Saturday, April 7, 2012
WDYTYA - Edie Falco
I had planned to watch the Edie Falco episode of WDYTYA. But since Edie Falco is NOT one of my favourite actresses and The Sopranos were never one of my favourite TV series - I am not terribly upset that I missed the episode.
I do still hope that the Reba MacIntyre episode gets repeated at some point, so that my husband and I can watch that.
Other than that, nothing much else genealogy wise has happened these last few weeks.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Pierre Duclos and Madonna
I posted about my husband's ancestor, Pierre Duclos 2 months ago, and how noone knew where he came from or who his parents were. I also mentioned I had a document in french about Pierre Duclos and that I needed an English translation.
A distant cousin of my husbands, with whom I was in contact back around 2004, got back in touch with me and offered to translate this document. I now have the main part of the document in English. The french document transcriptions are still being translated.
Pierre Duclos is still an orphan but the evidence seems to indicate that his mother was Marie Duclos and his father may have been the catholic priest of the village of Bonaventure in Gaspe, Quebec. There is no documentary evidence of this, but other documents support this evidence based on how Pierre lived his life in Bonaventure and Carleton, before he moved his wife and family to New Brunswick.
I have also found family trees for the following famous names and determined that my husband is distantly related to them all.
Madonna (Ciccone) - 11th cousin
Celine Dion - 11th cousin
Angelina Jolie - 11th cousin
Michael J Lozier - 3rd cousin - Michael does seminars on the Law of Attractio
Actually, there would be a large number of Canadians of French Canadian and Acadian ancestry who are related to Madonna, Celina and Angelina - since the connections for these go all the way back to the 1700s.
There are also rumours that Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (Princes Charles' second wife) and Hillary Rodham Clinton are also related to Madonna and Celina (And therefore to my husband and other Canadians) but as yet I haven't found those connections yet.
A distant cousin of my husbands, with whom I was in contact back around 2004, got back in touch with me and offered to translate this document. I now have the main part of the document in English. The french document transcriptions are still being translated.
Pierre Duclos is still an orphan but the evidence seems to indicate that his mother was Marie Duclos and his father may have been the catholic priest of the village of Bonaventure in Gaspe, Quebec. There is no documentary evidence of this, but other documents support this evidence based on how Pierre lived his life in Bonaventure and Carleton, before he moved his wife and family to New Brunswick.
I have also found family trees for the following famous names and determined that my husband is distantly related to them all.
Madonna (Ciccone) - 11th cousin
Celine Dion - 11th cousin
Angelina Jolie - 11th cousin
Michael J Lozier - 3rd cousin - Michael does seminars on the Law of Attractio
Actually, there would be a large number of Canadians of French Canadian and Acadian ancestry who are related to Madonna, Celina and Angelina - since the connections for these go all the way back to the 1700s.
There are also rumours that Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (Princes Charles' second wife) and Hillary Rodham Clinton are also related to Madonna and Celina (And therefore to my husband and other Canadians) but as yet I haven't found those connections yet.
Friday, March 30, 2012
WDYTYA - Rita Wilson
Have just finished watching tonights episode - about Rita Wilson - Hollywood Actress and the Wife of Tom Hanks.This was a very interesting episode. I enjoyed it very much.
Ritas Wilson has always said she is of Greek Ancestry. But how does one have Greek ancestry with a name like Wilson?
It turns out that Rita's father's name was originally Hassan Ibrahimoff. He was born in Northern Greece in 1920 and he was actually a Muslim, not a Greek Orthodox christian. This was because this was one of the last areas still under Ottoman control before the Ottoman dynasty was overthrown by Kemal Ataturk in 1923.
Rita's father always refused to talk about his life back in Greece when he was a young man. While he had mentioned serving a short time in a labour camp, Rita had no idea if this was true and she wondered why he would he have even been in a labour camp in the first place.
So in this episode of WDYTYA, Rita wanted to find out the truth about her father. Records are much more accessible in Greece and Bulgaria in the 21st century, now that communism has disappeared.
The northern region of Greece where Hassan was born was called Xnathi. It is not far from the city of Thessaloniki. It was under Ottoman control in 1920, then came under Greek control after the fall of the Ottoman dynasty in 1923. In the 1940's Bulgaria invaded Xanthi and made it part of the communist state.
Hassan was drafted into the Bulgarian army during WW2. He later stole some siphon bottles and some money and was sentenced to 3 years in jail. He was paroled after 1 year and 10 months.
He met a women named Alice, married her in October 1946 and she gave birth to Hassan's son in December 1946. Alice died 3 days later of complications. The boy died a few months later in 1946. Had he survived, this boy would have been Rita's half brother. Rita and her family had no idea that their father has previously been married. He seldom spoke about his life in Greece before he came to America in 1949.
After Alice and his son both died, Hassan had nothing to live for so he moved to the city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria, and became a "party animal". He made contacts with various foreigners including a secretary from the Turkish consulate. He was put under surveillance by the Bulgarian security services and later picked up and sentenced to a labour camp in 1947. In 1948 he escaped from the camp and was able to make his way to the USA. He arrived in the USA in May 1949.
He later changed his name to Alan Wilson - a completely American (Anglicized name). Apparently the name Wilson comes from the street the family lived on.
Hassan was listed as an Enemy of the State in Bulgaria in 1973. He died around 2010.
Rita Wilson was born in 1958. Her original birth name is Margarita Ibrahimoff.
She married Actor Tom Hanks in 1988 and they have 2 children.
Rita Wilson - IMDB
Ritas Wilson has always said she is of Greek Ancestry. But how does one have Greek ancestry with a name like Wilson?
It turns out that Rita's father's name was originally Hassan Ibrahimoff. He was born in Northern Greece in 1920 and he was actually a Muslim, not a Greek Orthodox christian. This was because this was one of the last areas still under Ottoman control before the Ottoman dynasty was overthrown by Kemal Ataturk in 1923.
Rita's father always refused to talk about his life back in Greece when he was a young man. While he had mentioned serving a short time in a labour camp, Rita had no idea if this was true and she wondered why he would he have even been in a labour camp in the first place.
So in this episode of WDYTYA, Rita wanted to find out the truth about her father. Records are much more accessible in Greece and Bulgaria in the 21st century, now that communism has disappeared.
The northern region of Greece where Hassan was born was called Xnathi. It is not far from the city of Thessaloniki. It was under Ottoman control in 1920, then came under Greek control after the fall of the Ottoman dynasty in 1923. In the 1940's Bulgaria invaded Xanthi and made it part of the communist state.
Hassan was drafted into the Bulgarian army during WW2. He later stole some siphon bottles and some money and was sentenced to 3 years in jail. He was paroled after 1 year and 10 months.
He met a women named Alice, married her in October 1946 and she gave birth to Hassan's son in December 1946. Alice died 3 days later of complications. The boy died a few months later in 1946. Had he survived, this boy would have been Rita's half brother. Rita and her family had no idea that their father has previously been married. He seldom spoke about his life in Greece before he came to America in 1949.
After Alice and his son both died, Hassan had nothing to live for so he moved to the city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria, and became a "party animal". He made contacts with various foreigners including a secretary from the Turkish consulate. He was put under surveillance by the Bulgarian security services and later picked up and sentenced to a labour camp in 1947. In 1948 he escaped from the camp and was able to make his way to the USA. He arrived in the USA in May 1949.
He later changed his name to Alan Wilson - a completely American (Anglicized name). Apparently the name Wilson comes from the street the family lived on.
Hassan was listed as an Enemy of the State in Bulgaria in 1973. He died around 2010.
Rita Wilson was born in 1958. Her original birth name is Margarita Ibrahimoff.
She married Actor Tom Hanks in 1988 and they have 2 children.
Rita Wilson - IMDB
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Trying a new country - Denmark
Last month I mentioned my aunt who died in January.
She was married to Eric - born in New Zealand - whose parents were from Denmark. Since I have never done any genealogical research in any country outside of the UK and Canada, I decided to give Denmark a try.
So this week I posted a request on Rootschat about Eric's parents and his brother, Paul. Eric's parents names were Christian and Anna Lundqvist.
I got back some useful information about Paul and Christian and even Christian's brother Carl.
Yesterday my father told me that he remembers meeting Eric's parents several times between 1945 (when Eric married my Aunt Dorothy) and 1953 when Christian died.
Christian and Anna Lundqvist and their son Paul, immigrated from Denmark to NZ in 1911. But Christian's older brother Carl Lundqvist (and his wife Olga) immigrated from Denmark to NZ in 1908 - so that Christian had family to meet him in the strange new country.
Its hard going because I don't know the Danish language at all. But I will persevere. And I will keep you updated.
She was married to Eric - born in New Zealand - whose parents were from Denmark. Since I have never done any genealogical research in any country outside of the UK and Canada, I decided to give Denmark a try.
So this week I posted a request on Rootschat about Eric's parents and his brother, Paul. Eric's parents names were Christian and Anna Lundqvist.
I got back some useful information about Paul and Christian and even Christian's brother Carl.
Yesterday my father told me that he remembers meeting Eric's parents several times between 1945 (when Eric married my Aunt Dorothy) and 1953 when Christian died.
Christian and Anna Lundqvist and their son Paul, immigrated from Denmark to NZ in 1911. But Christian's older brother Carl Lundqvist (and his wife Olga) immigrated from Denmark to NZ in 1908 - so that Christian had family to meet him in the strange new country.
Its hard going because I don't know the Danish language at all. But I will persevere. And I will keep you updated.
Friday, March 23, 2012
WDYTYA - Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt is one of my most favourite actresses. I loved her in Twister and in Mad About You.
I really enjoyed her episode on Who Do You Think You Are that I have just finished watching. This episode idealises the fact that in American you really could make your dream come true.
In this episode Helen started her trip trying to find out more of her fathers family. Not much was known mostly because her paternal grandmother Helen Roberts was killed by a drunk driver when Helen's father was just a boy.
So Gordon Hunt (Helen's father) grew up not knowing that his great grandfather was an importer and seller of sugar in Portland Maine and that his great grandmother was heavily involved with the WTCU.
The WTCU - Womens Christian Temperance Union was an anti-alcohol organisation which strived to stop the sale of alcohol and prevent the rampant physical abuse of women of their drunk spouses. This later grew into the suffragette movement and thus women began campaigning for the right to vote.
Helen's Great Great Grandmother - Augusta Hunt - was a major force in this movement in Portland Maine from the 1870s right up until the 19th amendment was finally passed in 1920.
Helen's other great great grandfather - William Scholle (Helen Roberts grandfather) was a Jew from Bavaria in Germany. He set up a clothing store in New York City but soon arrived in San Francisco in 1848 after gold was discovered in 1847. He didn't try to go digging for gold. Instead he used his skills to support those who wanted to look for gold.
He set up another clothing store in San Francisco and eventually became a very wealthy man. He even helped to purchase the Nevada Bank - which later became the Wells Fargo Bank. The Wells Fargo Bank is still in existence today.
I really enjoyed her episode on Who Do You Think You Are that I have just finished watching. This episode idealises the fact that in American you really could make your dream come true.
In this episode Helen started her trip trying to find out more of her fathers family. Not much was known mostly because her paternal grandmother Helen Roberts was killed by a drunk driver when Helen's father was just a boy.
So Gordon Hunt (Helen's father) grew up not knowing that his great grandfather was an importer and seller of sugar in Portland Maine and that his great grandmother was heavily involved with the WTCU.
The WTCU - Womens Christian Temperance Union was an anti-alcohol organisation which strived to stop the sale of alcohol and prevent the rampant physical abuse of women of their drunk spouses. This later grew into the suffragette movement and thus women began campaigning for the right to vote.
Helen's Great Great Grandmother - Augusta Hunt - was a major force in this movement in Portland Maine from the 1870s right up until the 19th amendment was finally passed in 1920.
Helen's other great great grandfather - William Scholle (Helen Roberts grandfather) was a Jew from Bavaria in Germany. He set up a clothing store in New York City but soon arrived in San Francisco in 1848 after gold was discovered in 1847. He didn't try to go digging for gold. Instead he used his skills to support those who wanted to look for gold.
He set up another clothing store in San Francisco and eventually became a very wealthy man. He even helped to purchase the Nevada Bank - which later became the Wells Fargo Bank. The Wells Fargo Bank is still in existence today.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Winder Family - If only genealogy was this easy
If only genealogy was this easy.
In the space of just 2 weeks I have a (more or less) full Winder Family tree all the way back to the County of Kent in England in the early 1500s. This Winder family tree has been researched by others and is available to me because of the Internet.
If there were no Internet, I can assure you I would still be stuck in Australia, trying to find out who John James Winder's parents were...
I even found a connection to a Winder family in Utah. I have a 7th cousin who is an American Mormon. His family have been in Utah since the early 1800s. Like me, these American Winders are also descended from William Winder and Suzanne Henden.
I would like to say thank you to Geoff Moss from Christchurch in New Zealand who was extremely helpful to me in finding my Winder family. The GEDCOM he sent me was very nicely detailed.
While Geoff is not a direct descendent of the Winders, his connection is by marriage and he has Winder cousins. His grandfathers sister married my grandfathers brother.
Oh and about the Henden name? That comes from Sir Edward Henden and his nephew Sir John Henden of Kent - in the 1600s. John was the High Sheriff of Kent in the year 1646.
In the space of just 2 weeks I have a (more or less) full Winder Family tree all the way back to the County of Kent in England in the early 1500s. This Winder family tree has been researched by others and is available to me because of the Internet.
If there were no Internet, I can assure you I would still be stuck in Australia, trying to find out who John James Winder's parents were...
I even found a connection to a Winder family in Utah. I have a 7th cousin who is an American Mormon. His family have been in Utah since the early 1800s. Like me, these American Winders are also descended from William Winder and Suzanne Henden.
I would like to say thank you to Geoff Moss from Christchurch in New Zealand who was extremely helpful to me in finding my Winder family. The GEDCOM he sent me was very nicely detailed.
While Geoff is not a direct descendent of the Winders, his connection is by marriage and he has Winder cousins. His grandfathers sister married my grandfathers brother.
Oh and about the Henden name? That comes from Sir Edward Henden and his nephew Sir John Henden of Kent - in the 1600s. John was the High Sheriff of Kent in the year 1646.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Winder Family Genealogy - I hit the jackpot
WOW
I posted 2 queries on the Rootschat forum and within 48 hours I had so much stuff pouring back in, I had to close down the threads.
That's the thing about the Genealogical community. They LOVE the challenge of hunting for new information. As long as you give accurate dates, names and places in your question, they will find out for you.
I even got a link to an Ancestry Tree online which means someone else has already traced this Winder family tree back to Kent, in England. But the spouses are not done yet, so I guess I can do those families.
And KENT is a new county for me. So far all my family research has been in Devon and Cornwall (The West Country) and Scotland.
And it is also convoluted family - as one person mentioned. Because they insisted on using the same name over and over again - Henden or Hendon. I even found 2 sons both named William Henden in the same family. One was called William and the other was called Henden. I need to find out where that name came from and why they kept using it.
I posted 2 queries on the Rootschat forum and within 48 hours I had so much stuff pouring back in, I had to close down the threads.
That's the thing about the Genealogical community. They LOVE the challenge of hunting for new information. As long as you give accurate dates, names and places in your question, they will find out for you.
I even got a link to an Ancestry Tree online which means someone else has already traced this Winder family tree back to Kent, in England. But the spouses are not done yet, so I guess I can do those families.
And KENT is a new county for me. So far all my family research has been in Devon and Cornwall (The West Country) and Scotland.
And it is also convoluted family - as one person mentioned. Because they insisted on using the same name over and over again - Henden or Hendon. I even found 2 sons both named William Henden in the same family. One was called William and the other was called Henden. I need to find out where that name came from and why they kept using it.