Welcome Clayton Ostmoe - Another member of Generation 4!

I must be slipping... It's been a week and I haven't posted this!

Welcome my new grandson, Clayton Ostmoe! Born December 7, 2011 to my beautiful daughter, Michelle and her husband, Eric Ostmoe. Clay was 9 pounds 11 ounces and 21 inches long.

Big sister, Addison, is proud of her baby brother in this picture of the three of them. (And, yes, that is my granddaughter, Addison, and NOT my sister, Ruth!)

If you know of any other births, let me know and I will post a notice.

Merry Christmas and keep in touch!

December 2011 Quiz

Grandpa Roy had 7 siblings: James, Isaac, Florence, Pleasant Emma, George, Elmaria and Lily.

Isaac, Florence and Elmaria all died young. What was the primary occupation of the other four?

Check back next month for the answer!

-- ANSWER

I found these answers in US census records. I'm assuming the occupations I list are correct, BUT, they may not be the ONLY occupation they held. If you are aware of any others, let me know!

James was a laborer at the La Crosse rubber mills (1910). He and his wife, Elizabeth Greineisen had five children.

Pleasant Emma married Burt Fessenden in 1884. They were farmers/ranchers in Montana (1910, 1920, 1930). She and Burt had eleven children.

George was a fireman on the railroad (1910). I have no record of George ever marrying or having any children.

Lily married Thomas Morris in 1886. Thomas was a barber when they were first married. He graduated from the Law School at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and was elected District Attorney of La Crosse County. Later, he was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly where, in 1909, he was instrumental in the establishment of a college that would eventually become the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. In 1911 he was elected to Lieutenant Governor for the State of Wisconsin which he held until 1915. He practiced law in La Crosse after that until his death from a sudden heart attack while visiting New York City in 1928. Lily and Tom had nine children.

December 2011

First, I hope all of you in the US had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mine was excellent. I spent the holiday with my daughter, Michelle, and her family in Madison, Wisconsin. I especially enjoyed being able to spend some time with my granddaughter, Addie, and to cook the big traditional Thanksgiving meal for all of them. Of course, watching the Packers beat the Lions and go to 11-0 was an additional thing to be thankful for! (Sorry to all the cousins in Michigan!)

I was hoping to be able to report the birth of Michelle and Eric's baby, but, alas, no such luck. Any day now, though!

Second, as we enter this special time of the year, I would like to wish you all a joyous holiday season. And remember that I would appreciate any photos of your family gatherings! Just E-Mail them to me at PaulPendleton@Comcast.net!

Third, I am missing a lot of information about Aunt Evie's and Uncle Art's families. If you know of anyone with knowledge of those cousins, please send me their E-Mail addresses or give them mine.

Fourth, if you know of any news in the extended family - births, marriages, anniversaries, special events, military service, etc - that will help me keep the family tree up to date, please let me know! If you would like any of the information I have, I am more than willing to share. Let me know what you need.

Finally, if you have any suggestions about items you would like added or changed on this blog, feel free to send me your ideas.

As always, keep in touch!

November 2011 Quiz

So, I’m gradually getting back into my research mode. When I left off last spring, I was working on the Newkirk family. Remember that Roy’s mother was Catherine Newkirk.

One interesting thing that I have found is that many of the Newkirks in the 19th century liked to name their children after states. Which of the following states was NOT used as a first name?

A. Georgia
B. Louisiana
C. Missouri
D. Ohio

Check back next month!

-- Answer

I will confess that I have not finished researching all of the Newkirks. So far, I have found a Louisiana Newkirk (and another named Louisianna,) two people named Missouri Newkirk, and two people named Ohio Newkirk. I have NOT found anyone named Georgia Newkirk. So, the correct answer is: A. Georgia.

I did also find one person named America Newkirk. Incidentally, the two people named Ohio were male while all the others were female.

Also, all of them were cousins of Roy.

October 2011 Quiz

OK... I have finished the patio, the fences and the deck... and, instead of researching a new quiz, I have been enjoying my new space. We have been having the most GLORIOUS autumn in Minnesota, with high temperatures around 30C (85F) and low humidity and mosquitoes.

I officially have the neighborhood "party deck." I just love when the neighbors all get together for a communal cookout. Too much fun! I'm very fortunate to live in a close-knit neighborhood where we all get along.

But, I have gotten back into researching the family tree and have a couple ideas for future quizes and I promise to post a new quiz for November.

So, if you need a quiz "fix" for October, 2011... Who is going to be a Grandpa again in November???

A. I am.
B. Yours truly.
C. Grandpa PEN-dle-ton (as my granddaughter, Addie, calls me).

Check back next month for the answer and the new quiz.

-- Answer

If you missed this one...

Congratulations Julie and Delton Denzer

Julie [Niles](2) and Delton Denzer celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at Holzinger Lodge in Winona, MN, on Sunday, September 25, 2011. Many friends and family members turned out to join in the celebration

Congratulations and best wishes to Julie and Delton.

Let's all plan to join them in 10 years for their 50th!

September 2011 Quiz

Well, I have spent another month working on the deck, etc, so I have not prepared a quiz..

So, in lieu of a quiz, here's a challenge: Write a bio of a favorite relative, pose a question about the family, share something about your immediate family...

I'll post anything I get!

August 2011 Quiz

Well, my summer continues as do the major projects I am working on - a new brick paver patio, a deck and new fencing around the yard. And, yes, I am doing all the work myself! I can't tell you how many times I have invoked Uncle Art's and Uncle Ray's memories for inspiration - and FORGIVENESS!!!

The deck is almost done - just some final trim work, some lighting and installing a few electric outlets. I couldn't resist the temptation to post a picture of what it looked like a week or so ago. I have faced the stairs and finished the hand rail since then.

Hopefully, I should be able to get some enjoyment out of it this year, providing the weather and the mosquitos cooperate. Stop by sometime and have a beer!

Needless to say, this has taken up ALL of my free time, so the quiz gets ANOTHER month off. I'm hoping to have something posted in September.

Until then, feel free to E-Mail me any topics you would like to have me research. I have received a couple suggestions since last month and will likely follow up on some of them in the future.

Have a great month!

Congratulations Nancy and Ken Proctor!

Nancy [Niles] (2) and Kenny Proctor celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on July 4, 2011.

Their marriage was re-blessed at a mass at St. Elizabeth Seton church in Holmen, Wisconsin on Sunday the 3rd. Later that day, they were joined by many friends and family members at an open house at the Holmen American Legion.

Let's all hope they see another 50 year of happiness together!

July 2011 Quiz

This month's quiz is an essay question... (In other words, I do not have a new one prepared - Summer is proving to be even busier than Spring!)

So, this month's quiz is: Is there a subject or person you would like more information about??? If so, send me an E-Mail!

June 2011 Quiz

We all know that Sophia Hanifl (0) was born in Oggau, Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary was the last remnant of the Habsburg Empire in Europe. It consisted of a number of kingdoms all under control of the Austrian Emperor.

The question for this month is: at the time Grandma Sophia and her family left Oggau in 1891, which kingdom was Oggau a part of?

A. Austria
B. Bohemia
C. Croatia
D. Hungary

Check this post next month for the answer!

-- Answer

Oggau is currently located in the Austrian state of Burgenland. However, at the time that Grandma Sophia’s family left, it was technically part of the Kingdom of Hungary, so the correct answer to the quiz is: D.

Oggau, a village of about 1,800 inhabitants, is approximately 50 km (30 miles) southeast of Vienna in the district of Eisenstadt-Umgebung. The “official” name is “Oggau am Neusiedler See” due to its proximity to the Neusiedler See – a large lake in eastern Austria. The region is renowned for its recreation areas and wineries.

Burgenland is one of those European regions that changed hands many times over the years. For most of the Middle Ages, it was the westernmost part of Hungary. Starting around the 10th century, Germanic people began migrating to the region, until, by the time Grandma Sophia’s family left, the population of the area was about 70% Germanic. At that time, the region was known as “Deutsch Westungarn” (German West Hungary.)

With the final collapse of Austria-Hungary at the end of WWI, the region became part of the Republic of Austria, although, several cities with majority Hungarian populations opted to remain part of Hungary. The area unofficially became known as Vierburgenland – the Land of Four Castles. Eventually, the number “Four” (Vier) was dropped and the region became known simply as Burgenland.

In 1938, the region was annexed by Nazi Germany as part of the Anschluss with Austria. (Hungary also allied itself with Germany.) After the war, Austria was divided among the Allies and the Burgenland was given to the Soviets.

Finally, in 1955, with the signing of the Austrian Independence Treaty, the Soviets withdrew and the region once again became a state in the Republic of Austria.

In 2007, I was fortunate enough to visit central Europe. While I was not able to visit Oggau itself, the train from Budapest to Vienna went through that region. I was impressed by the natural beauty of the region. In many respects, it reminded me of western Wisconsin. But, after 5 days in the drabness of Hungary, just crossing the border from Hungary into Austria changed everything. Those poor Hungarians still have a LOT of work to do to recover from decades of ruthlessly brutal fascist and then communist governments! But, that’s another story…

May 2011 Quiz

(If you are looking for the answer to April, 2011’s quiz, scroll down to that post.)

This month’s quiz is moving a little closer to “immediate” family than last month’s.

Who was Elizabeth Cottrell (1671 - ????)? This one is not a multiple choice, BUT, I’ll give you a hint: The answer can be found somewhere on this blog…

Check back next month for the answer!

-- ANSWER

Alright, I admit this question was a bit ambiguous. The answer is that Elizabeth Cottrell was the 4th Great-grandmother of Roy Wellington Pendleton. She was married to Caleb Pendleton (-6). He was born 8, Aug 1669 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and died 10, Mar 1745 in Westerly, Rhode Island.

The point of this quiz was to emphasize the “Search This Blog” feature which I hoped would locate Elizabeth in a posting I had under the label “Genealogy”, but, I couldn’t get the search function to find her in that post…

So, after hours (and hours) of trying to get the Search function to work, I decided to abandon it altogether and redo Roy and Sophia’s genealogies. After hours (and hours and hours) of coding, I have added 2 new pages on the blog labeled “Roy” and “Sophia”. They appear in the upper left hand corner of the blog to the right of the label “Home”.

All of the people listed in those genealogies (with the exception of people listed under the sub-heading “Siblings”) are direct ancestors of Roy or Sophia. You can hyperlink backward in time to each person’s parents or forward to each person’s child.

I hope you find this to be a useful tool for exploring our family. I will probably add other interesting information about each individual, but that will be down the road a ways!

Let me know if you have any problems using the genealogies or if you find any misdirected links!

April 2011 Quiz

(If you are looking for the answer to the March, 2011 quiz, scroll down to the March 2011 Quiz.)

With all of the political turmoil currently going on in the State of Wisconsin lately, I started thinking about all the family members who were involved in politics. Quite a number of our relatives have held positions in local, state and the federal governments. (Currently, Nancy [Niles] Proctor (2) is Village President of Holmen, Wisconsin.)

We are related, albeit very distantly, to someone who was intricately involved in the formation of the state of Wisconsin. This month’s quiz is then, who was he?

A. Henry Dodge
B. James Doty
C. Nathaniel Tallmadge
D. John Catlin

The “extra credit” portion of the quiz is HOW are we related?

Check back next month for the answer!

-- ANSWER

The four men listed in the multiple choice answers were, in chronological order, the four governors of the Wisconsin Territory (1836 – 1848.)

The one who is also a member of our family tree is Henry Dodge.

Henry Dodge was born in 1782 in what is now the State of Indiana, allegedly the “first white child” born there. He was raised in Kentucky. As a young man, he moved to Missouri where, in 1801, he married Christina McDonald. He served in the Missouri militia during the War of 1812.

In 1827, he moved his family to the western portion of Michigan Territory which would later become the Wisconsin Territory. In 1836, he was appointed governor of the Wisconsin Territory and served until 1841.

In 1844, he declined to accept a nomination to run for the US Presidency at the Democratic National Convention. He was reappointed governor of the Wisconsin Territory in 1845 and served until he was elected the first US Senator from the State of Wisconsin in June 1848.

He was the father of Augustus Henry Dodge, who was elected US Senator from the State of Iowa in December, 1848. This was the first (and possibly only) time a father and son served concurrently as US Senators. His daughter, Christina, was married to James Clarke who was the last governor of Iowa Territory before it became a state in 1846.

Henry died in 1867 in Iowa. There is a TON of information about him on the web. Just search for “Henry Dodge”.

OK, so now for the “extra credit” portion – HOW are we related? I warned you that he was a DISTANT relative… And, our common ancestry is on the Dodge side, not on the Pendleton side.

Let’s start with Grandpa Roy (0). His father was Beeley Blanchford Pendleton (-1) whose father was John Pendleton (-2) whose father was Gideon Pendleton (-3) whose father was Thomas Pendleton (-4) who was married to Dorcas Dodge.

Dorcas Dodge was the great-great-grandmother of Grandpa Roy. Her father was Nathaniel Dodge (-5) whose father was Tristam Dodge (-6) whose father was Tristam Dodge (-7) who was the 5th great-grandfather of Grandpa Roy.

Now we need to move “UP” (or “down”) the tree. Another son of Tristam Dodge (-7) was Israel Dodge (-6) whose son was John Dodge (-5) whose son was John Dodge (-4) whose son was Israel Dodge (-3) who was the father of Henry Dodge (-2).

So, Grandpa Roy and Henry Dodge were 4th cousins twice removed. You can’t get much more distant than that. But, there was a common ancestor! This is how I have amassed over 28,000 people in “the tree” and I’m not even close to listing everyone. The search continues!

March 2011 Quiz

First, I have changed the format of the quiz. In the past, I posted a question and then the next month I posted the answer and then asked the next question. Since the most recent posts appear at the top of the blog, the answer to the previous month’s question appeared before the question. So, I have changed all the quiz posts so the answer appears in the same post as the question. So, if you want to try to guess the answer, stop when you see "-- ANSWER." Have I over-explained this enough???

To see the answer to last month’s quiz, scroll down to “February 2011 Quiz.”

For March, 2011’s quiz, let’s go back to a family historical first… What distinction can Simeon Pendleton (-3) (1756-1822) and his wife, Tabitha Niles (c 1758-1842) claim?

A. They were the first couple of European descent to be married west of the Mississippi.

B. They were the founders of the American Kennel Club

C. They were the first Pendletons in America to get a divorce.

D. They were the first dairy farmers in Wisconsin Territory.

Check back next month for the answer (which will be added to this post.)

-- ANSWER

I gave a clue to the correct answer in WHEN they lived. We are sometimes blinded by our bias toward thinking that America was founded in the east and that the population gradually moved west. But, remember that the Spanish – also Europeans – had been living west of the Mississippi for years. In fact, Santa Fe, New Mexico was settled in 1607, a decade or so BEFORE the Pilgrims settled Plymouth colony. So, we can rule out they were the first couple to be married west of the Mississippi.

A quick search of the American Kennel Club’s web site informs us that it was founded in 1884. Since they had both already passed away by that time, we can rule that one out.

Another quick search of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s website reveals that the dairy industry in Wisconsin did not take hold until the middle of the 19th century. Interestingly, at the time Simeon and Tabitha were alive, Wisconsin was known as “America’s Breadbasket” and about 1/6th of all the wheat grown in America came from Wisconsin. And, although there was no clue to this fact in the quiz, Simeon and Tabitha never lived in Wisconsin. Simeon was born in Westerly, Rhode Island and died in New Berlin, New York. Tabitha, apparently, lived her entire life in Westerly.

So, on 25, Feb 1805, after nearly 30 years of marriage, and 9 children, Simeon and Tabitha were officially divorced; the first Pendleton couple in America to do so. Tabitha later married a man named Perry Bromley. I don’t know if Mr. Bromley had anything to do with the divorce… Could it also have something to do with the fact that Simeon was in New York and Tabitha was in Rhode Island?

By the way, Simeon was a grandson of James Pendleton (-5). This would make him and “Grandpa Roy” Pendleton 1st cousins, 3X removed.

February 2011 Quiz

For February’s quiz, let’s go back a couple generations. In December, 2010, I asked about Grandpa Roy’s father, Beeley Pendleton. As part of the answer to that quiz I stated that Beeley married Catherine Newkirk in 1855 in Darlington, Wisconsin.

When and where was Catherine born?

A) 1835 in Wisconsin
B) 1836 in Pennsylvania
C) 1837 in Illinois

For extra credit, what were her parents’ names?

-- ANSWER

Catherine was born in Independence, Illinois on March 5, 1837. Her parents were Cyrus Newkirk and Catherine Wildermuth.

I am currently working on the Newkirk branch of the tree and have traced that family back to about 1600 in the Netherlands. I have found a lot of interesting information. Who knows, some of it may show up in a future quiz!

Mary Ryan's 102nd

Kathy [Ryan] Meyer (2) passed this picture of her mom, Mary [Pendleton] Ryan (1) along to me. It was taken at her birthday party on December 25, 2010 - Her 102nd!

She had just gotten her first cell phone.

Happy belated birthday, Aunt Mary Ryan! And MANY more.

Service - Noah Zues Gallegos

Noah Gallegos (4), Sandra Jean [Pendleton] Dennis (3), Howard Pendleton (2), Howard Pendleton (1)

January 2, 2011: Noah Zues Gallegos is in the service and currently deployed in Afghanistan.

This information was supplied through an anonymous comment on the blog.

Reading a Genealogy

The format of each record is:

ID. Name (Generation)
Born: Date of Birth, Location (if known)
Died: Date of Death, Location (if known)

Spouse: The other parent of the direct ancestor.

Child: This person's child who was a direct ancestor.

Parents:
Father ID and name: Click the link to go to the record for this person's father.
Mother ID and name: Click the link to go to the record for this person's mother.

Siblings: This person’s brothers and sisters, listed in “best known” birth order.

Other Notes:

Once a parent is listed as “Unknown”, no further entries are made for that parent’s ancestors, although I reserve the appropriate IDs in case I find them later.

A double question mark indicates an unknown name: ?? Jones or Sarah ??.

A single question mark indicates the information is not certain: England?; 1, Jan 1600?

Spellings of last names change frequently, even within a given family. The spelling listed herein is the spelling I found for the given individual, but, any of the others spellings of the last name COULD be correct.

Spellings of first names represent the most common spelling found for this individual. For example: Tunis Newkirk could be Tunis, Teunis, Tuenis, Thunis, Theunis, Thuenis, etc. Any of these spellings COULD be correct.

Finally, keep in mind that there is a LOT of bad data on the sites I have researched. I have found entries in family trees for children who were born before their parents were born; 80 year old women giving birth; people living 120+ years, etc. It is very annoying that so many people just replicate this bad data without question! Generally, once I find a tree that contains what I consider "garbage", I throw out ALL the data from that tree. I have found a few lines that I could trace back more than 12 generations, but the information seems so doubtful that it was not included.

I have done my best to filter out all the bad data and have made notes when I have made assumptions, but, some garbage data may have inadvertently slipped by me. If you see an obvious error or if something looks suspicious, PLEASE let me know: PaulPendleton@Comcast.net.