My mother was a woman of many qualities: caring, amusing, outgoing, strong willed, and a bit of a spit fire. 100 years ago today, February 6, she was born in Youngwood, PA to Marjorie Fowler and William E. Ludwick, also known as Bill and Madge. My mom was the youngest of three children and the only girl; her older brothers were Bill and Jack. Continue reading
Brown
Release of 1950 Census
The census is a wonderful tool for family research. Although it is conducted every 10 years, it takes a lifetime to view yourself in these documents. The government analyzes and shares general statistics about the population shortly after the data is collected, but the actual forms are not released to the general public for 72 years. Last month on April 1st the forms for the 1950 census were released into the public domain. Anyone who turned 72 before April 1 of this year should be able to find themselves in those census records. Continue reading
Savoring Summer
With the bounty of summer comes the amazing tastes of fresh produce. Sweet juicy peaches that ooze down your chin. Corn on the cob dripping with butter. Ripe red tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, radishes, the list goes on. However, there are some summer flavors, like strawberries and grapes that seem to transport me back in time. Continue reading
Misc. Tax Rolls — Columbia County PA
As in I had done previously in 2016 and 2017, April’s post includes some extracts from early tax rolls, this time featuring Columbia County, PA. Since April 15th is the deadline to file tax forms for individual earned income, April is considered by many to be “Tax Month”. Besides earned income, citizens must also pay taxes to their county municipalities for real or personal property they own. The records below capture Real Estate (R), Personal (P), and Other (O) taxes for the listed individuals. Continue reading
World War One Selective Service
2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the United States entering the Great War, more commonly known as World War I, which impacted many of our ancestors. It began on June 28, 1914 when a Serbian nationalist assassinated Austrian Archduke Ferdinand; a month later Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia. A few weeks later this regional conflict had escalated into a full scale war as most European countries had entered the fray, with the larger powers of Germany, Britain and France bearing much of the burden and casualties. Over the next three years as the war raged on with no end in sight, the possibility loomed that America might be pulled into it. Continue reading
Cousin Connections: Blanche
One of the joys of genealogy has been connecting with cousins, close and distant, who share an interest in researching the family. Over the years, I have made a number of wonderful connections on both sides of my family, with relatives as well as non-relatives with whom I have joined forces to fill in gaps on a mutual tree. Thinking about some of the family associations I’ve made, one special person comes to mind, my cousin Blanche. Continue reading
Marriage Tributes
This June marks my 5th wedding anniversary and it makes me appreciate the ancestors throughout history who have engaged in the rite of marriage—some with a church wedding, some with a civil service, and some without a formal ceremony but living under “common law”. Occasionally, an ancestor might have been born out of wedlock and his/her parents separated, such as in my case with my great grandmother, but most of my known ancestors took the plunge and made a vow to be bound in marriage. Many were fortunate to celebrate numerous years together—hopefully, happy ones. While I have information about when the marriage took place and perhaps a few statistics surrounding the event, for the most part, information about how they met or their courtship is absent. Continue reading
Relatively Speaking Blog 