A Tribute to Lillian Eichhorn Casell

The only known photo of my great-grandmother, Lillian L. Eichhorn

The Chronology of her life is available here

The first record of Lillian L. Eichhorn's life is a birth certificate in Buffalo, NY for F. Eichhorn.  No first name name, just an "F" for female, indicating that a new child had come into the world on 22 December 1908, an early Christmas present.  Lillian was the fifth child and fifth daughter born to William Fred Eichhorn and Augusta Tross.  If the weather was anything like it is today, 22 December was cold and snowy, but in the excitement of a new baby, I imagine no one minded.

Six years later, the Eichhorn's would welcome their sixth and final child, a boy, William Tross Eichhorn into the family.  Life must have been fun for this young family.  William worked for the railroad, while Augusta took care of the home which they were able to buy while Lillian was still young.  There were aunts, uncles, cousins and grandmothers around to be with.

While in high school Lillian would meet Alfred Marco Casell, three years her senior and son of Italian immigrants.  It is hard to say what her German parents thought of him, but they married when she was just 16.  Like her father, Alfred too worked for the railroad and with the money he made they rented a house on Sherman Street in Buffalo.

Between 1928 and 1935 they had four children, first a girl, followed by three boys.  I always imagine the promise that life had for them.  Then, at 2:45 pm, 19 December 1938, just three days before her 30th birthday, Lillian died of lobar pneumonia at their home on Division Street.  Suddenly, everything changed for Lillian's young family.  Lillian was buried on her 30th birthday in Acadia Park Cemetery, North Tonawanda, NY.  Her young widow could not afford a plot, so her brother-in-law let them have a space in the grave site he had purchased.

Life was not easy for the family she left.  Her mother, Augusta, was so overcome with grief, she died of a broken heart a mere 13 days later, on New Year's day 1939.  Alfred, unable to take care of four young children and work, put them into an orphanage in October of 1939, where they stayed for nearly 8 years.
Alfred died in 1981, never remarrying.  His eldest son, Robert and his wife had purchased four plots in Acadia Cemetery some years earlier, and placed Alfred in one of them.  Until that time, when a cemetery worker happened to mention it, neither Robert, nor any of his siblings knew that that was also where their mother had been buried.  In fact, standing on Alfred's grave, one can see to where Lillian is buried and it is just a short walk.  Using part of their inheritance, the four siblings placed a marker on their mother's grave site, marking her place and short life for those visit there.

Written for the Carnival of Genealogy: A Tribute to Women

Hohenstaufen, Germany

According to the marriage record of Charles Herman Thorn and Catherine Wise in Chippewa, Ontario, Canada, Cathrine was born in Hohahstrefen, Wurtemburg Kingdom, Germany.  The correct spelling for this town is Hohenstaufen and it is located in the Baden-Württemberg part of present day Germany.

In 1206, Hohenstaufen was "mentioned"1.  A small village, its current population being 1300 residents2, it is most well-known for the large mountain of the same name, for which the city sits at its southern base.  Additionally, the ruin of Hohenstaufen Castle, sits atop the mountain.  Hohenstaufen Castle was build in approximately 10703.  The castle was destroyed in 1525 in the Peasants War4.  Currently, it is a German national monument.  "The year 1971 marked a turning point, when it was incorporated as part of the overall administrative location, with the exception of the farms in Ottenbacher valley in the "city of Göppingen Hohenstaufen""5.

If you are interested in researching Hohenstaufen, the FHC hastheir church records microfilmed from 1558 to 1897.  Also, Kathy Brandt Bonnell has created a website that features much information from town records.

This was written for the March Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy.

Image used with Creative Commons rights as follows: (((Information | Description = ((en | The village of Hohenstaufen (Göppingen) and the same mountain, seen from Aasrücken)) | Source = own work | Date = 2006-06-11 | Author = M. Rust | Permission = own work | other_versions =)))

Smile for the Camera - Valentine

My Valentine and I right after we got engaged.

Volunteerism in the Genealogical World

Up until I went back to school in August, my favorite way to volunteer in the genealogy world was through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness.  I began by going to cemeteries to take photographs of tombstones (or grave sites if there wasn't a headstone) for people.  This became a "date" day, once or twice a month, for my fiancé and I, where we would drive around Onondaga county and see who could find the most tombstones, walking up and down the rows in the cemeteries (see why he's a keeper?!?).  Eventually it progressed to my doing searches at the library, mostly for city directories and obituaries, and at the courthouse, where I never had much luck unfortunately.

I also volunteer for FamilySearch Indexing, mainly for the 1892 New York census.  I did not do nearly as many names as I had hoped, but I like knowing I was part of the group that got this project finished.  Just today I received an email from the president of the Western New York genealogy society, to which I belong, asking if I would be willing to to help transcribe or proof read the 1865 New York census, which they are putting online.  I jumped at the chance to be part of this project, as state census' are a tremendously helpful, but often overlooked, resource.  I am also excited to become an active member of the society, despite living too far away to make meetings.

I have received three main things from volunteering in the genealogy world.  First, I learnt about new resources and practiced finding them.  Prior to volunteering with RAOGK, I had no idea how useful city directories were.  This has helped in my research tremendously.  Second, I have gotten a lot of practice in deciphering handwriting.  Although I am still much better at seeing a name I am looking for in a document compared to transcribing unfamiliar handwriting, I will learn this skill and I will learn it much faster than if I just practiced with my ancestors handwriting.  Third, I have discovered a possible career.  I realized how much I love genealogy, not just researching my family, but other families as well.  This has lead me to get my masters degree in library science with the goal of working in a genealogy and local history library.  Eventually, I would like to become a certified genealogist and help people with their search that way, but it will be a few years before I get to that level.

I highly recommend volunteering in whatever capacity you are able.  It helps improve your research skills, introduces you to new people and record groups and builds up good genealogy karma, which will hopefully lead to more genealogy happy dances!

Goals for the New Year

In 2010, I hope to accomplish the following:

• Interview my grandmothers, parents and great aunts, uncles and cousins on video ASAP!
• Goal is to do this by the end of February for my grandmothers
• Update each of my lines sideways and forward.
• I usually do well with my information about my ancestors siblings, but I have not done so well finding cousins in more recent generations.
• Focus my search for my German lines so that I can visit their hometowns while I am in Germany for 4 1/2 months
• I will therefore focus on the Eichhorn, Gresz, Fink, Weiss and Tross lines for the next two months
• Stay in touch with my relatives searching my fathers side of the family.
• I research my mothers side as I have great aunts and uncles who research my fathers.  I will be helping my Aunt Dottie with her search in Poland for the Karpinski's (my great-grandmother's line)
• Complete Dear Myrtle's finally get organization checklist from 2009
• Start researching my fiancé's line (at the very least, get the information he knows into my file)
• Blog: Participate in Surname Saturday each week in order to get my surnames out there and find new cousins!  I plan on going alphabetically though all my surnames.

Old Marcellus Village Cemetery

As part of my RAOGK volunteering, I went to the Old Marcellus Village Cemetery in Marcellus, Onondaga, New York. An inactive cemetery located right in the middle of the village. This is my new favorite cemetery for a multitude of reasons, most shown here.

First, it has the following notice outside the cemetery gate:

THE MARCELLUS VILLAGE CEMETERY

Here rest the forefathers who gave so much character to the community that they founded. We cannot forget those old families, who built fine homes, lived wholesome lives and contributed in a large measure to the life of the community.

Here rests many a soldier of the American Revolution, of the War of 1812, of the Civil War, their warfare over. Here they all sleep among their kindred, waiting "till the day breaks and the shadows flee away."

There is no one to speak for or guard the remains of those interred in the heart of our village. There is no one to preserve the memories of and the legacy from our past. There is no one but us.

Please treat this area with respect.

It seems to work at least a bit, this is an old cemetery, but in relatively decent shape.

Many stones that are no longer in decent shape, due to weather or

breakage, have these little replacement stones with

name, death date and war veteran information: Imagine if all cemeteries could do this! Kudos to whomever has undertaken this task!

Lastly, come two of my favorite ever tombstones, the first was located next to a small tree at one point. The tree h

as now grown around it.

Inscription reads: "In Memory of the widow Thankful Bachelor, who died June 3, 1805 in the 81 year of hes Age." What a fantastic married name! I wonder what she thought of this name

Postcard - London Pubs

In 2001, I had a friend who was studying in London for a semester. When I went to visit over Thanksgiving break we went on a pub crawl and I bought this postcard for my scrapbook. It is glued to the paper, hence no back available. I recall having a lot of fun on "Thanksgiving" night...

Pies

"Cherry" she would call and I would stand up from the porch step and run to the right, not touching the driveway, around the first tree, staying in front of the small the small flower garden, but out of the road, and around the second tree as she chased me. With her hand outstretched I just reached the porch. Safe... for now...

The thing I remember most about summers as a child was playing outside with the neighborhood kids. I grew up on a dead end street, with a girl my age named Tammy, her older sister Kelly, my younger sister Chris and a bunch of other people of similar ages.

During the day we would congregate on Kelly and Tammy's front lawn and play "pies."

For anyone who hasn't played this, there is the person who is "it." They have to come up with a category, such as pies, and all the other players think of a pie. The person who is it then starts naming pies, pumpkin, cherry, apple, strawberry rhubarb, and when they call yours you have have get up and run around the desired area without being tagged. If you get tagged, you're the new "it." Basically, it's a more interesting form of tag.

We would play it over and over, coming up with weirder and more interesting categories and answers. With the wide age range, at least 8 years, it was a game that stayed fun for everyone, as you could always come up with something (and if you couldn't, there was always help available). I remember always thinking that when I wrote my autobiography someday I would name it "Pies" for that will always bring back the memories of summer during my childhood. Memories of street hockey, kickball, swimming in the pool, wandering through the woods at the end of the street, hide-and-go-seek, chalk drawings on the driveway and staying up late.

While writing this post, I thought to check if this really was a game and it turns out, it's listed on gameskidsplay.net. It makes me smile to think of children outside as I write this, hoping the sun doesn't go down for just one more opportunity to make it back to the porch step.

Freedom Isn't Free

Franklin and Lois Bowers, young couple on left

Franklin Bowers fought in World War II, as it was his duty. He died on the beach of Normandy, France, 9 July 1944, just 13 days before his 22 birthday and less thank 5 months after marrying his high-school sweetheart, my great-aunt Lois. According to Lois's mother Vera, Franklin saw the person who shot him and did not shoot back, as he would have been unable to hurt, let alone kill, someone. He was a kind and decent young man.

While I always knew I had an uncle who fought and died in WWII, it was only recently I learnt he died in the battle of Normandy. This battle plays such an important part in history classes throughout school, yet I never even knew it lasted for 24 days, as D-Day was always the topic of discussion. I was never able to understand how some many thousands of young men were able to jump into the water and run onto the beach, all the while knowing that they would probably not make it home.

I dedicate this entry in the Carnival of Genealogy to my great-uncle who died while fighting for freedom and independence.

Photo courtesy of my aunt Barbara.

The Erie Canal

"Map of the Canal, and Profile of the Canal" -- from: Marco Paul's Voyages & Travels, Erie Canal / by Jacob Abbott. (Harper & Brothers, New York, c1852) -- frontispiece.  From http://www.eriecanal.org/maps.html

In writing a post on local history, I thought it interesting to connect my current location, Syracuse, NY with where I grew up, Buffalo, NY.  Buffalo is also where my ancestors settled and stayed for generations.

The Erie Canal is well known in upstate and western New York as the reason cities such as Buffalo, Albany, Utica and Syracuse became prime trade locations and grew so large.  Connected to each other by 363 miles of hand- and horse-dug canal.  The Canal ended at the Hudson River, where ships head to New York City.

Known as Clinton's Folly, then governor DeWitt Clinton dreamed up the project and used his political savvy to have it created.  No one believed something of that mass could be created.  The canal was built between 1817 and 1825.  The Erie Canal is what made New York City America's largest and busiest port as it connected it to the west.  According to http://www.epodunk.com/routes/erie-canal/start.html, "Cities along the route boomed. The population of Syracuse, a swampy settlement of 250 people in 1820, grew to more than 22,000 by 1850. The city's salt industry supplied half the nation's salt.

The Erie Canal lasted until the 1920's, due to the rise of railroads and highways.  In Syracuse, the Erie Canal is now Erie Boulevard and is has the Erie Canal Museum.  Other parts have trails for hiking, biking and snowmobiling.  One can also take a canal boat ride which even goes up and down on the locks.  I highly recommend taking a trip if you ever get the opportunity.

Just this week I learned from my great-great-great grandfather Gottlieb Finck's death certificate that he was a canal lock tender.  It is thrilling to know that my family played a part in such an important part of our country.

Sources:

http://www.epodunk.com/routes/erie-canal/index.html#

http://www.nyscanals.gov/cculture/history/

http://www.nycanal.com/recreation/nycanalrec.html

An exceptional way to find a cemetery

The premier edition of the GYRabbits carnival is "exceptional finds" (Share with us those rare and unique cemeteries, gravestones, monuments, memorials, inscriptions, etc).  Although my entry is not about a rare cemetery, it is about a rare and unique way of finding it.

A few years ago, I was dating a guy who took me on a date in Rochester (we lived in the Finger Lakes at the time).  He wouldn't tell me where we were going, but when we got there, I was very excited.  We were located outside of Mount Hope Cemetery and he showed me around, taking me to graves of people like Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass.  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures that day, but it was a fantastic cemetery that I highly recommend visiting if you have the option.  It was one of the best dates I have ever gone on, as well as the most unique.  

The Happy Dance! The Joy of Genealogy

The theme for the 65th Carnival of Genealogy: "The Happy Dance. The Joy of Genealogy. Almost everyone has experienced it. Tell us about the first time, or the last time, or the best time. What event, what document, what special find has caused you to stand up and cheer, to go crazy with joy?

While interviewing my maternal grandmother about her parents and grandparents, she tried to list her mother's mother's siblings (there were eleven of them).  She could not remember all their names, so she stopped the interview to call her older sister to see if she remembered them.

This turned out to be the best interview interruption ever, as my great-aunt turned out to have a family bible with my great-great-great grandparents, their birth dates and their eleven children's names and birth dates listed.  I did a happy dance that day and will be sure to do another when I visit her in a couple months and get to make copies of it!