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My Alsatian Ancestors Crossed the Atlantic in 1827

Oh my goodness ... when it rains it pours.  Without really expecting to, I found the ship passenger record for Lawrence & Rose Whaley when they immigrated from France! As the previous two blog posts have discussed here and here, I've…

1823 Alsatian Marriage Record Is Translated

In my previous post, I revealed a major discovery about my Whaley-Rist ancestry, which is up-line from my Miller ancestors.  I found the marriage record for 4GGs Lawrence Whaley (1796-1870) and Rose Whaley (1801-1890) in the French civil registration…
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Discovery: Alsatian Marriage Record for Whaley Ancestors

In prepping for the Europe trip we're probably not going on, I started reviewing the information I had collected in the past about my Alsatian ancestors.  In doing so, I made a major discovery!  I found the original French marriage record…
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John K. Vermilyea was neither Danish nor Lutheran

I've always been saddened by the way John Knickerbocker Vermilyea (1851-1925) died.  He is a 2nd great-grandfather (2GG) and one of very few direct ancestors who died in an accident. I happened to be looking at him again recently and was…

Norwegian Death Song Circa 1880

In going through my Mother's file boxes and papers, my brother came across a carton of stuff left by her uncle Jack Bonn (1896-1985).  Jack was an interesting character whom I will write more about in the future.  Growing up, I always heard…

Berthe Mikkelsdatter Vikheim Emigrated from Norway in 1866

  We've talked a lot about Bertha Bonn, my great-grandmother, who immigrated to America in 1883 at the age of 17 and became a milliner in Montevideo, Minnesota.  (See blog posts here and here.)  In the family chart shown above, she…

Longevity of Hafslo Ancestors

I mentioned in a previous blog post that Dorthe Eriksdatter Aaberge (1838-1938) is the oldest confirmed ancestor in our family tree.  Now I know why. Her father lived to be at least 89 years old and her grandfather lived to be 95! Ole…
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New Photographs of Bonn Great-Grandparents

This is a newly-obtained photograph of my great-grandfather, Bernt Olsen Bonn (1856-1937).  I got it last month from cousins in Sogndal, Norway.  I had never seen it before.  It seems to show Bernt in his late 30s or early 40s. Because…
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Ancestral Farms in Eidsvoll, Norway

During last month's first-ever trip to Norway, one of my main goals was to drive around the village of Bøn in Eidsvoll Municipality to find ancestral farms. In particular, I wanted to see if I could pin down the precise location of a farm…
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Ancestry Discovery: Photographs of Sogndal Ancestors

To me, discovering photos or images of an ancestor is as important as determining their vital statistics.  It puts a face to a name and reveals character and personality.  Even cooler, sometimes you can see a physical resemblance to yourself…