Catherine, it was Obersilesia or I guess just Silesia. It was on the German-Polish border that kept changing. The Schades were Catholic. They were pretty staunch in the faith. I just know of my great-grandfather who came. Don't know who was before him, those were left behind in Konigshutte.
Catherine Davis --- Frederick and Peter are the same person, his full name is Frederick Peter Sondregger.
Thank you for confirming the census records --- they are the same I found except for the 1910 which for some reason I missed. And, thank you for your assistance the information is very helpful. As usual in my experience the problem is getting back across the pond to Austria or Germany
To John Bhend - I suggest you try marriage and baptism records from here in the U.S. for your ancestors as a source of the city/village they came from. Catholic church records I have requested from U.S. dioceses that were for the late 1800s to the early 1900s sometimes asked where immigrants originally lived (sometimes called "ex loco" in the records) if they were witnesses to marriages or godparents at baptisms. Early naturalizations often only show the country of origin, while those from later years (particularly after 1926) had much more information. Finally, if any ancestors were still "aliens" in 1940, they would have had to complete an Alien Registration Form that has 2 pages of detailed information (my Slovak grandmother who was born in 1865 and immigrated in 1906 had to complete one).
Bob, can you get to the front pages of the book? There might be explanations of abbreviations before the text begins. I would guess the numbers under source refer to a list that should also be in the book somewhere that will tell you where the data came from. This looks like an index and since the words are all in English, I would guess it is a translation.
Researching surname Rhodes/Rodes/Rhoads. John Rhodes supposedly born in Stuttgart Germany around 1815. Although some of the Ancestry.com posts say he was born around 1798. John lived in Mississippi and Arkansas and Tennessee. He was married to Mary Amanda or Elizabeth Pierce/Pearce/Piercy. Thanks in advance. Tina
I am looking for where my grandfather came from in Germany. I have the passinger list he is on, his naturlation papers, a MO birth cert. after he moved here, and marriage and death certs. None of them show place of birth as anything but Germany. His father died in Germany and his brother, Wm and 3 of his sisters came over in 1880 and he and his mother and 3 sisters came over in 1884. His name was Heinrich Frederich Wilhelm Nagel, (Henry W. Nagel). His father was Ernst (no other information) His mother was Elizabeth. They all settled in Washington county, IL in the Okawvill area. His sisters married Wernecke, Lehde, Jollenbech, and others. Also related to the Frederking family.
Sherry - this link shows results for a search on FamilySearch.org for your grandfather's full name plus the names of his parents. If you know if they were Protestant or Catholic you can eliminate some of the records.
Going down the list, this might be your grandfather. Johann was a "Christian name" that German put first in a child's name, followed by the name by which they actually were called. The full name of this person would be Johann Christian Fredrich Heinrich Nagel.
My ancesters were descended from Johann Conrad Lechleitner who emigrated to Frederick, Maryland eventually changed the spelling of the name to Leckliter. They migrated through the midwest and ended up in Montana, Washington, and California.
I have a Rhoads family as well, however mine came much earlier. You might want to check the last name Roth in Germany as that is how mine was spelled in Germany. Roth is pronounced Rodt and can be very well spelled by English speakers as the variations you gave.
Requesting some assistance on translation. I have five German Passports from what appears to be 1887 all in the "Hoschler" family. Each one has three hand written pages for entries. Then there are the usual printed passages; "Reise-Pass" etc... I don't speak German, but if it were possible for anyone that does, I could scan these documents and send them to the interested party for translation. I have an German-English Dictionary, but I'm still not certain about some words. I want it to be accurate. Would appreciate any response. Thanks.
Then you might try using the people search on familysearch.org for specific names in which you are interested. You probably will not see any actual records but the transcription will tell you a film number where an actual record is located and you can then rent the film from your local Family History Center, usually connected to a church of the Latter Day Saints but open to all.
If your family is not listed there, it may just mean that the film has not been transcribed yet, so try clicking on "catalog" at the top of the familysearch homepage, then look for Berlin, Germany. You should get a listing of records available on microfilm which you can rent at the FHC.
geneanet.org is a European site where persons may post their family trees. It has both a free and subscription service. The free service is a bit cumbersome since you can only search by surname and then have to go through each record looking to see if anyone has posted information on your family, but it's doable.
Lisa, if the directory is pre-1930s, the word is probably schlosser meaning locksmith. In old German handwriting, the lower case s looks like a modern English f. Germany did not adopt the Roman alphabet that we use until Hitler decided to do so.
I am still searching for GG Grandfather, Mathew Nesensohn. He is the only parent named on my G Grandmother Wilhelmina's Death Cir. cant find her either until 1900 US Fed. Census married to my G. Grandfather Samuel Oliver Holmes, in Oakland, California. any help would be greatly appreciated.
From the 1930 census for Lincoln, Illinois, Dorothy Louise's parents were Christian E. and Leta Franz. Info from that census below. If you have access to ancestry.com, there are several census records and WWI and WWII registrations for Christian.
1930:
Christian E. Franz, 43 age at marriage 22, b. MO, father b. Germany,mother b. Illinois, laborer in building/construction
Leta Franz, 38, age at marriage 18, she and parents all b. Ill
William A., 18, laborer in dairy
Catherine 13
Myrna C. 11
Elmer E. 8
Betty J. 6
Dorothy L. 7
Edward C. 8/12
Children all are indicated as born in Illinois and both of their parents are indicated as born in IL which contradicts the MO bp of Christian's listing, but his other records also indicate he was born in MO.
My earliest known ancestor is Charles William MARTIN born about 1784 in Magdeburg, Prussia now Germany. Charles, believed to be of black African descent, came to England via France in 1800 and joined the British navy. He served on HMS ACHILLE at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Married Priscilla SHERKEY in 1813. Following his discharge fron the navy in 1815, he settled in Priscilla's birthplace of Frome, Somersetshire, England. Looking to trace earlier ancestry by conventional genealogy and Y-DNA testing.
Prussian Martin, it looks like Magdeburg is a large town with several parishes, the church records for many of which are available on microfilm via Family History Centers. Check out familysearch.org, click on catalog, and enter Magdeburg, Germany for details.
To Susan Teresa Holmes: a check of FamilySearch.org revealed over 2000 entries that could be "Matthew Nesensohn." Without further dates, etc., it's difficult to pare them down. If you know Wilhemina was born in 1855 in Germany, you can narrow down this list.
I found my relatives on census and they emigrated 1870s from Poznan/Posen. I haven't begun to figure out how to search, so I thought I would ask here. Any help is appreciated. Kat
@Kathryn Ellis: familysearch.org has lots of records (I have a friend who's ancestors were from there too) also just google "Poznan genealogy databases" or "Poznan genealogy" I found lots that way myself when helping others. Rootsweb is bound to have something too. Check forums and message boards also they can be a great help. Don't know if you've already tried any of that, but....
Catherine Davis - many thanks for the advice. I recently came into possession of a family photograph (not my copyright so cannot post on the internet, etc) and letter dated 1865 which clearly reveals my black African ancestry whereas original Y-DNA results says otherwise. I'm eagerly awaiting further Y-DNA results!
I am new to this group. Hello to all.
I am researching Gearharts in Pa. And Md., trying to find where my Garheart,
Gearhart family originated.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Peggy
Peggy Ruley--have you worked backwards from yourself, through all the censuses, birth, marriage, and death records available in this country? Checked other people's family trees on ancestry.com, geneanet, rootsweb, etc. for hints? Looked for local history books from the area where they settled here? Naturalization records?
Peggy Ruley - also remember that the spelling of surnames changed a lot in the records. Many people were illiterate and didn't know how to spell their names, while those who entered the data wrote down the names as they heard them. The original spelling of your ancestor's surname might have been Gerhardt.
Thanks, Catherine D. I have been searching for over a year now and have been
A member of Ancestry. Com during this time, have seen thousands of Gearharts,
Etc., found about sixteen different spellings of the name, have looked all through
Pa. Listings, and Washington, Frederick, Carroll, and Howard Cos. in Md.
Those are all the places where my family would have been living.
I cannot go back any further than my great grandfather, Henry A. Garheart, who
Changed his name from Gearhart to Garheart. He was born in 1844, listed in
Military records as being born in Carroll Co., Md.
We could have been Garhardts, Gerhardts, or Gierharts, as three of the names
I have found of first settlers here.
It is a total brick wall, as there is nothing to be found of him before the Civil War.
Peggy
Peggy Ruley - have you checked Civil War Pension Records on Fold 3? Have you checked FamilySearch.org for films? Have you checked your local genealogy library section for books and genealogy magazines (marriage, birth, death transcriptions)? Only about 10% of all records are on the Internet. You still have to spend time doing research the "old-fashioned" way.
I have found several Gerhardt and Gerhart (one Gearhart) families in my searches through Pennsylvania German areas prior to Civil War era. My research is centered in Montgomery, Berks, Lehigh and Northampton Counties but most of my Gerharts are in Montgomery County. I have had some good luck in county history books where the descendants are noted and short family histories are included. I would see if any of yours were noted in Maryland county histories as well.
Thanks, Barbara G. And Marianne S.----One of the Gearharts I am trying to follow is listed as
Being from Montgomery Co., Pa., but do not know where. He is Miles Gearhart
Born 1837. He was part of 6th Md. Union Infantry in war. I also belong to Fold3,
And have looked at all their records on there. If you ever see his name, please
Let me know.
I guess I will have to search in person, starting in Md.
Peggy, a family tree of Janelle Deelstra on ancestry has Henry dying in Baltimore in 1924. I found his death certificate number, D-86920 at http://www.mdvitalrec.net/cfm/index.cfm . Do you already have his death record? If not, you might want to order it via that website; it might give the names of his parents.
Also so found the identifying information for an 1892 insolvency case of Henry A. Garhart. I suspect this might only be available in person at the Maryland State Archives, but if you do head to Maryland, it's another item to look for. http://www.carr.org/ccgs/documents/Insolvencies.pdf
Does your Miles Gearhart have any connection in 1885 with West Friendship, Maryland? I found a historical document on Genealogybank that lists a Miles Gearhart in 1885 as working for the post office contracted to carry the mail between West Friendship and Sykesville, Maryland. If you wish a copy, let me know.
Catherine---------I so appreciate your help. I do know of his death date and burial
Site and marriage info. But, I do not have copy of death certificate, so I will start
From there. Thanks again for looking this up.
Peggy
I found a great many other obituaries and a marriage notice of Gearhart family members in both Pennsylvania and Maryland newspapers covering at least 1860-1920 on genealogybank.
Hi Barbara--------I am subscribed to GenealogyBank recently. Where on the website did
You find this about the mail delivery?
He is living in West Friendship in the 1910 census, that I know of.
I entered his name on the general search page as Miles Gearhart and it came up under the historical documents tab. If you have problems with it, I can send it to you. I also located a death notice for another West Friendship Gearhart by limiting the search to Pennsylvania and Maryland and using only the Gearhart last name in the search.
Thanks again, Barbara---------I found it. I also found the death notice for
Miles' son George Miles in 1914.
In reading that Miles was a reader of the Baltimore Sun for 60yrs., I know that
He had been living in Md. Since 1859, at least.
You and Catherine are obviously more experienced than I.
You are welcome. Experience comes with many attempts and countless failures. I have only been at this for a year but do it full time. I would keep looking in the genealogybank records. There were others besides Miles and George Miles's obits. I did find one article where Miles subscribed $50 for something but could not figure out the cause he was contributing to (think it was 1917 in the Sun). I have found that it is often worth doing a broad search and taking a look at what comes up. I agree with Catherine that the very best (and fastest) is to visit and gather the records but I am in a wheelchair and try to find what I can on the net first. Also, check the historical societies for counties where you have ancestors. Many have archives on line of probate records and more. I also like church records and have had great success in Pennsylvania with them.
I'd like to add to what Barbara has said. Experience comes not only with many attempts and countless failures but also with assistance from other people and a lot of luck. I've been doing genealogy for 10 years or so now and have had made people introduce me to different kinds of places to search. And, just to clarify, I don't think that visiting a place is necessarily the best way to do research, but I think it is a part of a thorough search if it is at all possible. The best research is to use any kind of source you can find, be it on the web, in a book, on microfilm, or whatever. In fact, I've found it most practical to do all the stuff you can from your home before you ever venture out. First, because it gives you a background to start from and also because some places will charge you by the hour or by the day to use their facilities. Even if the only place to find a document is at an archive, if that archive has an online index, copy down all the info you can before getting to the archive so you're not wasting your time there. Another trick I've used, particularly for church records on microfilm, is to make a spreadsheet of the names and as many approximate dates I'm looking for, then sort the spreadsheet by date so that I can go through the microfilm more or less in order, and not have to wind the film backwards and forwards so much.
Michelle McGee
Catherine, it was Obersilesia or I guess just Silesia. It was on the German-Polish border that kept changing. The Schades were Catholic. They were pretty staunch in the faith. I just know of my great-grandfather who came. Don't know who was before him, those were left behind in Konigshutte.
Feb 9, 2012
Michelle McGee
@Catherine-Thanks for the insight. Sorry for the broken sentences, someone is talking over my shoulder.
Feb 9, 2012
John C. Bhend
Catherine Davis --- Frederick and Peter are the same person, his full name is Frederick Peter Sondregger.
Thank you for confirming the census records --- they are the same I found except for the 1910 which for some reason I missed. And, thank you for your assistance the information is very helpful. As usual in my experience the problem is getting back across the pond to Austria or Germany
Feb 9, 2012
Marianne Szabo
Feb 9, 2012
Bob Mooney-Pa
Feb 10, 2012
Catherine Davis
Bob, can you get to the front pages of the book? There might be explanations of abbreviations before the text begins. I would guess the numbers under source refer to a list that should also be in the book somewhere that will tell you where the data came from. This looks like an index and since the words are all in English, I would guess it is a translation.
Feb 10, 2012
Tina Delaney Hogan
Mar 8, 2012
Sherry Nagel Thompson
I am looking for where my grandfather came from in Germany. I have the passinger list he is on, his naturlation papers, a MO birth cert. after he moved here, and marriage and death certs. None of them show place of birth as anything but Germany. His father died in Germany and his brother, Wm and 3 of his sisters came over in 1880 and he and his mother and 3 sisters came over in 1884. His name was Heinrich Frederich Wilhelm Nagel, (Henry W. Nagel). His father was Ernst (no other information) His mother was Elizabeth. They all settled in Washington county, IL in the Okawvill area. His sisters married Wernecke, Lehde, Jollenbech, and others. Also related to the Frederking family.
Mar 11, 2012
Marianne Szabo
Sherry - this link shows results for a search on FamilySearch.org for your grandfather's full name plus the names of his parents. If you know if they were Protestant or Catholic you can eliminate some of the records.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/records/index#count=20&quer...
Going down the list, this might be your grandfather. Johann was a "Christian name" that German put first in a child's name, followed by the name by which they actually were called. The full name of this person would be Johann Christian Fredrich Heinrich Nagel.
Mar 12, 2012
Shelley E Stoye
My ancesters were descended from Johann Conrad Lechleitner who emigrated to Frederick, Maryland eventually changed the spelling of the name to Leckliter. They migrated through the midwest and ended up in Montana, Washington, and California.
Mar 12, 2012
Ellen Healy
Bob, is that the book on sale today from Genealogical Publishing? I was looking at that.
Mar 12, 2012
Laressa Northrup
Attn: Tina Delaney Hogan
I have a Rhoads family as well, however mine came much earlier. You might want to check the last name Roth in Germany as that is how mine was spelled in Germany. Roth is pronounced Rodt and can be very well spelled by English speakers as the variations you gave.
Mar 16, 2012
Kim Kevin Callahan
Requesting some assistance on translation. I have five German Passports from what appears to be 1887 all in the "Hoschler" family. Each one has three hand written pages for entries. Then there are the usual printed passages; "Reise-Pass" etc... I don't speak German, but if it were possible for anyone that does, I could scan these documents and send them to the interested party for translation. I have an German-English Dictionary, but I'm still not certain about some words. I want it to be accurate. Would appreciate any response. Thanks.
Kim Callahan
Mar 20, 2012
Marianne Szabo
Check out these handwriting helps from Family Search:
https://www.familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/german-script-tu...
https://www.familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/reading-german-h...
https://www.familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/reading-german-h...
https://www.familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/reading-german-h...
I've found them to be very helpful in reading these records myself. Marianne
Mar 20, 2012
Lisa
need help with Berlin, Germany ancestory help!
Where to start??
Lisa
May 12, 2012
Catherine Davis
A good starting point for any German research is https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Germany#Getting_started_... .
Then you might try using the people search on familysearch.org for specific names in which you are interested. You probably will not see any actual records but the transcription will tell you a film number where an actual record is located and you can then rent the film from your local Family History Center, usually connected to a church of the Latter Day Saints but open to all.
If your family is not listed there, it may just mean that the film has not been transcribed yet, so try clicking on "catalog" at the top of the familysearch homepage, then look for Berlin, Germany. You should get a listing of records available on microfilm which you can rent at the FHC.
You can also check out http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~deuberst/
geneanet.org is a European site where persons may post their family trees. It has both a free and subscription service. The free service is a bit cumbersome since you can only search by surname and then have to go through each record looking to see if anyone has posted information on your family, but it's doable.
May 12, 2012
Lisa
1924%20radue%20germany%20large.psd
I have stumbled upon a German directory. I blew up the portion of my ancesters. Radue.
Carl, Schloffer, Lichtenbg., Maximillianftr, 23.
Above is Ferdinand, Schloffer, N 20 Bechliner Str, 6 II.
I believe Ferdinand is Carl's father. Does anyone know what Schloffer means??
May 13, 2012
Catherine Davis
Lisa, if the directory is pre-1930s, the word is probably schlosser meaning locksmith. In old German handwriting, the lower case s looks like a modern English f. Germany did not adopt the Roman alphabet that we use until Hitler decided to do so.
May 13, 2012
kevin lee vannoy
my dads mom is Dorothy Louise Franz. Her info is1926 to 1991, born in illinois, died in springfield, illinois, was married to Merton Upton Vannoy
Jun 11, 2012
Susan Teresa Holmes
I am still searching for GG Grandfather, Mathew Nesensohn. He is the only parent named on my G Grandmother Wilhelmina's Death Cir. cant find her either until 1900 US Fed. Census married to my G. Grandfather Samuel Oliver Holmes, in Oakland, California. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Jun 12, 2012
Susan Teresa Holmes
sorry, she was born in Germany in 1855
Jun 12, 2012
Catherine Davis
Kevin,
From the 1930 census for Lincoln, Illinois, Dorothy Louise's parents were Christian E. and Leta Franz. Info from that census below. If you have access to ancestry.com, there are several census records and WWI and WWII registrations for Christian.
1930:
Christian E. Franz, 43 age at marriage 22, b. MO, father b. Germany,mother b. Illinois, laborer in building/construction
Leta Franz, 38, age at marriage 18, she and parents all b. Ill
William A., 18, laborer in dairy
Catherine 13
Myrna C. 11
Elmer E. 8
Betty J. 6
Dorothy L. 7
Edward C. 8/12
Children all are indicated as born in Illinois and both of their parents are indicated as born in IL which contradicts the MO bp of Christian's listing, but his other records also indicate he was born in MO.
Jun 12, 2012
Randall Stackhouse
I am finding this interesting! Re German Script - check this out! http://www.google.ca/search?q=german+script&hl=en&prmd=imvn...
Jun 12, 2012
Prussian MARTIN
My earliest known ancestor is Charles William MARTIN born about 1784 in Magdeburg, Prussia now Germany. Charles, believed to be of black African descent, came to England via France in 1800 and joined the British navy. He served on HMS ACHILLE at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Married Priscilla SHERKEY in 1813. Following his discharge fron the navy in 1815, he settled in Priscilla's birthplace of Frome, Somersetshire, England. Looking to trace earlier ancestry by conventional genealogy and Y-DNA testing.
Jun 28, 2012
Catherine Davis
Prussian Martin, it looks like Magdeburg is a large town with several parishes, the church records for many of which are available on microfilm via Family History Centers. Check out familysearch.org, click on catalog, and enter Magdeburg, Germany for details.
Jun 28, 2012
Marianne Szabo
To Susan Teresa Holmes: a check of FamilySearch.org revealed over 2000 entries that could be "Matthew Nesensohn." Without further dates, etc., it's difficult to pare them down. If you know Wilhemina was born in 1855 in Germany, you can narrow down this list.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/records/index#count=20&quer...
Jun 28, 2012
Kathryn Ellis
Jun 28, 2012
Lisa A. (Thamm) Spegal
@Kathryn Ellis: familysearch.org has lots of records (I have a friend who's ancestors were from there too) also just google "Poznan genealogy databases" or "Poznan genealogy" I found lots that way myself when helping others. Rootsweb is bound to have something too. Check forums and message boards also they can be a great help. Don't know if you've already tried any of that, but....
Jun 28, 2012
Susan Teresa Holmes
Marianne Szabo Thank You for the info, I will certainly begin checking the list out.
Jun 28, 2012
Prussian MARTIN
Catherine Davis - many thanks for the advice. I recently came into possession of a family photograph (not my copyright so cannot post on the internet, etc) and letter dated 1865 which clearly reveals my black African ancestry whereas original Y-DNA results says otherwise. I'm eagerly awaiting further Y-DNA results!
Jun 29, 2012
Peggy Ruley
I am researching Gearharts in Pa. And Md., trying to find where my Garheart,
Gearhart family originated.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Peggy
Jul 13, 2012
Catherine Davis
Peggy Ruley--have you worked backwards from yourself, through all the censuses, birth, marriage, and death records available in this country? Checked other people's family trees on ancestry.com, geneanet, rootsweb, etc. for hints? Looked for local history books from the area where they settled here? Naturalization records?
Jul 13, 2012
Catherine Davis
Also, have you tried searching of familysearch.org?
Jul 13, 2012
Marianne Szabo
Peggy Ruley - also remember that the spelling of surnames changed a lot in the records. Many people were illiterate and didn't know how to spell their names, while those who entered the data wrote down the names as they heard them. The original spelling of your ancestor's surname might have been Gerhardt.
Jul 13, 2012
Peggy Ruley
A member of Ancestry. Com during this time, have seen thousands of Gearharts,
Etc., found about sixteen different spellings of the name, have looked all through
Pa. Listings, and Washington, Frederick, Carroll, and Howard Cos. in Md.
Those are all the places where my family would have been living.
I cannot go back any further than my great grandfather, Henry A. Garheart, who
Changed his name from Gearhart to Garheart. He was born in 1844, listed in
Military records as being born in Carroll Co., Md.
We could have been Garhardts, Gerhardts, or Gierharts, as three of the names
I have found of first settlers here.
It is a total brick wall, as there is nothing to be found of him before the Civil War.
Peggy
Jul 13, 2012
Marianne Szabo
Peggy Ruley - have you checked Civil War Pension Records on Fold 3? Have you checked FamilySearch.org for films? Have you checked your local genealogy library section for books and genealogy magazines (marriage, birth, death transcriptions)? Only about 10% of all records are on the Internet. You still have to spend time doing research the "old-fashioned" way.
Jul 13, 2012
Barbara Gallagher
I have found several Gerhardt and Gerhart (one Gearhart) families in my searches through Pennsylvania German areas prior to Civil War era. My research is centered in Montgomery, Berks, Lehigh and Northampton Counties but most of my Gerharts are in Montgomery County. I have had some good luck in county history books where the descendants are noted and short family histories are included. I would see if any of yours were noted in Maryland county histories as well.
Jul 13, 2012
Peggy Ruley
Being from Montgomery Co., Pa., but do not know where. He is Miles Gearhart
Born 1837. He was part of 6th Md. Union Infantry in war. I also belong to Fold3,
And have looked at all their records on there. If you ever see his name, please
Let me know.
I guess I will have to search in person, starting in Md.
Peggy
Jul 13, 2012
Catherine Davis
Peggy, a family tree of Janelle Deelstra on ancestry has Henry dying in Baltimore in 1924. I found his death certificate number, D-86920 at http://www.mdvitalrec.net/cfm/index.cfm . Do you already have his death record? If not, you might want to order it via that website; it might give the names of his parents.
Jul 13, 2012
Catherine Davis
Peggy, Cemetery listing at http://files.usgwarchives.net/md/howard/cemeteries/mtview.txt gives his death date and his wife's. (Mary Jane). Also, gives their marriage date.
Jul 13, 2012
Catherine Davis
Also so found the identifying information for an 1892 insolvency case of Henry A. Garhart. I suspect this might only be available in person at the Maryland State Archives, but if you do head to Maryland, it's another item to look for. http://www.carr.org/ccgs/documents/Insolvencies.pdf
Jul 13, 2012
Barbara Gallagher
Does your Miles Gearhart have any connection in 1885 with West Friendship, Maryland? I found a historical document on Genealogybank that lists a Miles Gearhart in 1885 as working for the post office contracted to carry the mail between West Friendship and Sykesville, Maryland. If you wish a copy, let me know.
Jul 13, 2012
Peggy Ruley
Site and marriage info. But, I do not have copy of death certificate, so I will start
From there. Thanks again for looking this up.
Peggy
Jul 13, 2012
Barbara Gallagher
Just found Miles Gearhart's obituary. Miles%20Gearhart%20obituary.docx Hope you can see this. Let me know.
Jul 13, 2012
Barbara Gallagher
I found a great many other obituaries and a marriage notice of Gearhart family members in both Pennsylvania and Maryland newspapers covering at least 1860-1920 on genealogybank.
Jul 13, 2012
Peggy Ruley
You find this about the mail delivery?
He is living in West Friendship in the 1910 census, that I know of.
Jul 13, 2012
Barbara Gallagher
I entered his name on the general search page as Miles Gearhart and it came up under the historical documents tab. If you have problems with it, I can send it to you. I also located a death notice for another West Friendship Gearhart by limiting the search to Pennsylvania and Maryland and using only the Gearhart last name in the search.
Jul 13, 2012
Peggy Ruley
Miles' son George Miles in 1914.
In reading that Miles was a reader of the Baltimore Sun for 60yrs., I know that
He had been living in Md. Since 1859, at least.
You and Catherine are obviously more experienced than I.
Jul 13, 2012
Barbara Gallagher
You are welcome. Experience comes with many attempts and countless failures. I have only been at this for a year but do it full time. I would keep looking in the genealogybank records. There were others besides Miles and George Miles's obits. I did find one article where Miles subscribed $50 for something but could not figure out the cause he was contributing to (think it was 1917 in the Sun). I have found that it is often worth doing a broad search and taking a look at what comes up. I agree with Catherine that the very best (and fastest) is to visit and gather the records but I am in a wheelchair and try to find what I can on the net first. Also, check the historical societies for counties where you have ancestors. Many have archives on line of probate records and more. I also like church records and have had great success in Pennsylvania with them.
Jul 13, 2012
Catherine Davis
I'd like to add to what Barbara has said. Experience comes not only with many attempts and countless failures but also with assistance from other people and a lot of luck. I've been doing genealogy for 10 years or so now and have had made people introduce me to different kinds of places to search. And, just to clarify, I don't think that visiting a place is necessarily the best way to do research, but I think it is a part of a thorough search if it is at all possible. The best research is to use any kind of source you can find, be it on the web, in a book, on microfilm, or whatever. In fact, I've found it most practical to do all the stuff you can from your home before you ever venture out. First, because it gives you a background to start from and also because some places will charge you by the hour or by the day to use their facilities. Even if the only place to find a document is at an archive, if that archive has an online index, copy down all the info you can before getting to the archive so you're not wasting your time there. Another trick I've used, particularly for church records on microfilm, is to make a spreadsheet of the names and as many approximate dates I'm looking for, then sort the spreadsheet by date so that I can go through the microfilm more or less in order, and not have to wind the film backwards and forwards so much.
Jul 13, 2012