been linking them consistently to my tree.   In addition, my primary genealogy software The Master Genealogist is no longer supported.   I am evaluating RootsMagic and Legacy Family Tree to see which one I will move my tree to for the future.  I would like to create a tree that is my “source of truth” and that is not linked to shared tree on Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, etc.   In my new tree, I will only add people and facts that are supported by documentation and citations.   

The Do-Over is scheduled to last 13 weeks.  52 Ancestors for the year.   I making my plan and I am ready for the Do-Over!

Sixty Minutes to Better Genealogy!

     I will be at the Newberry Library today for Day 2 of Sixty Minutes to Better Genealogy! These focused, sixty-minute sessions are designed to help illuminate important topics for your genealogical project and help push you through a particular question in your research.  This is my fourth year presenting for the Newberry’s summer series. 

     I will be presenting: What’s New on the Internet, Ancestry Primer, Fold3 and FamilySearch and RootsMagic.  It appears that there will be a full house as well as a full day! 

Villa Park Vittles

I found this old cookbook Villa Park Vittles (from 1948-1949) in my grandmother’s things.  Her name, Merle K. Bollenbach, is written in pencil on the inside front cover.  I read through the book, indexed it, scanned all the pages and then donated the book and computer files to the Villa Park Historical Society.

The cookbook is the creation of the American Home and Education Class of the Villa Park Woman's Club, Mrs. C. Scott Parnham, Chairman, dated 1948-1949.  The title page also lists all the Officers of the Woman’s Club at the time.  I recognized a number of the names as friends of my parents and grandparents.

I was most interested in the names and the ingredients of the recipes.  One stand out was Sugarless Dessert submitted by Mary West on page 37.  Coincidentally this lady was a member of my church, so I recognized the name.  It is true there is no refined white sugar in the recipe; however it calls for 30 marshmallows!  It includes chocolate, whole milk and whipping cream and sounds yummy, just do not be fooled by the name!  The book also has a number of versions of Tuna Casserole and molded salads (not all with Jell-O). 

Villa Park is celebrating its 100th birthday (anniversary?) as an incorporated village this year.  Maybe someone will want to try some recipes in honor of the occasion.

Contributors to the Villa Park Vittles Cookbook

Name

Anderson, Sally

Ashford, Pauline

Ashton, Maryon

Beckstrom, Claire

Benthin, Irene

Bentz, Betty

Betz, Lillian

Bond, Virginia L.

Burhen, Marion

Butts, Mrs. R. K.

Clark, Synneva

Conlin, Mrs. H. M.

Cormier, Mrs. H. H.

Cornelius, Ruth

Cortesi, Mrs. L. R.

Custard, Marion

Dammann, Virginia

Denzler, Mrs. Frank

Doty, Cornelia

Douglas, Mrs. W.

Dresser, Marguerite G.

Dykema, Marion

Elsasser, Ruth

Enzweiler, Marge

Featherstone, Helen

Filewicz, Frances

Gee, Dottie

Gibson, Adrienne

Gilbert, Mrs. Eva M.

Goerlitz, Mrs. David

Goodman, Ruth

Graf, Agnes

Grubb, Mrs. Edwin W.

Gutzmer, Mrs. E. R.

Hamel, Frances

Hart, Virginia Callahan

Hass, Edna M.

Herzog, Gertrude

Holloway, Dorothy

Hook, Virginia

Huston, Candce E.

Jans, Mrs W. C.

Kane, Fleada

Keel, Mrs. Earl

Kessel, Dorothy

Kirchner, Alice

Knapp, Mathilda

Legler, Mae

Leonard, June

Lipton, Mrs. Edwin C.

Little, Mrs. R. E.

McArthur, Catherine M.

McFarland, Blanche

McGowan, Alyce

McKee, Mrs. Robert M.

McNamara, Leah

Mellete, Emma

Mellete, Frances

Mitchell, Mrs. A.

Modjeska, Selma

Moore, Alyce

Morlock, Mrs. Hazel

Mudd, Marina

Nabers, Mrs. Bernard

Nagel, Beth R.

Nelson, Mrs. Robert

Neville, Doris

Olliver, Mrs. L.

Parnham, Henrietta

Pohlmann, Ida E.

Rankin, Margaret

Rink, Dorothy M.

Ronske, Mrs. John

Ross, Mildred

Schroeder, Marge

Sears, Grace

Smith, Harriette

Smith, Jane

Smith, Mrs. Minor B.

Snyder, Mrs. R. B.

Sorensen, Mrs. A. J.

Stoltz, Lorene

Timreck, Eleanor S.

Towne, Mrs. C. H.

Tweedle, Gertrude

Urban, Mrs. Hugh

Vangsness, Jane

West, Mary

Wilson, Charlotte

Wilson, Claudine

Winans, Myrtle

Wisner, Rhea

Wright, Mrs. D. F.

Looking for Paul Primas

I have been looking for my great-grandfather Paul Primas for a long time.  When I started my family history research for a school project in 6^th grade, he had already been gone for over 50 years. 

What I knew about Paul Primas when I began was that he was my grandfather Oscar Primas’ father and my father’s grandfather.  I knew he had a wife who lived for over 20 years past his death.  He had five children, four boys and one girl.  I was told he was from a town called Nekla in what is present day Poland but was Prussia when he lived there. 

I wrote to my grand-uncles who still survived and asked for more details.  There was another son who died young.  Paul’s wife was Emma Natalie Stroschein.  They had been married in Prussia before they made the trip over.  Her parents were Ludwig and Susanna Stroschein.  I was never told anything further about Paul.

Later I learned that Paul and Emma had come to the US in about 1887.  They came to Chicago yet three of their children were born in Wisconsin.  Paul died in Chicago in December 1906 at the age of 46 years old leaving his wife with five children ranging in age from 18 years old to 9 years old (my grandfather).

Paul Primas' sons:  Otto, Fred, Frank and Oscar c.1948

Over the years I have been searching, researching, writing letters and trying to find out more about Paul Primas.  As a teenager I wrote to the German Consulate to ask how to find records I was looking for and was told all the records were lost in the war (World War II) and any that did survive were now behind the Iron Curtain and unavailable.  I kept looking and asking.

As more information came on-line, I started to get little hints and clues.  He arrived in Baltimore, not Ellis Island.  He came with his wife Emma and their son Franz on the ship Köln from Bremen  I found his citizenship was granted in Dunn County Wisconsin, even though his Declaration of Intent was filed in Cook County.  In the 1891 City Directory for Chicago he is listed as a tailor.  Based on his children’s birth records, between 1893 and 1897 when he was in Wisconsin he was a laborer in the lumber camps.   In the 1900 US Census he and his family are living at 156 North Kedzie in Chicago and he is listed as a janitor.

In 2012 I decided I needed to go to Poland and try to find out more information about my elusive great-grandfather Paul.  I still had many questions.

A Memorable Christmas

Caron's First Christmas
Carol and Aaron with Taffy (the dog) and Caron

Our family has always had strong Christmas traditions.  Family is always the focal point.  Every Christmas morning from the year I was born and lasting 40 years, my parents hosted a casual Christmas breakfast for family and friends.  People would drop by on their way to and from other places.  We served a continental breakfast:  breakfast breads, grapefruit, juices, coffee, egg casseroles in later years, and lots of Christmas cookies.

My mother had a guideline for Christmas gifts for her children she used over the years and I adopted:  something to read, something to play with and something to wear. 

I do not know if my sisters will remember but in 1965 we were living in Wheaton Illinois at the end of a dead end road in an unincorporated area – a rural feeling atmosphere.  Dad was working hard to make his new business a success, traveling a lot, and Mom told us (or maybe just me) that there was not a lot of money for Christmas this year and not to expect too much.

I did not think too much about it until Christmas morning.  Donna and I had a few gifts under the tree.  We each got a book and a new sweater/skirt outfit.  I do not remember what Amy received, but she was still very young and probably had an outfit and a book as well.  After we opened the gifts under the tree and from our Christmas stockings, Dad told us to go get the stuff for breakfast from the garage refrigerator.   He insisted that both of us go do this chore together.  Imagine our surprise when we opened the door to the attached garage and saw shiny new bicycles with our names on them sitting there!  We were very excited as the bikes would give us more freedom to get around and to get to school.  While it may not have been my best Christmas ever, it certainly is one of my most memorable!

New Bikes!  Amy, Donna and Caron