Fine Lines

Of course, her name alone has several variant spellings:  Tryphena, Triphena, Tryphina, Tryphenia, Triphinia, etc.  She certainly has not been boring to research.

The obssession to search for more. The unknown name.

It was late at night, around 11 p.m. Charles Rehm came home and was headed up the stairway to retire for the evening.   But…Charles never made it to the top of the stairway.

Two people; so little time. Emil Shiel and Helen St. John were married in 1934...

Isabella DeMott was my challenge on my very first research trip to Salt Lake City years ago. My one quest and goal was simplistic in nature: to identify Isabella’s parents.

This is a story about how wrong ssumptions and stories can go in the opposite direction, sometimes far from truth or mix of truth and lore.

Ask a question. Search for an answer. Solve a mystery. Isn’t that what we do in researching our family history? Seek and you shall find, hopefully. We follow clues in a never-ending cycle of questions and answers. Puzzles to solve.

Two people meet – is it fate or fantasy? 

Will their love last?  Is this their destiny?

Meet Bertha Frei and Cornelius Foley.

Bertha M. Frei was born January 1887 in Eagle Mills, Rensselaer, New York.

Cornelius (Neil) J. Foley was born February 1880 in Troy, Rensselaer, New York.

Bertha and Neil were married sometime betwee...

New York State Death Indexes Online and Free!

Many of you know that I am from New York. I have generations of relatives from there back to the 1700s. New York State is notorious for being anti-genealogy in allowing access to various records. However, Reclaim The Records, a non-profit organization, is petitioning New Yor...

The Many Wives of Mr. Covey

Most of my ancestors rarely moved.  Most of the time, they died in the same town where they were born.  However, there are moments when new discoveries open the doors to new mysteries. In those fun moments, when nuggets of new information are discovered curiosity takes over, in not only tryin...