I recently saw one of my ancestor’s signatures from 1874. The image below shows his surname. Can you figure it out? It is a very common German surname. Had I not known what it was, I never would have figured it out.
read moreOver the last few years I have found a new love: county record offices. County records are an underutilized tool for English genealogical research, possibly because of the cost of the records or lack of knowledge on how to find these offline records.
Genealogical research in England can be fairly straightforward, except for when it is not. Many researchers use census records, church records, probate …
read moreSeveral websites such as www.ancestry.com, www.familysearch.org, and www.fold3.com have Revolutionary War index cards which are digitally indexed and easy to find. Some of these cards have lots of great information, such as the one for Deliverance Wilson. It lists the captain’s name, what town the captain was from, dates of service, and a description of what the company did in the 16 days referenced on the muster and pay roll.
read moreKarl Kowallis arrived in NYC from Germany in 1893. Over 100 years later, in 1995, his daughter told the story of Karl being a stowaway. Her story was documented as follows: “Lacking sufficient money for passage, Karl managed to board the ship and stow away undetected. After some time at sea, either a crew member apprehended him, or he turned himself in to the captain. Whichever reason it was, the captain gave Karl the opportunity to work off his fare doing work on board ship.”
read moreMy great-grandfather immigrated to the US in the 1920s with his wife and children, including my grandfather. I have done extensive research on his ancestral lines. Each of my great-grandfather’s ancestors, thus far, were born in England. However, the 1930 and 1940 United States censuses could create confusion. The 1930 census correctly identified his place of birth as well as his father’s place …
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Karen Kowallis, MEd, AG® is an Accredited Genealogist® with a passion for learning, teaching, and researching.
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