A few days ago, I decided to take a chance, and I put a post on Craigslist asking for the public's help. I stated that I was looking for the daughter of a certain couple who had passed away years ago. No one in my family could remember the daughter's name, and she is the oldest living relative on that side of my family, so I knew her input could be invaluable. Anyways, I gave a little detail about her parents and grandparents, and where she would have grown up. I was blown away when I received a reply stating that someone not only knew of this elusive daughter, they were neighbors to her. We exchanged phone numbers, and I am now planning a get together with her. It turns out my shot in the dark worked! Not only did I find the woman I was looking for, but she told me that her aunt had done a lot of genealogical work on the family before she passed away. Her aunt was born in 1904, and would have known the first generation in this branch of my family to come to America from Sweden. Thank you craigslist!
I was so excited about my results, that I decided to try it again. This time I put a post in an Illinois craigslist to see if anyone lived near Green Pond Cemetery that would be willing to photograph a couple of gravestones for me. I have received several hits so far, and I am hoping to have the pictures sent to me soon.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Frustrations and new avenues
So, today I tried to find a death record for John Lindblom who died 28 Nov 1888 in Hamilton County, Nebraska. But, it seems that Nebraska didn't keep death records until at least 1904. So, I decided to further research John Lindblom's wife Fredrika. I thought maybe if I put her family group sheet online, someone else might recognize this family as their own. So, here it is...
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Ancestry.com's My Canvas
This year, I am going to give both of my maternal grandparents a 5 generation family history book for Christmas. Well, I started working on my grandma's book tonight, and I am beginning to believe that I should have started this book months ago. I am guessing that her finished book will be about 150-160 pages, and tonight I think I finished about 5 total pages in 2 hours or so. Holy moly, I am going to be busy, busy, busy til Christmas! Oh well, the finished book will be so worth it, and I can't wait to give it to her!
I am having trouble deciding on how to add in divorced spouses. I am thinking that I need to add them in, but then do I add in the children that a new spouse brought in? What about a new spouse's step children? Where do I draw the line? Decisions, decisions!
I am so thankful that I have found quite a bit of information on the first 5 generations beyond my grandmother (who was born in 1937). I have a full set of 4 generations back, except I am missing one set of her great great grandparents. My grandmother's great grandfather, my ggg grandfather, was John Lindblom of Sweden. John Lindblom, also pronounced Lindbloom, was born 16 May 1837 in Kisa, Ostergotlands, Sweden. John married my ggg grandmother Fredrika Charlotta Jakobsdotter (Jacobson), also of Sweden, in Des Moines, Iowa on 7 Feb. 1872. In 1883, John and Fredrika moved their family from Des Moines, Iowa to Marquette, in Hamilton County Nebraska. It was there, in Hamilton County, that John Lindblom passed away, on 28 Nov 1888. He is buried in the Mamre Swedish Cemetery in rural Marquette. My problem is, that I can't find any records of who John's parents were back in Sweden. If anyone has any ideas as to where I might be able to find record of his parents, I would love to hear them.
I am having trouble deciding on how to add in divorced spouses. I am thinking that I need to add them in, but then do I add in the children that a new spouse brought in? What about a new spouse's step children? Where do I draw the line? Decisions, decisions!
I am so thankful that I have found quite a bit of information on the first 5 generations beyond my grandmother (who was born in 1937). I have a full set of 4 generations back, except I am missing one set of her great great grandparents. My grandmother's great grandfather, my ggg grandfather, was John Lindblom of Sweden. John Lindblom, also pronounced Lindbloom, was born 16 May 1837 in Kisa, Ostergotlands, Sweden. John married my ggg grandmother Fredrika Charlotta Jakobsdotter (Jacobson), also of Sweden, in Des Moines, Iowa on 7 Feb. 1872. In 1883, John and Fredrika moved their family from Des Moines, Iowa to Marquette, in Hamilton County Nebraska. It was there, in Hamilton County, that John Lindblom passed away, on 28 Nov 1888. He is buried in the Mamre Swedish Cemetery in rural Marquette. My problem is, that I can't find any records of who John's parents were back in Sweden. If anyone has any ideas as to where I might be able to find record of his parents, I would love to hear them.
Why genealogy?
In short, I love history. To me, history is like looking into a pair of beautiful dark brown eyes. The more you look at them, the more you want to know what is behind them, and eventually, you just get lost in them. Ok, ok, so I am a romantic, too.... But, I think genealogy is fascinating. It is romantic. Genealogy is more than just putting names and dates in your family tree, it is giving life to those names. It is finding pictures of your great great great grandparents who came to America in search of the promised land. It is compiling their life story so that others can appreciate where they came from. It is all of this and so much more. It is giving new life to old branches.
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