52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: Week 10 Recap

Posted in 52 Ancestors Challenge on by .

52ancestors-2015-10Week 10 is milestone. Not only are we in the “double digits” of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, but we’re also seeing signs of Spring! For those of us in the north, this comes not a moment too soon.

The optional theme of “Stormy Weather” was interpreted in a  number of ways. Some people wrote about weather events; others wrote about storms of a personal nature. There were others — myself included — who opted not to use the theme at all. Here are just a few of the posts this past week that stuck out to me. Beth Gatlin of So Many Ancestors told the story of her homesteading ancestors and the (literal) storms they endured. (Honestly, it reads like the plagues of Egypt!) Paula at Shaking the Branches wrote about the many storms that her grandmother had to face and the stormy relationships she had. Cathy Meder-Dempsey of Opening Doors in Brick Walls didn’t use the theme at all when writing about her family living in Luxembourg between the World Wars. You have to check out the family photos that she posted! (Warning: You will likely be jealous. I know I am!)

I didn’t follow the theme this week. Instead, I looked at my 3rd-great-grandmother Elizabeth Kelley, who died in 1852 in Perry County, Ohio. I have no photos of her house, but I was able to use her probate records to take a peek inside.

Please take a moment to share a link to your Week 10 post. Be sure to go back to the Week 9 recap and take a look at those posts. You never know when someone is writing about your ancestor!

week10-twitter

Upcoming Themes:

  • Week 11 (Mar 12 – 18) – Luck of the Irish
  • Week 12 (Mar 19 – 25) – Same
  • Week 13 (Mar 26 – Apr 1) – Different

If you want some ideas for using these optional themes, check out the March theme post. (And remember — you don’t have to use them if you don’t want to!) Also, the April themes will be coming soon!

69 thoughts on “52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: Week 10 Recap”

    1. Patti Di Loreto

      A very interesting read! I’ve always wondered about those traveling west by wagon across the plains, how they dealt with the storms. It’s good your relatives were near that farmer’s place! (Had to post my comment here as I couldn’t post it on the actual blog page.)

      Reply ↓
  11. Patti Di Loreto

    ELLIOTT (my Ulster-Scot Elliott grandfathers: George, William & Alexander) & the Siege of Derry (1689) – the siege happened during the deposed king James II’s military action in his attempt to win back his throne from William of Orange and his “rain” of bombs that fell day and night upon the city full of Protestants for 105 straight days. Pictures, videos, books about the siege here:

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

    Reply ↓
  12. labwriter

    I also followed the theme literally–the 1878-79 “Coldest Winter” on the southeastern Colorado plains. My 2x great grandfather, Alonzo Hayden Hayes Baxter (1845-1930) was hunting buffalo when he and his companion were stopped by a blizzard. This is Alonzo’s story, as told by his son, Colorado cattle rancher and amateur historian, George Baxter. Although this is Alonzo’s story, I do wonder about his wife Elizabeth, waiting at home those long winter weeks, pregnant and caring for their five children under the age of 12.

    https://roordawrite.wordpress.com/2015/03/04/52-ancestors-10-of-52-alonzo-hayden-hayes-baxter-1845-1930/

    Reply ↓
  17. onlyarethusa

    My Quaker Roots Are Showing: Lemon, Mendenhall: What happens when you wonder, “Why are all these seemingly unrelated people living together in the 1900 census?” I spent a whole 24 hours trying to solve that mystery with some interesting results with a coincidental message from another Ancestry member thrown in the mix.

    http://lemon-knapp.org/wp/?p=770

    Reply ↓
  18. Cathy Meder-Dempsey

    What storms did the FOURNELLE-FRANTZ family have to weather through? Living in a European country bordering on Germany during two world wars would definitely be conducive to stormy times. Holding fast with that theme, I’m flooding this post with photos from those times before giving the facts! Enjoy!
    52 Ancestors: #10 The FOURNELLE-FRANTZ Family (1871-2005) by Cathy Meder-Dempsey at Opening Doors in Brick Walls

    Thank you Amy for the mention. I had to take advantage of the photos I have. I’ll be continuing with the next generation back in time and photos will become more rare!

    Reply ↓
  19. Melissa Hays

    I’m jumping on the 52 Ancestors wagon a little late and am just figuring out how the system works. I made my first post, “A Married Norwegian Farmer” last week but didn’t realize I should put a link to it here.

    I chose to follow Amy’s suggestion of writing about collateral relatives and wrote about my great grandfather’s brother, Guttorm Gaarder. At the age of 22, Guttorm came to the US from Norway in 1849 with his parents, nine younger siblings and his wife. They all settled in Albany, Wisconsin, where he came to a sad end.

    Reply ↓
  28. Vera Marie Badertscher

    KASER, ???
    For a change, my post coincides with the theme of the week. My German Immigrant Ancestors endured stormy weather in their home country and stormy weather on the sea. This post is not about a specific individual, but about whoever the first KASER was to come to North America.

    http://ancestorsinaprons.com/2015/03/52-ancestors-avoiding-the-storm-german-immigrants/

    And all the other German immigrants who sailed to the port of Philadelphia.

    Reply ↓
  38. Melody

    Family lore says that my 3rd great grandfather, Martin Kelly, was killed on a windy day in San Francisco. Trying to prove it…well…that’s the hard parthttp://www.researchjournal.yourislandroutes.com/2015/03/52-ancestors-week-10-killed-in-a-wind-storm/

    Reply ↓
    1. Amy Johnson Crow Post author

      Hi Wendy! I added the link directly in your comment. Not everyone thinks to click on the name of the person.

      Reply ↓
  59. Wanda

    ARNOLD, William (Bill) Henry (1925-2003). Bill was my father, which probably made writing this profile more difficult than for someone I’m less familiar with. I subtitled this entry “An everyday hero” because that’s how Dad always seemed to me. He somehow always had a combination of wisdom, grace, humor, and strength to meet the demands of whatever challenge came his way.

    https://tidbitsandtreasures2011.wordpress.com/2015/03/05/anna-a-arnold-1916-2005-on-her-own-terms/

    Reply ↓
  61. Charity Johnson

    Giving Away Information HERE! NOT MY (direct) ANCESTORS
    I admit to getting fixated on “brick walls” and ignoring the fact that fellow searchers are dealing with their own. I have many pieces of information (photos, etc) I came into and this post shares two of them.
    I or my husband are collaterally related to the s 2 people in this post, but I post it here to share, maybe to help. (My own few big brick walls appear at the end of the post)
    Here are the names:

    ASTELS, Fletcher Blois of Canada, adopted son, & BANCROFT, Grove Graham, father of Irene Bancroft Armstrong of CA (wife of Leonard Knowles Armstrong) and husband of Etta Bowman (b in Ohio, m in Butler, PA)

    http://pastremains.blogspot.com/2015/03/12-ancestors-of-2015-post-4-give-away.html

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply