Archives for PLACES - Page 4
John Wagner and the Texas Widow
My 2x great uncle John Wagner served alongside his two brothers, Henry and my 2x great grandfather William Wagner, in the Civil War. After the war he moved to Texas, and all I knew was that he had "married a Texas widow." I finally found his obituary, and it lead me on an amazing saga that could have been a movie. I'm still researching a few things, but I wanted to get this posted. Download…
Old Pittsburgh Maps
1910 map of the Point "The Pittsburgh Mapping and Historical Site Viewer provides a window into the past, allowing anyone to see how the city took shape over time. It shows how the city of 22,433 people in 1835 changes over time: how neighborhoods grow and expand, while others were planned but never built. Street names change over time, empty lots become buildings, and schools and churches open and close. The maps were made by…
Rollin’ on the River: Pittsburgh Shanty Boat Life
This article by Sue Morris discusses shanty boat living in Pittsburgh, a topic close to my mom's heart, who lived on several in the 1960s on the Allegheny River. Here are some excerpts: there were plenty of other Pittsburghers who called the rivers home year-round, for whom living on the water was a matter of necessity, not trendiness. No $10,000 water crafts for those folks: they lived in what Pittsburghers of the day called…
Christina Behringer Strebe
In 1891 my great grandfather William Weiler came to America from Germany at the age of 14. He went directly to Lafayette, Indiana to stay with his aunt Christina. This is excerpted from Reverend William Weiler's autobiography Photos found on Ancestry - originally shared by Jodi Austin Christina (maiden name Behringer) was William’s mother’s next older sister who had come to the United States in 1873 at the age of 26. Her husband, Heinrich…
Thornton DNA Update
For years, many people (including me) have assumed our Thorntons descended from William "the immigrant" or Luke (spoiler alert - we aren't). William and Luke immigrated from England in the 1600s and settled in Virginia. Their descendants were connected to some famous names - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others out of America’s history book. They owned huge plantations, and had many children. It made sense that these Thorntons were our ancestors - the time,…
Addie’s Duck
This incident happened at the home of Addie Hanning Weiler when she lived alone in Loveland, OH, after her husband, Rev. William Weiler had passed away. It was the custom of the Paul Weiler family to visit her regularly almost every week. This was to do her weekly grocery shopping and see what else might be needed. Daughter Ophelia had brought to her a cute, small duck which had been given to her children as…
North Side Convergence
I discovered that multiple branches of my tree lived in North Side, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where I was born at exactly the same time. They probably were riding on the same trolleys and shopping at the same stores. Earnest Thornton and Helen Strawser, my paternal grandparents, moved to North Side Pittsburgh around 1929 to find work. William Weiler and his daughter Louise Weiler (my maternal grandmother), moved to North Side Pittsburgh in 1927 to pastor a…
Ancestral History of Frank Funkenbusch
I was born on my father's small farm about five miles north of Canton, Missouri January 27, 1880. My father's name was William Funkenbusch. This name I wore until 1925, when for social ease and for the benefit of my two young sons I had abbreviated to 'Busch'. This was done in District Court before Judge Theodore Lentz in Missoula, Montana May 25, 1925. More recently I contacted Montana State University for a translation of…
Did the Vespers and the Fryhofers know each other?
Recently I connected with Susan Vesper, a 5th cousin. She alerted me to an error in my Ancestry tree and we've been trading data and photos ever since. When I added Susan to my tree, I did a little more research on her lineage. She descends from Johann Wilhelm Vesper, my ggg grandfather Frederick Vesper's brother. Three of Johann Wilhelm's sons came to America in the late 1800s and they lived for a few years…
Pittsburgh 1928 film
1928 is about when my grandparents Earnest Thornton and Helen Strawser connected in Pittsburgh. Earnest is listed in the 1930 census living on North Side. My Eckert, Giegerich, Weiler and Wagner ancestors were also here at that time.