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German Migration to America: Johan Martin MOSER 1693-c.1743 Part Four
Posted on January 13, 2024 5 Comments
There are No coincidences!!! At least in this case, it is all connected. Back in Chapter One, remember that it was Daniel Falckner who wrote Accurate Tidings from Pennsylvania published in 1703. It was part travel information and part advertisement for Germans to immigrate to Pennsylvania. It may also be one of the “missives” referred […]
German Migration to America: Johan Martin MOSER 1693-c.1743 Part Two
Posted on January 8, 2024 4 Comments
If you haven’t read Part one you can read it here. In this chapter we will explore the beginnings of Martin MOSER’S family life and what led him and tens of thousands of others to leave Germany behind. In the year 1677 William Penn toured Germany where he spread the message that religious freedom could […]
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 […]
Patterns & Intersections in Genealogy
Posted on December 24, 2023 5 Comments
We all have patterns and intersections in our ancestry—but we don’t always know about them. Sometimes we just stumble upon them. One of the greatest joys of genealogy is finding those connections. Below you will read a collection of such things in my research. I encourage you to be on the look-out for your own. […]
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 […]
Resurrecting the Dead Part One: Start with a Timeline
Posted on November 29, 2023 7 Comments
If you have read any of my earlier blog posts, like Trees into Stories, you may know I favor ancestor stories over adding more to the tree. So in that spirit I want to talk about playing God as a family historian. We literally get to recreate the life of an ancestor who for all […]
Resurrecting the Dead Part Two: Bringing them to Life “Peter P HALL”
Posted on November 28, 2023 8 Comments
With our time line in place and our research into Peter HALL’s Pension we can begin to sketch out as much as we can of Peter Hall’s life. We don’t have to start at the Beginning I jumped into a more familiar part of history and will back fill as I go. This has been […]
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 […]
Special Ancestors: Asa Ami Paden
Posted on October 7, 2023 4 Comments
I happened to think of Asa today when teaching a genealogy class. I was talking about being the custodian of historic documents and it made me think of my cousin, Nancy Black Young [my 2nd cousin twice removed], who had sent me a few years ago, documents regarding my 2nd great uncle, Asa PADEN. But […]
Wheaton Wood 