I was excited a week ago when I started thinking about the event. But now, the…

This is another storybook from the Phillips family vault.

Peter Christianson Paaverud was believed to have been born in 1697, but an exact date…

Margaret A. O’Donnell (1836-~1865) Margaret A. O’Donnell was born in 1836 in Kentucky as the…

Roy, the oldest of the Phillips brothers, penned a letter to his brother Floyd who…

We are back! If anyone happened to notice, we were offline for a while. After…

Jerusha Bennett (circa 1811 – 1849) Happy Birthday Jerusha! We know you had a birthday…

Getting started with your family tree – tips for the young and young at heart….

Lona Iona Fawcett (1902-1973) Lona Iona Fawcett was born on 28 Jun 1902 in Sac…

James W Huleress “Hugh” Fawcett (1848-1935) James W Huleress Fawcett was born on 12 Aug…

Gottfried Friederick Draeger (1821-1899) Gottfried Friederick Draeger was born on 12 Jan 1821 in Dobberphul,…

Stengrim Halvorsen (1799-1870) Halvorsen or Halverson? It depended on who was keeping the records at…

To the War and Back Nearly every week, a mystery is solved or some interesting…

Friedericke Stroede is largely a mystery. We know her name but little else. Even so,…

Carl Friedrich Fehlhaber (1803-1885) Birth and Marriage Happy birthday to Carl Friedrich Fehlhaber who was…

Rochester Minnesota, like a lot of places, is exploding with craft beer. In the last…

Alice Rosalie Fehlhaber (1880-1970) Alice Rosalie Fehlhaber was born on 10 September 1880 in the…

Rochester Craft Beer Expo – 2016 We are only a few weeks away from the…

Betty Hall (1768-1848) Betty Hall was born on 05 Jul 1768 in Uxbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts,…

Spider Lake and Camp Wakanda The 22nd page of Sally’s photo album featured a collection…

Snow and Golf Sally (second from right) and friends enjoying winter. Sally (back, far left)…

We are related to the Estes of Estes Model Rockets Nearly every week, a mystery…

Loved Ones and Friends The seven page of Sally’s photo album featured a collection of…

Glimpses of Our Trip to Laona, 1920 The fourth page of Sally’s photograph album was…

With the holidays behind me, I’ve been slowly getting back to working on my McCall…

Jacob W. Phillips (1781-1847) Jacob W. Phillips was born on 27 Sep 1781 in Claverack,…

This first post in the series introduces you to our sixteen female ancestors who were…

Like in 2019, August 4th in 1918 was a Sunday. It was a day of…

Marian in California and Miscellaneous Shots The 36th page of Sally’s photo album included many…

The Court set the rate for liquors, diets, and lodging When searching for some Virginia…

I get pretty excited these days when I find a new branch on the family…

George Brownell (1711-1800) George Brownell was born on 21 Jun 1711 in Little Compton, Newport,…

Ludwig Stolp (1824-1894) Ludwig Stolp was born on 13 Mar 1824 in Rehe, Nassau, Germany,…

Gals and Farm and Family Sally Aschbrenner is in back row, third from left. Elizabeth…

Pierce Brownell (1781-~1802) Pierce Brownell is one of those ancestors who can frustrate his descendants….

Barbara Mary Meyer (1881-1972) Barbara Mary Meyer was born on 09 Jun 1881 in Mendota,…

DC and a Trip Home The 43rd page of Sally’s photo album featured pictures taken…

Robert Boyes (1743-1803) Happy 273rd Birth Anniversary to Revolutionary War soldier, Robert Boyes. Robert Boyes…

When I started on this book in May 2022, I never imagined that I would…

It’s official! I have become approved as a member of the Daughters of the American…

This week we remember Frieda Lemke who was born 135 years ago today. Henriette Clara…

Camp Wakanda and more The 14th page of Sally’s photo album featured a collection of…

Old Folks, Relatives, Soldiers, and the Clover Dairy Farm “Meditating” “First Lesson” “Prairie Schooner” “Old…

There are so many places on the internet that may have information about your ancestors….

Things were probably getting pretty dull and routine on the SS America. Floyd didn’t have…

This is the fourth post in our series on women’s suffrage. In the first post…

Birgit Nilsdtr Lostegaard (1843-1887) Birth Birgit Nilsdtr Lostegaard was born on 23 Feb 1843 on…

Gertrude wrote a letter to Floyd on the 1st anniversary of his departure for service…

After a short night of sleep in a real bed, Floyd woke up to his…

Margaret Miller (1676-1764) Today we remember Margaret Miller who was born 340 years ago. She was…

Hannah Miner (1671-~1708) Birth Hannah Miner was born on 21 Apr 1671 as the third…

It is always exciting when my overnight house guests bring a stack of things that…

Scenery, Family, and a Wedding The 18th page of Sally’s photo album featured a collection…

Georg Adam Stadler (1804-1864) Georg Adam Stadler was born on 08 Dec 1804 in Mörtelstein,…

Florence Estelle Manning, the fiancé of Floyd’s brother Arthur Guy Phillips, wrote another friendly letter…

Jim loved just about every dish his family made—except for one: sauerkraut. Based on a…

It’s official! 2016 is here and with it comes the official opening of Family Past…

Zelpha Lou McCall (1866-1900) Zelpha Lou McCall was born in July 1866 in Callaway County,…

This is the second post in our series on Women’s Suffrage. The first post introduced…

Torkjel Johannesson Ovstedal (1772-1838) Torkjel Johannesson Ovstedal was born in 1772 on the Ovstedal farm,…

Trees and Friends and Friends in Trees The eighth page of Sally’s photo album featured…

Carl F. Fehlhaber (1845-1922) Carl F. Fehlhaber was born on 11 Feb 1845 in Posen,…

George Lyon (1662-1694) George Lyon was born on 16 Dec 1662 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts,…

As August began, Floyd found himself learning the routine of life on board the USS…

In response to a card from him, Grandma Amelia “Millie” Phillips wrote to Floyd. Addressing…

The weather was gorgeous and it seemed like a bad idea to waste a Saturday…

Girls Gone Wild 1917 Style Nearly every week, a mystery is solved or some interesting…

Rebecca Hallett (1675-1730) Rebecca Hallett was born on 31 Aug 1675 in Astoria, Queens, New…

On a recent vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota, we discovered that besides…

Most days of most lives are “ordinary.” But, our ordinary is likely very different than…

Thomas Fawcett (1795-1865) Thomas Fawcett was born on 16 Feb 1794/5 in Frederick, Virginia, as…

Albert “Tom” Aveldo Phillips (1841-1925) Albert Aveldo Phillips was born on 26 Dec 1841 in…

John M Meador (1734-1824) Birth John M. Meador was born on 14 Jul 1734 in…

Jorand Christiansdtr Rukke (1841-1906) Jorand Christiansdtr Rukke was born on 08 Apr 1838 in Nes,…

Welcome! This blog will offer musings on the favorite pursuits of genealogy and drinking. Combining…

Camp and Damsels in Distress The 23rd page of Sally’s photo album continues to show…

Ragnild Bjornsdtr Skolt (1809-1900) Ragnild Bjornsdtr Skolt was born on 04 Jul 1809 in Skolt,…

Mary Jane Frost (1825-1915) Mary Jane Frost was born on 05 Feb 1825 in Dorchester,…

Björn Christianson Rukke (1841-1932) Björn Christianson Rukke was born on 11 Nov 1841 on the…

In his last journal entry for many months, Floyd gives a summary of what happened…

These girls are possibly not all from the same family. They may be granddaughters of…

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a planner by nature. I like to…

Samual Christopher McCall (1833-1922) Samual Christopher McCall was born on 18 Jan 1833 in Franklin…

Live Y’ers The 27th page of Sally’s photo album featured a collection of photos taken…

Gertrude spent time thinking about her faraway son, Floyd. He was missing the Sandwich Fair,…

Christian Oleson Rukke (1805-1874) Christian Oleson Rukke. Christian Olseon Rukke was born to Ole Thorson Tollefsgardie…

Still excited from his wedding on Wednesday, 8 January 1919, Arthur wrote a lengthy and…

Sunday at Camp Stuart might not have been very exciting. There was probably a great…

Albert Phillips wrote a long overdue but very lengthy letter to his brother Floyd, who…

It’s good to know that Floyd was confident in the ability of the gunners, destroyers,…

Bennett Nils Christianson (1902-2000) This week of each year is always a little tough. For so…

Selma Cornelia Aschbrenner (1904-1983) Happy Birthday Sally! Selma Cornelia Aschbrenner was born on 07 May…

Jane Russell (1818-1900) Jane Russell was born on 27 Jun 1818 in Frankfort, Herkimer, New…

Edward Morris (1688-1769) Edward Morris was born on 09 Nov 1688 in Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts…

Nearly every week, a mystery is solved or some interesting twig (or nut) appears somewhere…

My time for family history was limited this week and will likely be non-existent next…

Mildred Holland (1779-1854) Today is the 238th anniversary of the birth of Mildred Holland. She was…

Martha Eldridge (1667-<1735) Martha Eldridge was born on 20 Apr 1667 in Driffield, Gloucestershire, England,…

Thomas C. O’Donnell (1810-1894) I think the O’Donnell family might be fascinating. But, because of…