THERESA RAUSCHER

 

I was perusing the Pennsylvania County Marriage Records that have been recently added by Family Search.   I have found a few nibbles but not a whole lot.   I am hoping that only a portion have been indexed so far.

What I did find was a record for Franz Schmid and Theresa Rauscher.

The thought I have now is Theresa the sister of my husbands great grandmother Katharina T. Rauscher.    They both lived in Millvale PA, and on the application is says that the two above were from Shaler, which is the township next to Millvale.   In fact Millvale was once a part of Shaler.

Theresa and Katherine born within a few years.   I will have to check the church records to see if I can find this marriage.    The priest who recorded Katherine T Rauscher and Anton Sperl had recorded their parents and the towns they came from  in Bohemia.

Sometimes you hit the jackpot, I am hoping I can find this information.

WINDING UP OR DOWN ON THE CLEANING.

 

It  is winding down.   To answer a question, the boxes that I threw out were empty.   I consolidated a lot of things.   Took books to the resale show, who give you a pittance for what you bring in to sell.  Maybe I should have donated them to the library for their book sale.   

Took all sort of computer related items to the Goodwill store.   They employ people to refurbish computers.   I think it is part of their mission or purpose for employment and utilizing electronics. Dropped off clothing, glassware and other household items to St. Vincent de Paul thrift store for them to sell.

I put the paperwork and pictures in two other storage boxes and should be ready to start scanning soon.   I read the article on how to name your files so I can do this properly from the beginning.   I check my files and most of them are labeled, I will have to do some renaming on some of the old files.

What I learned from the videos from STATE LIBRARY OF NORTH CAROLINA was how to change a file extension.   The most important thing to do is MAKE A COPY BEFORE YOU START.     Then you can change the file extension (after the dot) and make it a jpg or what ever you want.   I have a few pictures I had downloaded and have to go and find the appropriate thing to open them.    I changed them to a .jpg and now it is easier to open.     This was a wondrous discovery, guess I should have figured it out a few years ago.  

Office Max this week had a file cabinet on sale and I ordered it.  My local store did not have one and they got it from another location.  So, the goal is to file what I have and perhaps make new folders.  I want the folder name to be organized with the titles of the files to match. 

Next will be scan the new finds and then burn everything to DVD’s.    If I do it in steps it will be much more manageable and easier to get it done.   I want to make copies of the DVD’s and give them to my sisters so they will have copies, this is a backup data plan.

TRYING TO GET ORGANIZED

 

The past week or two we have been going through our basement.  We threw away several trash bags,  and consolidated  boxes and threw away about ten cardboard boxes.   I made a trip to the thrift store and still have to go to Half Price Books and sell a few boxes of books. This is my first plan

My old computer has been repaired and my B-I-L put my pictures and downloads onto the D drive, now I have more room on C.   What he suggested was making a DVD and put my files onto the disc.   Supposedly DVD’s will last longer than CD’s.    That is the second  plan.           

The third is scanning the pictures and papers I found in the basement in boxes from our parents homes.    I had to download the drivers for my Lexmark printer and soon I will be in business to scan. I just have to move everything into the family room and set up on the larger desk.  That is plan three.

To get this all done this week will be my goal.   We will see how it goes.

ETERNALLY SEARCHING…

 

I suppose we are all doing that.   Each discovery presents more questions and the need to find the answers.    My current quest is the parents of Michael  A Coleman (1809-1855).  What I have tired so far: 1) Doing a Google search using his name and dates , 2) Searching with his wife’s name and information.  3) Searching on Ancestry for records and family trees. 4) Searching on Google Books.

I did find a posting and have written to the author of the posting who has a Coleman Family.   There are three males born in the area of when Michael A Coleman’s father was born.  All I have are the dates with “mother and father” listed.

My question for today is where are the records of the now Woods County WV, which was formerly Virginia in 1790.   If I can find the repository of the records, perhaps I can find a clue which will lead me to an answer.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!

 

Yesterday, 15 January, 1923, was my moms birthday.  She was born in Germany and emigrated with her parents in 1926 to Pennsylvania.  They joined my grandmothers brother and her aunts who already lived here.

1923-1995

 

 

WHAT I HAVE FOUND THIS WEEK.

 

Thursday I did research for two clients at the Diocese Archives.   What amazes me is that on the website it explains that the work is done by volunteers  and because we are searching old to ancient records,  this is because of their fragility.  They are not scanned or copied.

People still think we have everything digitized and requests can be obtained in the blink of an eye.    Not a thing related to these records is digitized, this is mostly to protect the privacy of the dead and their families..   With all those books, there are hundreds, the old writing which is sometimes illegible it can  be a very difficult task.  

I still managed to fill the death information requested.   Since their foundation and up until World War II, every ethnic group had their “own” Catholic Church.   A lot of these old parishes have been consolidated and many old buildings closed,demolished or repurposed.

THE PRIORY is an example of the former ST MARY RC CHURCH, ALLEGHENY CITY.    If you look at this link you will see THE GRAND HALL which is what the inside of this old building looks like today.

I must admit that in my searching I find the German priest were the most complete in recording.   I have found maiden names and town of origins with Baptism and Marriage records and we all know what a treasure that is to find.

Michael A Coleman

 

For many years Michael A Coleman has been a mystery.   Or, perhaps I should say his parents have been.   Michael is an ancestor of my husband.   My cousin Helen had given me his information and we have not been able to find Michaels parents.

In Michaels Bible  ( from the Civil War pension file) it is listed “Father” 1780-1847 and “Mother”  1789-1831.  They knew what their names were and were inconsiderate that 170 years later their descendants would be agonizing on what “mother and father” names actually were .

The second Tuesday of each month we have a meeting of the Oakmont Genealogical Study Group, this  includes a educational topic, and a “show and tell”  This morning a new person arrived (we love new members or potential members) and he  had Coleman in his ancestry.  He had some information that he found on line (I know, I know) but he was using it as a basis for his research.

He had information on his line and I copied the URL and was surprised to find online much information.   “My” Michael could potentially fit in to one of the on line submissions on Roots Web.   The post I found was dated 2003, and I set the woman an email with what I found and my information.   She had listed a Michael, born between 1777 and 1782 but not further information.

Also there was a book written “The Coleman Brothers: Revolutionary War Militiamen, Pennsylvania and (West) Virginia Pioneers and Their Descendants’  It was compiled by Georgie Kratzer Allen with research assistant Beverly Yingling Peoples by Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore 1987.

The email had not returned as “unable to deliver” so I am hoping that perhaps this is my Michael………….But I have tried to find this book but none of the major sellers or eBay have this listing.   There is no email for the compiler but a snail mail address is given.

GENEALOGY HAPPENSTANCE HAS STRUCK AGAIN…..

 

We do not have an attic, but we have a basement.   In our basement are the remnants of our parents and grandparents lives packed away in boxes.  It is something we vowed to get to some day.  That time is coming near,  I will not throw away anything useful that can be used by others.    About one mile from my home is a St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store where I donate many usable items and clothing.

Yesterday we were moving some of the boxes and I came across a photo album that was from my husbands parents.   Some of them I had never seen before and did not know they existed, but Chuck remembered.

I found a few older pictures and plenty from the fifties and sixties of his childhood.   A lot of them were scorched from the fire that happened in 1963.   I will make a post on that later, now that I have the pictures.

Of course, not one of the photos are labeled, but we will collaborate and write the names on the back of them, in pencil, so down the line people will know who they are.

JANUARY 2, 2012

 

Yesterday I did not feel like writing.  I suppose I should write my goals, but I feel guilty when I do not obtain them.   Perhaps I can write them and not publish them.

The week of Christmas, on the LDS site I found marriage records for Allegheny County PA.   I found about twenty records, some of which I already had.

  I also found many I did not have, so I spent the day making copies of the original and them cropping them to just have my ancestors information in case I wanted to publish it in my blog.   At the same time I entered the information on to my Family Tree.  

I have downloaded Legacy and Roots Magic and I like both of them but I still can decide which of them to purchase.  I think that after entering new and unrecorded information I will have a better idea which I would like to keep. I also have information on My Heritage Family Tree, I suppose a person would say I am a little (maybe more than a little) indecisive.   

What I absolutely LOVE about My Heritage Family Tree is the app for the smart phone.   Now I can just access from my phone and do not have to worry about taking my computer to the library.  The phone will fit in my pocket.    How many people have their information on more than one tree?

Well, maybe one of my goals will be to copy all my information on a DVD as suggested by my brother in law.   I have it on flash drives but he was right, I will get started on that project soon.