January 31, 2012

YIKES !! My Images Disappeared

As a new blogger, I was shocked today when I checked my postings (one published and 2 scheduled) and found that my key images had DISAPPEARED.  Well, I had copied an excerpt from records and then just did a copy/paste into the blog. They looked fine in preview .. then they vanished, replaced by a ? in a box.


Well, since they were key to my story I decided to try to copy them as jpegs and re-post them ... and they look OK now.


If they happen to disappear again, please let me know.  I'm dancing my way through this new application. Thanks.

Rosina Hankinson of Garston/Liverpool: Her Name was Key to Finding a Missing Person

The Hankinson family of Liverpool, England had 9 children, the oldest of whom was William born in 1865. He was with his parents in the census of 1881, aged 16 and a plumber. I could not find him 10 years later in the 1891 census -- not with the family, not alone.  

January 23, 2012

Who knew that John Quigley remarried !

John Quigely married Anna Sheils in 1917, just a year before her untimely death. When checking the Ulster County Marriage Archives for the specific date of their marriage, a second entry was found for John.

Ulster County Clerk's Office. Marriage Record Index
 Groom Name             Bride Name               Date of License
Quigley, John J. Jr.   Sheils, Anna M.           04-12-1917   
Quigley, John, Jr.     Feigert, Wilhelmina     11-18-1932   

January 22, 2012

Get to know the in-laws

I do believe that knowing the in-laws, finding the cousins, discovering how families intermarried makes the family history story richer ... and sometimes does help you piece together otherwise unknown relationships.  Finding someone listed as nephew or mother-in-law can breakdown your brick wall.

January 15, 2012

Occupations Matter: Liverpool Marriage Banns

Many of the families I have been researching in Liverpool, England had commonly used names, particularly those of Welsh heritage such as Williams and Jones. Often ten individuals of similar age could be found in Liverpool with a name like Edward Jones. Soon I realized that knowing the person's occupation could be a key in identifying them.  Knowing their father's name and occupation is equally important.

January 13, 2012

Looking for the Sangaline Family in Saugerties

German immigrant Peter Sangaline was known to be living with his wife Margaret and children in Saugerties, Ulster County, New York from the early 1870s until after 1910.  Searching through the federal census records online, I initially could not find them. I searched both ancestry.com and Heritage Quest hoping to find a match in at least one of those sources. I just could not find them even if I varied the spelling. The German spelling might be Zangline, but no luck there either.

January 9, 2012

Bryan Craghill: A Liverpool Butler

The family always knew that many of their ancestors were " in service" and even knew that Bryan was a butler. They knew he had married Fanny Krebs and that their daughter Rosina was born in 1842.  That was about all they knew. 


The only census where Bryan was found was 1851 stating that he was born in Yorkshire about 1813 and was a servant in Liverpool. In attempting to build a story, a family history, it is tough when you have such limited information. But, with some curiosity and a little investigation, a tale can emerge.