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Tuesday's Tip: Bloggers, Get A Business Card

4/28/2014

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Business cards aren't just for business people anymore.  Yes, conventional working professionals still carry around business cards with their titles, companies, and contact information printed on them, but nowadays it has become common for other members of society to make and hand out 'business' cards.  At the beginning of the school year my son's teacher handed out her 'card' in the form of a magnet - we keep it on our fridge and it has proved to be very handy.  Teenagers looking for babysitting or lawn maintenance jobs have business cards just in case they happen to cross paths with a potential client/employer.  Stay-at-home moms carry around 'mom cards' that they can hand to other moms who they meet at playgroups or at the park.  And, if you are a genealogy blogger (or any type of blogger, for that matter), you should have some business cards, too.

Last year, I had some of my own cards made.  My brother was getting married, and I knew I would be seeing some of my Dad's cousins who I really never see at any other time.  I wanted an easy way to give them my genealogy website URL and email address, without them having to fiddle with their phone or find a pencil and paper to write it on.  Sure enough, I handed out a few at his wedding, so that mission was accomplished.  
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My networking card, as made through Vistaprint.com.
Fast forward to just a couple of months ago.  I was attending a seminar at the Indiana Historical Society.  During one of our breaks, I introduced myself to one of the programming and education employees, gave her one of my cards, and simply let her know that if she or other members of the programming staff were interested in putting together a seminar on genealogy blogging, I could probably help out with that. She thanked me, the seminar started back up, and I went back home not really expecting much of it. A few days later, she emailed me and asked me to come in and speak with her about putting together some children's genealogy programs for them, based on my new blog, Growing Little Leaves. 

Even if you only blog as a hobby (as I do), you never know when or where you may want to share your blog and/or contact information with someone.  You could be doing research at a library and bump into someone researching the same areas and/or families as you, or you could be at a seminar or conference and meet someone who could even be a potential relative.  Most bloggers focus on using digital social networks, such as Facebook, Google+, and Twitter to expand their readership, but it is important to keep utilizing this more traditional method of networking.

I ordered my cards through Vistaprint, but there are a handful of other websites on which you can design your own cards, usually at very economical prices.  Office supply stores, like Staples and Office Depot, can also help you design and print cards.  You are completely in charge of what you want on your card - I put my name, email address, phone number, and home address, along with my website URLs and the major surnames I research.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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The Photo I Gave To My Grandfather

4/27/2014

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Today, the Catholic Church is canonizing Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. In 1997, when I was 18 years old, I was fortunate enough to visit The Vatican City and attend the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, at which Pope John Paul II presided.  Somehow, as our group was filing into the seating rows in St. Peter's Basilica, I managed to get an aisle seat.  I was literally close enough to touch him and I was able to take some great photos.  

After the trip, I gave this particular photo to my Grandpa Kowalski.  I think my mom gave him a little frame for it and it sat on one of his TV room side tables for the rest of his life.  My grandfather was the son of Polish Catholic immigrants, so you can imagine the pride he felt in having a Polish man as the head of the Catholic Church.
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Photo I took of Pope John Paul II and then gave to my grandfather. ©Emily Kowalski Schroeder
Here is the "ticket" we were given to be admitted to the Mass that morning.
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©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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How To Repel Teenagers From Genealogy

4/25/2014

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I wrote this little editorial several weeks ago, but didn't know if or when I should publish it.  So, I was feeling a bit cheeky today and decided that today was the day.  I'm sure not all of you who read it will agree with my thoughts, but as long as it gets people thinking, I'm content with that.

1.)    Tell them how ‘easy’ they have it compared with their ancestors.  Ok sure, teens of the 21st century may not have all of the back-breaking physical tasks of older generations, and they may be better off financially, but in many ways, it is more difficult being a teenager now than at any other time in history.  The amount of pressure put on teens today from parents, teachers, peers, coaches, and society as a whole with respect to academics, athletics, and appearance is staggering.  Every older generation has thought that the younger generation has had it ‘easier’ than they did.  And that is not necessarily true on all counts.  Rather, we need to connect the generations through common human experiences and emotions.  Grandparents, sit down with your grandchildren and tell them about a time when, as a teenager, you argued with your parents or felt like they just didn’t understand you.  Talk about a time when you had a crush on a particular boy or girl who didn’t even know you existed, or when someone who you loved died.  These types of experiences transcend time and can help to bridge the generation gap.

2.)    Show them a pedigree chart as an introduction to family history.  You may be saying, “What’s wrong with a pedigree chart?”  Well, to a teenager who is more or less indifferent to family history, a pedigree chart is boring and looks like some sort of study guide a teacher might hand out at school.  Instead, start with photos and heirlooms, and weave interesting family narratives around those pieces.  Then, go a step further; use that old photo of great-grandma to help your teen design a vintage 1940s outfit for herself, or give an heirloom to your teenaged student for a mixed-media art project.  If a teen you know is into music, share with them the music you enjoyed as a kid – some teens today are incredibly talented in mixing their own music digitally and may even be inspired to combine decades-old music with modern styles.

3.)  Criticize the popular technology, music, clothing, and social norms of today.  Imagine a grandparent saying to his or her grandchild, “This music is awful. Back when I was in high school, we listened to good music,” or “I can’t stand all of this new technology. Times were so much simpler and better when I was a kid.”  Do you think statements like these are going to get kids wanting to learn about the past?  Just like every generation before them, teens are fiercely protective and sentimental of the societal influences and trends that are popular during their comings-of-age.  More sensitivity is required on the parts of parents and grandparents when it comes to accepting – not necessarily embracing, but at least accepting - these pieces of their lives that teens find so important.  And more emphasis needs to be put on incorporating the stories of our younger family members into our family histories.  Why should teens respect the stories of the past, if we don’t respect the stories of their present?


©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Wordless Wednesday: Dominik Kowalski, October 1951

4/22/2014

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My Great-Grandfather, Dominik Kowalski, age 66, Phoenix, Arizona.
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Sports Saturday: Hockey Brothers

4/18/2014

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The NHL playoffs started this past week, so I thought I would share a couple of 'now and then' photos of my three brothers in their hockey gear.  The first one was taken in the early 1990s when they were all playing in our town's youth hockey program, and the second one was taken a couple of years ago at one of their rec league events.
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The Kowalski Brothers, early 1990s
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Ellis Island Family History Day

4/17/2014

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Today, April 17, has been designated at Ellis Island Family History Day.  On this date in 1907, more than 11,700 people came through Ellis Island - it was the most immigrants to be process through the station in one day.  In my own family, seven of my great-grandparents arrived at the port of New York and came through Ellis Island. (One of my great-grandfathers arrived at Baltimore.)

My grandmother, Dina C. Licciardi Bellan, sailed from Naples on 27 Apr 1921 with her mother and sister and arrived at Ellis Island on 12 May 1921. She was 6 1/2 years old.  Her name is on the American Immigrant Wall of Honor at the Ellis Island Museum.  Before she passed away, she had the opportunity to travel to NYC and see the wall (and her name) in person.  Here is a photo of her next to the wall and below that is a rubbing she made of her name.
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Dina (Licciardi) Bellan in front of American Immigrant Wall of Honor
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Rubbing of name from Immigrant Wall of Honor
Late in life, my grandmother started to fill out a 'Family Heritage Workbook' about her life and her family's life.  As far as the journey across the ocean, all she writes is, "Crossing the ocean is vague, but I do remember getting off the train in Cleveland and seeing my father leaning against a big car." (Her father, Luigi Licciardi, had immigrated to America the year before.)

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Surname Saturday: Bodziony

4/11/2014

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Bodziony was the maiden name of my paternal grandmother, Veronica Bodziony Kowalski.  She was a child of two Polish immigrants, Michael Bodziony and Sophia Krupa, who settled in Cleveland, Ohio.  In 1883, Michael Bodziony was born in the village of Świniarsko, a few kilometers away from the larger city of Nowy Sącz (see map below).  At the time of his birth, this area, which has been ethnically-Polish for centuries, was part of the Austria-Hungary Empire.
When you first read the name 'Bodziony,' I don't think you immediately think of it as a Polish or even a Slavic surname.  Even today, it's not a terribly common name in Poland, and the highest concentration of the name is still found in and around Nowy Sącz County, Małopolska Voivodeship, which is on Poland's southern border with Slovakia.  The map below was generated by the website Moikrewni.pl, which literally means "my kin" in Polish.  It shows the relative distribution of the surname Bodziony throughout modern-day Poland.  According to Worldnames Public Profiler, which compiles surname data from modern telephone directories and voting registers, the surname Bodziony has a frequency in Poland of 42.8 per million.  For comparison, the surname Kowalski, which is a very common surname, has a frequency of 1847 per million. Not surprisingly the frequency per million in America is only 0.47.
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Distribution of the surname 'Bodziony' in Poland (Image Source: Moikewni.pl)
So, what does the surname Bodziony mean?  According to good old Google Translate, the Polish word bodziec is a noun which means 'stimulus' or 'incentive.'  I asked the native Polish-speakers in a Facebook group, and one person told me that the name has the same root as the word bóść, which is a verb meaning 'to gore.'  I think its relative infrequency tells me that it probably doesn't describe a profession, as a lot of surnames all over the world tend to do.  

The surname could possibly be a reference to a place name.  There is a town by the name of Bodzanów about 70 kilometers to the northwest of Świniarsko. (There are actually several villages with this name around Poland, but this one is the closest.) There is a also a town farther away in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, (north of Małopolska Voivodeship) known as Bodzentyn, which has been around since the 1300s.  So, it's possible that the family name originated as a way to tell other people "this family is from Bodz... village."  

I do have evidence that the name was NOT changed when Michael came to America - the name shows up fairly frequently in the 19th century Roman Catholic Church records of the Diocese of Tarnow.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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National Siblings Day

4/10/2014

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Today, April 10th, is National Siblings Day. I grew up with four younger siblings, so there was never a dull moment in our house.  I used today as an excuse to scan and post a few photos of me and my siblings.  
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All of us from 2007.  I was pregnant with my son at the time.
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June 1980 with my newborn baby brother. I was 18 months old.
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Me and my brother, March 1981.  Rockin' the hoodies.
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Two of my younger brothers checking out my new Lego set, November 1989.
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Me with my brother, summer 1990. (Omg, yes I am wearing a 'Bartman' t-shirt.)
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My brother and I with our new baby sister, late November 1990.
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Me and my sister, 1995. We are on our grandmother's front lawn.
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Me and my sister, Christmas 1998.  (And yes, I am wearing a WWF Championship Belt :-))
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Me with our dog, Cookie, 1998.  Because I will always consider her one of my 'siblings.'

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Sunday's Obituary: Henry Tumbusch

4/5/2014

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Henry Tumbusch was my husband's great-grandfather on his mother's side of the family.  He passed away September 1, 1942.  Here is his obituary, as published in the September 4, 1942 issue of The Minster Post (page 1).
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Henry was the son of Theodor Tumbusch and Anna Rasing, German immigrants who came to America in 1861.  Unfortunately, Theodor passed away when Henry was only about seven years old. His mother never remarried, but ran the small family farm and raised Henry and his three younger siblings by herself.  She lived until 1918.

As stated in the obituary, Henry married Mary Frances Wimmers in 1893.  (Here in this obituary, she is listed as 'Mary,' which is also her named stated in the Mercer County birth probate record; however, in every census and in her obituaries, she went by 'Frances.')  Henry and Frances had eleven children, nine of whom are listed in the obituary.  One son, Ferdinand, passed away in 1907 at the age of ten months, and another son, Joseph, was born stillborn in 1917.

Henry spent his entire life in Mercer County, Ohio, near the village of St. Henry.  He attended St. Henry Catholic Church and is buried in that cemetery.  According to his death certificate (below), he had suffered from bronchiectasis for a couple of years preceding his death.
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Ohio Death Certificate of Henry Tumbusch, 1942
Death Certificate Source: "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X83R-8YJ : accessed 05 Apr 2014), Henry Timbush, 01 Sep 1942; citing Granville Twp., Mercer, Ohio, reference fn 63127; FHL microfilm 2024037.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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