Category: Holidays

Ellis Island Family History Day

4/17/2014

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.

Dina (Licciardi) Bellan in front of American Immigrant Wall of Honor

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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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.

All of us from 2007. I was pregnant with my son at the time.

June 1980 with my newborn baby brother. I was 18 months old.

Me and my brother, March 1981. Rockin' the hoodies.

Two of my younger brothers checking out my new Lego set, November 1989.

Me with my brother, summer 1990. (Omg, yes I am wearing a 'Bartman' t-shirt.)

My brother and I with our new baby sister, late November 1990.

Me and my sister, 1995. We are on our grandmother's front lawn.

Me and my sister, Christmas 1998. (And yes, I am wearing a WWF Championship Belt :-))

Me with our dog, Cookie, 1998. Because I will always consider her one of my 'siblings.'

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It's National Hugging Day!

1/21/2014

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Today, January 21, is National Hugging Day. I think I have posted this photo on my personal Facebook page in the past, but it has never made it to the blog. It is me, my brother, and three of our cousins hugging, probably around 1984ish. Give out some good hugs today!

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Happy Penguin Awareness Day!

1/20/2014

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Today, January 20, is Penguin Awareness Day. Well, what does that have to do with family history, you say? It just so happens that on Thanksgiving Day 2011, our son was chosen to be a Grand Marshal of the Penguin Parade at the Newport Aquarium. He had just turned four and LOVED every minute of it. There was lots of dancing before the penguins came out, and then he got to put on a sparkly black vest and lead the penguins on their parade. Our daughter, who was 15 months old, wasn't too sure of the whole thing, especially the big overgrown stuffed penguin. (She is almost three and a half now and she STILL doesn't like people dressed in full animal costumes.) Anyway, here are some photos of the event:

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A Necklace For A Genealogist

12/27/2013

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I am usually a very difficult person to shop for when it comes to birthday and Christmas gifts. I am not into any of the 'typical' things women usually like to receive: perfume, jewelry/accessories, clothing, etc. Usually, I like to receive books (or gift cards to buy books), which gets a little old and isn't very exciting. However, my mom and my sister found a great little necklace for me this year that ties into my family history hobbies. It is a simple silver-toned necklace with a pendant about the size of a dime. The front of the necklace looks like this:

Front of Necklace

Under this little tree, is a second disk that has writing on both sides of it. It says, "Like branches on a tree we grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one."

I love the simplicity of the necklace; it is something that I can wear everyday. The saying means a lot to me because I admit AM different in many ways from most of my other family members. It's all right, though; diversity is good. The necklace is manufactured by Premier Designs, and if you click on this link, you can get in touch with a representative near you (No, I do not work for them, but I just think this is a great gift idea for anyone you know who does family history research or preservation.)

©2013, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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The Kowalski Kids, Christmas 1958

12/20/2013

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My Dad (on the far left) with his brother and sisters, Christmas 1958.

The Kowalski Kids, Christmas 1958

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Halloween 1985

10/31/2013

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Here is a photo of me and my brother (Minnie and Mickey Mouse) and two of our cousins from Halloween 1985. We are standing in our grandfather's TV room.

Halloween 1985

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Our Ancestors' Labors

9/2/2013

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Today is Labor Day here in America, when we remember and honor the work of our current citizens and of those in the past who worked to create the America that we know today. For this post, I was originally going to make a list of my and my husband's direct ancestors' occupations. However, I wanted something more visual and artistic, so I went to Tagxedo.com and made this cool, autumn-themed, family tree word cloud using words related to our relatives' jobs. The information came from personal knowledge, city directories, as well as from census schedules and draft registration cards on which occupations and employers were recorded. Most of these words obviously represent jobs for which our relatives were paid, but I have also included unpaid ones, such as 'volunteer' and 'mother' because, especially for so many of our female ancestors, these were their lifelong labors and vocations. Happy Labor Day!

Kowalski - Schroeder Family Labor Day Tree

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Dominik Kowalski: Fourth of July Citizenship

7/2/2013

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In 1912, my great-grandfather, Dominik Kowalski, immigrated to America from Poland and settled in Cleveland, Ohio. Like several of my other immigrant ancestors, I found his Oath of Allegiance certificate and Naturalization Card from April of 1932:

Dominik Kowalski Oath of Allegiance

Dominik Kowalski Naturalization Card

With my other immigrant ancestors, finding these forms has been the final step in learning about their citizenship process. However, thanks to GenealogyBank, I found out a little bit more about Dominik's citizenship experience. On July 4, 1932, Dominik's name appeared in The Cleveland Plain Dealer as one of 1,500 immigrants who were to receive citizenship diplomas at Cleveland's Edgewater Park. I like to think that Dominik DID attend the ceremony, but there is no way to know for sure. Maybe his wife and children even came with him to watch. In any case, after a lot of searching, I'm pretty sure it was the only time he ever made it into the 'big city' newspaper, and it's just another great reminder that MY citizenship as an American really began the moment he received his citizenship in 1932.