Hezekiah Ira McLaughlin (1859-1896) - 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks - Week 3

Week-3 Theme:  UNUSUAL NAME

The theme for Week 3 in the Amy Johnson Crow 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks challenge is: Unusual Name.

So, I decided to write about my Great Grandfather on my father’s side, Hezekiah Ira McLaughlin.

The name Hezekiah is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God gives strength".

Is Hezekiah a common or unique name?

According to one website, Hezekiah is ranked #613.  Another website stated by analyzing the number of births and frequency of this name, they determined that it’s currently a very unique male name. 

Not sure about the popularity of the name, but it’s not a name that was used much in our family line of names.  Maybe as I continue to do my research, I may find more.

Hezekiah is the father of my Grandmother, Edith May, born Oct 9, 1899 in Idaho and married to Marion LeRoy Kurtz on August 10^th, 1919.    Edith, my Grandmother, was one of 5 children. 

I have included a few pages from my Grandmother’s book called “The Sagebrush Homesteaders” that she wrote about her Dad, my Great Grandfather.  Hez was his nickname as a boy and then around 20 years old, he changed his nickname to Billy as he did not like his name.  Edith named one of her boys William and he was called Bill.  And as a young child, they called him Billy.  Could it have been after her father?

Billy (Hezekiah) was born on February 9, 1859 in Ohio, married Carrie Stafford on April 26, 1896 and died in June 27, 1930.

*Written by Edith Kurtz in 1990.

Below is a document written by one of Hezekiah’s granddaughter in 1967.

These documents provide many clues to assist in reaching additional information.

Stay tuned for more stories of their life......

The Attributes of a Genealogist

A quote from Ethel W. Williams book Know Your Ancestors: A Guide to Genealogical Research sums up nicely what a genealogist should be:

This quote was on the GenealogyWise Blog.  I thought it was a great quote and wanted to share it.

Enjoy the Journey!

Adam Schoenewald (1869-1945) - 52 Stories in 52 Weeks- Week 2

The story this week using the theme CHALLENGE for the Amy Johnson Crow 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks project is about my Great Grandfather, Adam Schoenewald on my Mother's side.
  

Adam and his son, Tillman, - Journey to America in 1899

It would be interesting to talk to him about the CHALLENGES he faced as an immigrate who could not speak English.  And how different America was from his home Country.  The difficulties he found traveling with a small child versus a singe man.  And how he answered all the questions he faced from an inquiring little boy.  My hope is someday to find that “family story” that someone has documented.  In the meantime, I plan to research that time period and see how I can reconstruct what could be answers to the CHALLENGES he faced.

When you are working on documenting your family history, the first thing one does is to ask a question and do your research around that question.  My question for my Great Grandfather was “When did he arrive in America?”   Attached is the ship manifest dated March 1899 and the 1900 Minnesota Census with his son and married to my Great Grandmother showing him living next door to his brother.  I also included the map of his home country at that timeframe.  Just those two documents lead me to another question that needs answered “The story around how they met”?  Finding that answer will be a CHALLENGE unless the stories have been documented and handed down to the current generation.

Adam and his son, Tillman, immigrated from an area known as Prussia in 1899, sailing from Berman and landed in Maryland, USA.  According to the ship manifest his son was about 5 years old.  It appeared that he was coming to America to visit his brother, which I assume was Johann who lived in Minnesota and found living next door to Adam on the 1900 Minnesota Census.    It’s quite interesting as he arrived in March of 1899 and married his second wife that same month according to Church Records.  They both had a child from their previous marriages.  Was it an arranged marriage by his brother who was already living in the area or did they know each other in Prussia?  Her first husband had died in an accident leaving her with a small child.  They settled in a little German community in Minnesota where my Grandfather was born in the fall of 1900.  Around 1913 they migrated to Idaho where Adam passed away from Myocarditis due to Asthma (Cardiac) on November 9, 1945 according to his death certificate.  His wife lived another 8 years.  

I will continue to research the Minnesota and Idaho area where he farmed land to gather additional information on his life.

Stay tuned for more stories of their life……

C. Emmeline "Hollingsworth" Schoenewald - 52 Stories in 52 Weeks

This year I joined the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge with Amy Johnson Crow.

Instead of 52 Ancestors, I am sharing 52 Stories of various Ancestors.  Some ancestors my appear in several blogs but with a different story in their life.  Each week there is a “prompt word” to use as a “theme”.

Week 1 – FIRST

The story this week will be about the FIRST ancestor that I started researching, my Grandmother on my Mother’s side – Claudia Emmeline Hollingsworth Schoenewald.  The FIRST thing I did was gather up the censes for her timeline.  My Aunt so graciously sent me a copy of her mother’s birth certificate and marriage license to Johann Hermann Schoenewald.  And a school document when she was in Montana.  She also provided me some great stories.  My Mother had some great information in her stash of stuff as well.  We will continue to work together to piece the lives of Emmeline and Johann into a document that will be shared with all family member.  But in the meantime, here is the start of my FIRST researching project.

My Grandmother was born in Bridgeport, Nebraska on October 2, 1910 to William Farrell and Eliza Bentz Hollingsworth.  They named her Claudia Emmeline but she did not like the name Claudia so always went by Emmeline.  There were 7 children with my Grandmother being the 6^th one born.  Her father was a Chicken Farmer as well as built houses that he would sell per my mother.  On the 1920 Census they had migrated to Montana and in 1921 living on a farm in Canada.  Sometime in the 1920’s, they had moved to Sandpoint, Idaho where Emmeline met Johann.  He was 11 years older than her when they wed on October 2, 1928.  Choosing her birthdate as a wedding date was a good way that they would always remember it.  Grandma was a housekeeper, always busy cleaning, laundry, and making clothes.  Her parents were always either living in the same house or next door so I am sure she was also busy helping with the chores of a farmer’s daughter.  Her husband was a logger and later worked for the highway department on the road crew.  Their first daughter, Patricia Jean, was born in Sandpoint, Idaho.  Around the time when Patricia was 5 years old, they moved to Ashland, Oregon.  They lived out of town on a dirt mountain road where Patricia had to ride a bus to school until she was 8.  Then they moved into town.  When they first moved to the Ashland area, they created a logging mill so they could build their own house.  When the house was complete, they dismantled it.  While living in Ashland their second daughter, Darlene Fay, was born.  William and Eliza moved to Vale, Oregon when Patricia was in the 8^th Grade.  After school was out for the summer, Emmeline and Johann also moved to Vale.  Ashland is on the west side of Oregon where Vale is on the far eastern side.  While living in Vale, Johann and Emmeline owned a Café in addition to a dairy farm.  They stayed in Vale until Patricia graduated from high school in 1951, then they followed William and Eliza back to Ashland where she lived until her death in 1980.  Johann passed away in Portland, Oregon eight years after Emmeline.

Stay tuned for more stories of their life……

Picture of Emmeline and Johann with their two daughters in 1951.

2019 Goals for my Family History Research

Been a little slack in keeping this up to date.  My goal for 2019 is to try a little harder and hope to succeed.  Sometimes life just puts a bump in the road but hopefully those bumps will be easy to sail over.

This past year I have been educating myself on the Genealogical process.  Oh so much to learn but it's been interesting on the topic of a Professional Genealogical Researcher versus a Hobbyist now that DNA has entered into the picture.  Education will continue to be a big focus this year as it will continue to be for years to come.

Scanning pictures and documenting them will also continue in hopes that the stack will slowly get completed and in some form to share with other family members.

A research plan has been created for my Great Great Grandparents, Great Grandparents and Grandparents on both sides.  As well as my parents and myself.  Each week I plan to take a question to answer and see if it can solved with documentation.  Such as:  What is the birth date and location of my Grandma Eliza Hollingsworth?  At the end of the year, I should have 52 questions answered or at least have a good start on the process of finding the answer.

The end result is to have a Family Notebook created with pedigree and family charts, along with stories.

Amy Johnson Crow has a weekly challenge called "52 Ancestors in 52 weeks" that I have joined.  Instead of 52 ancestors, my task is to write a story each week using the word prompt that she shares.

To see my results on a weekly basis and to keep myself accountable, I plan to document my progress in this BLOG and share with family members. 

I am really looking forward to finding out more about my ancestors and to get the information into some sort of method that can be shared.  This year I joined the Genealogical Society in my home town that meets weekly on Fridays and I also joined a writing club in hopes to give me the push I need to get the stories written and make me a better writer. 

Here's to 2019 and my goals!