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Who was on the Train? A Soprano’s Aria: Chapter 4
Posted on September 12, 2021 Leave a Comment
BACKGROUND On the 2,000 mile train trip from Minneapolis to San Francisco we have our heroine Mary “Lulu” (PADEN) MOSIER 45, her husband “Frank” Franklin Stewart MOSIER 45, also known as F.S. in Lulu’s Diary. Then we have their children: Eilene 18, Dewey 16, Milo 13 and Lolita 12. Left back in Minneapolis is Leo […]
On the Rails: Minneapolis to San Francisco: A Soprano’s Aria Chapter 3
Posted on September 12, 2021 Leave a Comment
1913 Wed Oct 1 Wed Mrs Haley and Nellie came up in the evening. We had a pleasant time. Oct 2 Thurs Mooved into the New Flat at 1109 E. 17 st. A beautiful sunny day Frank Hoffman [Eilene’s husband] moved us in his auto-truck. Dewey went down to Haleys and got some pickles and […]
American Women’s League & Good Bye Minneapolis! A Soprano’s Aria: Chapter 2
Posted on September 10, 2021 Leave a Comment
“Edward Gardner Lewis established the American Woman’s League as a subscription gathering organization. Lewis’ plan was for women to qualify for memberships by selling $52 in magazine subscriptions. The fees that would otherwise have been paid to individuals would be paid to the American Woman’s League. The League would use these funds to provide benefits […]
The Challenge: Tokyo Rose
Posted on August 29, 2021 9 Comments
“We live history forward, in the chaos of onrushing events, without a clear guide, but we judge history backward, smugly armed with the knowledge of what did happen and uninterested in what might have happened.” Robert Kagan The genesis of this story began many years ago after my dad had died. He had been interviewed […]
Genealogical Research: Is there a Method to the Madness? YES
Posted on August 23, 2021 Leave a Comment
In my just completed series The Case of the Mystery Birth Certificate I started with a mystery and I just kept going down rabbit holes, searching for more puzzle pieces to help solve the mystery. I wrote the posts in real time as I worked so you can somewhat see the process. I decided it […]
The Case of the Mysterious Birth Certificate: Mystery solved!
Posted on August 23, 2021 2 Comments
I have to say this story has me digging into families that I never heard of and are of no relation to me, however I am richer for it. It also has me day-dreaming and inventing stories of how Lulu MOSIER and Yolanda Rosa FRANCO parent’s paths may have crossed. And there is one thing […]
The Case of the Mysterious Birth Certificate: Part Three
Posted on August 21, 2021 Leave a Comment
I am doing my best to put this behind me but it just won’t let go. Some rabbit holes are like that—you would swear you were chasing just one rabbit and before you know it they seem to be multiplying. Note Please read the earlier parts or this won’t make much sense. I know you […]
Family Heirlooms: Dog Tags
Posted on August 20, 2021 1 Comment
Maybe you are lucky enough to have some dog tags from a family member or even yourself. For those that wore them close to their heart imagine the stories they could tell. Dog Tags or Military Identification Tags have a long history which is well chronicled here. A soldier wore identification tags so, in the […]
The Case of the Mysterious Birth Certificate
Posted on August 17, 2021 7 Comments
Some mysteries send us down circuitous rabbit holes. Here are the basic outlines of this one. My great grandmother’s Diary had this birth certificate among its pages. I haven’t the slightest idea who this is or why this birth certificate would be kept by her. My great grandmother Mary “Lulu” PADEN MOSIER ANDERSON was born […]
Evidence Can’t Be Trusted Either: The Case of Changing Attributes
Posted on July 26, 2021 2 Comments
I suppose I delight– just a bit– in saying that, as a sometimes contrarian genealogist or family historian, I do enjoy pointing out the flaws in Professionals commendable but often flawed insistence on “facts” and their proper citation. Yesterday I gave myself a task—I decided to see how many of my recent ancestors that I […]
Wheaton Wood 