Who Owned the China? When my father passed away in the summer of 2008, he left a list directing who should receive what. I use the word “list” instead of “will” because I truly don’t know for sure he had an actual will. There weren’t a lot of family heirlooms other than photographs to mark […]
Read MoreThis week’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks topic is “Lucky” – in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. I was planning on writing about how lucky I have been “employment-wise.” But then I discovered March 14 was National “Write Your Story” Day. I remembered writing a lengthy autobiography as part of the Genealogy Do-Over I started in 2015. […]
Read MoreThis is one of my favorite pictures. I am proudly standing on the lawn of what was then called Southern Connecticut State College. No idea who took the photo, probably my best friend, Doreen. It was some point in 1973 during my freshman year. I was 18. It’s tough to tell, but those are indeed platform […]
Read MoreThe closest thing to a family plot I have found is in Sharon Gardens, the Jewish section of the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. Buried together there are both my paternal grandparents, my aunt, and my great-aunt and uncle. My paternal grandfather My paternal grandmother Constance was my grandmother’s sister. Her husband was Emanuel […]
Read MoreEstelle Byk Kesner The theme for Week 7 was “Love.” Admittedly, I’m a tad bit behind. Blame that on the Genealogy Do-Over. Oh, and the IRS. I wanted to get our taxes filed in case the Anthem Hackers stole our identity. Looks like we’re safe!! (But this is serious business. Close friends of ours did, […]
Read MoreThis week’s 52 Ancestor Challenge was “So Far Away.” I have chosen to research my last name as I believe it has Biblical origins. That’s pretty far away! In addition, Moshe Jacob Samuel is the furthest ancestor I know of. His son, Lazarus was born in England in 1795. Commercial websites such as The Internet […]
Read MoreAgain this week I have combined the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weekschallenge with Thomas MacEntee’s Genealogy Do-Over. Week 5 of the Do-Over had us focusing on building a research toolbox and on citing sources. My poor citing skill was one of the main reasons I decided to participate in the do-over. I had about 950 […]
Read MoreThe theme this week is to write about an ancestor closest to your birthday. I am simultaneously participating in the Genealogy Do-Over. Week #2 of the Do-Over had us “interview” ourselves and then write a biography. I decided to combine the two tasks and write about MYSELF. WARNING: THIS IS A LONG POST. I won’t […]
Read MoreTopic: Setting Research Goals As Week #2 closes, I have made some decisions: 1) I will think of the Do-Over weeks as steps instead of weeks. 2) I will recreate my tree, beginning with me 3) As I add each new person to the tree, I will : gather, scan/photograph, record and file all documents I […]
Read MoreI only made it to Week 18 of last year’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks“. (I have all kinds of excuses, but I’ll spare you the experience of listening to me whine.) I’m going to try again. This year I’m combining the 52 Weeks challenge with Thomas MacEntee’s “Genealogy Do-Over.” For 2015, there are weekly […]
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Who We Are and How We Got This Way 