Autograph Album Reveals Bernt Bonn Trip to Norway

It’s another discovery from my Mother’s cache of memorabilia.  I found a small autograph book from the 1880s belonging to my great-grandfather, Bernt Olsen Bønsmoen (1856-1937).  He was born and raised at the Bønsmoen cotter farm…

Road Trip to Quincy Township

Lucia and I paid a visit in July to my Aunt Susie in Rochester, Minnesota.  On a beautiful, but hot summer day, we drove over together to Quincy Township, about 20 miles east.  We were hoping to find the farm where our ancestors, Avery Vermilya…

Photo Discovery: 2GGs John K. & Alice Vermilyea

In plodding through my Mother's personal effects, I recently came across a 1921 family reunion photo involving several Vermilyea brothers and their relations.  It's 99 years old!  One of the brothers in the photograph is John Knickerbocker…
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Charcoal Drawings of Bernt & Bertha Bonn

In a previous post (here), I unveiled new photographs of Bernt Olsen Bonn (1856-1937) and Bertha Pettersdatter Aaberge (1865-1936) which were obtained last year from our Norwegian cousins in the Sogndal area. This summer, we brought…
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Harriet Kennelly Was Orphaned at a Young Age

My very first breakthrough when I started working on the family tree a decade ago came in my Kennelly line of ancestors. My Father's 1995 genealogy report went back no further than Harriet Kennelly (1835-1906), his great-grandmother and my…

Gravestone Discovery: 4GG Henry King

In a 2018 post, I detailed the case for Henry King as the father of 3GG Stephen W. King (1824-1865).  See it here.  The conclusion was that Henry was a good candidate, but more evidence was required to be sure of the relationship.  The analysis…

The Illegitimate Baby of Rosalie Rist

We've been exploring my Alsatian heritage rather extensively in recent weeks.  (See blog posts here, here, here, and here.)  While reviewing one last time all the parish and civil vital records for Dannemarie, France, I discovered an intriguing…
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Articles Published on 2GG Fred A. King

In 2016, I wrote three articles that were published in consecutive editions of the Minnesota Genealogist.  All three articles were about my ancestor Fred A. King (1857-1920): Searching for the Parents of Fred A. King of Saginaw, Michigan((Steven…

Pushing the Line Back in Alsace

I finally received the pre-1793 parish records for Dannemarie in Alsace, France.  I mentioned this previously (here).  I ordered them from the Centre de Recherches sur l'Histoire des Families in Guebwiller, Alsace. The package took a month…

Photo Discovery: 3GG Berthe Mikkelsdatter Vikheim

Boy, do I love finding new photographs of ancestors! A DNA match reached out to me last week.  It turned out she is one of our many Albertson cousins in Minnesota and has several 19th century images she was kind enough to share.  The key…