Top 10 Genealogical Finds of 2021

Here we are again at the end of a year - time for me to post my Top 10 Genealogical Finds for 2021.  Once again I don't feel that I've been too productive but I just keep plugging away.  So in my best David Letterman voice, I give you my Top 10 Genealogical Finds for 2021.

You can read my previous year's discoveries here: 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2012.5 2011

Number 10:  The original post was from 2020 Large - Marks Schwartz  but I received some follow up information in 2021.  I was hoping to identify these two photos in the hope that they might be Marks.

I contacted the Photo Genealogist (www.sherlockcohn.com) and I sent her photos, information, and anything else I had related to the family.  She analyzed everything, researched, studied and did her magic to conclude that these two boys were not Marks but his brother, Colman.

Colman Schwartz, 1890, age 5

If you want/need photos identified, I encourage you to get in touch with Ava for assistance.  She is very busy so you'll need to be patient but it is so worth it.

Number 9:  In the Kitchen  I was glad to finally document my mother's 'famous' Tamale Pie.  I realize it's only famous to my siblings and me but someday, maybe someone will find the recipe and make it famous again.

Number 8:  Dick Crawford was a very special friend to my grandfather, Sig Levy, and I was thrilled to be able to learn more about him.  I don't remember ever meeting Dick Crawford or even hearing about him but I'm glad that he's now been "found" (at least in my blog).

Number 7:  With the exception of one decade, my dad spent his entire career working for Dean Witter.  Sure the name changed over the years and today is known as Morgan Stanley but he stuck with them until his death.  I'm glad I was able to find his scrapbook/album and learn more about his time there.

Number 6:  After some anxious moments, we found a photo of my husband's great grandfather, Winfield Scott Byrd.  And as luck would have it, we found ourselves driving through Pocatello, Idaho on a road trip this fall which is where Winfield (and many other ancestors) is buried.  We were happy to have been able to stop and pay our respects.

Mountain View Cemetery, Pocatello, Idaho

Number 5:  I discovered a photo and learned a lot about the 1902 class of Fresno Grammar School and it really gave me a sense of what life was like for my grandfather.

Number 4:  Connecting with people is one of the greatest gifts of blogging.  This year I met two New Friends and was able to obtain a copy of a book that features the home of my grandparents which they owned for nearly 50 years.  

Number 3:  I'd procrastinated for years getting my blog put into print and am happy to say that I accomplished it this year.  Once I found a platform to use and figured things out, it was actually sort of fun to put these together.  In fact, now I'm putting the book together as I blog so that when I finish this post, I'll add it and get the book ordered.  Preservation - Blog Books

 

Number 2:  Who knew Mrs. Gunzendorfer made a Nut Cake?  It wasn't an actual cousin that I baited but with a name like Gunzendorfer, it's not hard to "hook" others who know the name.  I'm so thankful that George connected me with Ann - hey, another new friend!

Number 1:  This year has helped me learn so much about my dad's time in the Army, particularly when he spent time in Germany in 1946.  I'd always wondered how it was that he found himself at the War Trials and after transcribing all of his letters, I learned about that time and his feelings about seeing the Dachau camp.  I only wish he were here so we could talk about - I bet I'd learn even more.

I've started putting together a book with his letters and accompanying photos.  It's going to be a long ride but I'm happy to have the opportunity to document it in one more way.  Hopefully, that will be my top genealogical find in 2022.  I think I'll incorporate this photo, with his caption, in the title.  Watch for a best seller!

While it hasn't been a full year of discoveries, I do feel like I've made some headway with some of my projects.  On to 2022!

52 Ancestors: Future - Daughters of the American Revolution

 

I've written before about my desire to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).  I'm not really someone to participate in clubs but I really wanted to honor my patriot 5x great grandfather, Ashbel Waller.  I've written about him several times - here's a sample. HERE'S MY TICKET. 

Earlier this week my blogging friend, Wendy, posted on her blog related to this prompt and stated that she might close down her blog.  I LOVE her blog so I was very sorry to hear this but completely understood because she is the registrar for her DAR chapter and I know that keeps her very busy.  You can read her blog post HERE.  I commented about how much I enjoy her blog and casually said in my comment If you ever feel the need to get involved in one more thing, you can always help me (and my patriot) get admitted to DAR.

And then things started moving very, very quickly.  Within one hour Wendy replied Debi, I found a patriot for you.  You can thank your grandfather Earle Martin for his lineage.  Most of your ancestors arrived after the Revolution.

WHAT?  My track to Ashbel Waller is through my maternal grandmother and Earle Martin was my maternal grandfather.  Just like that she found another Revolutionary War patriot?

Turns out that this new (to me) patriot is Archibald McDaniel, my 4x great grandfather.  I really don't know much about Archibald other than a name and some dates that I have on my tree.  He was already verified through DAR so my path would be relatively easy but......I wanted to honor Ashbel Waller which Wendy said I could still do and she would help me.

And just like that, she sent me a draft of my application and had nearly all of the information I would need.  I'd contacted a local chapter in 2010 and after some frustrating e-mails back and forth, I put Ashbel on the back burner and told myself "I'll get back to it".  And as you might suspect, I told myself that for the next 11 years.  Yes, 11 years.  And then yesterday arrived and I'm so close to sending in my application - hang on, Ashbel, I'm coming for you!

I can't thank Wendy enough for guiding me through this.  Okay, let's be real - she's doing more than guiding!  And because of her, my FUTURE just might involve being an official DAR.

Here's how I descend from Ashbel - Clara Fitzgerald was my maternal grandmother.

52 Ancestors: Holidays - Dolls

I don't have many memories of holidays as a child (that was a LONG time ago) but I do have a few memories that involve dolls.

My parents were raised in different faiths - my father Jewish and my mother Christian.  While "technically" we were not Jewish since our Mother was a Gentile, they agreed that the kids would be raised Jewish and Mom non-formally converted.  But one thing she said she could never take away from her kids was Santa Claus.  Which was definitely a bonus for us as we celebrated both Hanukkah and Christmas - SCORE!

When I think about those long-ago holidays, the clearest memories I have is of dolls.  I don't remember specifics as to how old I was when I received which doll but as I was rummaging through my hope chest the other day, I came across some that I've held on to all these years.

Little Women was a favorite book back then and while I don't remember too many specifics of the book, I do remember that my favorite character was Jo.  I'm not sure what it was about Jo that drew me in but it must have been something for me to hang on to this doll all these years.  Boy, she has sure seen better days!

Her poor arms and legs are falling off - a sign of a well loved doll.

I seem to remember that my sister liked Amy and had a doll much like this.

And a few years later when Troll dolls were all the rage, I had quite a collection.  But these two seem to be the only ones I hung on to.

There were always dolls in our bedroom.  When my parents or grandparents were traveling, they would often bring home a doll or two to add to our collection.  There was a shelf in our room up by the ceiling where we could display the dolls and they could collect dust.  

I remember one very special doll that, apparently, I played with quite a bit as she is very beat up.  See her up above in the middle of the shelf?

But no doll was as special to me as Tiny Thumbelina.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to save her but I remember she looked something like this.

Tiny Thumbelina was not only a very special doll because she moved like a real baby but she is how I found out about Santa Claus!

I must have been about 8 or 9 years old when my cousin came for a visit from Kentucky shortly before Christmas.  She was right between my sister and me in age and we had a lot of fun playing together.  While we had a pretty cool play house in the back yard, we had sort of outgrown it so didn't play in it often.  But to my cousin, it must have looked pretty interesting so she asked if we could go out to play.  Sure, let's go.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the door and saw a bunch of toys stacked inside.  What was that?  So, of course, inquiring minds wanted to know so we quietly stepped inside to take a look.  And there amongst the toys was a Tiny Thumbelina doll brand new in her box!  I never said a word to my parents but when Christmas morning rolled around and that beautiful Tiny Thumbelina doll was under the tree with my name on it, I figured it out.  My parents were Santa Claus!

I don't think kids are as fond of dolls as we were but boy did we have fun playing with our dolls!

52 Ancestors: Lines - Telegrams

This weeks' blog prompt brought to mind telegrams, where someone could send a few lines of important information to their loved ones.  You might say that today's telegrams are known as texts. 

My family left a lot of telegrams for me to ponder.  During the courtship of my paternal grandparents, Sig Levy and Loraine Gunzendorfer, Sig spent time preparing for war in 1918 and wrote to Loraine about what was going on with those preparations.  And, of course, he sent a few telegrams along the way.  Loraine kept a scrapbook during those times and fortunately for me, kept a lot (was it all?) of those telegrams.  You can read about them HERE.  

They've clearly seen better days!

It was fun to see the things that Sig found important enough to drop her a line with the information.  Such sad news when he said that his father, Herman Levy, had passed away....

March 6, 1918

But then there was happy news when the war was over......

November 12, 1918

Loraine's brother, Wilt Gunzendorfer, sent a telegram to my dad on his 1st birthday.  The problem with telegrams was that you were unable to proof before it was sent so Wilt was changed to Will.

My dad sent a few telegrams home telling his parents when he was moving from one base to another.

I wonder what the present was?

I love that he added "tell Gerry" (that was my mom).

My parents received telegrams congratulating them on their marriage.

A few samples.  That's Loraine's handwriting giving them the address of the sender so they could write and thank them.  

Aunt Bella was Bella (Schwartz) Benas

First cousin of Loraine's mother, Bertha Schwartz

Lionel Traube was the brother of Loraine's brother, Wilt Gunzendorfer's, wife Natalie Traube

What's really interesting about all of this is that my mom's step-father, Sheldon Hunter, worked for Western Union Telegraph for most of his life.  He was an "office clerk" in San Francisco in 1910 and 1920 - being that he was born in 1895 he started pretty young.  Sometime in 1920 he moved to Fresno and was the manager there - did they relocate him?  And there he stayed in 1930, 1940 and as late as 1942.  He retired sometime between 1942 and 1959 so I'll be interested to learn what he was doing when he was enumerated in the 1950 census which comes out NEXT YEAR!

As I was going through some things I came across this photo which shows Managers Attending Seminar Number 16.  Based on the pictures on the wall I'm assuming this was a meeting of the Western Union Managers.  Shell is kneeling, 2nd from the right.

I wish telegrams were used today - what a fun look into the past.

52 Ancestors: Handmade - Counted Cross Stitch

This week's blog prompt reminded me that it's okay to blog about myself - so here goes.

I don't know exactly how it started or how I learned but years ago I started doing counted cross stitch.  I practiced on a few things and then one day I decided to tackle a larger project and after months (or maybe years), I came up with this.

Santa With Elves

The first thing I wanted to do once it was completed was to hang it on the wall.  But being that it was a Christmas item, I thought it might be odd to leave it up all year but also sad to put it away for much of the year.  I decided that if it had a "friend", it would be okay to permanently hang it on the wall.  So, of course, the next thing to do was to get started on another project.  And after many months (or maybe years) again, I had a matched set.

Doctor and the Doll

Now this was getting fun!  So, of course, I had to make another.

Little Spooner Sweethearts

And nothing says a collection like four of a kind so I just had to make one more.  

No Swimming

I don't remember too many specifics (hey, it's been 30-40 years) but I do remember that the last one wasn't my favorite because it didn't have as many colors.  Or maybe it was because I was working on it while our youngest daughter was having her tonsils out.

I like to think that one day a descendant will have one (or more) of these hanging on their wall and maybe even blog about it!

52 Ancestors: Thankful - New Friends

Over the last few months, I've connected with two new friends and am so thankful for the connections.

The first was an artist who contacted me about the book he was publishing.

Painting the Grand Homes of California's Central Valley by J.P. Lane

James spent nearly 2 years traveling, researching, and painting.  The book covers 52 homes in 30 towns throughout the Central Valley with 20 architectural styles, painting tips, and even jokes.  And just guess which home is included in the book?  That's right, the home of my grandparents, Sig and Loraine Levy!

What a thrill to see the painting he did of their home.

James wrote:

Sigmund Levy was the son of Herman Levy, who emigrated from Germany to Fresno and signed the Fresno City Charter, and mother Goldie Benas Levy.  As a young man he was training to be a WWI Army Air Service when the armistice was signed and the war ended in 1918.  Later in life he became a prominent real estate and insurance broker together with his brothers in the Fresno area.  Herbert and Leon also lived in Wilson Island.

Sig and his wife Loraine had this Spanish Revival home built, which contains Monterey influences.  It featured modern amenities for the 1930s and was shown in local newspapers and magazines of the day.

The image I painted from the front makes this home look big, but the view from the side shows that it is immense!  This is one impressive home.

Sources: "Wilson Island Stories of the 1900s: The Sigmund and Loraine Levy Home at 1549 Echo Avenue.  Austen, Debi Levy.

Year Built: 1934

Architectural Style:  Spanish Revival

Architect:  Orville R. Taylor

Builders:  Taylor-Wheeler

Visitor status:  Private residence, please admire from afar.

FUN FACT:  The neighborhood is called Wilson "Island" because Rosanna created a few dead-end streets, essentially cutting off parts of the neighborhood from outside traffic (and riff-raff).

You can read some blog posts I've done about the house HERE and HERE.

Within a day or two, I had another new friend reach out to connect.  Turns out her father used to work at Levy Bros., the business of Sig and his brothers, Herb, Leon, and Ben.  

We spent some time talking by phone and one thing led to another and when she told me how old she was, I figured out that she probably knew my parents which she did!  My parents graduated from Fresno High School in 1944 and 1946 and she graduated in 1945.  She remembered so many friends of my parents and she was so happy to reminisce.  We've 'talked' a few times since and it's fun to share stories and pick her brain about Fresno history.  She remembers hearing stories that her dad would tell when he came home from work in the 1930s-1940s.

Levy Bros. office, c. 1920, Sig Levy on right

I'm so thankful that I was able to connect with new friends!

52 Ancestors: Birthdays - We all have 'em!

This week's blog prompt brought back many memories of birthdays, both mine and those of others.  So here are some special birthdays in photos.

Of course, probably the most memorable to a family is a baby's first birthday - not that the birthday boy or girl has any memory of it, though.  But thanks to my photographer wannabe Dad, at least I have some photos of my special day.

Keep your hands off, Deb!

But it tastes so good!

And here's my second birthday.  Dad labeled this photo on the front so in the interest of privacy, I've cropped it in order to delete the names.  

SP, Sister, TJ, Me

Since my sister is older, of course I wasn't around for her 1st birthday but Dad took care of that for us.

One of my favorite family photos is one that my dad titled "the greatest photo ever taken".  I've shared it before but it's too good not to share again.

Big sister's 5th birthday

I haven't run across any of my brother's first birthday, or really any others, but I did come up with this group shot.  And I'm happy to say that I can identify a few of these kids.  For those of you from my childhood, you might still be in touch with the girl on the right in the middle row.  Big brothers Tim and Sam.

Brother is middle kid, front row.  Maybe 4th or 5th birthday?

I even have a few of my dad to share.  My grandmother was kind enough to label this as his 2nd birthday.  What a cutie patootie!

Gordon Levy, 11 February 1929

Mom threw a big party for his 50th birthday - do I remember it was a surprise?  No matter what, he was thrilled to celebrate!

Looks like one candle per decade

One last photo that has become a classic in our family.  I learned the hard way that even though my girls have birthdays only one day apart, they must each have their own cake.  Sharing is hard to do!

Was Ernie not the preferred character or was sharing the cake the problem?

Birthdays - we all have 'em!  And when my birthday rolls around in just a few short weeks, I'll be thankful that I've had another one.

52 Ancestors: Stormy Weather - Snow!

For most of the country, snow isn't an unusual event and people, particularly adults, dread winter arriving because of snow.  

But I grew up in San Jose, about 40 miles south of San Francisco, where snow is something kids (and I'm sure, secretly, adults) wished for.  Almost every year we were severely disappointed but on January 21, 1962, the unexpected happened and it SNOWED!  It was an event worthy of the front page of the Oakland Tribune the following day.

Oakland Tribune, January 22, 1962, page 1

I remember waking up that Sunday morning and running outside to see for myself.  Sure enough, there was a light dusting of the white stuff on our front lawn.  Somewhere I remember seeing a photo of my mom standing there but because my memory says she was in her bathrobe, maybe it's a good thing I can't put my hands on that photo now.

But I found a few photos and this one from that day in San Bruno shows the amount of snow I remember.  

I really don't have memories of going to the snow as a child but as I looked through my dad's slides, I found proof that we did, in fact, have at least one visit.

Not much snow here!

Yosemite, 1958

Big sister explored and found a little more.

I don't know when or where this was but it goes to show you that Dad had some photography "issues" and often times the subject lost all or part of their head.

Big Sis, Me

Not sure where this was but by my brother's age, I'd guess it to be about 1964.

Did I really try to ski?  I do remember going as a teenager and after one trip down the hill I vowed I would never try that again.  And I haven't!

Being that my parents and all grandparents/great grandparents grew up in California, I don't have many photos of any of them in the snow.  But my paternal grandfather, Sig Levy, must have strayed away from Fresno at least once to play in the snow.

That's a big snowball!

Now that we live in Washington, we see snow more than I'd like but it does provide a peaceful and beautiful setting.  Just keep me off the roads!