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: Resolution - Top 10 Genealogical Finds of 2020

2020 has been a very difficult year for so many.  I don't want to dwell on the pandemic and have tried to find the positive but it's been hard on so many levels.  But one thing I've tried to do - albeit not always so successfully - is to continue with my research and blogging.  I had some really good weeks and some "I don't want to do a thing" weeks but through it all, I kept the end in sight and resolved to work through it so that at the end of the year, I just might be able to come up with my annual top 10 genealogical finds of the year.  So with that, I'll step back and reflect on what I've learned over the past year. [cue the David Letterman music].

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

Number 10:  I was not quite 14 when my paternal grandfather, Sig Levy, died.  Looking back, I don't know that I really "knew" him.  But that changed when I put together a post about him in costume.  Quite the Character - Sig in Costume

Number 9:  My great grandfather, Abe Gunzendorfer, was a photographer.  I have lots of his original photos in my collection which I wrote about here.  Labor - Abe's Photos.  What's been really fun is to have members of the "Monterey" Facebook group share other photos that Abe took.  It takes a village for sure.

Number 8:   Speaking of taking a village, I'm hoping that next year the mystery of Marks Schwartz will be solved.  Labor - Marks Schwartz.  Thanks to a suggestion from one of my most faithful readers, I am on the waiting list to have an expert help me determine if the mystery child is Marks.  

Number 7:  Seeing our ancestors in swim suits can be fun!  And boy was it when I put this post together!  Water - Swimsuits.  How many of us can say they've seen their grandparents in a swimsuit?

Number 6:  I think by now my readers know that my grandfather was small - so small, in fact, that he had to sit on a pillow when he flew a plane.  So this tuxedo must have belonged to him.  Small - Tuxedo

Number 5:  It breaks my heart when I hear of a young child passing, but especially so when it was my husband's older sister who lived to be just 54 minutes old.  Nearly Forgotten - Pamela Jean

Number 4:  I've had many favorites discoveries but the most recent is always my favorite.  This was no exception.  Favorite Discovery

Number 3:  Along with favorite discoveries comes favorite photos.  It was hard for me to pick a favorite - isn't that like picking a favorite child - but I finally came up with one.  Favorite Photo - Birdie Schwartz

Number 2:  While I love it when a photo or other tidbit drops into my lap, there is nothing more rewarding than making that happen for someone else.  It only took a moment of my time to find someone who was so filled with gratitude over a picture of his grandfather.  Gratitude

Number 1:  The post that generated the most activity this year actually surprised me - I was having a hard time coming up with something for the Blog Prompt Multiple and decided to just put to use the multiple letters I had between my grandparents as they were courting from 1916-1919.  Of course this was during the Spanish Flu and since I was in the process of transcribing the letters from late 1918, the similarities to what we have faced this year was astounding.  Multiple - Love Letters

It was slim pickings this year but I'm happy to say that I kept at it, although it was much slower than usual.  So I'll continue with the resolution to keep at it and, hopefully, have a much more robust Top 10 list in 2021!

52 Ancestors: Large - Marks Schwartz

Marks Schwartz was the older brother of my great grandmother, Bertha Schwartz Gunzendorfer.  According to this news article, he was born on 22 March 1870.

Santa Cruz Weekly Sentinel
March 26, 1870, page 2

But according to his headstone, he was born on 23 March 1870.

Marks Schwartz
Brother Colman Schwartz
Home of Eternity Cemetery
Oakland, California

Marks Schwartz died at the age of just 7 years old.  So why, you might be thinking, is she focusing on a young boy of 7 with the blog prompt of LARGE?

Marks Schwartz has been LARGER than life for me this past week as I've learned a lot about him quite accidentally.  As part of my Top 10 Genealogical Finds of 2017, I wrote about my #1 find which was a book written about the Jews of Santa Cruz.  You can read about it HERE.  What a thrill to read about my peeps and the more I research, the more some of the other Jewish families are taking shape for me.

The author of the book, George Fogelson, has been working on a new book about the cemeteries in Santa Cruz and although my 'direct' ancestors aren't buried there, we've had some conversations about the history of the cemeteries.  So a week or two ago, George sent me a draft of his book and asked for any comments or revisions - I was thrilled to be able to help.

We've all had a case of Genealogical Serendipity and the day after George sent me the draft, a friend of my sister's posted on Facebook about her ancestors who were prominent in Santa Cruz and who were buried in the cemetery.  What?  Here I had the draft in my hand (okay, computer screen) and as she described her ancestors I WAS READING ABOUT THEM IN THE BOOK!  How's that for timing?  I was able to connect her with George, she shared new information with him, and he quickly added her information to the book.

Now you're probably wondering how that relates to Marks Schwartz?  George and I 'discussed' Marks which caused me to look closer at his headstone - why after all these years and a personal visit to his grave did I think he was born in 1873 when it clearly states 1870?

One thing led to another and George discovered that Marks was included in the document Voices of the Heart: Memorial Poems from the Diphtheria Epidemic of 1876-1878 by Phil Reader.  But it hadn't connected with him because he was listed as Marksey Schwartz!  So this told me that Marks did, in fact, die from Diphtheria.

I wish I had a photo of Marks.  The Schwartz family seemed to take more photos than most of that time and I have a few which are unidentified - could this young boy be Marks?

I have a photo from 1890 of Marks' brother, Colman.

Colman Schwartz, 1890

I also have this unidentified photo from the same studio and looks to be the same clothes - could this be Marks and then Colman wore the same clothes in 1890?  Or is it Colman?

Sadly, I'm not sure I'll ever know but I'll keep hoping.

Marks Schwartz, you are not forgotten.