A Little Genealogy Humor
Maternal
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Shared Birthdays
For this edition of Saturday Genealogy Fun, it was proposed to identify ancestors with whom you share a birthday. I’ve identified exactly one ancestor born on my birthday, March 11. My sixth great grandfather Gottfried Wohlfarth (Wolford) was born on 11 Mar 1738 in Breitenfürst, Rems-Murr-Kreis, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. He died in 1828 in Belmont, Belmont, Ohio, United States.
Relation To Me:
Gottfried Wohlfarth (1738-1828)
father of:
Moses Wolford (1777-1845)
father of:
Mathias Wolford (1821-1876)
father of:
James Mathias Wolford (1846-1905)
father of:
Stanton M Wolford (1864-1946)
father of:
Raymond Hudson Wolford (1909-1970)
father of:
Barbara Jean Wolford Witt Viti
mother of:
Rebecca Witt Lowry
mother of:
Joseph Patrick Lowry
Photo of the Day – January 29, 2015
My sister Caroline had to be only a few weeks old when this photo was taken in June 1983. I believe this was my Witt grandparents’ living room at 330 Fairgreen Avenue in Youngstown. My mom is holding me while my cousin Jacob Sofranko holds Caroline. John Sofranko is to the left of my mom and their mother (and my godmother) Julie Sofranko is on the right.
Source:
John Sofranko, Joseph Lowry, Rebecca Witt Lowry, Jacob Sofranko, Caroline Lowry, Julie Sofranko, photograph, taken on Fairgreen Avenue, in about 1983; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned in 2013 by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Rebecca Lowry, [address for private use], Poland, Ohio. Two mothers surrounded by four children. Provenance is Rebecca Lowry to Joseph Lowry.
Photo of the Day – January 28, 2015
The family consensus is that we have no idea where this photo was taken. I do think it was taken sometime around 1991 as my sister Colleen was born in 1988 and appears to be about 3 years old. Wearing her watermelon shirt, she’s pretty content hanging out with my dad.
Source:
Patrick Lowry and daughter Colleen Lowry, photograph, taken at unknown location, in about 1991; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned in 2013 by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Patrick Lowry, [address for private use], Poland, Ohio. Daughter sitting on father’s lap at table. Provenance is Patrick Lowry to Joseph Lowry.
Photo of the Day – January 25, 2015
If I had to guess, I would place this photo in the summer of 1991. In the photo are grandmother Barb Viti and five of her grandchildren, (l to r) Mark Witt in her arms (I presume based on the age and others in the photo), Christian Witt, Melanie Witt, Michelle Dockry and Danny Witt. This may have been taken at the home of my uncle Charlie Witt near Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. Can someone confirm that for me?
Source:
Barbara Wolford Witt Viti, Mark Witt, Christian Witt, Melanie Witt, Michelle Dockry and Daniel Witt., photograph, taken at unknown location, in about 1991; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned in 2013 by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Marie Dockry, [address for private use], Austintown, Ohio. Grandmother holding one grandchild and surrounded by four more. Provenance is Marie Dockry to Joseph Lowry.
Death Certificate of Elisabeth Louise Kreher Witt
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Elizabeth Louise Kreher Witt, or as it appears on the above, Mrs. Elizabeth Witt, is my 3rd great grandmother. She was born on 22 March 1840 in Herman Township, Butler, Pennsylvania and died at the age of 89 (or specifically, 89 years, 9 months and 15 days) on 13 January 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her husband Martin preceded her in death by nine years.
From this death certificate, we know that her father was Chris Kreher and her mother was Anna Hause, both born in Germany. She died from arteriosclerosis, having been under a doctor’s care for the last few days of her life. Her son Martin Witt served as the informant of her death and McCabe Brothers Funeral Home handled the arrangements. (They remain a Pittsburgh-area funeral home however their location at 3520 Butler Street is no more.) Elizabeth was buried on 15 January 1930 at Mount Carmel Cemetery in the Penn Hills neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
Source:
“Pennsylvania Death Certificates, 1906 – 1963,” index and images, Ancestry.com, accessed 18 Jan 2015, Elizabeth Witt, 1930; citing reference Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/.
What’s My Ancestor Score?
If you scored 14% on a test, most people would consider that a failure. I see it as showing room for improvement. I recently tried to determine my ‘ancestor score’ and it turned out to be 14%. An ancestor score is the percentage of ancestors in 10 generations that I have identified.
Last Saturday, Randy Seaver of the Genea-Musings blog asked his readers to determine their ancestor score so I played along. In 10 generations, a person will have 1,022 direct ancestors. This starts with your parents and walks through grandparents, great grandparents, etc. Once you add yourself, you have 1,023 people.
I had no problem counting the people in my family tree through the 6th generation, but after that, it becomes difficult to count everyone. After all, a person has 64 4x great grandparents. To ease the burden, I created what is called an Ahnentafel Report. An Ahnentafel Report can be created in most genealogy software programs and places all of the direct ancestors of a particular person (in this case me) in numeric order. It becomes very easy to determine how many ancestors of each generation you have.
You can see my results below. Overall, I don’t consider my score to be horrendous as I have 100% of my ancestors identified through 6 generations and 75% identified through 7 generations. For most people, the 7th generation leads back to the early 1800’s. So I don’t consider this to be a poor score; it just means that I have much more research to do!
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Photo of the Day – January 13, 2015
I probably met my great grandma Witt at some point when I was very young. Helen Bixler Witt died in January 1985, two months shy of my third birthday. This photo of her was taken on her porch on North Osborn Street on Youngstown’s West Side in the late 1970’s. You can get a more recent view of the houses in the background by clicking here (link).
Source:
Helen Bixler Witt (1898-1985), photograph, taken at 24 N Osborn Avenue, in about 1977; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned in 2013 by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Marie Dockry, [address for private use], Austintown, Ohio. Woman sitting in a porch chair in housecoat. Provenance is Marie Dockry to Joseph Lowry.
Photo of the Day – January 10, 2015
The only thing I know about this photo are the subjects. My grandmother Barb Wolford (Viti) is on the left with her sister Betty Wolford (Thomas) on the right. I need to ask grandma for some details. Sounds like a project for the evening…
Update!
My grandma responded that the photo was taken on June 14, 1950 in her backyard in Topeka, Kansas. It was the day before my great aunt Betty’s wedding to Walter Thomas. They had turned 18 the previous October and had graduated from high school just four days prior. Betty and Walter were married for 62 years before he passed away in 2011. One of their girlfriends took the picture. The car belonged to their dad, my great grandfather Ray. Any car buffs out there know the make and model?
Source:
Barbara Jean Wolford (1931-) and Betty Jane Wolford (1931-), photograph, taken in the back yard of the Wolford family home on Madison Avenue, on June 14, 1950; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned in 2013 by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Marie Dockry, [address for private use], Austintown, Ohio. Two woman standing in backyard with car in background. Provenance is believed to be Barbara Wolford Viti to Marie Dockry to Joseph Lowry.
Photo of the Day – January 7, 2015
The Witt kids. It’s a little off-center, Jimmy’s face is cut off, and my mom’s eyes are closed, but it’s actually a great photo of the nine Witt kids all assembled on their porch on Fairgreen Avenue on Youngstown’s North Side. This photo appears to have been taken around 1971.
lowry genealogy 