Category: Birthdays

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Schroeder

2/2/2015

On this date in 1925, my husband's paternal grandfather, Walter Schroeder was born. He is the only son of Anthony and Leona (Knob) Schroeder and he was born in the very small rural community of St. Patricks in Shelby County, Ohio. Here is his short birth announcement from the 13 Feb 1925 edition of The Minster Post:

Walter Schroeder Birth Announcement (25 Feb 1925, The Minster Post)

Walter, who acquired the nickname 'Chub' early on in his life, was the third of five children born to Anthony and Leona. He had four sisters, all of whom have passed away. On 26 Aug 1944 in the nearby town of McCartyville, he married Naomi Grilliot, daughter of Bernard O. Grilliot and Frances Drees. They have six children together, an Naomi also celebrated her 90th birthday this past December.

Here are a few of photos from his 90th birthday celebration. His love of cake hasn't diminished with age!

Walter's birthday cake

Loves the cake! (Who doesn't?)

Walter and Naomi with their daughter, Nancy

Walter's parents, Anthony and Leona, were both grandchildren of German immigrants who settled in western Ohio in the mid-19th century. To learn more about Walter's ancestors, click on the links below.

Walter's paternal line: SCHROEDER
Walter's maternal line: KNOB

©2015, Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Great-Grandma's 120th Birthday

1/6/2015

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A Young Adele Parazzini Licciardi

On this date in 1895, my great-grandmother, Adele Parazzini Licciardi, was born in Milano, Lombardia, Italy. A couple of years ago, I wrote this post about what I remember about her. Today, I thought I would share her Petition for Naturalization from 1945. (Click for larger image.)

On this form, as well as on her ship manifest from 1921, her surname is listed as 'Parrazzini,' but her birth surname may actually be spelled 'Parazzini, as the former does not seem to be at all that common in Italy. Adele came to America in 1921 and passed away in 1990 at the age of 95.

Petition for Naturalization for Adele Parazzini Licciardi

Adele married Luigi Licciardi in 1913 at the age of 18. (The petition lists her marriage date as 1919, which is incorrect.) Luigi was a Sicilian, and they met in the north when Luigi was on military duty with the Italian Army. So, my grandmother and her sister had the unusual combination of a northern AND southern Italian parent.

I do not (yet) know the names of Adele's parents. They did not come to America and probably lived out their lives in Milano or in a nearby area.

More about the Adele and her descendants can be found here:
Licciardi Family Documents

©2015, Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma!

12/11/2014

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Today, December 11, is the 90th birthday of my husband's paternal grandmother, Naomi Grilliot Schroeder. She was born December 11, 1924 near the small rural community of McCartyville, Ohio in Shelby County. Her birth was announced in The Minster Post on December 19, 1924.

Birth Announcement of Naomi Grillio(t); The Minster Post, 19 Dec 1924

Naomi's parents were Bernard Otto Grilliot, son of Nicholas Grilliot and Amelia Magoto, and Frances Drees, daughter of J.M. "Mike" Drees and Mary Wilkens. She was the third of ten children born to Bernard and Frances. Bernard sold farming equipment and machinery in McCartyville.

Naomi married Walter Schroeder on August 26, 1944 in McCartyville. They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this past August. Walter and Naomi have six children - five daughters and a son - and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The family came together last weekend to celebrate at Walter and Naomi's community home.

The birthday gal wearing a crown.

No, she didn't have to blow out 90 candles!

With their six children

Married 70+ years!

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Grandma's 100th Birthday

9/4/2014

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I couldn't let the day end without publishing something on my blog related to my maternal grandmother, Dina Licciardi Bellan. Today would have been her 100th birthday. She was born 4 September 1914 in Iselle, Italy, which is a small mountain town on the Italian-Swiss border. She immigrated to America with her parents and sister when she was about six years old. She served in the U.S. Coast Guard during WWII and married my grandfather, William Bellan, in 1947. They had two children. She was active in her church community and loved to cook and socialize. She passed away in 1997. Here is a photo of her with me as a baby, circa 1979.

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Happy Birthday, Cleveland!

7/22/2014

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Cleveland from the air, 1937 (Source: NARA)

On this day in 1796, a Connecticut Land Company surveying team arrived near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on the southern banks of Lake Erie and founded Cleveland, Ohio. The city was named for General Moses Cleaveland, who was the leader of the group.

If you follow my blog, or know me personally, then you know that I was born and grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland. My working-class (i.e. poor) great-grandparents emigrated from various parts of Europe between 1890 and 1920 and settled in Cleveland. ALL of my family's American history remains there, along with most of my close living relatives. I'm not there, and for someone who values family history so much, it's often hard to be away from the place I came from.

Most people think fondly of the place in which they were raised, but Clevelanders have a unique pride that is truly difficult to explain to an outsider. Why do I personally take so much pride in a city? True, some of it has to do with ordinary nostalgia, but I've come to realize that most of my pride is far deeper than that. And it has been through my family history research that I have come to this realization: my family, along with hundreds of others like mine, literally built this city. My great-grandfathers sacrificed hours upon years of their lives in foundries and steel mills, creating the materials and tools that were building not just Cleveland, but cities and infrastructure all over America. And maybe I've always known that my ancestors "worked in the mills," but actually seeing "Steel Mills" under the 'Industry' section of my great-grandfather's 1920 census form and "Ferro Machine Foundry" listed as employer on my other great-grandfather's WWI draft card - it makes my pride for my family AND my city grow exponentially.

Cleveland saw an immense population growth during the 30-year span when my immigrant ancestors arrived; the population grew from about 260,000 to 796,000 between 1890 and 1920, when the city was the 5th largest in the U.S. Even though they didn't have a lot of money, my grandparents came of age in a thriving city full of growth and opportunity. By contrast, I grew up in a Cleveland that was constantly being joked about, a Cleveland that was losing jobs, losing people, losing hope. We took the jokes in stride, and when people teased us about our river catching on fire, we laughed it off, but inside we knew that that pollution, as horrible as it was, was our ancestors' livelihoods, and represented food on the tables and clothes on the backs of our working-class families. No, our sports teams never win anything, but, perhaps against better judgment, we never give up on them, and that is a quality that is in our blood. My ancestors never gave up, no matter what life threw at them. And if there is one thing in life I want my kids to learn, it is to never give up.

I've thought of what my great-grandparents and grandparents would think of the Cleveland of today. They would be proud, and they would recognize some of the economic and social growth and excitement that is going on there today. My great-grandparents came to Cleveland to reinvent themselves, to improve their lives, to build a city that is better for their children. That's exactly what Cleveland is doing today.

Here links to some websites that are great resources for Cleveland history:

Encyclopedia of Cleveland History by Case Western Reserve University and the Western Reserve Historical Society

The Cleveland Memory Project by Cleveland State University Libraries

Cleveland Historical by the Center for Public History and Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University

Cleveland, Ohio History by the Ohio History Connection

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Anthony Schroeder, Born February 14th (Probably)

2/14/2014

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On this date in 1895, my husband's great-grandfather, Anthony A. Schroeder was born in Shelby County, Ohio. At least, I'm pretty sure he was born on February 14th. It is listed on as his date of birth on his death certificate and both his WWI and WWII draft registration cards. What makes me wonder is this probate birth record from Shelby County. (The red arrows point to Anthony's name and to his parents' names. Click on image for larger view.)

Probate Birth Record for Anthony Schroeder

This birth record lists his date of birth as March 2, 1895. It is definitely the correct Anthony Schroeder - both parent names are correct, as is the location. Nineteenth century probate birth and death records are often very interesting and, sometimes, not always that accurate. If you look at the far left side of the record, you will find the date on which the birth was reported, in this case May 14, 1895 - at least a couple of months after Anthony's birth. Then, if you look to the far right of the record, you will find the name of the person who reported the birth, in this case, W. H. Pellman, Assessor. Very often, the birth was NOT reported by a parent or even a relative, and sometimes it took several months for the birth to be officially recorded. So, the date could possibly be due to an assessor error. (Anthony was his parents' fourth child, so there isn't any possibility that the 'official' date would have been moved back, which did sometimes happen with first-born children if the parents' had not been married long enough, if you know what I mean.)

The way to get to the bottom of this would be for me to find his baptismal record, if it exists. Babies at this time were usually baptized within a week of birth, so that would surely confirm whether or not the February or the March birth date is truly correct. Unfortunately, the archives for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati are currently closed, so there is little chance of me finding that record any time soon.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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"They're Coming To America"

1/24/2014

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Today, January 24, is singer Neil Diamond's 73rd birthday. Neil has had many hit songs throughout the years, but he may the only recording artist to make a hit out of a immigration-themed song. His 1981 song, America, is a powerful, positive song that more or less serves as a anthem to the people (our ancestors) who, for better or for worse, came to this nation to live, to work, and to make better lives for themselves and their descendants.

I found a nicely done video on YouTube, in which the producer, Orpheus, uses the song and immigration photos, art, and postcards to compile a really nice tribute to American immigrants. Enjoy!

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Wordless Wednesday: Happy Birthday, Grandma Bellan!

9/3/2013

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Dina Licciardi Bellan, born 4 Sep 1914 in Iselle, Italy. Shown here in Lake Worth, Florida, 1943.

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Happy Birthday, Grandpa K!

8/31/2013

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Today, August 31st, is Casimer Kowalski's birthday. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1915, so today would have been his 98th birthday. He was the youngest son of Wladyslawa ('Lottie') and Dominik Kowalski, who were Polish immigrants. His three older brothers had been born in Poland; he was the only member of his family born in America. He married my grandmother, Veronica Bodziony, in 1939, and they had four children together. My grandmother passed away in 1983, and Grandpa lived as a widower for almost 20 years. He passed away in 2002, about a month shy of his 87th birthday. We always used to celebrate Grandpa's birthday on Labor Day weekend. Here are a couple of photos of his birthday celebration from 1998:

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My First Blogiversary

7/11/2013

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Source: ArtisticZen; Wikimedia Commons

Today is the one year anniversary of my blog! (Feels like it's been longer, though!) I decided to create a family history blog during our 5+ hour drive to my family's house last year for the 4th of July holiday. I had recently started a website through Weebly, for the purpose of posting family photos and documents so that all of my family members could have access to them. I saw that Weebly allowed for blog creation as well, so I decided to give it a try.

I am so glad that I did. Writing about photos and documents makes them come alive and helps to extract the stories hidden within them - stories about our relatives. Writing about my own memories of relatives who I have had the opportunity to know has been an emotional and fulfilling endeavor. And I have learned that I actually LIKE writing (Shhh, don't tell my 16 yr old math-and-science-oriented self who cringed every time I had to write a paper for school).

Some people write family history blogs with the intentions of someday writing and publishing a book about their family; that's not in my plans right now. I enjoy sharing the stories of our ancestors and learning about the times and places in which they lived and worked. I enjoy writing about the genealogy research process, my research triumphs and dead ends. And I enjoy interacting with the other family history bloggers I have met through my blog and other social media. My blog has put me back into touch with cousins who I've lost touch with over the years and it has helped me 'meet' other cousins who I didn't even know were out there.

Thank you to those of you who have read my blog posts.

©2013, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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<<Previous

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Schroeder

Great-Grandma's 120th Birthday

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma!

Grandma's 100th Birthday

Happy Birthday, Cleveland!

Anthony Schroeder, Born February 14th (Probably)

"They're Coming To America"

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Birthday, Grandma Bellan!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa K!

My First Blogiversary

Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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