I haven't posted one of these in I don't even know how long. The problem is, I've really not made any further movement back, no matter how hard I try, though I have managed to fill out some of the tree around the people I am looking for, mostly with children, but the occasional other ancestor thrown in for good measure.
The lines I want to focus on are still nearly the same ones I've been looking for since the very beginning:
Seneft (also Senft and Senefft) and Hillinger (also Hilinger)
Kresch and Reich
Park and Dunlop
Curran and Blair
Jones and Griffths
Roberts and either Griffiths or Pugh
Oline Hansen's line has gotten a little further, though I'd still love to get further back, but I think that one's less of a priority now. As is the Gabriel/Howells Line. While I'd love to trace the family back to our Huguenot ancestor, we've actually got quite a bit along this main line. Looking through the Brick Wall People posts I did, I actually went back far enough that I was having trouble figuring out who the people were initially, so I definitely don't need to trace some of those, either, though I do recommend it as a good exercise.
So with no further ado, my brick walls, all six of them:
The Seneft/Hillingers–
Leon and Mindel were my great-great grandparents. Their children were Isaac, Alex, Annie, Jack, and Jennie. Isaac is a new discovery from this past year. Before that, I knew he existed, but didn't know his name, nor the names of any of his children but one. They came from an Eastern European country called Galicia, then came to London to escape the danger and hardships there. Their descendants now live in the US, Israel, England and Canada.
While I have made a lot of discoveries in this family since my first Brick Wall post back in 2010, I've gotten no further back along this branch.
Looking back at previous posts, I now know exactly where Alex's family were from: Sedziszow, now known as Sędziszów Małopolski, now located in Southern Poland.
Leon I have found listed alternately as Lewis and Leib. His birthdate I still haven't managed to pin down exactly, but he was born somewhere between 1849 and 1854. He died almost ten years later than I'd had listed, in 1931. I have been told he was a Rabbi, and the Census record I found listed him as a greengrocer/hawker, meaning he had a cart he sold fruits and vegetables from. The same census also gives a general marriage year of 1871 between he and Mindel.
Mindel I have seen listed as Mena, Minnie and Millie (though the last could be a misunderstanding due to accent). I found a cemetery record for her that gave me a general birthdate of about 1851. According to the tombstone, she died in 1913. According to the 1911 census I found the information about Leon, by that point, she was blind. I'm not sure if this was a condition that came from before their arrival, or something that developed after, though I suspect it could be because of diabetes, which does run in the family.
The same census record also listed a nephew, though I'm unsure which side he comes from. His name was Lewis Greenbaum, and he was a tailor. If I could learn whose child he was, I might be able to get further back in this branch of my tree.
I've found a few more bits of information on my great grandfather, Alex, that help me pin down his timeline a little more. According to my grandfather's citizenship papers, his father served in the English military during the Boer war. I don't know that he served in the war itself, but he definitely served during that time. I also discovered that he visited the US before he brought his family in the thirties. I'm not sure when he came, but I believe it may have been between his expulsion from England, and his arrival in Frankfurt.
My questions now:
• Who Leon and Mindel's parents were.
• Who Lewis Greenbaum was in relation to Leon and Mindel.
• When the Seneft family came to England.
• Where Leon and Mindel were born.
The Kresches –
Benzion and Feige were my great-great grandparents. Their children were Mendel, Dora, Minna, Haim, Esther, and Aharon. I have learned nothing new about them this year, but I have firmed up some of the information I learned from my cousin in Israel a few years ago.
Looking back at my old entries, I see that I mentioned a cousin Selma. I learned after posting that she was from the South American branch, so she is likely related to the Kresches, as my great-grandmother's brother and his wife and daughter and her family escaped the war by immigrating there. I also now know that Dora and her siblings were born in a small village called Czudec in what is now Southern Poland.
While I have firmed up names and location, I still have very little else on this branch of the family.
My questions now:
• Who Benzion and Feige's parents were.
• Exactly how does cousin Selma connect to this family?
• Where were Benzion and Feige born?
• What happened to Haim, who vanished after World War I?
• When did Benzion die?
The Parks –
Robert James Park was born to John Park and a Miss Dunlop. I don't know her first name, though I suspect it may have been Mary, as that was the name of my great-grandmother, Robert's daughter. Robert is the only child I know of John and his wife, and I know nothing about them beyond their names.
I did find a record this year that listed his birthplace as Ballymena, which is definitely new information. It hasn't gotten me any further, though. And really, that's all I have. A short one, but there just isn't much on this part of the family tree.
My questions now:
• What is Miss Dunlop's first name?
• Where were she and John Park from?
• When were they born?
• Did Robert have any other siblings?
The Currans –
Thomas Curran and Jean (Jennie) Blair were my third-great grandparents. According to the records I found for them, they had eight children: Elizabeth, Anna, Sarah, John, Thomas, Sarah Jane, Joseph, and Rhoda. They lived in Antrim, Ireland, which is the county in Northern Ireland where Belfast is located. What I do know is that Thomas and Jennie were married in 1860. Thomas's father was Francis, and Jennie's father was John.
I haven't made any progress on this branch this year, though I have done a little looking for them. The problem is, Irish records are hard to find.
My questions now:
• Where exactly Thomas and Jennie were born.
• What their mothers' names were.
• Where their parents were born.
• How many siblings they had.
The Joneses –
Benjamin Jones and Hannah Griffiths are my great-great grandparents. According to my records, they had seven children: David, Joseph, John, Daniel, William, Mary, and Sarah. They lived in a town on the eastern border of Wales with England called Merthyr Tydfil. According to family stories, they ran the post office there, though I don't have any records to show it.
I have complete birth information for both of them, but no names to go with it. I don't know if they had siblings or not. Benjamin was born in 1837 in Caio, Wales, and Hannah was born in 1849 in Newcastle Emlyn, Wales. I'm not sure how they met, or how they ended up in Merthyr Tydfil. I do have one possible census record for Benjamin's family that lists a mother and brother for him, but I haven't been able to verify that information yet, so I can't be sure it's correct.
My questions now:
• Who were their parents?
• Where were their parents from?
• What was the name of their post office, and was it the only one?
The Robertses –
The final branch, and one I haven't talked about quite as much here.
Hugh and Ellen Roberts were my third-great grandparents. At this time, I only have two children listed for them: Selina and Elizabeth. Hugh was born about 1819 in Northern Wales, and Ellen was born about 1824 in the same area.
I was lucky enough to find a census record for them that listed the four of them in 1851. At the time, Selina was five, and Elizabeth just a year old. I've not been able to find more, so I don't know if there were further children. I do know that Hugh and Ellen got to meet my grandmother, as we have a picture of her with them sometime shortly after her birth.
Ellen is a bit of a mystery for me, though I think it's more to do with getting this information from my grandmother through word of mouth. When I first began to put together my family tree, I quizzed my family for as much info as I could get. Some branches were easy. There were family trees that already existed that I was able to pull from. But some branches, like the Roberts side, I had to put together by hand, hoping I got all the information correct. Ellen and Hugh's were one of these lines. My grandmother gave me her name as Ellen Griffiths. This was interesting, as another line had the same surname. But Griffiths is not at all uncommon in Wales, so it didn't raise a red flag. Not until I found their daughter Selina's death record did I realize that the name might not be right. According to that record, her mother's name was Ellen Pugh. Unfortunately, I've never found records with either name for my ancestor, so until I do, I'll just have to keep looking for both.
I really know little else about this branch.
My questions now:
• What is Ellen's true maiden name?
• How many children did they have?
• What were the names of Ellen and Hugh's parents?
And that's all I have for now. If you have anything on any of these people, I would love to talk to you. Especially if you have knowledge that would get me another generation back.
Previous Brick Wall Posts:
• Brick Wall Ancestors (March 2010)
• Brick Wall Update – the Seneft/Hillingers (May 2010)
• Brickwall Update #2 (September 2010)
• Brick Wall Update (September 2010)
• Brick Walls – A Different Listing (October 2010)
• Brick Wall Update (August 2011)
• Brick Wall Update 2012 (February 2012)
• Brick Wall People Posts (2013):
o Leon Seneft (Seneft/Hillinger branch, Jewish eastern European)
o Mindel Hilinger (Seneft/Hillinger branch, Jewish eastern European)
o Benzion Kresch (Seneft/Hillinger branch, Jewish eastern European)
o Feige Golda Reich (Seneft/Hillinger branch, Jewish eastern European)
o Benjamin Jones (Jones/Howells branch, South Wales)
o Hannah Griffiths (Jones/Howells branch, South Wales)
o Hans Nielsen (Oline Hansen branch, Sealand, Denmark)
o Maren Rasmussen (Oline Hansen branch, Sealand, Denmark)
o Ole Larsen (Oline Hansen branch, Sealand, Denmark)
o John Park (Park/Curran branch, Northern Ireland)
o Miss Dunlop (Park/Curran branch, Northern Ireland)
o Ellen Pugh (or possibly Griffiths) (Howells/Gabriel branch, Northern Wales)
o Hugh Roberts (Howells/Gabriel branch, Northern Wales)
o Lars Andersen (Hansen/Larsen family, Jutland, Denmark)
o Anne Sørensdatter (Oline Hansen branch, Sealand, Denmark)
o Francis Curran (Park/Curran branch, Northern Ireland)
o Hans Henrich Bordevick (Bordewich/Bordewick family, Norway & Germany)
o Kresten Christensen (Hansen/Larsen family, Jutland, Denmark)
o Else Katrine Ivarsdatter (Hansen/Larsen family, Jutland, Denmark)
o Henrich Christian Schrøder (Oline Hansen branch, Sealand, Denmark)
o Henrick Hansen (Bordewich/Bordewick family, Norway)
o Susanne Pedersdatter (Bordewich/Bordewick family, Norway)
o John Blair (Park/Curran branch, Northern Ireland)
Brick Wall Update 2018
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: My Family in 16 May 1865
1) Determine where your ancestral families were on 16 May 1865 - 150 years ago.
2) List your ancestors, their family members, their birth and death years, and their residence location (as close as possible). Do you have a photograph of their residence from about that time, and does the residence still exist?
3) Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status or Google+ Stream post.
My family on May 17, 1865:
Surname Saturday 2.0: The Currans
The Curran Family
Though the Park family was the name I should think of when thinking of my "Irish branch" of the family, for some reason, it's the Curran name I always think of first, even though it was my great-great grandmother's side. Because of that, I often forget that it's not the main branch of the Irish branch of my family tree.
Like the Parks, I know very little about this line of my tree, but I know more than the Parks. My great-great-grandmother was born Elizabeth Curran to a couple in Northern Ireland, and for many years, I did not know much more than her birthdate and two of her sister's names: Sarah and Rhoda. I'd only managed that much through one of the cousins on that side who used to visit when we had family gatherings in Vancouver.
I was lucky enough to find death certificates for both Elizabeth and her husband, Robert, and in doing so learned her parents' names: Thomas Curran and Jennie Blair. Still quite common names, but through those names, I have managed to find a list of children I think may have been her siblings. I'm still not entirely sure how many children her parents had, nor have I been able to find a birth or christening record for her, but through those names, I have even managed to find their wedding date, and the names of their fathers. Quite a bit more than I had when I started my search. Only took twenty years to find it.
What I do know is that the family was in and around the Belfast area, and most or all the children are listed as born in Antrum, Ireland, which is the county Belfast is in.
The story I know picks up after Elizabeth and her husband left Ireland and settled in America. They lived in Philadelphia and had nine children there, two of whom died in early childhood, then moved back to Ireland when things became too difficult in the early 1900s, but eventually settled in Vancouver BC, where my great-grandmother met and married her husband, and they raised two sons there.
The Curran line as I currently know it is as follows, for those interested:
* Francis Curran and his as-of-yet unnamed wife had at least one son, Thomas Curran. Francis was born about 1814 according to records I have found, and died in 1877 in Antrim, Ireland.
* Thomas Curran was born 1840, and married Jennie/Jane Blair in 1840. They had 8 children I am aware of: Elizabeth, Anna, Sarah, John, Thomas, Sarah Jane, Joseph, and Rhoda.
+ Elizabeth Curran's line is detailed below.
+ Sarah Curran was born 1867 and married John Stevenson, but I know little more about her.
+ Rhoda Curran was born 1878 and married John Carruth, and I believe this is the mother or grandmother of the cousin that I met in Vancouver, but I have no specific information on this branch.
+ I know nothing else about the rest of the children, aside from birth dates.
* Elizabeth Curran was born 1862. She married Robert James Park in 1883, I believe, and the two emigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they lived for almost thirty years and raised their children. They returned to Ireland for a few short years before emigrating to Canada and settling in Vancouver BC, where both died. She died in 1954.
+ Two children died at a very young age. I believe one was named Jennie Curran Park. As of yet, I am uncertain of the name of the other.
+ Robert Curran Park was born 1887, and died 1912.
+ Elizabeth Park was born 1889. She married Louis Phillips, and died in 1966.
+ Mary Dunlop's line is detailed below.
+ Rhoda Park was born 1891. She married Wesley Standlick, and died in 1982.
+ Margaret Park was born 1895, and she died in 2001.
+ George Dunlop Park was born 1897. He married Florence Williams, and died in 1993.
+ Florence Park was born 1903. She married Ross Sexsmith, and they had four sons, and those sons had 13 children between them. She died in 2001.
* Mary Park was born 1891. She married Bjarne Bordewick in 1917, and they had two sons: George Robert and Henry Norman. Henry died in World War II. George had two sons and two daughters, and two grandchildren, and has two great-grandchildren. Mary Died in 1982. George died in 1991. All of their descendants currently live in the greater Seattle area.
What I don't know:
* I would love to know the name of Francis's wife, or how many children they had.
* I would love to verify the children I have listed for Thomas and Jennie/Jane Curran, and to find a birth record for Elizabeth. I'd also love to know what became of the other children, and even more about the two daughters I do know aside from Elizabeth.
* I still want to find a record for Elizabeth and Robert's marriage beyond a possibility that only included his name and a range of three months.
* I also would love to know the names of the ships they took to the US, back to Ireland, and then to Canada.
Other information about this branch of the family:
Brick Wall Posts -
* Brickwall Ancestors
* Brick Wall Update #2
* Brick Wall Update
* Brick Walls: a Different Listing
* Brick Wall Update
* Brick Wall Update 2012
Old Surname Posts –
* Curran
Where We're From Posts –
* Where We're From – United States
* Where We're From – Canada
* Where We're From – Ireland
* Where We're From – The Unknown
Other -
* The Bordewick Family
* Four Generations
* New Discoveries
* Women's History Month – Week 2
* Heirloom Quilt
Labels: curran , Elizabeth Curran , Surname Saturday
Brick Wall Update 2012
It's been a while since I updated my brick wall search. While I haven't gotten much further on some branches since my last update, I think they will go on the back burner, so that I can focus more on getting information on my great-grandparents and their parents, and leave any more researched lines out for now.
So here's my Brick Walls as they stand:
The Seneft/Senft/Hilingers
I still haven't determined where exactly Sedziszow, Galicia is. I have a few possible locations, all in various parts of Galicia. I seem to come up with new places in Poland every time I look up the town. At the moment, I'm inclined to believe that they lived in the area north of Krakow (the blue tags are all possible locations that come up when I look up the town name.)
I also don't know if Alec's siblings were all born in that same town as he was, or what his second brother's name was. I do have a couple of relations I should try to get into contact with to see if they have that recorded somewhere.
I do not know when the Senefts moved to England, only that they were there before World War I. I have a record for a gravesite for "Minne Seneft" in London, with a transcription reading "Loving daughter Jennie," which may well be Alec's mother Mindel and his sister Jennie, which means they would have been there before 1913, when the grave marker says she died. This fits in with them having left in the late 1800s sometime, so I'm inclined to believe this is her.
I know the fate of three children if I include Alec. I have a record of Jennie's immigration to the US in 1916. The record also includes the name of her brother, Jack, who I know was also already in New York City at the time, and her father's name (Leon) and his address in London. I also think I have found a gravesite for Jack in New York, though I have not confirmed that grave, either.
Alec was sent to Camp Douglas, though whether he was sent there alone, or others of his family went there as well, I'm still not sure. We currently have three photos of Alec while he was at the Camp (though one I'm less certain of than the other two), both of which are addressed to his brother Jack.
We also have a family book about Alec and Dora's family which includes a few details of their parents' lives, including Alec's mother Mindel, though all it really mentions is that she was last living in London. Leon is not mentioned at all because by the time the book was written up, Alec had reverted to his mother's surname as his parents were married only in a religious ceremony, and their offspring were therefore not recognized as legitimate by the German government.
The last formal record I have of Leon is his name on Alec and Dora's wedding invitation, which means that I know he was alive in 1919, and my grandfather stated he was dead by the time he was born in 1922, so I am still looking for some kind of grave marker for Leon in London, as I believe he lived there until his death. I know he was a Rabbi from family stories, so he may have been buried someplace special, but for now, that's all I have.
I wish I could find more record of the Senefts in London, and even more information about Alec's time in Camp Douglas. I'd love to know more about Alec and Dora's life in Frankfurt, but likely most of those records were lost during the war, and I'm grateful for what I do know, at least.
As for Mindel and Leon, I have no record of them before London. I hope at some point, I'll find something, but for now, I think that's unlikely.
The Kresch/Reich family
Most of what I know about Dora's family, I've learned in the last two years, and comes from a couple of photos and the family book.
I know that Dora was born in Czudek, a small town in Galicia (now Poland) near Rezeszow, and her father seemed to be a teacher according the family book. I know that she had at least one sibling, though relations have mentioned she had more. I only have the name for one, though, her sister Minna, who came to Frankfurt with her shortly after World War I.
I believe their father, Benzion, died before the girls moved to Frankfurt, though not sure when exactly. Their mother, Fiege Golda (not entirely sure what she went by), moved to Frankfurt at some point. Not sure if she moved with her daughters, or later to be close to them. I believe she lived in Frankfurt until she died in the late 20s or early 30s. I do know that she was also on Alec and Dora's wedding invitation, but her husband was not. This means she was alive in 1919 definitely, while he was likely not.
Unfortunately, both Kresch and Reich are far more common than Seneft and Hilinger for this area, so in this case I actually suffer from an excess of too many records, and not being able to narrow things down enough, even with a specific location for Dora's birth.
And like Mindel and Leon, I know almost nothing about Benzion and Fiege Golda before their daughter's birth.
I think my main problem with both families is that names were very fluid in this time and area. Both in writing and in how they were referred to. In formal records, you used one name, in every day life, another, so depending on who was writing the record, you would see a very different name. Not to mention the language barrier of the Hebrew/Polish/German mix, along with other dialects spoken in the area. I'm working on getting it all sorted out, but it will definitely take time to do.
The Rasmus Hansen family
This branch is going on the back burner. I've managed to get a better record of Rasmus's parents. I've found him and his parents in three separate census records, and on Maren Sofie's side, I have both her parents as well, if not precise records at the moment. It's enough for now.
This will probably get some attention anyway, though, because I'm slowly piecing together Oline's life for the book I'm writing about her, so more research will need to be done at some point.
The Park/Curran family
This one is also going on the back burner. While I haven't gotten any further on the Park side, I have managed to get the names of both of Elizabeth Curran's grandfathers. And I'm definitely back before my great-great grandparents, even if not in great detail, so I think I can wait on this branch a little longer.
The Jones family
This is the last of the family branches I'm going to focus on now. Most of what I know of this branch comes from my aunt and my grandmother, and family photos. But I know almost nothing about my great grandfather's parents before his birth.
I have birth dates and locations locations for both. Benjamin was born in 1865 in Caio, Wales, and Hannah was born Hannah Griffiths in 1863 in Newcastle Emlyn, Wales. I believe both locations are in south western Wales, though using Google Maps has not helped much, as each time I look, I seem to find slightly different information, and at least one of the two seems to have more than one possible location. For my current assumptions, click here.
I believe they married sometime before 1882, and at some point the couple moved together to Merthyr Tydfil in South Eastern Wales where they had seven children. I believe all of them were born in Merthyr Tydfil, and that Daniel, my great-grandfather, was the eldest.
Both their first and last names are incredibly common, which makes finding them without more specific information almost impossible at the moment. Trying to narrow down the areas of their birth is nearly impossible, even though I have locations for both. It hasn't stopped me from trying, but it is making it very difficult. I just wish I knew at least one sibling or parent for each of them. It would help narrow things down a lot.
I suppose my next step for this branch will be to get a subscription on a British site to get access to British birth, death and census records.
The Gabriel/Howells/Roberts Family
Another branch that can wait, as I have quite a bit of information on this family. Less so on the Roberts side, but that's still a step further back than I need to go right now.
As always, any help with any of these branches would be greatly appreciated.
Brick Wall Update
So a Brick Wall update is very overdue. I haven't done one of these since last year, and while I haven't gained a whole lot of new insight in that time, I like to keep posting about these, in hopes someone will find me who has a connection.
Brick Wall 1 -
The Seneft/Senft/Hilingers:
I still don't know a whole lot about my great-grandfather's family before he left England after World War I.
I know that he was born in Galicia, somewhere in what is now southern Poland. I've not been able to pinpoint the location exactly because there are several places with the name on his family record, or that are too similar to be discounted. The one I think most likely at this moment is some miles north of Krakow, Poland.
According to my paperwork, Alex/Alec (possibly Elias or some variant) Seneft was born June 2, 1883 in Sedziszow, Galicia to Leon and Mindel (nee Hilinger) Seneft or Senft. Unfortunately, until I learn more, that's as far back as I can officially go in time. I've no clue when his parents married or when or where they were born, though I assume that they were probably born in Galicia as well.
As for the Seneft surname…I've seen both spellings, but I keep coming back to this version, though I think given the fact that they probably wrote it in Hebrew, it could go either way. I do have one issue with it, though. Seneft is not a common Jewish name, so I can't help wondering where it came from, or how long it was a family name. I do know that at one point the Germans forced the Jews to take German surnames, so perhaps it came from that period? Either way, I've not found a whole lot of Senefts or Senfts in Jewish lists from the time my great-grandfather was born.
I'm not sure at what point the family moved from Galicia, or even how many siblings my grandfather had. I have record of four others, but there may have been more, since my records are not complete. I only have names for three, though: Annie, Jennie, and Jack. There was also another brother, but I've no name for him at the moment.
I did find one more interesting piece of information on this side: Jennie and Jack may have been twins, which is something that runs in our family, so it makes it more likely. I found one record of a Jack Seneft who died in New York, where I know my great-great uncle lived, which gave me a birth year of about 1893, and I found an Ellis Island record for Jennie Seneft which also gave me an 1893 birth date. Neither is confirmed, of course, but it would make sense, given that my grandfather was a fraternal twin, and that his younger daughter had fraternal twins as well.
The Kresch/Reich Family:
I really know even less about Alex's wife, Dora, and her family. I never separated her side from her husband's before now because I knew so little, but with the amount of information on Alex's family, I didn't want hers to get lost. Starting out my search for her side, all I had was her and the names of her parents. This past year I've learned a little more, but not much.
Dora was born January 15, 1892 in Czudek, Galicia to Benzion Kresch and his wife, Feige Golda, formerly Reich. I have record of only one other sibling for her: Minna, but I don't know if she was older or younger.
I found Czudek on a map very close to Rzeszow, Poland, so I'm fairly certain of their location, and the paperwork I found list her father's occupation as teacher, so I have that as well. But other than that, I have nothing about this family until after Dora and her sister moved to Frankfurt after World War I.
Unfortunately, Kresch is a very common name in this area, so narrowing things down is nearly impossible, though I did find a possible record at one point for a Benno Kresh's death—Benno was my grandfather's older brother, and I believe he may have been named for their grandfather.
For this side, I'm hoping to find a record proving their location and whether or not she had any other siblings. I'd also love to find her parents' birth dates and locations.
Brick Wall 2 -
The Hansen Family:
I've recently made a little more progress on this side. I know have confirmed that Rasmus Hansen's parents Were Hans and Maren (Rasmussen) Nielsen. I've found several different Census records showing Rasmus living with his parents, including one that shows he and his first wife living with them, so I've got record of their general birthdates and locations, but nothing before that.
Hans Nielsen was born about 1816, and his wife Maren was born about 1817. Both were born in Soro, though I don't have a town listed yet. The two had at least six children: Ole, Niels, Rasmus (my great-great grandfather), Jorgen, Jens, and Ane Lisbeth. I've got general dates for them all, and assume that they were all born in the Soro area.
According to the records my great-aunt got from Fjenneslev when she sent for information about her mother's family, my great-great grandfather was born in Knudstrup, so likely all his siblings were born there or near there as well, as it looks as though the Nielsens had a farm which my great-great grandfather took over when he married. I'll have to look a bit into his older two brothers, to see why they didn't. Perhaps they went to America? Possibly died in a war, or of some sickness? Or found another place to live? Either way, the first Census record after his marriage shows that he and his wife are living there with his parents still in residence.
Sill have nothing further back, and I'd love to firm up birthdates, but at least now I have somewhere to start. :)
The Olsen Family:
When my great-aunt got the information for her mother's family, my information only went as far back as her grandparents, my great-great grandparents, Rasmus (above) and Maren Sofie Olsen. So I had her birth information—June 27, 1855 in Slots-Bjergby, Soro, Denmark—but absolutely nothing else on her family or his.
I was lucky enough to find her birth record, though, which listed her parents as Ole Larsen and Birthe Marie Schrøder. However, once I started digging before, I found a rather interesting story. It seems that my great-great-great grandfather, Ole, came here to the states (he is now officially my earliest relation in the US) sometime around/shortly after my great-great grandmother was born. Like many men of the time, he left his wife and child behind, stating he'd send for them once he was settled. But like many of those men, he never did.
So Maren Sofie is an only child, and it looks as though as soon as she was old enough to work, she was sent off to work for other families. I do have a possible record of her being a seamstress, which seems likely not only because of the time, but also due to the fact that her daughter, my great-grandmother, also made a living that way for a time, so that may be an inherited talent.
Of Ole Larsen, all I know is a general birthdate—1812. No location at all, though possibly Soro, given that that's where Maren Sofie was born. I know that he settled in Minnesota, but I've only vague ideas of where—I only have the information from my great-great uncle to go by, and I'm not sure if the names have changed in that area or not.
For Birthe Marie, things get even stranger. I have other records for her, but nothing I've been absolutely able to confirm yet, aside from a previous marriage before Ole. For her, I have four records. Her daughter's birthrecord, which is the most confirmed. Then I have her wedding record to Ole, which lists her birthdate as 1820, and shows her as having been widowed by that time. Then I have her wedding record to her previous husband, the one listed on the wedding record to Ole, which lists her birthdate as 1817. Finally, I have a possible birth record, which lists her birthdate as 1825.
For me, the birth record is the most interesting, though it really only lists her mother, and only gives her father's surname. But if I can confirm it, it will give me her birth location as well, which is much further south than her daughter, somewhere in the south of Sealand near the islands or on the islands, if I remember correctly.
I'm speculating that if this is the same Birthe Marie, that she wanted to get married, but was under the age of consent at the time, so they gave a much older age to whomever married them so she could. I know that birth ages weren't something as paid attention to in this time, but that much of a difference, I think she'd know. And the fact that the two wedding records have such disparate ages suggests to me that that was her way of trying to equalize things so that she was closer to her true age.
I also can't help but wonder if she married again after Ole deserted her, though I've no way to know that for certain right now. But I'm working on it.
Brick Wall 3 -
The Park Family:
Since finding my great-grandfather's death record online, I've gotten no further in this search. Finding a marriage record between a Park and a Dunlop is like finding a blue pen in a stack of pens—far too common to be helpful. If I had a first name for her, it might help, but John Park is just too common a name. And I don't even have a location to narrow things down that way.
I do still speculate that her name might be Mary, given that that was my great-grandmother's name—that is to say Mary Dunlop Park—so it would make sense she was named for her grandmother.
All I know for certain is that Robert James Park was born to John Park and his wife, a former Dunlop, on June 24, 1852, somewhere in Ireland (though I suspect Northern Ireland).
I was lucky enough to find a record of the 1911 census with Robert Park and his wife and their children on it, though. To this point, the only record I had of them was the 1901 US census, while they were living in Philadelphia, and before their final daughter was born. This lists them living in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1911, and shows that my great-grandmother was a shop girl at the time. Still not sure when they came to Canada, though it can't have been too much later—my great-grandparents married in Vancouver in 1917, so they probably left no more than five years after that census was taken.
The Curran Family:
The Curran family has been a bit less elusive. For Thomas and Jennie (Jane nee Blair) Curran, I've now got 8 possible children, a wedding record, birthdates, and even fathers for each of them.
Thomas Curran I now have listed as being born 1840, though still no location, to Francis Curran and his as-of-yet unnamed wife. Jennie Blair was born in 1838 to John Blair and his as-of-yet unnamed wife. They were married on July 31, 1860 in Antrim, North Ireland.
I've still only got three daughters confirmed: Elizabeth, Sarah, and Rhoda. I also have records for Jennie/Jane having six other children: Anna, John, Thomas, Sara Jane, and Joseph. All my records seem to indicate either Antrim as the locations or Belfast, though I know that Belfast is inside Antrim county, so I think that muddles things a bit.
So far, that's everything I've got. I'm hoping I'll be able to find more, but Irish records are scattered at best.
Brick Wall 4 -
The Jones Family:
Like the Jewish branches of my family, I've come to realize that unless I manage to connect with distant family still in Wales, I may never get any further back on this side. Benjamin and Hanna are far too common names, and Jones is just about the worst Welsh name to research, unless you have specific dates or locations. Hannah's surname of Griffiths is only a little better.
What I know:
Benjamin Jones was born December 24, 1865 (though my notes say 'before,' and I'm not sure why, so that's not an exact date at the moment) in Caio, Wales. Hannah Griffiths was born February 1863 in Newcastle Emlyn, Wales. The two were married sometime before 1882, and had seven children: Daniel (my great-grandfather), David, Joseph, Jack, William, May and Sophia.
I've done a little looking at Census records, but I don't have enough information on either of them to be certain I've found the records I need, though I have found a few interesting possibilities.
The Gabriel/Howells Family:
Nothing new here at all to relate, aside from the fact that I recently discovered that one of my Welsh branches is Huguenot-descended. After glancing through the Welsh surnames that I have, Gabriel seems a very strong possibility, as it is a French name. I also know that the Gabriels were known for weaving, and I found a reference to a Northern Welsh group of Huguenots who were known for just that, so I think that might be them. Right now, it's the only line that makes sense.
Since I've got three generations here before my family came to Canada, I think this one will probably be left off in the future until I get further back in other lines.
The Roberts Family:
This one is one I've never gotten any further with aside from finding Selina's mother listed as Pugh instead of Griffiths on Selina's death record. I have no clue where they were from, or when they were married, or if they had any children aside from Selina.
What I do have:
Selina Roberts was born May 26, 1846 in Barmouth, Wales to Hugh and Ellen Roberts.
And really, that's it. Any time I try to look up any of these three, I come up completely blank. Unfortunately, the names, even Pugh, are just too common.
Any help on any of these lines would be greatly appreciated. Particularly the Jewish and Welsh branches.
Where We're From – The Unknown
This post is the last of my posts on this subject. It's also going to take on a different form, because I've got no specific locations to point to with these. The locations in this post are either family rumour, my own conjecture based on names and locations, or my assumption based on the origins of certain groups.
I'll start with the Galician Jews. Though I've nothing before my great-grandparents' births in the late 1800s, most Galician Jews were German or Russian Jews. Because of the location and names involved, I'm inclined to say that my family were German aka Ashkanazi Jews. I don't know how many generations they lived in Galicia, but they probably migrated there at some point between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, as that seems to be when most migration from Germany to Galicia took place for the Jews. And whoever my original Jewish German ancestor might have been probably came to Germany with the migrations from the Middle East in the tenth or eleventh century.
There's also the Hilinger/Hillinger family, whose origins seem to be from Austria, though I have not specific connection to my family as of yet. Nor do I understand how the Austrian Hillingers might have ended up in Galicia, if they are connected.
The next family origin I've speculated on is my Northern Irish roots. Three of the four names I have for those families are what we in America call Scots-Irish, meaning those Gaels who lived in Scotland but were transported out of Scotland and settled in Northern Ireland. Of the four names I have for my family (Curran, Park, Dunlop and Blair), only Curran is a well-known Ulster-based name. The other three all have strong origins in Scotland, leading me to believe it quite likely that at least one line, if not all three, probably trace back to Scotland, though as of yet, I have no proof. I guess time will tell.
The final and most-murky family mystery line is that of the possible Huguenot origins of one of my Welsh lines. I've only recently learned about this one, and though I have some speculation about which line it might be, it's really too soon to tell. But if that's so, that means at least one of my lines originally has origins in France. Which is one of those places I always assumed I had no connection to before this, which I find amusing. And goes to show—you should never just assume anything.
And really, that's it. I'd love to be able to prove even a tiny fraction of any of the above speculations, but that's going to take a lot of digging, and many more generations before I can prove or disprove any of them, so I guess I'll just have to wait to find out.
Thank you all for reading along (if you did), and if you have any insight into any of the above locations, I'd love to hear about it. Particularly if you have any connections to any of the following families: (Galician) Seneft/Senft, Hilinger/Hillinger, Kresch, Reich, (Northern Irish) Curran, Park, Blair, Dunlop, (Welsh) Jones, Griffiths, Gabriel (I believe this is the Huguenot line) /Howel/Howells, Roberts.
Resources:
* The History of Jews in Galicia
* The History of Eastern European Jews
* Ulster Scots People (aka Scots Irish)
* Huguenot
Where We're From – Ireland
Though it is a relatively minor part of my family tree, this is where my search started. Looking for my maternal grandfather's maternal line in Ireland. I remember his mother, who died when I was in my early teens, and I knew for a long time that that branch was Irish, though I don't recall now how much I knew about where my great-grandmother was born.
When my grandfather died in 1991, I realized he was the last in the direct descent of that line for me, and I had very little contact with the few others that remained in that family line. His uncle George, his mother's younger brother, died shortly after my grandfather, and though his mother's remaining sister, Margie, survived, she was well into her ninties by that point, and remembered very little. Not to mention the fact that I had little contact with her.
However, through papers my grandfather left behind and conversations with family members over the years, I was able to cobble together bits and pieces, and this past year, I have managed to pull together quite a bit more information on one side of her family tree. I still don't have much, but I do have more than I had.
It turns out the Currans (the maternal side) were from Northern Ireland, and as such are what we in the states call Scots Irish. The Park side is still mostly unknown, possibly from Northern Ireland, or maybe from somewhere along the eastern coast, as I have heard places like Derry and Dublin in connection with my great-great grandfather. I keep hoping I will find more, given the luck I finally had with the Currans this past year.
A map of the locations:
View My (Northern) Irish roots in a larger map
1. Belfast, Northern Ireland
According to my records, I believe Robert and Elizabeth married here, and according to the family story, when they decided life in America wasn't working out the way they hoped, this was where they returned.
2. Antrim, Antrim, Northern Ireland
This is where my great-great-great grandparents Thomas Curran and Jennie/Jean Blair married and lived, if the records I have found are accurate. The two had three daughters I am certain of, and possibly as many as five other children, though I have been unable to find a birth certificate for my great-great grandmother as of yet.
And that's all I have at the moment, though I'm hoping to soon find info on the Park side, as I said above.
This side was the brick wall I have been most conscious of since I began my family search, and since finding my great-great-great Curran grandparents, I have also found their father's names. I'm hoping to find even more, but I don't know how much further I'll be able to go back without going there myself.
As always, if any of my family reading this knows more about this branch, particularly if you have any records or documentation, I'd love to get together to exchange info.
Next up: Norway! (should be interesting to see how it stacks up against Denmark… :D)
Labels: curran , Park , Where We're From
Brick Walls--a different listing
I found a great post by Barbara in Life from the Roots about her top ten brick walls, and really liked the format, so I thought I'd do a similar list of my own, though I ended up with twelve. These are my great-great or great-great-great grandparents. Any help would be hugely appreciated on all of these, especially if you have the same (or a similar) surname in your own charts.
Leon SENEFT (Need more about him, his children, his parents)
Born before 1870, possibly in Galicia, Eastern Europe
Died between 1919-1922
Married Mindel HILINGER before 1883
Had 5 known children, 3 sons, 2 daughters: Alex, Annie, Jennie, Jack and ?, all born in Galicia, I believe
Emmigrated to England before WWI, lived in London through the war
Mindel HILINGER (Need more about her, her children, her parents)
Born before 1870, possibly in Galicia, Eastern Europe
Died before 1922
Married Leon SENEFT before 1883
Had 5 known children, 3 sons, 2 daughters: Alex, Annie, Jennie, Jack and ?, all born in Galicia, I believe
Emmigrated to England before WWI, lived in London through the war
Benzion KRESCH (Need more about him, his children, his parents)
Born before 1875, likely in Czudek, Galicia
Died before 1919
Married Fiege Golda REICH before 1892
Had at least two children, 2 daughters, Dora and Minna, and possibly a son as well, all born in Galicia, I believe
Was a Rabbi and teacher in Galicia
Feige Golda REICH (Need more about her, her children, her parents)
Born before 1875, likely in Czudek, Galicia
Died about1929, I believe in Frankfurt, Germany
Married Benzion KRESCH before 1892
Had at least two children, 2 daughters, Dora and Minna, and possibly a son as well, all born in Galicia, I believe
Henrikke RONESS (Or as I have also found Pauline Henrikke Hendricsdatter RONÆS) (need anything about her parents)
Born 24 June 1830 in Trondheim, Sor Trondelag, Norway
Died 1892 in Henningsvær, Nordland, Norway
Married Johan Petter Bordevick on 27 September 1860 in Vaagan Parish, Nordland, Norway, his second (I believe) wife
Had four children with him: 3 daughters, 1 son: Ida Amalie, Leonharde Marie, Anna Magdalena, and Petter Magnus Roness
Robert James PARK (need more about him and his parents)
Born 24 June 1852, Ireland (possible locations—Belfast/Antrim, Dublin, or Ballymena)
Died 6 October 1930, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Parents listed as John PARK and ? DUNLOP
Married Elizabeth CURRAN abt 1883 in either Ireland or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Had at least nine children, 2 who died in infancy, 2 sons, 5 daughters: Robert, Elizabeth, Mary, Rhoda, Margaret, George, and Florence, all born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Emigrated from Ireland to Philadelphia abt 1883, then from Philadelphia to Ireland after 1903, then from Belfast to Vancouver in 1914
Thomas CURRAN (need more about him, his parents, and his kids)
Born before 1845 in Ireland (Belfast?)
No death date at this time
Married Jane "Jennie" BLAIR bef 1861
They had at least 3 daughters, and possibly 1 more daughter and 3 sons, possibly more: Elizabeth, Sarah and Rhoda are certain, also possibly Anna (may be Elizabeth's middle or first name), John, Thomas, Joseph, all born in Antrim, Ireland
Jane "Jennie" BLAIR (need more about her, her parents, and her kids)
Born before 1845 in Ireland (Belfast?)
No death date at this time
Married Thomas CURRAN bef 1861
They had at least 3 daughters, and possibly 1 more daughter and 3 sons, possibly more: Elizabeth, Sarah and Rhoda are certain, also possibly Anna (may be Elizabeth's middle or first name), John, Thomas, Joseph, all born in Antrim, Ireland
Bejamin JONES (need more about his parents)
Born 24 December 1865, Caio, Wales
Died before 1915
Married Hannah GRIFFITHS before 1882
Had 6 children, 4 sons and 2 daughters: Daniel, David, Joseph, Jack, William, May and Sophia, all born in Southern Wales (Merthur Tydful, I believe)
Farmer
Hannah GRIFFITHS (need more about her parents)
Born February 1863, Newcastle Emlyn, South Wales
Died about 1933, Merthur Tydful, Wales
Married Benjamin JONES before 1882
Had 6 children, 4 sons and 2 daughters: Daniel, David, Joseph, Jack, William, May and Sophia, all born in Southern Wales (Merthur Tydful, I believe)
Hugh ROBERTS (need more about him, his parents, any other children)
Born before 1830, possibly in Northern Wales
No death information
Married Ellen PUGH (or possibly GRIFFITHS) before 1845
Only 1 child known, daughter Selina
Ellen PUGH (or possibly GRIFFITHS) (need more about her, her parents, any other children)
Born before 1830, possibly in Northern Wales
No death information
Married Hugh ROBERTS before 1845
Only 1 child known, daughter Selina
Brick Wall Update
I've been thinking it's time to update my Brick Walls. The first time I posted, I posted about three brick walls, each of which have had a slight bit of progress, and I thought today I'd add a fourth.
Brick Wall 1 – The Hillinger/Senefts
This is the line I despair ever getting any further back, between name-changes, location changes, and a war that tried to wipe out anyone of this side of my family's background, it is difficult to find any records at all.
However…in going through the paperwork my grandparents left behind, I found a document proving my grandfather's date of birth—but it was not the only document attached—it also had my great-grandparents' wedding announcement, their declaration of marriage, and all of my grandfather's siblings birth records.
In the paperwork, both are listed as having been from a place that I had never heard of before, but now know a surprising amount about even though the country itself no longer exists: Galicia, or as spelled in the documents in the German, Galitzien. It wasn't a pleasant area to be from, so I can see why both families ended up in Frankfurt where my great-grandparents eventually met and married.
I've also learned that the name definitely is Seneft, and not Senft, as I had begun using at one point, though I still have found nothing else showing the name (spelled either way, really) outside family paperwork. At least, nothing that connects with a Germanic-Jewish family line. I've also learned that in Germany, the name is Hilinger with one L, not two. So that might make a difference in that search.
Still working on the names of the towns they came from, but hopefully I'll find them at some point. And once I do, I have hopes that I might be able to connect to someone with the same or similar surnames…
More on this family:
> Brick Wall Posts
* Brick Wall Ancestors
* Brickwall Updated—The Senft/Hillingers
> Surname Sunday Posts
* Hillinger
* Senft
* Kresch
* Reich
> Other Posts
* The Life of Sam Hillinger
* Visual Family Tree I – The Hillingers
* Searching for Galician Town Names
Brick Wall II – The Hansen family (from Seland, DK)
On my Grandmother Oline's side of the family, I've learned a bit more, enough to basically extend back another generation before her, but only barely. I found a census record with a Rasmus Hansen that seems to be the right age and in the right location, but I'll need more documentation to verify it. And I found a birth record for a Maren Sofie Olsen born in the right town at the right time, so I believe I have her parents as well.
And through a transcript of a chat my grandmother and her siblings had with Oline's younger brother, I have also learned that her grandfather, Maren's father, was in the US before my great-grandmother and her brother were. Along with a son. So I have more to go on there—in Minnesota, of course. But Ole Larsen isn't exactly an uncommon name—unfortunately.
I'm still looking for more information verifying Rasmus and Maren's parents, but I have started to extend my search to find more about their parents as well, now that I'm more certain about them.
More on this family:
> Brick Wall Posts
* Brick Wall Ancestors
> Surname Sunday Posts
* Hansen II
* Olsen
* Rasmussen
* Schrøder
> Other Posts
* The Story of Oline
* Visual Family Tree II
* New Discoveries
* Interview with Uncle Hans
Brick Wall III – The Park/Curran family
I've not gotten any further on this side since finding my great-great grandparents' death certificates listing their parents. Thomas Curran and Jane or Jeannie Blair elude me, despite their apparently many children, as do John Park and his wife, the former Dunlop.
I'm thinking that Robert's mother's full name is likely Mary Dunlop, as I found a death certificate for an infant that was likely my great-great grandparents' that was named Jean Blair Park (or it might have been Curran instead of Blair), so it makes sense to me that they would name another daughter after the other grandmother. But as of yet, I still don't have a birthplace for Robert beyond "Ireland," so I can't narrow down my search quite enough to be sure.
I'm also beginning to wonder if there might be a Scottish connection here, given that Dunlop is a very well-known Scottish name, but not as much in Ireland.
More on this family:
> Brick Wall Posts
* Brick Wall Ancestors
* Brickwall Update #2
> Surname Sunday Posts
* Park
* Curran
* Dunlop
* Blair
> Other Posts
* The Bordewick Family
* Four Generation Photos
* New Discoveries
Brick Wall IV – The Welsh branches
This side is still a bit less organized than the rest. For one, I've apparently misplaced the original tree I got all my information from. I'm still hoping it will turn up sooner or later. For another, most information doesn't go back more than a generation or two before my great-grandparents. And when it does, the information is limited at best.
This is my mother's mother's side of the family. It consists of three branches:
First is my Grandpa Jones's side, from Southern Wales, whom I have little about aside from his parents and his siblings:
* Benjamin and Hanna (nee Griffiths) Jones,
+ Daniel (my great-grandfather)
+ David
+ Joseph
+ Jack
+ William
+ May
+ Sophia
If I had dates for his siblings, I have lost them—I suffered a hard-drive crash a few years back, and had to re-enter everything by scratch, and no longer had the originals that listed their names.
Daniel came to Canada for a trip with some friends, and met married Eliza Howells in Vancouver BC, and only returned to Wales once that I am aware of.
Then there is my Nain, Eliza Jones, nee Howells. Eliza was one of six children of Gabriel and Selina (nee Roberts) Howells, who were both apparently born in Northern Wales, according to the records I have.
* Gabriel and Selina Howells
+ Selina
+ Winnafred
+ Hugh
+ Eliza (my great-grandmother)
+ Catherine
+ Edward
Gabriel was descended from a line of farmers and craftsmen according to the paperwork I have. His parents names were Hywel Gabriel (the Welsh use a patronymic system to name their children) and Catherine Jones. They had eight children, of which Gabriel was the oldest. Hywel's parents were named Gabriel Howel, and if my recent search is right, Gwen Evan. He is the only child of theirs I am certain of, though I have found a record for a possible second son.
Catherine's line is even less certain. I have her father listed as Evan Lewis (which seems off for the Welsh naming system, so I'm not sure what's going on there), and that her grandfather's name was Lewis (or Lewys) Edwart, who was apparently part of the Quaker movement in Wales at the time, around the time most of the Quakers came to America.
And last, there is Eliza's mother Selina and her parents, the Roberts family. All I've ever had was a picture of them, and their surnames. Except either someone remembered wrong, or there is more to the story. Selina's father's name was Hugh Roberts, and according to my great-great grandmother's death record, her mother's name was Ellen Pugh, though I had always had her listed as Ellen Griffiths according to a note I had scribbled from talking to my grandmother. I'm thinking she just got her name mixed up with her maternal grandmother. And really, that is all I have of Selina's family.
I suppose that the Howells branch doesn't quite count as a brick wall, given how much I have on them—except for the fact that the information before Gabriel's parents is so sketchy. I'm hoping to find wives and firm up links before I consider that a true line, mostly. But anyone who has any knowledge about genealogical research in Wales who would like to help me get started, I'd love to hear from you.
More on this family:
> Surname Sunday Posts
* Jones
* Howells
* Griffiths
* Roberts
> Other Posts
* The Bordewick Family
* Four Generation Photos