Newspapers to the rescue to solve some family timeline issues.

My Cook ancestral family has origins in Dromcolliher (aka Dromcolligher Civil Parish, County Limerick) Ireland. My Great Great Grandfather James Cook (born ca 1837-1839) is still eluding me in the Catholic parish baptisms, but a sibling, John, has been found. Their parents were James Cook and Mary Green,, and John’s godparents were Edmund Green and […]

Families come together via the naming of a railroad station in Mendota, Minnesota

As you may have read before, my Great Granduncle Louis F. Slaker worked for the “Omaha” railroad. The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Railway was later part of the Chicago and North Western Railway system. In his position as a Superintendent, one of his tasks was naming a railroad station in Mendota (Dakota County), […]

Revisiting previously searched genealogy databases and the surprising result!

This afternoon I set aside a couple hours for my own research. I rechecked a specific database on Ancestry.com,  U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925. Once again, I searched all my ancestral and collateral surnames from that time period. Whose passport did I find? Nobody’s. Zilch. Nada. Nothing. Nil. Zero. I know that passports were not required […]