Genealogy Category
THE MOSERS IN BAVARIA: Wißenkirchberg, Hetzweiler, Kloster Sulz, Altengrueth
Posted on January 18, 2024 4 Comments
If you haven’t read the previous blog post BAVARIAN Hans MOSER c1623-1696 was from Austria, not Switzerland you should read it first. When last we met Hans MOSER he was part of a mass migration of “exulanten” or exiles having been expelled from Catholic Austria and resettling in a Lutheran part of Mittlfranken or Middle […]
BAVARIAN Hans MOSER c1623-1696 was from Austria, not Switzerland
Posted on January 15, 2024 13 Comments
Please excuse my rant. You can’t do proper genealogy without historical context. You shouldn’t go connecting people to your tree willy-nilly without evidence. A few years back my friend Paul Chiddwicks had a blog post Are you a Genealogist or Family Historian? As I go about teaching genealogy and writing about family history I would […]
German Migration to America: Johan Martin MOSER 1693-c.1743 Part Three
Posted on January 11, 2024 2 Comments
Please read the following Preamble and Part One and Part Two before reading this one. If you have been following this saga we left the Martin and Magaretha MOSER family in Rotterdam about to board a ship to America. The year is 1728. Martin is 35 and Margaretha 37. I failed to mention that Martin’s […]
German Migration to America: Johan Martin MOSER 1693-c.1743 Part One
Posted on January 6, 2024 3 Comments
This is the story of one of my many German ancestors. If he isn’t one of your ancestors this may not be of interest to you on it’s face. But if you have German ancestors who immigrated in the first half of the 18th century, there may be some things that you will want to […]
The Three Brothers Story, Retold: Johan Martin MOSER
Posted on January 5, 2024 8 Comments
The “Three Brothers Story” is so prevalent in Family History Circles that it is often recounted smugly by experienced genealogists as a sign of family mythology. Some of you know my contrarian nature causes me to poke holes in establishment edicts. Nowhere is that more fun than with my own “Three Brothers Story.” More on […]
When Records Are Wrong: Why Original Research is Necessary
Posted on December 11, 2023 4 Comments
In my recent piece about Resurrecting the Dead Part Two. I relearned an important lesson. It doesn’t matter what the books, genealogies or sources say—they can and often are wrong. My research into Peter HALL showed: NAME With a very common name like Peter HALL middle initials matter. In everyone’s tree, including my own of […]
A Tornado in November: Remembering
Posted on November 18, 2023 2 Comments
Dorothy repeats after the good witch, Glinda, “There’s no place like home”. Dorothy then clicks her heels three times. The makeshift sheet otherwise known as the stage curtain drops and we scurry about. The curtain rises, “Where am I?” asks, a bewildered Dorothy and in a blink of an eye we are bowing to raucous […]
Revolutionary War Details in Ancestor’s Pension Files: Peter P Hall
Posted on November 11, 2023 4 Comments
In honor of Veteran’s Day I decided to look a little closer into the pension files of some ancestors. While reading through the Pension Application files I found this lovely letter. A bit heart breaking but, worth sharing. The point is we all need to take the time to read deeply and reflect on the […]
Old Rehoboth, Massachusetts & the Ring of Green: Mapping the Past on Greenwood Ave, East Providence, Rhode Island
Posted on October 16, 2023 12 Comments
Background Two years ago in the lead up to visiting Rehoboth and Swansea, Massachusetts I contacted the East Providence Historical Society and I asked for help in locating the original home lot of Robert WHEATON on the Ring of Green. Sandra Turgeon and I exchanged emails and arranged to meet at the East Providence Historical […]
Mind The Gap: Making the Connection to the Royal STEWARTs of Scotland
Posted on August 17, 2023 15 Comments
Sometimes you can prove a connection without being able to flesh out the in-between. Thus like the announcements at the train station “Mind the Gap.” Sometimes people grasp at anything to make the connection and falsify the record in doing so. This is part of a cautionary tale to be careful even when evaluating something […]
Wheaton Wood 