Genealogy in the fast lane

Back when life was slower and technology was limited to black & white televisions and rotary dial telephones, genealogy research and record keeping was conducted by visiting libraries, digging through musty or moldy documents, and sharing information with relatives and neighbors.

Today, genealogy research has taken a new twist. Much like our ancestors, we love to share what we find, but on public forums and boards. The future for accuracy and completeness scares me. It is becoming more and more evident on various public family trees. One cannot and should not believe what they find until they do 'due diligence' to find the origin of that information. It can be a daunting task, to say the least, especially when there are several generations of a same given name, regardless of the gender.

One example is in my Wildasin ancestral line, and it begins with three sons born to Peter Wildeson (1797-1887) and Catherine Sterner (1807-1887) in York County, Pennsylvania.

• Peter Sterner Wildeson (1836-1911) married Margaret Bollinger (1835-1906). One of their children was a daughter named Amanda Ellen Wildeson (19 Mar 1864-5 Apr 1933) and who married a William John Elder and later a John L. Reily and lived in York County. [Her PA death certificate #40516 confirms: dates of birth and death; parents of Peter and Margaret; location of death and residence at the time of death.]

Photo taken by
Mary K. Wildasin-Staub,
Lazareth Church, Maryland.

• Jacob Sterner Wildeson (1832-1915) married Catherine Yost (1835-1915). One of their daughters was named Lamanda (aka Amanda) Susanna Wildeson (5 Jan 1861- 15 Nov 1933) and who married a George Monath in York County, PA but died in Maryland. [Proof of this Lamanda comes from several sources: marriage announcement and certificate 28 Sept 1884 at the Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary to George; death certificates for Lamanda (#11007) and George (#03541) both in Maryland; a child's death obituary for George Edward Monath dated 13 May 1899; and Lamanda's father Jacob obituary dated 3 Feb 1915, not to mention a land sale from Jacob Sterner Wildasin to his son-in-law George (ref. Book R, page 3 dated 13 mar 1896).]

• Andrew Sterner Wildeson (1846-1926) married Amanda Sipling (1855-1920). They were smart and did not name their daughters Amanda! [This information was confirmed by reading the death certificates for Andrew (#20494) and for Amanda (death certificate #104753).]

I suppose you might say that I have way too much time on my hands to spend time digging in old files and driving to out of state repositories like the Maryland State Archives. To me discovering my ancestral roots and proving their lives is all part of the challenge of genealogy.

Word to the wise ... please be careful in believing what you find. Go the extra mile to find original records, compile a chart to compare your findings, and then make a determination. Later down the road you will appreciate it that you did! 

Happy researching.

P.S. My email is patwistedroots@gmail.com should you want to discuss or share. 

Writing on the Wall

What would you do if you discovered a hidden message inside your home and learned that an ancestor was indirectly related to a previous owner of the land on which your house is built?  This discovery 31 years ago held more meaning for me than I expected!

In 1987 my husband and I purchased our second home. The former owners gifted us with a detailed list of all the home renovations complete with contractors' names, and dates of those renovations, and I still have this slip of paper!

As most new homeowners there were a few rooms that needed to be updated, one being our bathroom. After convincing my husband he conceded, and the project was soon underway.

Gold shag carpeting that covered the floor was replaced with a vinyl floor and the six colors were reduced to three. Plastic tile that lined the walls was removed, and a huge unframed mirror, 32.5" x 48.5" in size that hung over the vanity, still resides there. Our surprise came when we removed the mirror.

The previous owner or the builder signed the wall giving us details of when our house was built, by whom, and the name of the first homeowner. This was a thoughtful surprise!

Jumping ahead to 2018 I took this photograph to preserve the house history in the event someone accidentally paints over it, like I almost did several times. I researched the builder and previous owners of our house. The project is still a work-in-progress and revealed more surprises.

A deed search proved the ownerships of the house from 1987 to 1960 and of the land back to the 1920s. The small plot of land on which our house is built is part of a much larger piece of land that was surveyed in 1738 by a Philip Shute/Sheetz. His land purchase was part of what was Digges' Choice.

I often what the reason was in the naming of our street. Research showed that the said land owner's middle name was Ruel, hence Ruel Avenue.

A surprising discovery was that of the said land owner's relative who married a Wildasin, and just happens to be in our family lineage. Talk about connections!

As it turns out, the author of this writing on the wall probably did not realize what this means to me. As for the future owners of this home and little piece of land, I plan to share this story with them and hope that they do not paint over the writing on the wall.

Wreaths Across America

 

 

Today, across America, wreaths were placed at the gravesites of the men and women who served our country. Not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised by the attendance and of the beautiful ceremony. 

Above is the grave marker for my paternal grandfather's brother George Wildasin, who served in World War I.  As I walked across the grounds of the Mount Olivet Cemetery back to my car, I stopped to place wreaths, exchanged conversations with several people, and to look at the grave markers for a man who fought in the Revolutionary War and one of a Confederate Soldier.  I cannot describe the feelings that I experienced. 

Next year, I hope to be able to participate again.  I hope at least one or several of you may do the same. 

  

Finishing what I started

When 2011 arrived I resolved to finish what I started. Since leaving my job in public relations I found several unfinished projects - a quilt that my mother started, keeping my potted herbs alive and actually cook with them , and completing researching my family tree.  Until today, work and life got in the way.  

Today is the beginning of my personal journey.  My first task ... researching my ancestors beginning with my family and then my husband's.  Who knows where this new hobby could lead me. 

After a few days of digging into my parent's past, I learned that my grandmother Ida Mae (Simpson) Berkheimer's family has links to England.  My other grandmother Mary Catherine (Monath) Wildasin has roots back to Germany.  Oh, but there is so much to do - organizing data, documenting information, putting a name to all the photos that my parents stuck (literally) in a photo album.  My dad glued photos to the pages of his photo album.  Thank goodness for scanners!