Follow Friday: Around the Blogosphere - Oct 22

Here are my favorite posts from fellow bloggers from the past week:

Nebraska The Heartland - Irish folk singer Ken O'Malley blogs about his tour of Nebraska this week

Graveyard Humor - strange tombstones from Grave Humor

Top Ten Considerations for Donating Your Family Papers by Sassy Jane

Family Search Beta Has a New Look - by Randy Seaver, Geneamusings

Fun at the California Family History Expo - Thomas MacEntee of Destination Austin Family

Ancestry's Relationship Calculator from Dear Myrtle

Wedding Wednesday: Jens Christian Petersen and Caroline Hansen

Jens and Caroline Petersen
December 10, 1892
Black Hawk county, Iowa

My father's grandparents were both born in Denmark and both came to the United States in 1888. Jens arrived with his parents, Peder and Elsia Jeremiasen. The Jeremiasen family's destination was Waterloo, Iowa. Jens and his siblings were listed with the surname Jeremiasen on ship's passenger list. In America, Peder retained the surname Jeremiasen, but all of Peder and Elsia's children took the surname Petersen. Once in America, my Danish ancestors stopped changing the surname with each generation.

I've not yet documented Caroline's arrival in America. Family lore was that she and Jens met on the ship. If that is the case, there is only one possible entry on the ship's passenger list that could be Caroline, a 16 year old female who was unnamed, but listed as Servant with another passenger.

It was just a few weeks ago when I discovered documentation of Jens and Caroline's marriage on FamilySearch.org. Their union is listed in the collection of Iowa Marriages, 1809 - 1992. This record shows that Elsia's maiden name was Lauridsen, not Polsdatter as I had been told by other family members and as was recorded in Jens' obituary. Jens' obituary also reports the family moving to Nebraska from Iowa about ten years before they actually moved. The Petersens moved to Nuckolls county Nebraska about 1905, between the births of two of their children.

On the marriage record, Caroline's parents are listed as Soren Hansen and Christine Nielsen.

The Family Search record shows that Jens and Caroline were married in Black Hawk county, Iowa. The wedding location may have been Cedar Falls, Iowa (that is from my notes from another family member). Cedar Falls is about ten miles from Waterloo, Iowa where the newlyweds lived.

Jens and Caroline Petersen
Hardy, Nebraska

Jens and Caroline were the parents of ten children: Emma Christine, Elmer Martinus, Otto William, Katherine Jereminia, John Theodore, Christine Dorothea (died as an infant), Esther Dorthea, Marvin, Margaret Leona, and Jess Carl.

Jens died in Hardy, Nebraska on August 9, 1948 and Caroline died January 7, 1962. Caroline's grave marker shows the original spelling of her name: Karoline.

Tuesday's Tip: Making Music part of your family history

Everyone loves music. So did our ancestors.

While putting your family's story into historical context, consider taking a look at the music that was popular during their lives. Top 40 or the Hit Parade - whatever it may have been in their time - can help bring the stories about your ancestors to life.

An excellent resource to look into musical heritage is the New York Public Library's digital archives. A fun place to start is with the sheet music covers of American popular song from 1890-1922. You can browse the collection by year or do a search of the collection.

My fellow fans of Dancing With the Stars might enjoy seeing the sheet music for the Argentine Tango (1912). Another selection from 1912 was It's a Long Long Way to Tipperary. World War II brings us songs such as Those Draft-in Blues. With the war over, the Roaring Twenties include such hits as Ain't We Got Fun.

All categories of digital images about music in this archive are listed here.

Music has always been a big part of my life. Anytime I hear songs from the 1960s, I usually always associate the song with what was happening in my life at the time. The same thing was probably true of our ancestors.

Just for fun, a related book: On This Day in Music History: Over 2,000 Popular Music Facts Covering Every Day of the Year (Book)

Madness Monday - Dan Kelly "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore"?

Daniel Kelly
Greenwood, Nebraska

Until a few years ago, I believed that my great grandfather, Daniel Kelly, had three siblings: Mary, Michael (M.C.) and Nellie. As I continued my research, I learned of four other siblings, William Jr., Margaret, John and Thomas.

Reading the local newspaper articles sometimes makes me think that members of the Kelly family spent more time in court than they did farming and raising livestock!

The following newspaper report on one of the many lawsuits involving the family provides some insight regarding the opinions of Dan about his brother Thomas, and may be why I had never heard about some of Dan's siblings before.

Judge Waters yesterday listened to a hearing on objections to the report of Thomas E. Kelly, administrator of the estate of W. D. Kelly, who was a brother of Mrs. Mary Fitzgerald. Mr. Kelly has not filed a report in county court for a term of four years and the attorneys for the various heirs scanned it closely and filed a string of objections. Considerable feeling was shown during the trial by some of the brothers. Dan Kelly, who lives near Greenwood in the course of the hearing had occasion to use the words "---- rogue" with some emphasis in open court. Judge Waters informed him that if he used the word "damn" or "rogue" again in open court he would be sent to jail. The matter was left with the understanding that a final report will be filed.

Source: Nebraska State Journal, Lincoln, Nebraska, March 21, 1902

Getting in Touch with Irish Heritage Through Music - Ken O'Malley

Ken O'Malley

Ken O'Malley

I'd been hearing about Ken O'Malley from a friend of mine who had been living in L.A. for several years. Singer, storyteller, tour guide, composer - he was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland and has been living in L.A. for about thirty years.

This week marks Ken's first trip to the Midwest, with his concert in Lincoln this afternoon, a concert in Omaha Tuesday night and a concert at the Nebraska Outback House in Sutherland on Wednesday night.

I've been to several Irish/Celtic performances over the years, but none have touched me on a soulful level the way Ken O'Malley's songs did.

With just a "Protestant" guitar (his words!) and a 1908 Gibson mandolin he bought on eBay, O'Malley delighted the audience in the intimate surroundings of the Johnny Carson Theater at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts in Lincoln. His concert was a fundraiser to benefit the Angels Theatre Company.

Maybe it's because I've been spending so much time learning about my Irish ancestors and their lives in America that his music touched me on such an emotional level. I could shut my eyes and feel myself transported to the homeland of my ancestors, imagining the difficulties they experienced that caused them to board a ship and come to the United States in 1850. As he sang and played some of the traditional Irish folk songs, I could envision my ancestors listening to this style of music 160 years ago.

He performed songs from his albums, traditional songs and some that he composed. Among my favorites from O'Maille were City of Chicago, Mick Ryan's Lament, Westport Town, Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore, Heaven Knows, I'm a Rover and Homes of Donegal - well, actually, I like the entire CD! There were also several selections he performed from his CD with the Twilight Lords, Women of Ireland. I'll have some more favorites to add to the list from that CD if I ever stop listening to O'Maille.


He also told some stories about the songs and weaved some Irish history into the fabric of his performance. He was quite engaging, but as Lincoln audiences are a bit subdued, I hope that our applause was enough confirmation of our enjoyment of his music.


A trio of dancers from the Thunder on the Plains Project  also performed the traditional Irish step dance, accompanied by O'Malley on mandolin. That added even more to an enjoyable afternoon.


I would certainly encourage any genealogist to get out of the libraries and courthouses on occasion and take in some of the opportunities to experience some of the cultural heritage activities that come your way. After today's concert, I really believe that my Irish soul is a lot closer to the surface and I feel an even greater connection to my Irish roots.


Thanks to my long time friend, Jan, for introducing me to the music of Ken O'Malley.


Ken O'Malley's web site