Talarski Family and Gorczyca Family in Poland

With the email, from the researcher in Poland, my client is again left struggling to find his ancestors who lived in Olsyzmy, Parish of Kadzillo, Lomza Diocese, Ostrokeka, Poland. So, we decided to share the known family from Poland who arrived in the United States, Jozef in 1904 and Marianna and the children in 1906. Since they came before World War I and II, they escaped the wars, but much of the records for them in Poland were destroyed in the ensuing military conflicts and infiltration of the Russian Army.

Catching Up After A Busy Couple of Weeks

It's been nine days since my last post. Things have been hectic, with Thanksgiving at our house for fifteen, and watching our granddaughters most of the week, I am a little behind. Today I was talking on the phone with a friend and she asked me if I was enjoying a quiet house. Until that moment I had not realized I was home alone for the first time in many days. While working in solitude I can make enormous progress on genealogy projects. That is why I often work late at night, so my train of thought can flow freely, uninterrupted.

Inquisitive Minds Part III Corrections

After viewing the notes today I discovered that I had overlooked the Long Family in the third post on this work. Working too long on one project can lead to mistakes, but I am pleased to say this is corrected. That is the beauty of writing a blog versus posting on facebook, I can make corrections. Please refer to the original post and look for the Long Family.

Addendum for families not listed on the map.

There were thirty-four others who were not on the map, but were listed in the "Charlestown Immigrant Origins 1630-1640" in the book, From Deference to Defiance, Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1629-1692. They are as follows:

Inquisitive Minds Want to Know - Part III

By now you are probably wondering if Part III of this series is ever going to be posted. Rest assured that this inquisitive mind has been hard at work comparing the families who settled in Charlestown, MA by 1640. Twenty-three of them are on the map of the town created in 1638 and are the focus of the study.

Guatemala Earthquakes 1976 and 2012

This is about a personal serendipity moment that occurred this week. On November 7, 2012 a 7.4 earthquake struck in the regions of San Marcos and Quezaltenango. On February 4, 1976 an 8.1 earthquake struck in the regions east of Guatemala City at 3am while I slept in my bed on the third story of a cinder block house in the heart of that city. Now the news today has altered the power of that quake to 7.5, according to wikipedia. I still have the newspapers from that event and at the time it was reported that 30,000 people lost their lives, while today it is reported that the total was 23,000 people died.

Inquisitive Minds Want to Know Part II

Charlestown, Massachusetts – Comparing Compiled Data

In the book from Deference to Defiance, Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1629-1692 author Roger Thompson (2012) shares four items of special significance.

Of the twenty-three surnames indicated on the 1638 land map of Charlestown Town Center on page 100, all of them show up in later town records. Some individuals held positions of governing responsibilities, while others were dedicated to their occupations. Their financial standing is also indicative of their place in the community. This map was published in A Century of Town Life: A History of Charlestown 1775-1887 by James Frothingham Hunnewell, which includes a chapter on “The Village in 1638.”

Inquisitive Minds Want to Know - Part I

Are all genealogists slightly crazy? Well, maybe not crazy, but truly those that dig are very inquisitive and maybe a little obsessive compulsive. We push for details that the average person would not even consider the possibility of finding. Like digging in old post office records for months to find tidbits about ancestors and their neighbors. This includes doing the FAN type of searching for Friends, Associates, and Neighbors, as first taught by Elizabeth Shown Mills.