Two years. Yes, I have been blogging on Cousins for two years. It is my 2nd blogiversary. In the past few months my posts have become fewer. This is only because life occasionally gets in the way. Crazy things like pneumonia, meniscus surgery, travel, shoulder crap. Then there are the fun things like French, assorted classes, bridge, book club, Zentangle, lunch with friends, out of state company. I am blessed with a busy and fun life.
My goal for the year 2017 was to review my genealogical lines. So far I have only touched on my mother's, mother's, mother's, father's line, the Vorhies family. This is the largest Dutch family in the United States. The patriarch of the Vorhies came to these shores in 1660. Go to the site, www.vanvorhies.org for additional information. In fact, imagine discovering that my across the street neighbor is my 9th cousin once removed.
I hope all my readers have learned the "once removed" meaning by now. The child of your first cousin is your first cousin once removed. He/she is one more generation removed from the common grandparent. The children of first cousins are second cousins. They are evenly descended from the common grandparents. In this case, the common grandparents are their great grandparents.
Over the past two years, I have shared information on the Smith, Withrow, Swartzel, Grisso, Olmsted, Siglin, Wright, Borden, and DeHart lines to name a few on my side. My husband's line sports the names Tolsdorf, Augustus, Reeder, Marsh, Phillips, Beier.
Some of my favorite discoveries which led to Cousins posts have been finding the graves of my great great grandparents George and Mary Smith in Tucumcari, New Mexico. ( Mom's side) On Dad's side we found the grave of great great grandfather George DeHart in Dalhart, Texas and Almost found the birthplace of his daughter, my great grandmother Emma Susan DeHart Borden, in West Virginia.
On my husband's side I had fun making discoveries and blogging about the Phillips branch. My son enjoyed these discoveries having been stationed in the same area as his 5th great grandfather had been only about 235 years earlier.
Both of our lines go far back into American history.
Only one line is recent. And by recent, I mean 1892. My husband's grandfather, his first wife and two children came from the port of Bremen, Germany on the ship Oldenburg. They arrived in May of 1892 in Baltimore. Frank and Matilda were married in the Ukraine. Their baby, Elsie, was born in Kiev, Russia just before immigrating. This is a very, very interesting family who settled in Oklahoma. Grandpa Frank participated in the Cherokee Land Rush in 1893. From his three wives, he had nine children and one step-son. There are many known stories of this family after 1892. However, prior to immigration, my brick wall stands. I have a lead or two. What a thrill it would be to learn about the Tolsdorf family in the old country.
Mondays With Mary has been another feature of this blog. Occasionally on Mondays, I share the writings of my mother's calendar which she kept faithfully from 1966-2003. It is a great way to learn about a way of life which is already a thing of the past.
In two years, I have published 265 posts. My stats report shows 14,510 views from many different countries.
Thank you to my devoted readers. You keep me going when I get bogged down. So, here we go into year three.
Ready?
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