Marie Regina

If there is one important thing I learned from doing my own family tree research it is this, pay attention to first names and middle names.  Names give clues.

Early on in the research of my paternal side I had a lot of questions.  I had no idea who my great-great grandparents were and made it my personal mission to find out.  At the time, I had no idea my cousin had the answers. 

In my family it was tradition to have your child’s middle name be the first name of a parent, godparent, or grandparent.  I started my research with this knowledge in mind.  For example, my father’s first and middle names are, John Henry.  John is after his father and Henry is after his godfather. 

With all this in mind I started to look at the names of my great-parents and their children. I was hoping to find a clue to who my great-great grandparents were.  

The first-born to my great-grandparents was Lucas.  From research that I have done about German families, I came to the conclusion that the first-born is usually named after the father of either of the parents.  So, to me, that meant that Lucas was possibly the name of the my great great grandfather.  Why?  Well, I already knew the name of my great-grandmother’s father and it was Anton, not Lucas.  So, my search for my great-great grandfather, Lucas began.

After finding Lucas as the first-born I started to look at the names of the girls.  I was hoping that their names hold a clue to the name of my great-great grandmother. They were - Elizabeth Anna, Anna Regina, Marie Regina, Rose Katherine.  At first glance I noticed that both Anna and Regina popped up twice.  What was the significance? 

After many months of confirming that the name Lucas was indeed the namesake for my great-great grandfather,  I found that his wife’s name was………….Regina.   I was still curious as to why the name Anna popped up a couple of times.  It turns out, Anna was the mother of Regina.  So, she named a couple of her daughters after her own grandmother.

So, with that being said, I’m going to explain each of the names and the significance of them.

Elizabeth Anna - Named (Elizabeth) for her maternal grandmother and (Anna) her paternal great grandmother’s name.

Anna Regina – Named (Anna) for her maternal grandmother and (Regina) maternal grandmother.

Marie Regina – Named for her mother (Marie) and (Regina) her paternal grandmother. 

Rose Katherine – Named (Rose) for her maternal aunt and great-aunt and (Katherine) her paternal aunt.

I hope that my quick tutorial here helps you in your research.  As I always say, pay attention to small details.  You never know where they may lead you. Good Luck!

Celebrating Christmas is all about spending time with family.  My family likes to sit around and reminisce about the past during the holidays.  My passion for family history has turned my holiday trips home into gathering information for my book.  I thoroughly enjoy discussing my paternal side with my Dad because he’s usually a man of few words.  It’s exciting to get him talking.  Every year I get another piece to the puzzle that is - the Brinker family tree.

When I first started researching my paternal side I believe I gave every family member a printed family tree for Christmas.  To me it was truly giving something I felt deeply about and sharing it with my family.  It was…the perfect Christmas gift.

Every year since that first “family tree” Christmas I have either given new information to my Dad, printed an updated book for him or just talked about what he remembers.  As I stated earlier, my Dad is not much of a talker, so whenever he reminisces I hang on every word.

Talking about the family history is a great way to bond as a family.  For $100  I can put something (like the below link) together for you.  This particular client wanted information on her great grandfather.  While researching I focused all my effort on just finding information on her great grandfather.  As always, results may vary by family surname.  Once the preliminary research starts I will be able to give you an idea of how much I can obtain.

Check out the example below and tell me what you think! 

Family History – Example $100

Today, October 6, 2011, Ronnie left this earth to join family in heaven.  He was joined there by both of his parents, his twin sister, a younger sister who died at age 2, a couple of nephews and at least one niece.  He leaves behind a countless number of family members who loved him dearly.

Ronnie was a Korean War veteran, a car enthusiast, an uncle, a brother and a friend to many.  He was a Brinker, so in a nutshell, he was pretty awesome.  Unfortunately, I never really got to see the guy everyone else did and for that I am deeply saddened.  I grew up on a farm…the family farm.  My father took over the farm after Grandpa died in 1976.  At the time Ronnie lived in the farm-house with Grandma and we lived next door. 

When I think back to all the years I spent as a neighbor with my uncle I wish I had more memories.  I wish I hadn’t taken for granted what was right in front of me.  He is after all, my father’s brother.

A word of advice…don’t wait until it’s too late.  Pick up the phone, send an email, write a letter, stop in for a visit – whatever it may be, contact family today.  Appreciate them before it’s too late.

I found this family tree video online and love the visual story.  This author clearly has the passion for the story, as  I do.

Just another option for telling your family’s story.  I’m very paranoid about losing information that I would also make a paper copy of this story.  Keeping your audience in mind is very important.  You don’t want to limit the people who will truly enojoy the story.

Image via Wikipedia

I wasn’t interested in history in high school.  To be honest, I thought it was boring.  It had more to do with my teachers than the actual subject itself.  History didn’t become exciting to me until I started to relate it to my ancestors.

When I started my family tree research I recognized what a great piece of history I had in front of me. Imagine what it would have been like to travel across the Atlantic Ocean for two weeks in deplorable conditions.

Oral history is an important part of our family histories.  Its very important to share your family stories with your children and grandchildren.  I ran across a website that helps you document your own oral history.  It’s called Story Corps.  I’m not saying you need to record your oral family history and put it on the web, but think about recording it nonetheless.

I also like to envision the expressions my ancestors had when they stepped off the ship in New York, or when they saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time.  Can you imagine what a chance they took to leave everything behind? I have no idea of what they brought with them from Germany, but can only guess it wasn’t much.

By reading this, I hope you understand my passion for family history and realize the importance of tracing your own family history.

If you’d like assistance with YOUR family tree, or just need help with one part, please feel free to Request a Quote and I will help you anyway I can.

To be accurate, any researcher wants to include all the information they have found.  I am the same.  The information I had was regarding a very close relative.  Do I share his deep, dark secret, or do I let it lie dormant like he apparently wants?  Why was this such a secret?  It all intrigued me and made me want to ask those question directly toward my relative. 

After much contemplation and phone conversations with my parents about it, I decided not to bring it to the surface.  Maybe some day, after he has joined family in heaven, I may share what I found.  Who knows, maybe I will get answers from other family members who were also keeping his secret.

I mention this because I found an old “Dear Abby” article from 1980 that discussed this very subject.  Please read it and share your thoughts with me.  I would LOVE to hear what you think about this topic.  Am I right in not sharing, or should I share it anyway?

Dear Abby article (Family Tree Uprooted) - Read Here

Image via Wikipedia

Family reunions are a fantastic way to keep your family information up to date.  Facebook is a great tool for that as well. 

Lately I’ve been looking at the list of my Facebook “Friends” and noticed sixty percent of them are family.  So, either I have a large family, or I don’t have many friends.  (If you’ve forgotten, I come from a German Catholic (farming) family )

There are many ways to stay connected with family using Facebook.  I created a “Group” page for my family to come to and share news.  The page is completely private and only those I’ve invited can see what we’re talking about.  I’ve used the page for things like, asking for information for our family book, and sharing news about a family member who was sick.  It’s been a great tool for staying connected.

The more I think about it, the more I feel family reunions are becoming a thing of the past.  The new thing is cyber reunions.  This is exactly what I’ve done with my family on Facebook.  Let’s face it, everybody is busy.  It’s easier to ”sit” on the computer than get in the car and drive somewhere (most likely far away) to see relatives. 

When was the last time YOU had a family reunion?  Maybe it’s time to start planning one for next summer.

My desire to know more about the Tudor Dynasty began when I found a connection to Margaret Tudor in my family tree.  Margaret was sister to Henry the 8th.  (see link to tree)  I found her many (many) generations back on my maternal Grandmother’s side.  The tree branched out in many directions before landing on my Grandma. I thought Margaret Tudor was my ancestor because I was able to link my family tree with a few other people’s family trees.  It just seemed to fit.  How amazing would that be? Family…royalty…history!  That is what started my research on the Tudor Dynasty.

The stories of Henry the 8th that I remember from growing up were all about his wifes.  While that is not the whole story, it is a main part of his story.  Henry had a brother, Arthur.  Arthur was older and was the heir to the throne.  When their father, King Henry the 7th died,  Arthur became the new King.

Henry had never been groomed to be King, and therefore lacked the interest for it. Arthur didn’t reign over England long.  He died when he was sixteen years. At that point Henry was thrust into a throne he was never meant for.  Not only that, he also married his brother’s widow shortly after Arthur’s passing.

In the midst of the first season of the Showtime drama, “The Tudors” I realized that I was not related to Margaret Tudor.  The trees that I believe connected me to the Tudor Dynasty ended up being incorrect.  Lesson learned, don’t assume that every family tree you find online is accurate.  I was off by one person.  No longer could I be linked to such a great piece of history.

Although my first chance to become royalty had been mistaken, I still love the story of the Tudors.  Take a look at their family tree and pay attention to the number of wifes, and children.  All three children had different mothers.  The tree doesn’t show his “illegitimate” children either. Imagine what that would look like.  Notice the date of reign signaled by a crown.  Notice that his three children had no children of their own.  No heir to the throne.

I ask a lot of questions when I’m researching a mystery. I pay attention to the smallest of details. The next time you hit a roadblock start asking yourself different questions. Don’t be afraid to let your imagination take you on a wild ride.  You never know, you may find something that proves your idea is right.  How exciting would that be?!

My interest seemed to peak when I had my son, Cole.  It was important to me to have a family history book for him to look back on.  I hoped for him to understand where his mother came from and what made her the person she is today.

Starting my journey was fairly simple.  I had at least three generations (from me) already recorded. My goal was to fill in the blanks and go back as far as I possibly could.  I decided to focus on my paternal side.

My Father comes from a large German Catholic family that had been farming for as long as they can remember. His father, my Grandfather, was a first generation American. The definition of “first generation” varies.  My definition is: the first child born in America. He was raised in a German speaking home, and learned english along the way.

My Grandfather had a tough childhood.  His mother, my great-Grandmother, died when he was only two years old.  For reasons unknown, he was  sent to live with his aunt and uncle.  Seven years later he lost his Father.  Only ten, he had lost both parents and had been separated from the rest of his family.

I wondered who he was as a man, which traits he may passed on to my Dad — or myself.  I discovered that my Grandfather was a hard-working man, who attended a business college in St. Cloud, MN.  I also learned that my Grandfather, like any man, was filled with pride but was not hesitant to ask for help when needed.  He also had a great sense of humor, just like me. (lol)

My family research project began to move backwards in time.  Who was my great – Grandfather and what could I learn about him?  I already knew his name and who he was married to.  I knew his birthdate and that he was born in Germany.  Other than that, I knew nothing.  I didn’t know who his Father (my great-great Grandfather) or Mother were, or when they immigrated to the United States.

The search began.  Who was my great-great Grandfather?  Despite hours of searching, I hit a “brick wall.”  I thought, “there is no way I will ever find the answer to this question.”  Frustrated, I stepped away from it for awhile.  I had given up.

My mother-in-law came for a visit and she had some experience with researching family trees.  I explained to her the problem I was having and she was able to show me that the answer was in front of me the whole time.  I had a census record from 1880 that listed the name of the man I had been trying to locate.  I didn’t realize it at the time because I was unfamiliar with how to read census records.  From that point on I made it my mission to understand how to read all documents I found.  They hold so many clues!

Once I started to understand the census records more clearly I was amazed at the information that they held.  There was birth year, birthplace, parent’s birthplace, immigration year, occupation and more.  One census record can answer many questions. However, census records are not always accurate.  It’s common knowledge in genealogy circles that census takers weren’t always given correct information. For example, if the census taker showed up at the door when ma and pa were in the fields a child may have given the information.  Knowing that, isn’t it possible that they might now know how old their parents are or where their grandparents were born?

After I felt comfortable with the census I started to investigate immigration records.  I visited the most common websites for passenger manifests and began searching.  Eventually I found the record I was looking for.  I was able to look at (and print out) the handwritten ship manifest for my ancestors.  At that point I felt like I had won a price.  What an amazing piece of my family history to be looking at!

Those early searches for documents led to more archives, records, and databases.  My thirst to learn more was not easily quenched.  I started to fall in love with genealogy and solving family mysteries, not only for myself, but for others.

I found this article out of New York about this very subject:  Read article here.