Mystery Photo-- Fairmont, Minnesota

This unidentified photo comes from Southern Minnesota

Compliments of a Fairmont, MN (Martin County) photography studio

These two ladies remain unidentified... from a collection a photos connected to the Weber & Krumholz families, it is likely that they are relatives. One of them shows up in other photos as well... also unidentified.

Hopefully someone out there will recognize these ladies so we can give them names once & for all

TBT- Photos of Yesteryear-- Weerts Daughters

Spotlight photos from my extensive photo archive

This week it is my 

Great-Great Grandmother- Elizabeth (Funk) Weerts

& her 4 daughters

Lucy, Grace, Anna, Elizabeth, Helena

Elizabeth (Funk) Weerts was born September 17, 1862, in Petkum, Ostfriesland, Germany. She was adopted at a young age by the Funk family. She was married to Herman "Harm" Weerts and they eventually left Germany for the United States, joining relatives in Iowa. Later moving to Southern Minnesota and finally settling in North Dakota. Elizabeth died at the age of 93, after suffering a stroke on June 20, 1956.

Among the 10 children in the Weerts family were the 4 daughters above-- (left to right)

Louise "Lucy" (Weerts) Schultz (1892-1989)
Grace (Weerts) Schultz (1890-1957)
Anna (Weerts) Cramer (1907-1973)
Helena "Lena" (Weerts) Ludemann Muller (1888-1988)

Genealogy Conferences, Workshops & Education

We are in the waning days of Summer... in fact, as I write this we are entering our final full week of August! Where, oh where, did the Summer go? If you are like me, it flew by with record breaking speed and you're left wondering not only where did the time go, but what did you do with it all?!

While these busy times of Summer were not a total loss for The Dead Relative Collector, as always I wish there were more things that had been accomplished. But we'll save the "review of Summer" for another posting... and instead focus on the post of this one.... Genealogy Education!

Yes, I know. I tout the virtues of furthering our education quite regularly... bear with me. 

We have 4 months left of 2016. [I know. WHERE did the time go?] And after some looking, there are still many genealogy conference & workshops left this year.

Next week is the 40th Anniversary Federation of Genealogical Societies annual conference, which is taking place in Springfield, Illinois. Even if you can't attend (it's getting late, I realize), check out the link as they also have the 2017 & 2018 conferences & it doesn't hurt to plan ahead! 

The National Genealogical Society has many upcoming events listed! This link will take you right to the events tab, but I encourage you explore the page and see what else they have to offer.

For you researchers residing in Minnesota, Iowa & Wisconsin (or anyone else willing to travel to the Minneapolis, MN metro area), tomorrow- August 23, is the last day for the early bird registration of the upcoming 9th Annual North Star Conference. I won't repeat what I've already said regarding the Conference, other than that I can't recommend it enough-- feel free to check out the posting I wrote last month regarding it!

Besides the large conferences, many smaller societies offer workshops & continuing education. Are you involved in any local genealogy groups? Often a simple Google search will do. 

An early posting I did regarding furthering our education is here, there are also a few other links to schedules there as well. Feel free to have a look see.

I'd suggest checking out/following the Southern California Genealogical Society 'jamboree Blog' as they offer many opportunities of continuing education & also have info about their 2017 jamboree!

And if you know about an upcoming workshop or conference, it's always important to spread the word & share the details. So often I hear folks lament, "If only I'd known about it"...

If you are a social media user, you can also share any events or items of interest with The Dead Relative Collector's Facebook page or with a Facebook group such as Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, a group with over 23,000 members. There are so many different ways to spread the word!

So... what about you? How was your genealogical Summer?
Do you have any plans to participate in any genealogy activities this Fall?
Spread the word & Share the chance. Grab a genie pal and 'learn' something new! 
You'll be so glad you did

Mystery Photo-- Southern Minnesota or Iowa?

This photo came from some old snapshots belonging to my Great-Grandmother & were left in an attic to to the elements & critters before being found in an old box.

Many of the photos appear to be taken in Southern Minnesota... but they also had relatives & friends in Iowa and California... and I noticed a few of the photos were from there. 

While I do not know the identifies of any of the individuals, I do recognize a couple of them from other unidentified photos.

It's very possible that these folks are some how connected to the George or Averill families. But I have no way of knowing for sure. They may just be friends.  Either way, it would be wonderful to identify them all once & for all!

Mystery Photo- John Cole of Minnesota & unknown?

This photo was most likely taken in Northern Minnesota. Seated in front is John Cole, the two standing gentleman remain unidentified.

John Cole [1882-1962] lived in Cass County, Minnesota his whole life. I really can't recognize either of the men in the photograph with him. 

They could be relatives of the Cole - Hagen - Wilson families... hopefully someone out there will be able to identify these 2 mystery men

TBT- Photos of Yesteryear- Josephine (Hagen) Cole

Spotlighting photos from my extensive photo archive

Today it is Josephine (Hagen) Cole

My Great-Great-Great Grandmother

Josephine Marie Hagen was born July 1, 1851 in Vågan, Nordland, Norway.  Which is within the beautiful Lofoten islands. In July of 1864, she came to the United States with her family (her brother Adolph was born during the voyage!) and the family settled in Wisconsin, before coming to what is now Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.

She married Delivan W. Cole and they lived in New London, Minnesota before moving to Cass County in Northern Minnesota. Josephine would give birth to 10 children, but sadly bury 4 of them in childhood. Later she & Delivan moved to North Dakota with their younger children.

Josephine returned to Cass County to live with her daughter Minnie & family in her final years, where she died 1922 from chronic valvular heart disease.

Mystery Photo-- Southern Minnesota or Iowa?

This photo came from some old snapshots belonging to my Great-Grandmother. 

Many of the photos appear to be taken in Southern Minnesota... but they also had relatives & friends in Iowa and California... and I noticed a few of the photos were from there. 

It's very possible that this young gentleman is some how connected to the George or Averill families. But I have no way of knowing for sure. He may just be a friend.  Either way, it would be wonderful to identify him!

TBT- Photos from Yesteryear- Grace Weerts Schultz

Spotlight photos from my extensive photo archive

Today it is Grace (Weerts) Schultz

My Great-Great Aunt

Grace Weerts was born January 22, 1890 in Petkum, Ostfriesland, Germany and came to the United States with her parent & older brother (my Great-Grandfather) and sister in 1892, settling in Butler County, Iowa. 

After 10 years of farming in Iowa, the Weerts family moved north to Minnesota where they operated a dairy farm. 

Grace married Fred Schultz in 1911 and they farmed in rural Fairmont, Minnesota where they raised their 3 sons, until eventually moving into town.

In 1957, Grace died from complications of stomach cancer.