52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: November Themes and Weeks 43 & 44

52ancestors-2015It’s funny how the themes sometimes work out. Week 43 was “Oops.” Week 44 was “Frightening.” Considering that the Week 43 recap fell off my plate, so to speak, and Week 44 has been frightening, it seems to fit.

Please feel free to leave links to your Weeks 43 and 44 posts in the comments below.

Also….  <drumroll, please> …the optional themes for the rest of November!

November Optional Weekly Themes:

  • Week 45 (November 5-11) – Free. (Pick your own theme!)
  • Week 46 (November 12-18) – Changes. Highlight an ancestor that went through many changes or that you had to change your research strategies to find.
  • Week 47 (November 19-25) – Sporting. Do you have a relative who was involved in sports?
  • Week 48 (November 26-December 2) – Thankful. November 26 is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Interpret the “thankful” theme however you’d like.

28 thoughts on “52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: November Themes and Weeks 43 & 44

  1. Schalene Dagutis

    #43
    The Wife Confusion
    Walter Richard JENNINGS (1873-1919) and Laura Bessie (OGDEN) Jennings (c1877-bet 1907-1910)
    http://tangledrootsandtrees.blogspot.com/2015/10/52-ancestors-43-wife-confusion.html

    Previous Jennings researchers had assigned a different wife for Walter. How I was able to straighten out who the mother of his five children was.

    #44
    New Nipper Killed in the Mine
    Ethel Marie (HAKERT) Austin Taylor Key (1916-1988)
    http://tangledrootsandtrees.blogspot.com/2015/11/52-ancestors-44-new-nipper-killed-in.html

    So many times in her life Ethel faced frightening circumstances.

    Reply
  2. Elizabeth Handler

    #43 Lillias JOHNSTON Alston is a third great-grandmother. (I didn’t follow the theme this week)
    http://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/2015/10/lillias-johnston-alston-52-ancestors-43.html

    #44 Samuel GREELE(Y) is a 4th great-grandfather who was killed by the fall of a tree in 1798. He is buried in a haunted cemetery along with his father, Samuel GREELE(Y) and his wife. (I did follow the theme this week.)
    http://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/2015/10/lillias-johnston-alston-52-ancestors-43.html

    Reply
  3. Kathy

    For week 43, I found a relative that dug up his ex father in law’s money after he died and then it was either lost or stolen. He was taken to court by his ex wife. This was in 1881.

    https://everyleafhasastory.wordpress.com/2015/10/28/where-did-the-money-go-52-ancestors-challenge-oops/

    For week 44, I wrote about a house that my 5x great grandmother died in and is supposed to haunt it now. They give twilight tours around Halloween.

    https://everyleafhasastory.wordpress.com/2015/10/31/is-this-a-haunted-house/

    Reply
  4. Claudia Boorman

    #43 – Charlotte Lisle NEWMAN, my 4x-great grandmother, lived too short a life in Ringwood Hampshire England. My grandmother firmly believed the stories that Charlotte was related to the renowned Cardinal John Henry NEWMAN. So far I have been unable to prove this.

    http://boormanfamily.weebly.com/blog/-charlotte-lisle-newman-1760-1789-43-52-ancestors

    #44 – Clara Duchemin COMPTON, my 2nd cousin twice removed, was seriously injured in the catastrophic Halifax Explosion of 1917. How frightening that must have been!

    http://boormanfamily.weebly.com/blog/clara-duchemin-compton-1882-1945-44-52-ancestors

    Reply
  5. Beth Gatlin

    BOE – Week 43 “Oops”: Thor Boe (and brother Peder)

    http://so-many-ancestors.blogspot.com/2015/10/52-ancestors-week-43-oops-thor-boe-and.html

    My maternal grandfather’s first cousin and her husband wrote a book on the Boe family. They claimed that Thor and Peder Boe, my 2nd-great-grandfather’s brothers, died as boys in 1862 in Norway. In fact, both emigrated with the family in 1866. I found a burial record for Thor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America records on Ancestry.com. His actual death date was 16 years later than had been claimed in the book.

    GATLIN – Week 44 “Frightening”: Clarence Gatlin Finds Murder Victim

    http://so-many-ancestors.blogspot.com/2015/11/52-ancestors-week-44-frightening.html

    My 2nd-great-grandfather’s brother found a boarder lying in a pool of blood on the floor in the family home. The man died shortly afterward.

    Reply
  6. Vera Marie Badertscher

    #43: Daniel and Elizabeth Manbeck BAIR seemed to be living a pretty ordinary life in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, farming and raising lots of kids, until I discovered they sold the mining rights for iron and coal on the property.
    http://ancestorsinaprons.com/2015/10/52-ancestors-43-daniel-bair-and-elizabeth-manbeck-iron-rich/

    #44: Jacob and Eva MANBECK and their family jumped from coast to coast in their migrations during just one generation. (I love tracing families on a map. Do you?) http://ancestorsinaprons.com/2015/11/52-ancestors-jacob-manbeck-eva-manbeck-out-of-pa/

    And because I had written previous frightening stories, I referred back to some of them rather than follow the theme, since #44 would have fallen well after Halloween on my schedule. http://ancestorsinaprons.com/2015/10/frightening-stories-ancestors-halloween/

    Reply
  7. Cheryl Biermann Hartley

    DIERKSEN
    From the age of 47 to the age of 59, Hempe Maria Dierksen supposedly had five children. I ponder the likelihood of this record-breaking feat.

    Week #43 – “Hempe Maria Dierksen – Oops! How Old Was She?” http://wp.me/p4ioO6-ib

    LINDNER
    For me it was frightening as a child to hear about my great-uncle who went missing in World War I, while fighting for Germany. I was told the family never knew what happened to him. I uncovered the truth.

    #44 – “Gustav Richard Max Lindner – ‘Gefallen”” http://wp.me/p4ioO6-ih

    Reply
  8. Elizabeth Wilson Ballard

    Week 44:

    Isaac VAN DUYN (1822-1903) : The topic for week 44 was “Frightening.” I chose Isaac VAN DUYN, one of my maternal 3rd great grandfathers, because of his experiences during the Civil War, and because of the cause of his death. To me, these would have been terrifying, as he suffered illness during the war and injury that may have caused him blindness. These would possibly have broken my spirit. He was not one of those men whose obituary is full of information and praise, but it is the sad finale to a man whose life was clearly devoted to the protection of his country, even after he had every legal right to honorable discharge.

    https://digginupgraves.wordpress.com/2015/11/07/isaac-van-duyn-1822-1903-willing-to-fight-lost-his-sight-52-ancestors/

    Reply
  9. Patti Di Loreto

    Week 43 – CHILES – Featuring my 11th Great Grandfather, Walter Chiles and the seizure of his ship for unauthorized trading with the Netherlands during Cromwell’s era. It’s short and sweet as I’m trying to get caught up! My Pinterest board address here:

    https://uk.pinterest.com/pattidi/52-ancestors-on-pinterest/

    For a partial list of names I’m researching, check out my Ancestry profile page by searching for “pattidi123” in the member directory.

    Reply
  10. Patti Di Loreto

    Week 44 – VINCENT/VINZENT – WEISSANG/WEISANG – WYSONG – Featuring a family legend and the one said to be the ancestor of my ancestral Wysongs in America, Joseph Pier Vinzent who fled his home in Nimes, France when his noble family clashed with King Henri II over his taxing the French people to the breaking point. The clash resulted in the Vincent family being slaughtered by the king’s soldiers. Only Joseph & a brother escaped. My Pinterest board address here:

    https://www.pinterest.com/pattidi/52-ancestors-on-pinterest/

    For a partial list of names I’m researching, check out my Ancestry profile page by searching for “pattidi123” in the member directory.

    Reply

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