Haviland China Our family was lucky enough to inherit the wedding china of my husband's great grandparents, Charles Frederick Ehle and Gertrude Ethelyn Smith. Charles and Gertrude were married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 21 December 1904. The china is from Theodore Haviland, Limoges and is marked as made for Gimbel Brothers in Milwaukee. The pattern … Continue reading Thursday Treasures
To Michigan via New York My husband’s family has roots in Ionia County Michigan via New York. The Stevens, Peck, Gordon, and Sharp families all moved to Ionia County Michigan from Jefferson County, New York between 1855 and 1870. His direct ancestors stayed in Ionia County until about 1883 when they moved to Minnesota. Charles … Continue reading Ionia County Connections
Trying to Get our Family on the Ship... "Mayflower e porzh-mor Aberplymm" gant William Halsall, 1882 What happens when you follow the female lines in your family history research? In my case, it leads to some exciting finds! When following the family of Hannah Sowle, wife of Smith Fancher, I found an interesting possible connection … Continue reading Mayflower Passage
Goodale/Goodall/Goodell Family We had always been aware that my husband had New England ancestry. His grandmother had been told stories of Patriot ancestors that fought during the Revolutionary War and she had passed those stories on to her children and grandchildren. That particular branch - the Ehle family - had come to the colonies in … Continue reading Ancestors in Salem, Massachusetts
Finding family in New England wills and probate records I have been spending a lot of time in New England records over the past few months. Finding the family of Harriet Elizabeth Sharp Ehle (the 2x great grandmother of my husband) opened up a huge new door to research in New York and beyond. (You … Continue reading Proving Connections
William Roderich Smith William R. Smith William R. Smith is another figure in my husband's family that came with a family story. William was my husband's great great grandfather on his father's side. William was born in England in 1848 and came to the US with his family in 1851. The family settled in Milwaukee … Continue reading Family Lore: Fact vs Fiction
Finding the Family of Libby Sharp Part 7 - Addendum When I last left off on the search for the family of Harriet Elizabeth "Libby" Sharp, I had found many sources of indirect evidence to support my hypothesis about Harriet's parents and siblings. Since I last wrote, I was made aware of some non-indexed records … Continue reading Breaking Through a Brick Wall
Tilly Clegg Tilly Clegg This lady is frustrating because I know her name, but I cannot seem to find any historical records for her. I am not certain if Clegg is her maiden name or married name, or if Tilly is a shortened version of Mathilda or Ottilie or some other first name. She belongs … Continue reading Mystery Monday
Finding the Family of Libby Sharp Part 6 This is the sixth in a a series of blog posts based on a presentation I did for my local genealogy group in 2018. Using some techniques for evaluating indirect and negative evidence, I was finally able to break through a 20+ year old brick wall in … Continue reading Breaking Through a Brick Wall
Finding the Family of Libby Sharp Part 5 This is the fifth in a a series of blog posts based on a presentation I did for my local genealogy group in 2018. Using some techniques for evaluating indirect and negative evidence, I was finally able to break through a 20+ year old brick wall in … Continue reading Breaking Through a Brick Wall
WitzEnd Family History 