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!