52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: Week 15 Recap

52ancestors-2015-15The optional theme this week was “How Do You Spell That?” There was no shortage of usual and hard-to-spell names!

Cheryl Biermann Hartley of My Search for the Past documented the numerous names assigned to her great-great-grandmother, all of which are hard to spell. Elizabeth Handler of From Maine to Kentucky raises a good point about variant spellings being a clue as to how the family pronounced the name.

I’ve long been a fan of Roberta Estes and her blog, DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy. Last week, Roberta wrote “Luremia Combs (c1740-c1820) and the Revolution on Her Doorstep (52 Ancestors #67).” I enjoyed reading not only about Luremia, but also Roberta’s research process. I think many of us will understand why Roberta said she was drawn like a moth to a flame to her ancestor’s land!

My 52 Ancestors post this week was about Laurestine U. Dinsmoor Debolt, sister-in-law to my 3rd-great-grandmother Matilda Debolt Skinner Crossen Brown McFillen. I’m guessing that Laurestine had to spell her name for people more than once in her life!

It’s Your Turn

Who did you write about last week? Leave a link to the post, along with the name and a little bit about the ancestor, in the comment below. While you’re here, take a look at the posts from Week 14. There are a lot of fun posts, including ones who followed the optional theme of “Favorite Photo.”

week15-twitter

Upcoming Optional Themes:

  • Week 16 (Apr 16 – 22) – Live Long
  • Week 17 (Apr 23 – 29) – Prosper
  • May themes

Remember, the optional weekly themes are just that — optional. Feel free to use them or not! The point of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks isn’t to follow the themes. The point is to write more about our ancestors. What you write about is up to you!

54 thoughts on “52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: Week 15 Recap

  1. Cheryl Biermann Hartley

    SCHWENN

    Amy, thanks for the mention of my spelling dilemma (http://wp.me/p4ioO6-c9).

    Let me take a moment to tell everyone about something that happened a few days ago. I had an unexpected comment to my third blog post of 2014: “Anna Maria KESSLER Lindner – A Terrible Way to Die.” (http://wp.me/p4ioO6-x ) A man in Sweden found this post and realized that I am related to his wife. She was a Kessler before marriage, and he had some astonishing information for me. I will write about this, if I can get his permission, in two weeks when our theme is “Prosper.” To connect with family that you don’t even know exists is a dream come true for most family historians. It was my turn this week. Thank you, Amy, for coming up with this idea that led me to blogging about my genealogical endeavors!

    Reply
  2. Della Steineckert

    This comment is about me. Someday, probably, I will be one of those elusive, hidden ancestors if being sought by my married name, Steineckert (stone corner). Three syllables -no more, no less and with the accent on the “eck.” I have to spell it nearly every time a person asks for my name. The name is German and evidently not a common one. It’s pronunciation and spelling seem straight forward enough, easy to read, and to pronounce to me. However, to others there has always been a problem. I taught at a university for many years and received a lot of postal mail. The addressee line was always what I looked at first. It often was the mirth for my day. The envelope addressed to Della Tinyskirt was the most far out spelling and the one that tickled me the most. I’m sure the name will continue to be slaughtered even by my descendants once I’m gone.

    Reply
    1. Amy Johnson Crow Post author

      Della Tinyskirt — that is one of the “best” misspellings I’ve seen! If it makes you feel any better, I’m regularly asked how to spell my last name. Yes, people ask me how to spell “Crow.” It’s even pronounced the like bird. Four letters. Common word. People still mess it up. :-/

      Reply
  3. Schalene Dagutis

    This person hangs off my family tree by her finger tips. She was the aunt of my by-marriage aunt.

    A Farmer’s Wife
    Alfaretta Pocahontis (BRADLEY) Ramey (1875-1931)
    http://tangledrootsandtrees.blogspot.com/2015/04/52-ancestors-15-farmers-wife.html

    Her life was so much different than that of her niece who went with her missionary husband to British East Africa (now Kenya and Uganda) for nine years in the 1920s. Instead, Alfaretta moved from Virginia to Ohio early in her marriage and put down deep roots. Her ancestors live there today.

    Reply
  4. SallyLou

    Well, my birth name has aways been a hassle. Our spelling is derived from these variations on an Ostfriesen (northern Germany) spelling. Mennonite in origin. Cornelsen, Kornelsen, Kneis, Cornies, Cornelius, Cornelis, Cornellessen, Cornels, Knelsen, Knelson, Knalson, Korniesz.

    Reply
  5. K. Lemons

    John Lyming (Liming) b.1647 England, d. bef. 1697 Freehold, Monmouth, New Jersey.

    I started a new blog to be in this project and wrote my first profile about my immigrant ancestor this week. I found this project through a person who writes for it and posted about the project on Linkedin. The very first week the project was started, I found a post from a person with the Leming surname who did not know she was related to John the immigrant. With that new connection made, I saw how powerful blogging about my work and projects could be.

    Read about my immigrant ancestor http://limingtree.blogspot.com/2015/04/immigrant-john-liming-1647-1697.html

    Our surname has about 10 different spelling variations through out the different branches of this man. We have about 8 y-DNA tests from different branches done and are part of the Lemon DNA project at Family Tree DNA, of which I am the administrator. We also have around 15 Autosomal tests done from women descendants including mine.

    I am on a quest to find all the living descendants of the immigrant in order to start an official family society and build a master tree. If you have any of these surnames in your tree you are probably a descendant; Lyming, Liming, Limings, Limming, Limmings, Leming, Lemings, Lemming, Lemmings. If you these surnames you may be a descendant but only DNA testing will prove it; Lemmons, Lemons, Lemon, Lemen, Laman, Lyman.

    Kari Lemons
    Lemon DNA Project Admin
    https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/lemon/about

    Reply
  6. Shannon

    Robert and Ralph GREENLEE wrote this biography (in 1908) about their grandparents: Michael (born 1759) & Bethiah (1768).

    During his absence on one of these trips, which took several days, Mr. Greenlee’s wife was very much annoyed by wolves, bears and panthers, which came alarmingly near. She took lighted pine torches and threw them at the animals, which were afraid of fire, thus keeping them away. A blanket was used to cover the entrance to the little cabin and served in lieu of a door.

    http://ourfamilytreetales.blogspot.com/2015/04/52-ancestors-ii-week-67-michael.html

    Reply
  7. Wanda

    My post for week 14 has to do with our grandfather’s farm. One of the questions I’ve wanted to answer was when and how Grandpa acquired the farm. The beginning of the answer was in the 1918 Dickinson (North Dakota) city directory which listed him as the owner of property by township, range, and section. I eventually obtained the property transfer records between the original homesteader and my grandfather and the transfer, nearly 50 years later, from Grandpa to his youngest daughter and her husband. Read more about it here:

    https://tidbitsandtreasures2011.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/peter-ernest-arnold-1893-1964-his-own-land/

    Reply
  8. Wanda

    Week 15’s entry is about the stepbrother of my grandfather. Others in my family provided hints about him, including a rumor that he and my grandfather were married on the same day and at the same church in November 1915. I have no way of knowing whether it was a double wedding or whether there were two ceremonies, but it was nice to verify that bit of family lore.

    https://tidbitsandtreasures2011.wordpress.com/2015/04/18/peter-j-schwartz-1892-1916-gone-too-soon/

    Reply
  9. Jack Bilow

    Dear Diane,

    I contacted you before on the children of Joseph Fontaine & M.Josephte Devis dit Bangle. As you know the Notary records have been indexed by ancestry. Good news. There is a John Bingle of Terrebonne who leaves a testament in 1814 under the Notary Henry Crebassa. Unfortunately the person who did the micro film only copied the first 2 pages. I have requested of BanQ to send me a copy of the original in paper. Also Joseph Fontaine & M. Josephte Devis dit Bangle have testaments but I could not bring them up on the ancestry index. I have a copy of those records. They both died in the early 1830’s.
    Also I have quite a few notarial records I would liked type written from French to English. I would like to know the name and address of anyone I could hire to do this. I wouild like someone reliable and reasonable. Can you help?

    sincerely
    Jack Bilow
    8 grace Ave.
    Plattsburgh NY 12901

    518 563 7729

    Reply

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