My dad took a DNA test over Thanksgiving. I mailed it out the next day but it sat in a post office for about 2 weeks before finally shipping out to Texas (no idea what was happening there). The results were originally said to be done between today and the 21st. I logged in today, extremely excited, and was greeted by this.
Patience is being forced upon me.
So I’ll spend my time in educational pursuits. Specifically diving into the coursework for this NGS course: Continuing Genealogical Studies: Genetic Genealogy, Autosomal DNA
Roxborough Park in Colorado – picture taken by Nichelle Barra, September 2015
I can’t believe it’s already time for another year in review! If you’re curious, here are my previous years in review: 2014, 2013. I’m not sure if GeniAus will be doing another year in review post but this is where I got the idea: “Accentuate the Positive 2015 Geneameme”
1. An elusive ancestor I found was – well, not yet found. More that I have more information. This is my Hunt-For-John-Witherell by looking at his children (the list came from a Bible from one of them). So far… the hunt hasn’t gone too well. As far as the internet has helped anyway. It’s a record point where not much would be online and I’d need to go to the source (New York in this case) and that part will have to wait a bit.
2. An important vital record I found was – John Stalmacher’s naturalization records! I am still hunting for his immigration passenger list. The Baltimore listings aren’t as easy to search as Ellis Island records.
3. My 2015 blog post that I was particularly proud of was – probably about my DNA connection. It was my first connection (meaning we have replied back and forth to each other) on any DNA connections. My grandparents had just recently been tested as well and their results helped me to narrow down the search. I still haven’t found the connection yet though…
4. My 2015 blog post that received a large number of hits or comments was – Tuesday’s Tip: Use a Research Plan – that one got nearly 400 views, my best yet!
5. A social media tool I enjoyed using for genealogy was – Facebook – I use this now more for business than personal use
6. A genealogy course from which I learned something new was – Besides ProGen (which isn’t finished yet), I would say the Continuing Genealogical Studies: Genetic Genealogy, the Basics.
7. I am proud of the presentation I gave at/to – I didn’t reach my goal of 10 for this year, but I did a presentation for a family business in the area. It was awesome! I was a bit nervous before hand because this was the first group I presented to that wasn’t gathered for a genealogical reason. However, the response was wonderful and I had a great time!
8. A genealogy book that taught me something new was – This is a current read actually but I am hoping to learn a lot: Genetic Genealogy: The Basics and Beyond by Emily D. Aulicino. Review coming once I finish!
9. A great repository/archive/library I visited was – I got the chance to visit Denver’s genealogy library in downtown Denver. It was great! I even got a bit of research in on my non-research vacation. I also got the chance to visit the local history library of Boulder, Colorado and chat with other researchers. That was a great time!
10. Professional genealogy items/goals I achieved –
Happy New Year everyone!
In March of this year, I mentioned that I was sending out for my 2x great-grandfather’s naturalization records to the USCIS. I discussed how that works where you first had to have them search the index for the name if you didn’t have a record number for them, which I did not.
Then about the end of July, I received a letter in the mail stating that the record did exist, some information in it, and how to get the full document. I, of course, wanted the whole thing!
FINALLY – it came!! I nearly did a dance in my driveway! It took me about six months to get this information!
There was a delay in the records (I had been checking up on them through the website) because a Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act request had to be sent out. There was a letter in with the copies of the records that stated that I received two pages in their entirety and one page released in part (you can see the white blank space on the petition for naturalization). That information had to deal with where the two witnesses to the petition for naturalization lived so it was likely a privacy issue. I’m not sure how common that is when requesting these records.
There were three documents that came in the mail (oddly, it came in the mail – when I requested the information I asked for it to be emailed to me):
The Declaration of Intention (dated 18 November 1920)
The Petition for Naturalization (dated 27 November 1922)
And the Certificate of Naturalization (dated 14 June 1923)
I find it interesting that in that three year span, the town John Stalmacher was born in went from Russian territory to Polish territory. In his initial declaration, he said he was born in Suwalki, Russia and he it was his “…intention to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to… The Republic of _____” that part is too faded to read but there is a stamp that reads “Russia or any independent state within the bounds of the former Russian Empire.”((“Declaration of Intention,” John Michael Stalmacher, Citizenship File No. C1759741; Naturalization Certificate Files, 27 September 1906 – 31 March 1956, Historical Records Series, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Washington, D.C.))
By the petition in 1922, he states he was born in Suwalki Russia and renounces allegiance to the Republic of Poland.((“Petition for Naturalization,” John Michael Stalmacher, Citizenship File No. C1759741; Naturalization Certificate Files, 27 September 1906 – 31 March 1956, Historical Records Series, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Washington, D.C.)) I’ll need to do more research on the town but I can map it out and see that it is on the eastern border of what is now Poland, close to Lithuania. Wikipedia has some information too but I would like to verify it. It does state that after 1915, the area was no longer Polish, which does mean that when John Stalmacher was born in 1891, he was born (technically) in Russia. Weirdly though, it wasn’t part of Russia at the time of his declaration (at least according to Wikipedia). But I do want to read more about that to see what exactly was happening in that area.
Besides that fun tidbit (I have a hometown now!), there is also some fun information on what he looked like. He had a fair complexion, was 5 foot 4 inches (only an inch taller than me!), had brown hair and blue eyes. Neat information!((“Declaration of Intention,” John Michael Stalmacher, Citizenship File No. C1759741.))
I also have a where and when he entered the U.S.!
He came in to Baltimore by the first part of July in 1905. Sadly there isn’t a ship named. Which means I’ll have to search for all ships that left Bremen, Germany and arrived in Baltimore that left on the 18th of June and arrived in Baltimore on the 2nd of July.((“Petition for Naturalization,” John Michael Stalmacher, Citizenship File No. C1759741.))
He would have only been 14 at the time and it’s likely that his younger brother, August, who would have been 10 at the time, was with him. Was it likely that the two came to America by themselves? I would think not but until I find his passenger list, I’m not positive on if their parents (or other older relatives) were with them.
So in the end, it took about 6 months from the beginning to the end of this project. I did get some answers to some questions (like his birth city, which can explain the switching between Poland and Russia as a birthplace) but now I’m left with more questions. That’s always the case though, isn’t it?
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