The 23rd edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

Today, I have the honor of presenting eleven posts by seven different authors. We have tales and photographs, stories and research. Without more ado, ladies and gentlemen, let the 23rd edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy commence!

Donna Pointkouski follows the tangled threads of cluster genealogy in The Millers’ Tale at What’s Past is Prologue. Don’t miss parts two and three.

At Tangled Trees, TCasteel tells us about the RMS Ausonia, the ship on which one of her ancestors came from Hungary to Canada. In Kirchweih, she shares a beautiful photograph of her ancestors in traditional costume for this church dedication festival.

Al Wierzba of Al’s Polish-American Genealogy Research is planning an ambitious indexing project involving the Portage County, Wisconsin Polish/Kaszubian community, and would love help from anyone else interested in this group. He has started by creating a template to assist the indexers.

Patti Browning, writing at Consanguinity, shares memories and wistfulness in the beautifully written All My Germans.

Earline Bradt discusses My Silver Buckle, and the nature of family heirlooms, at Ancestral Notes.

Evelyn Yvonne Theriault opens a dusty vault of Canadian history to us in The "Secret" Germans of Quebec at A Canadian Family.

And finally, M. Diane Rogers shows and tells us of the Ukrainian Pioneer Monument in Winnipeg Manitoba, posted at CanadaGenealogy, or, ‘Jane’s Your Aunt’

Thank you all for attending! The 24th Edition will be hosted by Al Wierzba of Al’s Polish-American Genealogy Research in November. Stay tuned for the details.

Tombstone Tuesday: Herbert Vincent MCKINNEY (1873-1957)

Herbert Vincent McKinney's gravestone

McKinney, Herbert Vincent grave marker, Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA; photograph by Richard Holt, 7 Aug 2009. Digital copy privately held by Jean Marie Diaz, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Linden, California. 2009.

Herbert is Nellie‘s husband. Until I received this photo, I was missing his death date — it seems to fall between the cracks of the otherwise copiously available death data from Ohio.

The carnival is coming to town!

I’m pleased to announce that the 23rd edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy will be hosted right here. The topic is a carousel, so anything touching on Central or Eastern European Genealogy is fair game! Submissions will be due by September 19th and the edition will be published on September 21st. Please submit articles here.

Now to figure out what I’m going to write about for the carnival….

Tombstone Tuesday: Eleanora Margaret (Nellie) TIERNEY MCKINNEY (1875-1973)

Nellie Tierney McKinney's gravestone

McKinney, Nellie Tierney grave marker, Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA; photograph by Richard Holt, 7 Aug 2009. Digital copy privately held by Jean Marie Diaz, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Linden, California. 2009.

Nellie is the biological aunt and adoptive mother of my grandfather John Herbert TIERNEY, and the only great-grandparent I ever met.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Your 16 Great-Great-Grands

It is time again for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – thanks to Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings. Somehow by the time Saturday night rolls around, I’m much too tired to assemble one of these — but they’re just as much fun on Sunday afternoon, when I have more brain cells available.

1) List your 16 great-great-grandparents in pedigree chart order. List their birth and death years and places.

2) Figure out the dominant ethnicity or nationality of each of them.

3) Calculate your ancestral ethnicity or nationality by adding them up for the 16 – 6.25% for each (obviously, this is approximate).

4) If you don’t know all 16 of your great-great-grandparents, then do it for the last full generation you have.

5) Write your own blog post, or make a comment on Facebook or in this post.

Well, I’m missing 3 of my 16 great-great-grandparents still, but it’s safe to assume they’re all Puerto Rican, so without more ado–

16. Eloy Diaz y Gotay (8) was born at Penuelas, Puerto Rico, USA. He married Edwigés Yrigoyen y Márquez de Diaz (441).

17. Edwigés Yrigoyen y Márquez de Diaz (441) was born circa 1869 at Puerto Rico, USA.

18. [Belen’s husband, surnamed Silva, is unknown as yet, but most likely Puerto Rican.]

19. Belen Fernandez (498) was born circa 1870 at Puerto Rico, USA. She married Silva (953).

[20 and 21 are missing but can be safely assumed to be Puerto Rican.]

22. Marcelino Gonzalez (1003) was born at Naguabo, Puerto Rico. He married Petrona Valentin y Roman (1004) at Puerto Rico. He died before 15 Apr 1910 at Naguabo, Puerto Rico.

23. Petrona Valentin y Roman (1004) was born circa 1860 at Puerto Rico.

24. Lott J Tierney (635) was born on 15 Aug 1833 at Clare, Ireland. He married Margaret Connell (496) on 27 Nov 1860 at St. Mary’s Church, Lowell, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 9 Apr 1915 at Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA, at age 81.

25. Margaret Connell (496) was born on 1 Aug 1835 at Tipperary, Ireland. She died on 6 Dec 1918 at 1526 Richard, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA, at age 83.

26. John Kelly (684) was born on 24 Nov 1840 at Tipperary, Ireland. He married Johanna Leahey (75) circa 1865. He died on 16 Feb 1905 at North Union St, Union City, Randolph, Indiana, USA, at age 64.

27. Johanna Leahey (75) was born in 1848 at Tipperary, Ireland. She died on 9 Aug 1894 near Union City, Indiana [but I don’t know which side of the Ohio-Indiana state line].

28. John Kohl (693) was born in Aug 1840 at Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. He married Gertrude Berg (580) circa 1867 at Germany. He died on 5 Jan 1903 at 320 W North St, Springfield, Clark, Ohio, USA, at age 62.

29. Gertrude Berg (580) was born in Feb 1843 at Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. She died on 14 Apr 1908 at Springfield, Clark, Ohio, USA, at age 65.

30. Philip John Weyrich (812) was born on 17 Feb 1844 at Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. He married Mary Engel (397) on 20 Dec 1870 at Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA. He died on 10 Jan 1906 at Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA, at age 61.

31. Mary Engel (397) was born on 15 Jul 1851 at Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA. She died on 1 Dec 1919 at 1232 Xenia Ave, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA, at age 68.

…. for a grand total of 50% Puerto Rican (16-23), 25% Irish (24-27), and 25% German (28-31). Which I could have told you before doing this exercise, but as Randy points out, it’s nice to have your tree published so searchers can turn it up.

The numbers in parens in the list are each individual’s ID in my TMG database.

Smile for the Camera: Great-Grandma’s Pearls

Two sisters and a daughter-in-law on a warm summer’s day. Bess, on the left, never married, but you can see a brooch at the top of her dress. Pauline, my grandmother, sports her wedding ring. Nellie, Bess’ sister and Pauline’s mother-in-law, shows her wedding ring, watch, and three strands of pearls. Mom and I think this was taken in the back yard of Nellie’s house.

Here are the pearls on display again, in the formal portrait taken for her 50th wedding anniversary in 1955:
Nellie McKinney on her 50th wedding anniversary

Going through Grandma’s jewelry box was eternally attractive to a magpie child. Along with the big bright costume jewelry and the beautiful rings, were these pearls. They had an intricate silver box clasp. I remember handling the necklace and wearing it, even, but I don’t have the pearls now, haven’t for years. I hope my mother managed to rescue them from the chaos of my college years, but I haven’t had the nerve to ask. They may be gone forever. (I took better care of the is-it-aquamarine-or-is-it-blue-topaz ring my mother handed down to me from Grandma; the stone, whatever it is, is too soft to take daily wear, but I know where it is.)

Written for the 16th edition of Smile for the Camera! carnival.

The word prompt for the 16th Edition of Smile For The Camera is “Bling, ancestor Bling.” I am always drawn to the beautiful jewelry worn by our ancestors in old photographs. The locket that was your Great Grandmother’s treasure, the pocket watch proudly displayed by a male ancestor, the beautiful crosses of old, and the children with their tiny bracelets. While not many of our ancestors were wealthy enough to own multiple pieces of jewelry, there was the one good piece that held sentimental value. Some of us have been fortunate enough to inherit those treasures. Show us a photograph of your ancestor wearing their “Bling,” or photographs of the pieces you have inherited. Admission is free with every photograph!