SNGF: Matrilineal Line

This weeks Saturday Night Genealogy Fun for Mother's Day from Randy at Genea-Musings.


1) List your matrilineal line - your mother, her mother, etc. back to the first identifiable mother. Note: this line is how your mitochondrial DNA was passed to you!

2) Tell us if you have had your mitochondrial DNA tested, and if so, which Haplogroup you are in.

3) Post your responses on your own blog post, in Comments to this blog post, or in a Note or status line on Facebook.


1. Mine is:

1. Me, Amanda
2. My Mom
3. My Grandma
4. Vera Julia Gress (1900 - 1976)
5. Elizabeth Fink (1867 - 1957)
6. Barbara Fleeman (1846 - 1929)
7. Barbara Griss (1824 - 1870)

2. I have not done this, but am looking into it.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Your Gratitude Story

This weeks Saturday Night Genealogy Fun by Randy is:
* Read Megan Smolenyak's article 120 Years of Smolenyaks in America: A Note of Gratitude from a Great-Granddaughter

* Do you have an ancestor like Megan's great-grandfather that was the first one to come to America (or your present country of residence) that you would like to thank?

* If so, tell us about that ancestor - and why you are thankful for their effort.


Maria Strassheim Tross, on the 24 June 1884, you arrived in New York City and then traveled to Buffalo from Eberstardt, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany with 6 children, all under the age of 10, including an infant, and only 3 pieces of baggage.  I believe your husband had died in the prior few months and yet you still set out to a new country, relatively alone.  I cannot even imagine doing something like that, even in todays world of quick airplanes.  Thank you great-great-great grandmother Tross, for being such an incredible, strong woman.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Life Outside Genealogy

From Randy at Genea-MusingsYour mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

* Tell us about your "other" hobbies or interests outside of genealogy and family history research, writing, speaking, etc.

When not doing genealogy, my hobbies and interests include:

• Hanging out with my fiancé Aaron, my family and friends - we get tea, play board games, watch movies and chat.
• Traveling - I love cities, history and subways the most.  I cannot ever imagine traveling to lay on a beach, when there are so many old buildings, churches, museums and world heritage sites to see.  My favorite places I have been include South Africa, Prague, Savannah, and Ottawa.
• Reading - Mostly nonfiction and magazines.  Recently I have been reading the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, which I highly recommend.  I also hang out in bookstores and libraries as much as possible.
• Musicals - I used to be in them constantly, but it is too difficult with work and school, so now I just listen to the CD's and go watch them whenever I get the chance.
• School - I am not sure this can be counted as a hobby, although I love learning new things and attending conferences and classes.  Most of my time has been tied up in this, but I have found a way to combine it with most of my other hobbies...

As you can see, I do have a life outside of genealogy, although most of my interests are still tied to the overall theme of family, history, and research:-)

SNGF - My Superpower

This weeks Saturday Night Genealogy Fun task:

Dean Richardson posted What’s Your Genealogical Superpower? on his Genlighten Blog - Genealogy Documented blog last week, along with a nifty picture of a young lady with a big S on her shirt flying (is that Dean's wife?). I thought Dean's question was a great one for SNGF - so your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to...

1) Answer the question: Do you have a genealogical “superpower”? (i.e., a unique research ability or technique that helps you track down records or assemble conclusions that others can’t?) If so, what is it?

My superpower is luck.  I have always been a lucky person, which to me means working hard, paying attention to what occurs and taking the opportunities presented to me.  I hear about a new book at the library or an interesting website and I make sure I go check it out, which usually leads me to finding something useful.  Sometimes luck runs out, though, in which case I use my handy jedi-whip pictured above to get what I want;-)

Make yourself a superhero at The Hero Factory

SNGF - The Best 2009 Genealogy Moment

For this weeks SNGF (which I'm actually going on Saturday this week!) Randy asks:
1) "What was your best Genealogy Moment during 2009?" This could be a research find, a fabulous trip, a found family treasure, etc. Your choice!



My best genealogy moment was, beyond a doubt, going to Florida with my grandmother to visit two of my great aunts and their families.  I had an amazing time hearing stories, viewing and scanning photos and documents and getting to know my extended family (whose blogs I now follow!).  My favorite find, while there, was a tin-type of my ggg-grandmother Sophia and seeing the strong genes she had, which we passed to her granddaughter and all of her daughters, my Aunt Holly and myself.  It is amazing to see a photo of an ancestor, born almost a hundred and forty years before you, who you can see yourself in.

SNGF - What I received for Christmas

This weeks Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:
1) What gift that you received for Christmas is your favorite for genealogy purposes? Book, magazine, hardware, software, website subscription, research time - what was it, and how will it affect your genealogy research?

2) Tell us about it in a blog post on your own blog, in a comment to this blog post, or in a comment on Facebook in response to this post.


I received a fantastic genealogy present on Christmas - a reply to a blog post from my second cousin, once removed!  I couldn't have asked for anything better.  Thank you Alan, for a fantastic present!

SNGF - My 16 great-great-grandparents

From Randy over at Genea-Musings: Here is your SNGF assignment for the evening (if you choose to accept it - this is not stump the genealogist or even Mission Impossible):

1) List your 16 great-grandparents in pedigree chart order. List their birth and death years and places.

2) Figure out the dominant ethnicity or nationality of each of them.

3) Calculate your ancestral ethnicity or nationality by adding them up for the 16 - 6.25% for each (obviously, this is approximate).

4) If you don't know all 16 of your great-grandparents, then do it for the last full generation you have.

5) Write your own blog post, or make a comment on Facebook or in this post.

1. Joseph Francis Eugene Acquard, Jr.: born 17 Jan 1855 in Cheektowaga, Erie, NY; married 15 Oct 1878 in Bennington Ctr., Wyoming, NY; died 10 Sept 1943 in Bennington Ctr., Wyoming, NY. FRENCH
2. Mary Ann Kollin: born 15 Oct 1878 in Bennington Ctr., Wyoming, NY; died 5 Feb 1938 in Bennington Ctr., Wyoming, NY. 1/2 GERMAN and 1/2 BELGIAN
3. Franciszek Karpinski: born 16 Sep 1880 in Poland; died 22 May 1943 in Erie or Wyoming, NY. POLISH
4. Jozefa Szydlik: born 26 Sep 1886 in Poland; died 4 Apr 1973 in Warsaw, Wyoming, NY. POLISH
5. John George Nuwer: born 21 Mar 1869 in Lancaster, Erie, NY; married 19 Apr 1893 in Lancaster, Erie, NY; died 1 Feb 1948 in Alden, Erie, NY. FRENCH
6. Anna M. Zaepfel: born 28 Sep 1874 in Elma, Erie, NY; died 7 Aug 1943 in Alden, Erie, NY. 1/2 GERMAN & 1/2 FRENCH
7. Edward Roll: born about 1888 in Alden, Erie, NY; married 22 Jun 1910 in Alden, Erie, NY; died 12 May 1941 in Alden, Erie, NY. FRENCH
8. Lidwina Agnes Pautler: born 16 Jan 1888 in Alden, Erie, NY; died 11 Oct 1975 in Batavia, Genesee, NY. FRENCH
9. Marcantonio Casillo: born 11 Jan 1868 in Italy; married 5 Sept 1901 in Buffalo, Erie, NY; died 26 Nov 1937 in Colden, Erie, NY. ITALIAN
10. Carolina Izzo: born 3 May 1876 in Italy; died 2 Oct 1934 in Buffalo, Erie, NY. ITALIAN
11. William Fred Eichhorn: born 22 Jun 1874 in Chippewa, Ontario, Canada; married 14 Jun 1899 in Buffalo, Erie, NY; died 9 Mar 1931 in Buffalo, Erie, NY. GERMAN
12. Augusta M. Tross: born 6 Sept 1877 in Germany; died 1 Jan 1939 in Buffalo, Erie, NY. GERMAN
13. Charles William Whitehead: born 12 Jun 1872 in Burlington, Ontario, Canada; married prior to 1896; died 27 Dec 1927 in Buffalo, Erie, NY. ENGLISH
14. Anna May Sanderson: born 17 Jun 1871 in Burlington, Ontario, Canada; died 29 Apr 1928 in Buffalo, Erie, NY. ENGLISH
15. Jacob J. Gress: born 26 Jan 1869 in Buffalo, Erie, NY; married prior to 1888; died 11 Aug 1932 in Buffalo, Erie, NY. GERMAN
16. Elizabeth Fink: born 6 Jul 1867 in Buffalo, Erie, NY; died 24 Apr 1957 in Buffalo, Erie, NY. GERMAN

That gives me 31.25% German; 28.125% French; 12.5% Polish; 12.5% Italian; 12.5% English ; and 3.125% Belgian. The French and German parts are hard to tell as most of my fathers family came from the Alsace-Lorraine region which kept changing hands. The fact that my 3rd great-grandmother was born in Belgium (like the waffle) has always been cool to me. Oddly, I most identify with the Italian part of my heritage, even though it is way down on the list.

Saturday Night Fun - Your Paternal Grandmother's Patrilineal Line

Since I was at the symphony for Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings Saturday Night Fun, we'll have a little Sunday morning fun instead:-)

* What was your father's mother's maiden name?  Nuwer (She is still living)

* What was your father's mother's father's name? Albert Emil Nuwer, born 24 Mar 1906 in Alden, Erie, NY and died 24 Dec 1989 in Alden, Erie, NY.  Buried at St. John's Cemetery, Alden, Erie, NY.

* What is your father's mother's father's patrilineal line? That is, his father's father's father's ... back to the most distant male ancestor in that line?  My grandmother's brother has done a lot of research on this part of the family.  Here is the information I have from him, with much thanks:

- John George Nuwer, 1869 - 1948

- Henry Nuwer, 1845 - 1911

- Jean Nuber, 1819 - 1897

- Antoine Nuber, 1796 - 1857

- Franciscus Antone Nuber, 1760 -1818

- George Fancis Nuber, Unknown - Unknown

- John George Nuber, 1698 - Before 1748

* Can you identify male sibling(s) of your father's mother, and any living male descendants from those male sibling(s)?  If so, you have a candidate to do a Y-DNA test on that patrilineal line. If not, you may have to find male siblings, and their descendants, of the next generation back, or even further. As mentioned earlier, my great-uncle is still alive.  I will have to email him to see if he is interested in DNA testing.

Saturday Night Fun - Who's Number 21?

A bit later than Saturday night, here's my #21 for Randy of Genea-Musings prompt.

My #21 on my Anhentafel is my great-great grandmother Anna M. Zaepfel.

Anna was born 28 Sept 1874 in Elma, Erie, New York.  She married John George Nuwer 19 Apr 1893 at St. Mary's Church in Lancaster, Erie, New York.

Anna had 17 children, including my great-grandfather Albert Emil (he was number 9).  She must have been an amazing woman, especially since at least 16 of them reached adulthood.

She died 7 Aug 1943 and was buried in St. John's Catholic Church Cemetery, Alden, Erie, New York.

This photograph shows her with her first 10 children.

"Were You There?," (Alden) Alden Advertiser, 23 Oct 1975, p. 15, col. 1.