Monday, March 28, 2016

Spring brings more than showers

It has been a few months and I must apologize for being absent. I have been busy digging through sites and files looking to put the pieces of myself in order.
  What is new?  I have taken not one but two online genealogy courses. One of these classes is through our local library and the other through Strathclyde University in Scotland.  you see, I have made some great strides is finding where I really came from. I also took a very nice two hour class at the library where I learned a few things about using Google Search to be more effective.
   My recent discoveries are......drum roll please
 I found a cousin, not a 4th to 6th generation or twice removed but a real honest to goodness Rowan family cousin.  Was I thrilled?  Over the moon. We have messaged on Facebook and Ancestry, and hopefully later this year when she moves back to Wisconsin we can meet face to face.!  Then I also found a second cousin who's father was my Grandfather Rowans youngest brothers daughter.   Excited to learn of yet more mysterious family, that I knew nothing of.
  My joining some groups on Facebook also connected me with a lovely woman who found the marriage record of my Great Great Grandfather in Stirling, Scotland. It lists the name , place, date, names of both sets of parents as well as their occupations.  More surprises!


Now, the mystery is to find out where the parents came from, and fill in all the black spaces. Were we Irish catholic ?  Did Michael and his Bride come to Pennsylvania alone or did parents follow. What became of them?  So much to learn and so exciting.

My Mothers side is a bit one sided right now. All the hints and dna matches are on her fathers side. My Great Grandmother Augusta Kopp, who sailed for America in 1912, seems to be a mystery. Germans living in what was Prussia. kupies, Poland is stated on passenger list as her place of birth with her Father as Adolf kopp.  More mysteries but I am up to the task and love finding new bits and pieces.
  i found Revolutionary War soldiers, Civil War pensions papers, as well as family members killed or taken in Indian raids at Kerrs Creek, Virginia.
   So much more to learn, so until next time, be sure to ask your family about memories, dates and important family questions now. Write things down while you have a chance. Take a class or better yet get your Dna tested and join me on a wonderful journey, because as my Gram used to say....how can you know where you are going if you don"t know where you came from!