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Three Young Women, Gone Too Soon
Several months ago, a friend from Florence, Missouri, asked if I knew about the deaths of three women in the United Church of Christ Cemetery. All three had been married but died as young wives. She wondered if I knew their stories. I knew one, and immediately ...
A Giant Pickle and a Lady “Waiting” for Him
Ever since I was a kid, I have loved postcards. I think my ancestors instilled in me a desire to travel and in previous centuries getting a postcard in the mail allowed one to get a glimpse of that faraway place. I have a collection of cards ...
Celebrating John Peter’s 200th
All hail and sing happy birthday! Today is the 200th birthday of Johan (Johannes or John) Peter Siegel, my two times great grandfather. Johan was born on June 1, 1821, in Rüscheid, Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany (Prussia), the son of Anna Margaretha (Bur) and Johann Peter Seigel. He was ...
Cousin Bailey: “I hate to claim it, we are kin!”
Last week the call came that I had been expecting for some time; my oldest living relative Bailey had passed away. He would have been 95 on his next birthday. He was my grandmother Grace Valentine Kembel Spencer’s first cousin. Bailey’s Mom Nancy [“Nannie”] was Grace’s father ...
Bucket Trucks & America
This morning I read an email from a fellow genealogist Thomas MacEntee. He said “Don’t give up on 2020” and explained how even in these uncertain times we should stay positive. I couldn’t agree more! While the world seems so negative around us, we need to find ...
Today’s Gift from Charlotte
I awoke this morning with the thought that genealogy is a gift. The trials and perseverance of our ancestors can inform, entertain, sadden, bring joy, and perhaps engender resilience in us. How? Knowing those that walked before us survived pestilence and war during their lifetimes can open ...
David Leong: A Prosperous Life {1920-2020}
In 2018 there were fifty four Chinese restaurants in Springfield, Missouri; each and every one of which owes its existence to one man: David Leong.[1] I have blogged in the past about David Leong and his family’s restaurant Leong’s Asian Diner in Springfield, Missouri. One week ago ...
Roma Clara Josephine and a Lesson for Today
July 6th is the 111th anniversary of the birth of Roma Clara Josephine Rasa, my maternal grandmother. She was born in Florence, Missouri to Fred H. and Lena (Tieman) Rasa. At her birth her family lived on the main street of the Florence community not far from ...
Fifteen Things: Your List for Today
While we often think of history as the big picture what brings it home to us is every day life of everyday people. When looking back through our things its notable what isn’t there: photos of our favorite things and of our daily life. So today, try ...
The Woman Whose Suggestion Led 2 College Students to Found Pizza Hut
In the 1950s a woman named Marguerite Mollohan (1902-1980) owned, rented and managed several buildings in Wichita, Kansas. She asked two college students she knew if they would like to open a restaurant, explaining that an article she had seen about pizzarias and they agreed. Dan and Frank ...