ROOTSTECH/FHL FINDS ~ The death certificate for James F. Forsyth (1864-1951)

 

Now...where is that film?

It wouldn’t be a trip to the FHL if I wasn’t looking for records from my birth state, Michigan.  So many ancestors were born, married & died there.  It seems I never run out of records to look for.  As we know, not all are available online.

As always, I prepared ahead for my trip.  Finding which microfilms I needed to look at.  I had located the index for James’ death online.  However, you never get all the details in an index.  And, you run the risk of a mis transcription. 

Here is the index record.

Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952

Name: James Ferris Forsyth
Event Type: Death
Event Date: 01 Feb 1951
Event Place: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 86
Marital Status: Widowed
Birth Date: 01 Mar 1864
Birthplace: Michigan
Birth Year (Estimated): 1865
Father's Name: John Forsyth
Mother's Name: Catherine Ferris
GS Film number: 001973236
Digital Folder Number:005363696
Image Number: 01330

You can see the film number listed with other details, like the digital folder number and image number. #1,973,244 (Michigan, death certificates, 1912-1952).  Easily located and placed onto the microfilm reader.  The additional details of the digital folder number and image number help us find records on a microfilm. 

These records were arranged by date, so all I had to do was scroll through the film and find the year or years I was looking for.

I soon located February 1951 and found the certificate for James Ferris Forsyth who died on 1 Feb 1951 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.  James is the husband of my maternal great grandaunt, Louise Gillespie.  They were married for about 63 years. 

NOTE:  In writing this post I realize that I don’t have their exact marriage date, nor have I looked for any newspaper articles that would have announced their 50^th or 60^th anniversary.  Writing blog posts invariably leads me to look for more information on my ancestors. I will have a look for these items later.

Here is James’ death certificate.  You can enlarge it or zoom in to see details more clearly.

I now have further details, which confirm that I have the correct certificate (occupation, marital status, names of parents).  I can now record these details in my Legacy program and site this certificate as my source.

Another successful day at the Family History Library.  Yes, I found other records that day, but I’ll save those for another post.

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

FRIDAY FINDS ~ Newspaper article for death/possible suicide of Ralph Gillespie Forsyth ~ 1952 (this was James & Louise’s son)

FOLLOW UP ~ Why did Ralph Forsyth jump from a 9th story hotel window to his death?

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

FHL FINDS ~ The marriage of Johann Talarowski & Bertha Keller - 1884 in Germany

Time to begin my posts about the finds I made during Rootstech 2023, at the Family History Library.

It is Wedding Wednesday so let's begin with the marriage record for my husband’s maternal great grandparents, Johann Talarwoski and Bertha Keller. 

This record was on my long list of “To-dos” for this trip. I had prepared for it by looking on the Family Search website and locating the microfilm number.  This film is not available online, but only in person at the library in Salt Lake City. 

When you are on the Family Search website you can search the catalog by microfilm number, which I did. This is an International Film numbered 245767 and image group number 7946025.  On the website I viewed the film notes.  The little camera icon that has a small key above it, means I cannot view these images from home.

The first day that Pam and I arrived and went over to the FHL, we set up our work stations and went to work.  We always “park” on the 3^rd floor, where the books are.  With the upgrades to the workstations at the library, it’s extremely comfortable and offers us multiple monitors. 

Just getting set up here

Very shortly after we got there I went to B1, the International Research/Microfilm Floor at the Library.  I went to the microfilm rows, found the film and set it up on the wonderful digital viewers the library now has.  This allows us to view the films on a computer monitor instead of the huge film viewers we used to use.

One of my favorite views - row after row of microfilm

I have been viewing microfilm for over 20 years.  I know that the key is to find some sort of index or other indicator to determine how the film is organized. Is it organized by date, place, name etc.?  In this case there was an index at the beginning, listed by year.

I believed the marriage had taken place in 1884, based on the 1900 census and the birth of the first child.  These are starting points and we proceed from there.

I scrolled to the place in the film that listed the names, the year and the page in the document that this information might be located.

You can see the year – 1884 and the names Talarowski & Keller and the page number is 4.

I located page number 4 in the image records and 

FOUND THE RECORD!

I realize this record, like so many others, is not necessarily easy to read.  BUT, you can usually spot a name or something that looks like the name you are seeking.  In this case the 3^rd record on the page easily reads Johann Talarowski under der Ehemannes (the husband) and Bertha Keller under der Ehefrau (the wife).

If you have questions about words in a language other than the one you speak, it’s easy to go to Google translate and try to figure things out.  In this case, I was somewhat familiar with the words, having viewed German records before.  And, I have been teaching myself German, online for over 2 years.

I certainly cannot read every word on this record, not even good enough to try and translate it.  But, the basic information is there.  The marriage took place on 7 Sept 1884 (Tag der Trauung).  The date in column 5 may be the civil date of the marriage, but I’m having trouble translating the words other than Jahr u Tag (year and day).

If any of you read German script well and can translate the column headings for column 5 and 6, I’d be grateful.

Next, I took photos of the screen and downloaded the image to a flash drive.

Fairly shortly after that I sent a copy of this image to my husband’s first cousin once removed, as she is also researching their family.

This was a successful first day.  I did research other items, but this was one that I absolutely wanted to locate and I did.

One thing I almost forgot....here is a photo of Johann & Bertha, with their daughter Freada, who became my husband's grandmother.

Johann Talarowski & his wife Bertha Keller with their daughter Freada - circa 1900, Buffalo, New York

More posts to come on my Rootstech/FHL findings.  Stay tuned.

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

ROOTSTECH 2020 ~ The classes I took and scenes from the conference–See you next year

Most of you know that, like other conferences, Rootstech provides an app for your mobile devices.  It’s a great way to keep track of your schedule, your friends, what’s currently going on at the conference and provides interactive maps to help you navigate.

I can look back at My Schedule now and see which classes I attended and review my notes.

 

For me, the conference isn’t necessarily about going to as many classes as I can.  I will choose the ones of most interest to me and spend the rest of my time either in the Expo Hall or over at the Family History Library.  It’s kind of like when Ron and I cruise.  We don’t like to be wall to wall busy every day.

Here are the classes I attended.  Each one was excellent.

QUICKLY FINDING COMMON ANCESTORS THROUGH DNA – Speaker – Robert Warthan

KICKING DNA UP A NOTCH TO UNMASK UNKNOWN ANCESTORS – Speaker – Roberta Estes

THE LEEDS METHOD: GROUPING DNA MATCHES TO IDENTIFY SHARED ANCESTORS – Speaker – Dana Leeds

ATTACKING 18th and 19th CENTURY MYSTERIES WITH DNA – Speaker – Blaine Bettinger

DNA CLUSTERS: POWER IN NUMBERS – Speaker – Randy Whited

3 COOL CASES SOLVED: HOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR PHOTOS – Speaker – Lisa Louise Cooke

You might be saying, “you were at the conference for 4 days and only attended 6 classes?  Yup!  And I have no regrets about that.  Why?  Because many of the classes are available via the Virtual Pass that my friend Pam and I purchased.  We will be able to watch them at home, at our leisure.  When you been doing genealogy for many years and have attended a great many classes and conferences, you find that you can pick and choose the subjects that are most important to you.  In this case, it was clear that I wanted to learn as much as I could about working with my DNA matches.  In that respect, I succeeded.

During my free time I had a lot of fun visiting with friends and exploring the Expo Hall and revisiting the FHL hoping for one more good find.

My thanks to Pat Richley-Erickson & her husband, Gordon, for inviting me to their home.  What a wonderful group of people.  We sure laughed a lot.

Here are some scenes from the conference

The Family History Library with it's new sign

In front of the Salt Palace Conference Center holding the bag we all received

Dana Leeds

They had this wonderful story wall that all of us could write on

Devon Lee of Family History Fanatics

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings who received a Lifetime Achievement award from his "tribe" the Geneabloggers

Jonny Perl, creator of DNA Painer

Me standing next to the Mayflower replica - I've applied and am hoping to receive my official certificate of approval to the Mayflower Association in the next few months

The Expo Hall not long after it opened on Thursday - such a busy place

Pam Mohrman Paxton, Thomas MacEntee of Abundant Genealogy & me

Geoff Rasmussen from Legacy Family Tree Software and me

Marian Pierre-Louis, me and Pam

Randy Whited

Blaine Bettinger

Blaine doing what he does so well - teaching

At Pat Richley-Erickson's house - Judy Russell makes her entrance

Nathan Dylan Goodwin - author of The Forensic Genealogist and Mrs. McDougall Investigates series

Gathered in Pat & Gordon's basement 

A view from our room the morning I left.  It finally snowed.

Home sweet home - flying into San Diego with a view of the Coronado Bridge and the ocean

If you’d like to see a bunch of photos from the conference (way more than I took), please go to Roberta Estes blog Roots Tech 2020 - It's a Wrap

Until next year Rootstech – see you then.

All photos have been used with permission

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

ROOTSTECH 2020 ~ We arrive in Salt Lake City and explore at the Family History Library

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This was my second time attending the Rootstech Conference in Salt Lake City.  My friend, Pam and I went in 2018.  You can read about that experience here RootsTech Is Over But We Had Fun

To tell you the truth, after we had attended in 2018, we thought “well, we’ve done that and now we don’t need to go back.”  WRONG!  When 2019 rolled around and we weren’t at the conference we immediately regretted our decision and determined to go in 2020.

 

ARE WE EVER GLAD WE DID!

Sunday – Feb 23rd - I flew in from San Diego and arrived around noon.  Pam didn’t arrive from Colorado until later in the day.  I was able to check into our room at the Plaza Hotel and get unpacked and settled in.  FYI – I made that reservation in July 2019, to make sure we were able to stay at the Plaza.  We enjoy the convenience of the location of that hotel as well as the very friendly staff.

I had the afternoon to wander around so I went over the the FHL to check out the new layout on the first floor.  That’s the only floor open on Sundays.  It is a very interactive area and excellent for families or for someone wanting to learn about the library, Family Search and all the offerings available.

 

Pam arrived about 5 p.m. after her trolley ride from the airport.

My view on the plane and me & Pam outside Squatter's Pub

Monday – Feb 24th – Let the fun begin.  The conference doesn’t begin until Wednesday so Pam and I have two full days to research at the Family History Library.  We planned our trip so we would have the extra days at the library.  We’ve both been there before (me 3 times and Pam twice), but there is always more to find.  STAY TUNED FOR A POST ABOUT WHAT I WANTED TO LOCATE AND WHETHER I SUCCEEDED OR NOT.

In front of the Family History Library and all set up at the tables on the 3rd floor - Pam is pondering.....I wonder what about?

Tuesday – Feb 25th – Another day to spend at the FHL.  This time instead of sitting at the tables that we’ve always sat at, we were able to enjoy the new area on the 3rd floor.  WOW!

Check out this set up.  They have stations with either 2 or 3 monitors and tables that raise up and down.  So much more comfortable than just the usual tables.  We always bring our own laptops and you can see in the photo with me waving, that Pam and I were sharing the station.  We were eventually able to set up at separate stations, but it was quite a busy place, so getting to the library as soon as it opens is the key.  The upgrades are very impressive and more are on the way.

This was the day I went to the European floor of the library and made a discovery in German records for my husband’s family.  It was, according to those around me, a genealogy miracle that I even found this record.  I’ll tell you about it in my “What I Found” blog post.

A sample of one of the new stations with 3 monitors and me in my happy place 

Pam and I have a couple of favorite restaurants we like to go to.  On night one we went to Squatter’s where they have a great atmosphere, wonderful food and good service.  We Ubered over and took a Lyft back.  I had never used either of those services (yes, I know, I need to get with the times).  It was a very good experience and I was impressed.  The Blu Lemon is another favorite restaurant and they have very good food.

Oh, I forgot to tell you one more thing.  I have had an iPhone SE for 4 years.  I liked the size of my 5c and bought the SE because of that.  I've been reluctant to upgrade because I didn't want to pay the price and felt the phones were too big.  Well, for the past 6 months or more, I've been having terrible problems with the battery not staying charged.  It's irritating to say the least and could be dangerous if I was in need of assistance.  

On Wednesday, the first day of the conference my phone was going dead, yet again.  I had a break between classes and walked over to the Apple store, which I knew was in the mall nearby.  I had done my research and knew which phone I might want.  I'm SO happy that I purchased the iPhone 11.  I can't tell you how much easier it was for me to stay in touch at Rootstech and how much better this phone is.  As much as we all use technology, we do need to stay up to date.  That will teach me to upgrade sooner.  Lesson learned.

Isn't this pretty?  The phone is a lovely light teal.

So, that was the first 3 days of our week in Salt Lake City.

 

I’ll write about the conference in my next post.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

PREPARING FOR ROOTSTECH 10 ~ THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN.....Here's What I'm Doing...

EXCITED!  That’s the word I’d use to describe how I’m feeling this week.  On Sunday, I am flying to Salt Lake City to attend Rootstech 10.  The conference doesn’t begin until Wednesday.  But, who can resist going a couple of days early to have time at the Family History Library?  I can’t.

This will be my 2nd time attending Rootstech.  I went two years ago.  Even more fun is that I’m being joined, as in 2018, by my friend, Pam, from Colorado.  Two very long time friends enjoying something their passionate about in a place that will be a alive with activity and fun.

I wrote a blog post before my last trip.  As I review what I did to prepare then, I must say, not much has changed.  I am two years further along in my research so there are families I’ll be looking for that I didn’t know about in 2018.

 

HERE ARE SOME SCENES FROM 2018 THAT REMIND ME OF THE FUN I'M ABOUT TO HAVE

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)  

THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO

• Meeting face to face some of the people who have been my virtual friends for several years
• Attending some of the many classes that are offered each of the four days.  It’s very difficult to choose which ones to attend.
• Walking through and experiencing all the vendors in the exhibit hall.  I’ve heard reports there will be as many as 200 of them.
• Being able to share my passion for family research with my friend of over 30 years and helping her with her research.
• Spending time at the FHL and hoping to find some of the hidden treasures and dare I hope….break down a brick wall.
• Being around others who share my love for our ancestors and making sure they are never forgotten.

WHAT I’VE DONE TO PREPARE

• I long ago made my reservation for the conference and my hotel reservation at the Plaza.  And, of course, my plane reservation.
• Over the past several months I have been making a list of the people, places and things I want to look for.  Whether it’s microfilm or books.  I keep this list in Evernote so it is with me on all my devices.
• I do all my work on my desktop PC.  Of course I’ll need to take my laptop and I’ll be taking my iPad.  I’ve made sure that everything that’s on my desktop is also on my laptop.  All the programs I use for editing, my Legacy program etc. are all synced up.
• I’ve made new “business” cards so that I can share them with the people I meet.  My genealogy is not really a business, but it’s an easy way to share websites, email and phone numbers with others.
• I’ve downloaded the Rootstech app to all my devices.
• I’ve pre selected the classes I’d like to attend.  They are first come first serve, so I also need to be sure I have a second choice for that time slot.
• I’ve washed and packed all my clothes.  I hope I’ve chosen wisely and brought enough layers.
  I’ve secured my ride to the airport.  A huge thanks to my husband for getting up so early to take me ♥
  Now…..I just wait until Sunday for my flight and let the fun begin.

I wonder how all of you prepare your lists when you are going to visit a place like the Family History Library or some other repository?

Here’s a sample of 2 of my 6 pages of “Things to look for at the FHL.”  I know some people use Excel and I have used that method in the past as well.  But, not this year.

If you will be at Rootstech this year, please look me up.  I’d love to meet you.  You can find me on the attendee list as Diane Gould Hall.

 

Happy hunting…….and Rootstech 10 – Here I Come!!

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MY BIG FIND AT THE FHL- Part 2 ~ What else was I able to turn up once I had John Doller’s original name?

John & Bertha - about 1935

If you read my blog yesterday, then you know that I made a pretty huge find (with help from library staff), while I was attending Rootstech.  You can read about it here WHAT A FIND - John Doller's real name was Johann Tolarowski - my husband's great grandfather.

In the 15+ years I’ve been researching mine and my husband’s family, I was never able to find some of the records I wanted to for John Doller and his wife, Bertha Keller. 

Now I know why!
If you enter John Doller in the search criteria on a website, you aren’t likely to come up with hits for Johann Tolarowski.
 
Once I learned John’s birth name, in German records, I was able to locate more information.

The first thing I found was his German passenger record.  He traveled from Germany to the U.S. with his wife, Bertha, son, Erwin and infant daughter, Ida.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
 

They traveled on the ship Columbia from Hamburg, leaving on 3 Jul 1890.
 
Here’s the index for this record.  His occupation, Maurer, means Mason.  Family lore says that one child died on the ship.  We know it wasn’t Erwin, so it had to be little Ida.  More on that in a minute.

Name:	John Talarowski
Gender:	männlich (Male)
Departure Age:	32
Occupation:	Maurer
Birth Date:	abt 1858
Residence:	Dahlwin, Westpreußen
Departure Date:	3 Jul 1890
Port of Departure:	Hamburg
Port of Arrival:	New York (New York City (All Boroughs))
Ship Name:	Columbia
Captain:	Vogelgesang
Shipping Clerk:	Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft
Shipping line:	Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft
Ship Type:	Dampfschiff
Ship Flag:	Deutschland
Accommodation:	Zwischendeck
Volume:	373-7 I, VIII A 1 Band 068 A
Household Members:	Name Age John Talarowski 32 Bertha Talarowski 26 Erwin Talarowski 4 Ida Talarowski 8 Monate

The New York Passenger record I located has the family arriving in New York harbor on 11 Jul 1890.  There is an entry in the column title “Date and Cause of Death” across from Ida’s name.  What do the numbers 12-18 mean?



I have searched every way I can think of for information on the numbers 12-18 in the date/cause of death column for Ida.  There are ICD codes for causes of death on many death certificates, but 12-18 isn’t one of those codes.  I tried looking at the beginning of the microfilm series for any indication of what the numbers in that column could mean.  No luck.  I welcome any input from others who may have an answer.  Were they able to take baby Ida off the ship?  Is there a death record for her in the U.S.? Is she buried in New York?
 

 The next record I located for this family was the 1892 New York state census.  On 16 Feb 1892, the Talurowski family is enumerated in the second district, Buffalo, Erie, New York.  This was the first U.S. record I located with the family still using the name Talurowski.  This is 19 months after their arrival and Ida is not named with them.  Further indication of her death.

John Talurowski, male, age 33, born in Germany, alien, working as a Mason, Bertha Talurowski, female, age 26, born in Germany, alien, Erwin Talurowski, male, age 6, born in Germany, alien.



We can see that John had not yet applied for citizenship, nor was he using the surname, Doller.  According to the 1920 census, he was naturalized in 1902.  I had searched naturalization record listings at the FHL, but they did not have 1902.  I would really like to find this record.

I’ve mentioned time and time again, on this blog and in classes I’ve taught, that social media can be one of our greatest resources for genealogy.  Especially Facebook groups.  I belong to many of them, not only in the U.S., but for other countries as well.  I wrote a blog post about this subject back in 2014 and it still holds true today FACEBOOK – HOW IT CAN BE VERY USEFUL IN YOUR RESEARCH

I decided to ask for assistance on the Western New York Genealogical Society group, to which I’ve belonged for some time. I thought perhaps someone in the group would have some tips specifically related to obtaining naturalization records from the Buffalo area.
 
Here is my query: Posted on 10 Mar 2018 at 10:37 a.m.

ADVICE needed.
Hello everyone. I wonder if you could tell me if anyone has experience in retrieving naturalization records? I have been looking for years for the papers for a particular person in the Buffalo area. A HUGE find at the FHL was that the last name was not Doller, but Tolarowski. It would appear that he arrived and kept the name Tolarowski for a few years. I believe he may have changed it when he was naturalized. Which gives me even more reason to want the record. From census records he was naturalized in 1902. The family lived in Buffalo from 1890 until his death in 1935.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Within minutes I began receiving responses.  I continued to check back as I wrote yesterday’s blog post.  About an hour after I first posted, I checked back only to find that one of the members had located the information I needed on Family Search.  I, of course, know about and use Family Search daily, but hadn’t had a chance to look through their records since learning of John Doller’s German name.  Not only did the member, Kasia, tell me that the record was on Family Search, she posted images of the various records she found.



Now that I have this information I should be able to request his naturalization papers.  I’ve got a volume number and a page number.  I’m doing my genie dance again!
 
After the loss of two young daughters and one son, John and Bertha did go on to have one more daughter, Freada Emma Meta Doller (my husband’s grandmother), born in Buffalo, Erie, New York on 24 Aug 1895.  Freada married Heinrich “Henry” August Fink and they had four children.  She died at the age of 85 in San Diego, California.  Her older brother, Erwin went on to marry Lena Boskat and they had 6 sons.  Erwin lived to the age of 77 and died in Buffalo, New York.

John and Bertha continued living in Buffalo until their deaths.  John died 15 Dec 1935 and is buried in Buffalo Cemetery, Cheektowaga, Erie, New York.  You may visit his memorial here #80147013 and Bertha died 6 Oct 1950 and is buried in the same cemetery #80147168.

This has been a great story to write and I hope to learn more if and when I locate John’s naturalization papers.

Please contact me if you are related to this family, I’d love to hear from you.
 
To read more about the Doller family please see the following blog posts.  There are several more photos included in these posts.

ANALYZING EVIDENCE - JOHN DOLLER & BERTHA KELLER–WHO WERE THEY?

SEPIA SATURDAY ~ The Doller Family of Buffalo, New York, early 1900’s

AMANUENSIS MONDAY – BIRTH RECORDS - WHAT INFORMATION DO THEY REVEAL?

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION