Geiszler Genealogy

In a previous post, I shared how difficult it was to find my grandfather Joseph Gei ßler in Columbus, Ohio between the years of 1850-1865. The more records I find about him, the more frustrating he becomes. Let's review the first signature I noticed. This one is on his marriage license in 1856. (Interesting note: The 1856 marriage certificates in Franklin County, Ohio don't have much information about the person other than name, if they are of age, and the dates for the licenses. However, they do have the groom's signature which I find completely fascinating.) This one is from the deed he signed in 1856 for property in Franklin County, Ohio Joseph's entry signing on behalf of his wife to join the  St James Registry This is an entry in the Holy Cross Catholic Church records regarding the death of his young son in 1857. This is not his signature The name on his naturalization certificate of 1858.  not his signature Because of his many name variations, I have troub...

In preparation for my trip to Columbus, I discovered that the State Archives & Historical Society is located in the very city I wish to visit. Score a point for me! The Ohio Historical Society houses records that I believe will benefit me greatly in my research for a variety of ancestors who lived in Franklin County, Ohio beginning in 1800 to present day. My primary interest in this facility's collection are the Land Records and the Naturalization Records. Most of the vital records I have obtained through Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org . So, I'll probably skip that section of the library. The library has a terrific website and it provided me with a lot of information that I needed to know prior to visiting the facilities. I did have a few further questions that the website did not answer. Sadly, my first attempt in obtaining answers failed (I sent an email on 1/27 and haven't heard anything to date). I had a free moment and decided to give the facility a call. Thank...

I've been working on a series of blogs, and potentially a book, pertaining to creating a family history scrapbook. I think there are some good books on the market but there are some aspects just not covered and I want to share my knowledge. In any case, the process has been fairly daunting and my opportunity to write as well as the flow of ideas has been so intermittent. However, it seems the children have been doing well and chances to write have opened up. As the opportunities have opened up, my flow of thoughts hasn't stopped coming. I can't say how thankful I am to divine Providence for blessing me with both opportunity and creativity to capture the words out of my mind. In the middle of it all, I've had many genealogy finds or service opportunities. If I don't take the opportunity to be grateful for this experience, I fear it will be a long time before it happens again. So before you ask what I've been working on and when they'll appear, that...

With a name like Charles Allen Smith, is there any wonder how easy it might be to mix him up? Never! Okay, that's wrong. Charles is the grandson of my 'newest' great+ grandfather David Smith . In family research, I had a Charles Allen Smith married to a Rhoda J Prickett. Charles was from Ohio but died in Michigan. The dates were pretty fuzzy, things like abt 1859. Using the GenSmarts program with RootsMagic , I came across a suggestion to look into the Michigan State Census of 1900. I don't know why hints like these come up and then I'm taken to Ancestry.com US Federal Census 1900, but I digress. In any case, a large list resulted from the name Charles Smith. That's to be expected. Since I don't like the filtering format on Ancestry.com, I decided to go over to FamilySearch.org . I really like their filtering system. I can fine tune a search quickly, casting narrow and broad scopes easily. In any case, I came across an entry for Charles A Smith and ...

My dear mothers gave me a lot of records when I took over as the research 'guru' of the family. I'll admit that I probably should have asked a lot more questions regarding her research. Nevertheless, I didn't and know I'm stumped. I have this little nugget stapled to a piece of paper. I have no idea what it says. I could be written in German, yet many words look English. There appears to be a date as well of perhaps 22 July 1833. Anyway, I'm posting this in hopes that someone could help me figure out what it says and perhaps what it might mean. Amanuensis Monday is a daily blogging prompt from GeneaBloggers , the genealogy community's resource for blogging. It is used by many genealogy bloggers to help them tell stories of their ancestors.

German names are quiet challenging to find in Census records. The last name Zumstine has been quite challenging. For one, no family member can agree on how the end of the name should be spelled... Zumstine, Zumstien, Zumstein? Add to that the fact that many government document records are written in terrible hand writing and the search for this family name gets even more complicated. When I was searching in Canadian Census records for the last name, I found the last name spelled Zumptine. Okay, I can see where the last name might have a p in the name if you hear it spoken. I couldn't find the family of Robert Walter Zumstein in the 1881 Census. He would have been in the family of his father Henry as he didn't marry Adeline Snyder until 1894. I found Heny Zumpzine, age 38, in the 1871 Canadian Census in the Gainsborough township of Lincoln, Ontario, Canada. Since the Library and Archives Canada database search, doesn't have a soundex search feature, I was stump...

I haven't found this as a blog prompt but I'm going to start it anyway. What are you in need of help on? What questions puzzle you as a genealogical researcher? On Wanting Wednesday, I'm posting items that I could use a little guidance on. I hope others will do the same. My want is to understand if I'm going on a wild goose chase or not. Here's the story. I have documented that Samuel Curtis Brown (1821 MD - 1900 OH) is my great-grandfather. His wife is Martha Gordon (1827 OH - 1901 OH). I've been having trouble establishing Samuel's father, or any siblings for that matter. In the LDS Ancestral File, a father's name of James Brown of Maryland is given as Samuel's father. There is no supporting documentation. I've searched Ancestry.com and Rootsweb.com and found a family tree with my Samuel on it. It also lists James as the father as well as some potential siblings. One of the potential sibling is Ferdinand Brown (1813 MD). A Ferdinand appeared in...