Geiszler Genealogy

My Zumstein, Comfort, Marr, and Shafley lived in Ontraio, Canada. It pays to know where to look for information about these ancestors. I am thankful to Cyndi's List for all the effort she does there. This post is more for me to collect all my links into one spot and why. Could I use bookmarks? Possibly. But, I find that I search my blog for help doing my research. So, I would have better chance finding these links again quickly if they were on my blog. Additionally, this blog also serves as my research workbook, if you will. And, it will serve as a history of my research for those who take up the cause after me. So... there are so many reasons why I'm sharing these links... CanadaGenWeb's Cemetery Project I like using this cemetery project website for information about graves in Ontario. Although, Find A Grave is easier to work with, I haven't found as much on that website for the Ontario cemeteries of interest for my research. As of today, it's still a bit tr...

Joseph Geißler is my fraternal great+ grandfather and my brick wall. He lived in America long enough to wed, father four children,  purchase property, and then die. His naturalization record gave me a clue as to his homeland. Here are the notes from his naturalization record: According to the Franklin County Clerk of Superior Court (in Ohio), Joseph Keizler was admitted to Citizenship of the United States of America in 1858. Joseph was a native of Baden, Germany. The record was certified on 11 Oct 1858. (Keizler would be the phonetic spelling of the name Geißler.) I wanted to know where Baden would be found. Hopefully, I could find clues as to where to look next. Map of German divisions of land Something that stood out to me as I've always wondered where Pfalz was (for my fraternal Grandmother's line), and now I know. But, this map doesn't help me much. There are so many possibilities. How on earth will I figure this out? Additionally, notice where Stuttgart i...

I recently shared a little information about Clementina Zumstein (nee Comfort)'s early life and spoke of her when talking about my grandfather Professor Zumstein . School Record for Clementina Comfort of Ontario, Canada Great grandmother Clementina was a school teacher until the time of her marriage to Victor. As a home educator, I wonder if she's look favorably on this. Regardless, I was sent an electronic copy of a school related document. I was told this is her teaching certificate. After reading it, I believe it to be a diploma of sorts. The record is transcribed as follows: Lincoln Public Schools This is to certify that  Clementina Comfort  Has completed the Public School Course of Study and Passed the Examination Prescribed by the Education Department for Admission into High School and Collegiate Institutes Dated at St Catherines, Ontario this first day of August 1907. W.W. Ireland M.A.  Public School Director, Lincoln Co J F Greene Warden, Lincoln Co The school re...

Clementina Comfort was born on 4 Apr 1895 in Rosedene, Gainsborough, Lincoln, Ontario, Canada. She is the fourth child, and third daughter, of Alonzo Comfort and Myra Marr. Clementina's family lived on the stretch of land that separates Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Niagara Peninsula Counties This land form touches the area of New York state where Niagara Falls separates the two countries. Gainsborough was just over 35 kilometers north of Lake Erie and 15 km south of Lake Ontario. Niagara Falls was just over fifty km to the east. After her birth, Clementina's family was joined by the birth of Florence Almina in 1898 and Carrie Octavia in 1900. Clementina grew up in a home full of six girls. The only son of Alonzo and Myra was born and died in 1891. In 1901, the Alonzo Comfort family was enumerated by the Canadian Census. Clementina was only five, so she was not yet attending school. Her siblings S. May, and Laura were all attending school. Although she wasn'...

This is a third installment for my multigreat grandfather Robert Victor Zumstein. Previous posts discussed his earliest years or early adulthood . Doctor of Philosophy for Robert Victor Zumstein awarded by The State University of Iowa Jan 13, 1924 According to his diploma, Victor received a Doctor of Philosophy from the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa) on 13 January 1924.  On April 7, 1924, the Iowa City Press Citizen wrote an article featuring Victor. It said, "Another valued educator is lost to S.U.I. "Iowa City will regret to say good-bye to Dr. Robert Victor Zumstein, instructor in the department of physics, who has resigned to become a member of the University of Michigan staff, at Ann Arbor. He will push his investigations in the field of the marvels of the spectro there. "As a physicist, especially one who has mastered the phenomena of spectra, it will be remembered he shone here, winning his Ph.D. degree, via a thesis of unusual worth. ...

In case you missed it, part one of Robert Victor Zumstein 's story is linked here .  During World War I, more than 628,000 Canadians joined the armed forces. Two-thirds served overseas; 60,661 died. Victor's enlistment is said to have been in 1913 with his discharge around 1918, If this is the case, he joined when he was 17 and completed service when he was 22. However, his 1917 Particulars of Recruit form is dated Oct 7, 1917 and May 9, 1918. I'm still learning more and more about his service. Particulars of Recruit: Robert Victor Zumstein From what I've discovered thus far, he served as an interpreter of German prisoners of war, stationed in both France and Germany. What is confusing, is that he also attended school during these years. So it's important to locate his service records and complete the time-line more accurately. Victor attended Dunnville High School taking courses in Physics and Chemistry until he was 16 and able to attend the University of Toronto. ...