What's Your Hurdle?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cheryle Hoover Davis on July 15, 2009 at 6:04am

I'm researching my husband's Davis families.

His father was a Davis, all from Texas/Oklahoma...his mother was a Davis (not related-from the line of Rev. William Davis, the Quaker)...and his g-grandmother was a Davis (again, not related-from the North Carolina Davis', Revolutionary War patriots).

On top of all those Davis lines, I have one in my OWN family tree...again, not related! This line of Davis' hail back to Ohio/Kentucky and tie in with my DeCoursey family.

Whew! Four different Davis lines...!

Permalink Reply by Greta Koehl on July 28, 2009 at 4:38pm

My biggest problem is switching research techniques and resources. My side is mostly in the southern states, original immigrants from the British Isles, no immigrants later than the 18th century. My husband's side is NY, NJ, Canada, Italian,Romanian Jewish, and German, all immigrated from the mid-19th century to the early 20th. The names are mangled in various ways on the census and other documents. I've still managed to push a couple of lines back, but that's about all. One family I'm having no luck with are the Fichtelmanns, NY/Long Island area.

Permalink Reply by Kate Steere on August 20, 2009 at 8:18am

Hi Tara-
My hurdles are on my FIL's side, I'm working the Lavelle and Tietjen lines, since his Green side has been 'done'.

Tara, why don't you post where you've looked for your in-laws' name on another discussion, maybe we can try to help?

:)
we DILs need to stick togerther, LOL

Kate

Permalink Reply by Kate Steere on September 11, 2009 at 8:09pm

Hi Debbie-

Our Tietjens, as far as we know were Claus(Charles) and Martha(Meta/Mattie) Tietjen. We know that Claus and their children are buried in All Faiths Cemetery in NY. We don't know what happened to Martha, we believe she married a Herman Langenhop(Langenhaupt) circa 1894-95.

We believe Claus and Martha were from Germany, but on the 1900 census, when she is married to Langenhaupt, it indicates she was born in NY, so there is no immigration year listed. Claus died in 1890.
We don't know who Claus' parents were as haven't found a death record for him yet.

We found Charles, Mattie and their daughter Martha "Teachen' in Brooklyn in 1880. They had several children who died in childhood, only Martha who married James S Cox and died of TB in 1913, and her sister Louise who 'married' John Henry Lavelle and died of TB in 1912, age 33. She was living with the Cox family shortly before her death, at age 28.

William A Lavelle, our WIld West Actor is the furthest back we can go, He was born circa 1846-1852
possibly in PA, he died in March 1924, he married twice, and had one son that we know of is John Henry Lavelle. William is never found with John Henry or John Henry's mother, Clara Erickson Lavelle, who claimed to be married on the 1900 census, then widowed in 1920 and 1930. We have no record of their marriage, which I would assume happened between 1884-1887. John Henry was Nov.. 11, 1887, on his birth record, he is listed as William Lavelle, but at some point his name is changed to John Henry, his birth record is the only document that states his name as William. We have William's, Clara's and John Henry's death records.

Kate

Permalink Reply by Stacey Lawson on August 24, 2009 at 11:47am

Researching my in-laws so far has been a nightmare!! My husbands parents died when he was very young and he was raised by his grandparents. They are now deceased. He has not had any contact with his fathers side of the family since he was very young. I've only been able to trace his mothers side to his great grandparents and his great-grandfather was left on the doorstep of a orphanage so that is a dead end! And he & his wife were married "somewhere down south" so I have not even been able to find her maiden name.Ehhhh...... :)

Permalink Reply by Rachel Vienneau Doherty on September 11, 2009 at 1:18pm

I've been on a 37 yr. search for the origins of my father-in-law. Thought I was successfull when I recd. a baptismal certificate that matched the records we had after he & his wife(mom-in-law) passed on. However, it was accompanied by a burial certificate also......I believe I know where the answers lie but it is at the Bishop's University in Lennoxville/Sherbrooke, P.Q., and I'm too far away ( a day's drive) and don't think I cud afford the cost of hiring a genealogist up there.

Permalink Reply by Mary Lou Benjamin on October 28, 2009 at 11:15am

For Greta-
My maternal grandmother was Hazel Fichtelmann. And the family lived in Brooklyn, NY. The list given below by Debbie Ann is my family and that of my ancestor's brother. My great-grandfather was Frederick Fichtelmann and his wife was Annie Jennett aka "Jennie" Willard, daughter of Danish sea captain Andrew Willard. Frederick had several brothers, one Johann August aka "John A." Fichtelmann who lived mainly in NYC instead of Brooklyn, NY like his brother. They were both shoemakers by trade and started out in business together. Frederick Fichtelmann's father, our immigrant ancestor was also named Frederick Fichtelmann and his wife was Catherine Roth. My Fichtelmann family came from Linden, Bavaria c. early 1850. The majority of the family is buried in Greenwood cemetery. If you can give me some specific names along with any more information you have, I may be able to identify the individuals from my own research. Fichtelmann is NOT a very common name, though some dropped the last "n" in later years. Do you have any idea how long they have been in the US?? I, myself grew up on "Long Island." Many folks consider Brooklyn part of LI.

Permalink Reply by Greta Koehl on October 23, 2010 at 7:18pm

Hi Mary Lou - Thank you for your reply; we may have corresponded by e-mail. Christine Fichtelmann, born around 1882 in New York, was my husband's great-grandmother. She married Harry Julius Koehl in around 1898 and they lived in Brooklyn. Their children were Julius, Harry, Harold, Dorothy, Howard Vincent, and Charles. The two likeliest candidates for her father appear to be Frederick and Johann August, but I haven't been able to turn up a document linking her to either (have not been able to do any on-site research in New York). I had mentioned the Long Island area because there was apparently a family farm out there at some point and I had gotten the impression it came in through the Fichtelmann side.