Why……

Why does finding progenitors intrigue me so? Well, I am glad you asked. My name is Catherine and I would say I love genealogy, but I think I love family history more. The pursuit of the paths, relationships, successes, failures and the journeys of my ancestors are quite fascinating. It’s hard for me not so share my “latest genealogical find” with my family and friends and sometimes I am sure it goes in one ear and out the other. So this is a place to “put” my finds. Who knows, perhaps a relative or two might stumble upon me!

I hope you enjoy my journey. Let me know! Oh! And remember….Ask question of your elders and share stories with your youth!

catcm@mac.com

Fabulous gift arrived from my sister today. 🌲❤️#FindingProgenitors #familytree #family #crosssection #generations #ancestors #familyhistory @foxbairn #iloveyousis

On the date, August 22, 98 years ago my Grandparents were married. Also on this date, August 22, 67 years ago, my Parents were married. To the best of my knowledge, this was coincidence. Perhaps by my Grandparents 100th Anniversary I will have put in place a story from the 721 letters they wrote to each other the year prior to their marriage. I’ve read and transcribed them all, just gotta do it! No photos of my Grandparents wedding. This is one of the youngest photos I have found of them. #quarantinegoals #findingprogenitors #malcolmandida #jakeandmillie #happyanniversary #august22 #grandparents #parents #wedding #weddinganniversary #marriagecertificate #weddingparty #family #familyhistory #familystories #coincidence #interesting

George and Ernie’s excellent adventure! In 1934, my husband’s Uncle took a cross country, seemingly carefree journey with his friend. To read about it link in bio.

May 10, 1935, was the 25th wedding anniversary of my husband’s Grandparents, Joe and Lizzie Schaller. This handmade card is from their then 17 year old daughter, Angela. 3 months later, Angela was received into the convent of the Sisters of Saint Francis of the Holy Trinity in Dubuque, Iowa. She spent the next 64 years serving in religious life.

John Peter Von Bank, my husband’s Great Uncle, and Herman Humann were brothers in law. In February of 1918, Herman’s younger sister, Mary Catherine, married John. Herman was a solider in the US Army, stationed at Camp McArthur, Texas. On October 20, 1918, Herman died from complications of the 1918 Flu. 2 weeks later, November 3, 1918, Mary’s husband, John, met the same fate. He had been hospitalized with kidney and stomach problems and then the flu. Mary married again 3 years later, had 8 children and lived to the sunny age of 96.

The murder of Pattie Bird. Sometimes those wiggly leaves on Ancestry will start you down a disturbing path involving a relative. Thus is the case involving my 1st cousin, 4x removed. He was found guilty of the murder of Pattie Bird in 1857 and executed by hanging the following year. Thankfully the State of NC Archives had the actual records from the murder trials. I was at least able to pay my respects to Pattie through those. If you would like to read about it….link in bio. #findingprogenitors #pattiebird #neverknowwhatyoumightfind #NCArchives #ancestors

72 years ago, June 1, 1948, in West Bend, Iowa, Ben Metzger and Eileen Schaller were married. West Bend, nestled tightly by the lush green fields of Iowa, is where both Ben and Eileen grew up and after they married, raised 4 sons. Their youngest being my husband. It appears there might have been quite a wedding dance going into the following day! #findingprogenitors #benandeileen #wedding #iowawedding #westbendiowa #grottooftheredemption #metzger #schaller #1948 #weddingdance

About 16 years ago, my husband brought his Aunt’s scrapbooks home with us from a family reunion. He scanned all of the pictures and flew to St. Louis to hand return her scrapbooks. The scanned photos sat (forgotten b/c we had baby brains) until his cousin suggested I might find some interesting things amongst the photos. Indeed....lots of interesting things in Uncle Ernie and Aunt Helen’s scrapbooks. Ernie was the second of 12 children and brother of my husband’s Mother. I look forward to sharing some of the adventures he has documented in photos. Thanks to my cousin-in-law, Gloria, who wrote a book about the 12 siblings, I know a bit more about Ernie’s life. The photo above is Ernie and a load of corn. He was about 21 years old. I am not sure exactly where this photo was taken as Ernie left home around this time. He hitchhiked from Iowa to Missouri, hoping to work in a rodeo. An injury sidelined that idea and he found work on various farms. He did meet his future wife while in Missouri, but they were not able to marry until he returned from WW2. #findingprogenitors #uncleernie #uncle #schaller #loadofcorn #farmer #rodeo #familypictures #forgottenpictures #familyhistory #wanderlust #wagonwheels #familystories #bigbrother #iowafarm #missourifarm #metaunthelen #beforeww2 #photographs

2 thoughts on “Why……”

Hello Catherine.
We’re related via William Wade Carter and Martha Arrington.
You can contact me via Ancestry (jasummerell) or email julieteat1 at gmail.
Have a great day!

LikeLiked by 1 person