Author: EvaAnne

What I Learned about Family History from Library Science

row of books in shelf

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I recently graduated with a degree in Library and Information Science. I’ve had about six months of free time to unwind, put away my school papers, and reflect on what I’ve learned the past three years. Although most of my courses were not directly related to genealogy or family history, I realized that much of the knowledge that I gained in the library field is also applicable to family history. I recently read an older post from Amy Coffin at The We Tree Genealogy Blog, and I was inspired to write this post. So, what did I learn about family history while in library school? Continue reading “What I Learned about Family History from Library Science” →

Where is Conrad August? (an update)

In a previous post, I described my search for my great-grandfather’s brother Conrad August Weil. I have recently returned from my brief research trip to Pittsburgh, and I wanted to share some exciting findings!

When I went to Pittsburgh, one of my primary goals was to find out of the Conrad Weil who married Evelyn Simon was the same Conrad Weil Jr. from my family. The short answer is, yes, he is! My next question was, where did he go after that? (I still don’t know!)  Continue reading “Where is Conrad August? (an update)” →

Where is Conrad August?

One of my genealogical mysteries is the brother of my great-grandfather George Weil. The brother’s name is Conrad August Weil, born in 1895 in Pittsburgh. He grew up with his siblings, attended Concordia Orphans’ Home (read more about this orphanage in this post), and then disappears. Here’s a timeline of everything that I know about his life: Continue reading “Where is Conrad August?” →

Letters from a Kaiser in the Great War

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Glenn Kaiser, 1917-1919, in his Army uniform.

In celebration of my 50th blog post, and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I, I have a very special announcement! In a previous post, I introduced my great-grandfather Glenn Kaiser, who served in the American Army during World War I. During 1918-1919, he was stationed in France and Germany along the front lines. Like many soldiers at the front, he sent frequent letters home to his family. I am currently scanning and transcribing some of the surviving letters that he sent home during his time abroad. I’ll be sharing these letters on a special section on my blog, starting today! The first batch of letters include some of his letters from training before he was sent overseas.

As a special preview of the project, here’s a letter from Glenn Kaiser to his mother, Jennie Holbrook, written 100 years ago today. Continue reading “Letters from a Kaiser in the Great War” →

Two Brothers Operate Tinning Shop

Kaiser_generations_AndrewFloydGlenn
In the Kaiser family tree, the most common occupation is a tinsmith. At least three generations worked in the trade! Tinsmiths, later called sheet metal workers, worked with any kind of light metals, and typically repaired things like stoves, furnaces, roofing, gutters, and more. This post focuses on the Kaiser Brothers Sheet Metal business in DeKalb, Illinois. Kaiser Brothers was owned by my great-grandfather Glenn Kaiser and his brother Floyd. They operated a successful tinning and sheet metal business from about 1923-1935. This is a story of that local business!

Continue reading “Two Brothers Operate Tinning Shop” →