Geiszler Genealogy

For the next few Amanuensis Monday entries, I'm going to include the transcriptions of naturalization records that I found while searching Franklin County, Ohio. Records. When I know the individual's biographical sketch, I'll include them. Many of these entries will be collateral lines, but I hope someone might find their relative amongst my research. Jacob Fladt is not a relative of mine. He's the grandfather of Magdalena Emma Fladt (1887 - 1976). Emma married the son (Conrad Christan Grener) of my 2nd great-grand aunt Mary Elisabeth Geisler Grener. I don't know more about Jacob but I know that others are working on this line. Now, before you think I go off on major tangents all the time, let me say this. The last name Fladt is memorable to me for some reason. Whenever I'm searching records, I keep coming across this name. I don't know why. Since it keeps jumping out to me, though it's not really 'my family', I keep the make note of the r

WHEW! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my Journey to the Past series. Now that that is finished, I have to slow down in the posts a bit as I start sorting through all the materials I brought back from Ohio. I'll continue posting Tombstone Tuesdays about the gravestones that I found interesting. I'll also continue to Photo Friday series that focuses on taking photos of the artifacts in our family and personal history collection. The rest of my blogging efforts will share the stories I've learned and the connections I've made with the research I've acquired. BUT, I wanted to share the final tally from all those photos I took in the cemeteries I visited in May. Here it goes: 6 Volunteer Photos 600 Photos Added 231 Memorials Added And I manage an additional 31 that are family I took in the range of 50-100 photos that I had to throw out because they were unusable or photos were already posted online. Now, some people may say that was wasted effo

Photo by Devon Lee Ellen S Hemler Green Lawn Cemetery Find A Grave Memorial #  70003900 I think this stone is rather fascinating for several reasons. First, I wonder what the top graphic is above Ellen's name. Is it a letter T or a letter I? It is something completely different. Why would this be there? I love that there is a death date given and the age at the time of death is given in years and days. If you need a calculator to determine the birth date from the death date, try this Birth Date Calculator . However, what I really like about this stone is the painful lesson it taught me. Slow down enough to write down the inscriptions that are on the tombstones. You won't always be able to read the inscription on your photograph when you get back to your computer. Point taken and hopefully, lesson learned.

Saturday afternoon/evening I finished scanning all remaining documents and photos. I then took out my portable studio and took photos of small objects belonging to my Grannie. I even took a picture of a coin collection that belongs to my aunt Shelley. Money stories seem to run through my family. I'll have to put this all in a story format at some point. It was a fun thing to see in Shelley's home. I finally was able to turn off the computer and scanner around 5 pm. I had accomplished more than I ever thought possible. I had more leads and more mysteries. I had photos that I've never seen and stories I didn't know. I had bonded with my aunt Shelley, connected with Geiszler cousins, and met some amazing strangers. I found help nearly everywhere I went. I also found heartache and disappointment. I found frustrating moments. The research trip was more of a roller-coaster than I had expected. My Journey to the Past was over. I think I seek after genealogy becaus

On Saturday, my dear aunt drove me to the various houses she knew about in Columbus, Ohio. We drove past the house on Gates Street. I fondly remember this house from the times I visited my Grannie. The house isn't as pink as I remember it being on the outside; however, the home is in good shape. The neighborhood around it, not so much. We drove by what should have been Long's Pharmacy, it is no longer. We drove past what was once Sherman Lewis Brown's auto shop at 1888 Parson's Avenue. It is no longer. We drove past the house on Reeb Avenue. The area of Reeb, is in terrible condition. So sad. When my family lived there in the 1920s, I believe it was a small suburb of Columbus but that people cared about these houses. Since that time, the area has gone into great decline and the houses look awful. My aunt looked up Medill Street, but it no longer exists.  We drove past the house on Stewart Avenue in German Village. What a nice surprise. The entire neighborhood

Photo by Devon Lee Samuel Ross Green Lawn Cemetery Find A Grave Memorial # 46968571 Do you ever come across a stone and wonder, is this the missing person I've been looking for? Well, I was taking pictures in Green Lawn Cemetery and I came across Samuel Ross (1817-1904) and I had this thought. I have a Samuel J Ross who married Anna Margaretha Hoppe in 1889 (Franklin County, Ohio). I do not know the birth date or place for Samuel. Anna (also known as Annie) was born in Columbus 22 Jan 1869  and died 11 Jul 1896. But that's all I know. So when I passed this stone, in the same cemetery where Anna was buried, I just wondered, "Could this be him?" Probably not. Samuel Ross is a fairly common name. Without any further information to go off about my Samuel Ross, this stone is just an interesting stone with a similar name.

When Betty said she had a few things for me, she wasn't kidding. She had done some digging and had found funeral cards, obituaries, a family history printing, photos, wedding certificates, and more. Another gold mine! Would I get it all scanned before I had to leave? Betty was so excited to share what she had. She had more stories to share. I learned about more spotted sheep in the family. Very tragic stuff.  A sampling of the information Cousin Betty found for me about her family. The funniest thing was the story of her mother. Arlene had pancreatic cancer. Generally this disease is uncommon in women and a result of heavy drinking and smoking. Betty said her mother never smoked or drank. When Arlene had insisted that she had done neither, the doctor had wouldn't believe her. Arlene was so fed up that the doctor didn't believe her that she had some fun. Apparently Arlene wasn't the happiest sort of soul, so the comical element was greatly heightened. Arlen

I spent all of Friday afternoon scanning photos and documents that I was given by my cousins. My Cousin Betty had sent me an email on Wednesday and was upset that I hadn't made mention of it yet. It's not that I hadn't seen it. It was filled with so much information, I wasn't ready to process it yet. And, I wanted to make sure I got the photo albums and documents back to persons before I left town. So I'm THRILLED that my cousin Betty has been bitten by the fact-finding bug. On Saturday morning I've been told that she has A TON of things for me to see. Things like funeral programs and such. How exciting. Just when I think I won't get anything else, more comes my way. Additionally, I started digging and digging through my grandmother's bedroom. I found a lot of things worth recording. Perhaps it was wrong of me. Perhaps it was right on. In any case, I found my grandmother's high school diploma. It was too large for the scanner, so I placed

After a large tray of fruit for breakfast, I headed back downtown to finish up my research at the library. Though I could have looked up Columbus Dispatch Obituaries, the obit request process is so simple. I can have my aunt order up to four obituaries per month and they're sent to her email box. In about 3 months I could have the obituaries I know I need for the time being. So, I decided to skip going to the obituaries. I went back to the Genealogy section on the third floor. My goal? Smaller plat maps. I asked the staff working the help desk and he knew exactly where to direct me. Plus, he walked me over there personally. THANK YOU for kindness. It's every where I tell ya. All this kindness on my journey to the past has been overwhelming.  Franklin County Plat Book taken from the official tax books of Franklin County ; drawn by Darrell Dudley. Okay, plat maps. I had my spreadsheet with the names and locations of individuals I should be able to find on the plat maps. I had a

Another person I was hoping to meet on my trip was David Geiszler. On Friday, May 25th, I would meet him. David lives in the home of his father. He is also interested in Genealogy but we have vastly different approaches to research and to why we research. Our connection comes through my 2nd great-grandfather Henry Joseph Geiszler, son of Joseph Geiszler and Caroline Mack Geiszler Billman. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at Bob Evan's (another big thing to my Ohio raised mother). It was fitting to go eat there. We talked about family members, faith and values, and much, much more. I learned more about spotted sheep on the Geiszler family tree. My heart breaks for all of these sheep. If I may be bold, the common factor in these stories is drugs and alcohol (but alcohol longer than drugs). Alcohol can be enjoyed as a flavorful drink, much akin to a cold lemonade on a hot day. However, the difference between lemonade and alcoholic drinks is how the later effects some persons and

Now, my mother will probably kill me with this, but I truly feel I was doing what was best. My mother was given a journal, pocket diary, and a billfold belonging to Marion Mulford. Now, Marion is the father of her uncle's wife. So, Marion really isn't a 'family' member per se. He's a collateral line. My mother's Aunt Harriet and her siblings never had any children. Since my mother was interested in genealogy, these items went to her.  Large Journal, Pocket Diary, and bill fold belonging to Marion Mulford of Huron County, Ohio donated to Ohio Historical Society Over the years, my mother kept these items in a china cabinet in a plastic zip close bag. And there they remained. We never looked at the items or read the journals. My mother mailed these items to me a few years ago and they've sat in my family history box untouched. I can't read the script. I just can't. I'd love to transcribe the journals and find out if there is something

Grab a drink and a comfy chair, this post about the Ohio State Archives is lengthy. I just thought it best to lump it all together. This begins my fourth day of research in Franklin County, Ohio, specifically in the Columbus area. I was supposed to meet another relative on Thursday morning, but it didn't pan out. I was then headed back to the Columbus Metropolitan Library. However, as I was driving down the interstate, I saw the Ohio History Museum. It houses the Ohio State Archives. I quickly and safely exited the highway and changed my plans. I would go today rather than tomorrow. But, I hadn't packed any food. YIKES! One of the great things about having ancestors in Columbus, Ohio is that the OhioState Archives are located in Columbus as well. There are a lot of rules to follow if you go there, but for the most part, they are easy to follow and understandable.  While at the archives, I was a little bit on a goose chase but I knew what I wanted to look at. 

Feeling supercharged, I headed back to the CML before the evening activities. And yes, this is still only the third full day of research on my trip. GenSmarts had recommended the Franklin County Will Books as a possible resource for my research. The Columbus Metropolitan Library has these books in their genealogy section. When I returned to the library, I quickly found the will books in a section specifically about Franklin County, Ohio. I also took notice of additional books that sounded interesting within this section. Would I have time to review them? After going through each Will Book (lettered A-H), it was a primarily a bust. I found only three persons on my list. Thankfully I didn't have to order this microfilm or hire someone to look up this information. I can't justify an expenditure that comes up with such a short pay off. Perhaps I'm wrong about feeling this way, but I'm trying to be honest. A page from the Franklin County, Ohio Will Abstracts Will

After spending a few hours at the Columbus Metropolitan Library , it was time to go meet my father's cousins. I'll admit that I left later than I should have and everything that could then delay me, did. First, I lost my parking garage ticket. The CML personnel was awesome and helped me out, but that sucked up time. Then I didn't understand the GPS when I needed to make a turn and missed one. Then the GPS didn't understand that a HUGE CHUNK of I-71 was missing. No matter how many times I attempted to get the GPS to do an alternate route, it kept sending me back to the section of I-71 that didn't exist. Finally, I decided to drive completely wrong and the GPS would have to give me a route. The long and short of it, I was 30 minutes late. UGH! I was really sorry. My dad's cousins were AWESOME! We soon went out to Friendly's for lunch. I hadn't eaten at Friendly's since I lived in New York. It was a bit nostalgic. I didn't actually get any

With hundreds of cemetery photos, an update to the family tree database, and more mysteries than answers, I was headed off to the Columbus MetropolitanLibrary for the morning of Wednesday, May 23rd. (I know that it's now August for this post. But as you can see, I've had a plethora of research finds. And I haven't even begun showing the research that I found. This will take YEARS! And I'm fine with that.) I wanted to spend a few hours looking through the Franklin County Will Books in hopes of finding some persons from my database. I also wanted to see what was listed in the Franklin County Cemetery books. If I had extra time before my 11 am lunch date with Geiszler cousins, then I would poke around in the library.  I've found a website for Franklin County Cemeteries operated by David K. Gustafson & Leona L. Gustafson very helpful and informative. The website mentions the books Combined Index for Franklin County, Ohio Cemeteries, Volumes I – XI: A

I closed the evening with my Aunt Shelley and Cousin Bonnie by reviewing some photos that Shelley has and discussing 'the other cousins'. Harry and Lewis had two other brothers. Eugene Curtis Brown who never had any children of his own, but did have a step-daughter. Samuel Leroy Brown, had moved to Missouri, and the family lost touch.  I was also excited to share with these ladies about their  grandfather Sherman Lewis Brown who owned a auto repair shop with his sons Eugene and Samuel working there at different times. I had already created a post about this and was happy to share it briefly.  When I told the ladies that Uncle Sam had two wives, they about flipped. They couldn't believe it. Well, here's what my research trail has turned up thus far.  Samuel L Brown married Marietta Hicks on 18 Nov 1924. My mother, my aunt Shelley, and my 2nd cousin Betty insist that her name was Mary Jane. It's possible that Marietta has a middle name of Jane. It's