#52Ancestors
The year was 1980. I was pregnant with my first child and due any day. We had lots going on at the time so it didn't dawn on me that it was almost Valentine's Day. On February 13th, 11 p.m. my eldest son entered the world. I know it was just a bit before but what a wonderful Valentine's Day gift it was, once I realized it was only an hour away. I'd say it was close enough.
Fast forward six years, I was now pregnant with my third and was given a due date of - guess what - February 13th. Well that year we were having snow storms right at that time and though the doctor said the baby was ready to pop a few days before, the baby had its own ideas of ready. It hung on another week, heated and protected by its mother, and the day the snow cleared was the day we welcomed our new family member to the world.
Ever since my Valentine days are sandwiched between my oldest and youngest offspring's birthdays.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
#52Ancestors In the Census
Today I want to talk about a brick wall I had that wouldn't let up.
It concerns a young lad, Hersch Oks, of about 17 years of age upon arrival in the United States.
I found his ship manifest by chance looking for something else and it showed he was the son of my husband's great grandfather's brother Moische. He arrived at Ellis Island in Aug 1911 and was supposed to go stay with a cousin, an A. Perlmutter, in Brooklyn NY.
Well I couldn't find him in the 1915 NY State census nor in the 1920 federal census nor could I find that supposed cousin. I couldn't find them in city directories either. I knew that he could not just vanish into thin air. So where the heck was he?
So I decided to look for possible name changes and discovered he changed his name to John somewhere along the line. So I went back and searched the census records for 1940, 1930, and 1920. One found him in Nebraska, another in Detroit, and a third elsewhere. Okay but now I also had him married in two of them and a widower with a 13 year old son in a third. All, by the way, show his age of arrival differently. One shows him as a naturalized citizen. Also one showed him as Oaks, another as Ocks.
Still working on this but the brick wall has opened up a bit. Any ideas as to where I should go from here? Comment below. Thanks
It concerns a young lad, Hersch Oks, of about 17 years of age upon arrival in the United States.
I found his ship manifest by chance looking for something else and it showed he was the son of my husband's great grandfather's brother Moische. He arrived at Ellis Island in Aug 1911 and was supposed to go stay with a cousin, an A. Perlmutter, in Brooklyn NY.
Well I couldn't find him in the 1915 NY State census nor in the 1920 federal census nor could I find that supposed cousin. I couldn't find them in city directories either. I knew that he could not just vanish into thin air. So where the heck was he?
So I decided to look for possible name changes and discovered he changed his name to John somewhere along the line. So I went back and searched the census records for 1940, 1930, and 1920. One found him in Nebraska, another in Detroit, and a third elsewhere. Okay but now I also had him married in two of them and a widower with a 13 year old son in a third. All, by the way, show his age of arrival differently. One shows him as a naturalized citizen. Also one showed him as Oaks, another as Ocks.
Still working on this but the brick wall has opened up a bit. Any ideas as to where I should go from here? Comment below. Thanks
#52Ancestors Invite to Dinner
Who would I like to invite to dinner? Gee, I have so many but I guess I will go with Moshe Ulanovsky, my husband's maternal grandfather since he is the only one who would have any info on that maternal side. I want to know who his wives were (we think there were 6) and which children went to which wives. I want to know who his parents were and who the parents were of my husband's mother's mother. I want to learn why he had so many wives and what he did for a living. We know very little and there is so much we'd like to know that dinner alone would probably just touch the basics.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
#52Ancestors Week 3 - Longevity
#52Ancestors Today I am writing about my great great grandfather Isaac Longley b. 16 Dec 1823 in Paradise, Annapolis, Nova Scotia, Canada. He died on 11 May 1914 in Paradise, Annapolis, Nova Scotia, Canada at the age of 90.
He was a farmer and speculator in apples for shipment to England and the United States and held some first grade financial securities. A Liberal in politics, he attended the Methodist Church in Lawrencetown and strongly believed in the life hereafter.
If anyone has any info or stories to add, please do so in comments below.
He was a farmer and speculator in apples for shipment to England and the United States and held some first grade financial securities. A Liberal in politics, he attended the Methodist Church in Lawrencetown and strongly believed in the life hereafter.
If anyone has any info or stories to add, please do so in comments below.
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
#52ancestors Week 2 - Photo
where my 7X great grandparents, William Longley and Deliverance Crispe along with five of their eight children were buried in Groton, Massachusetts after being masacred in a raid by the Abenaki Indians in July 1694.
52 Ancestor in 52 weeks
#52ancestors I joined a challenge to post something relating to one of any 52 ancestors per week for 52 weeks. Here goes week 1 - topic Start - I chose to start with one of my brick walls that is opening up - Hersch Oks AKA John Oaks or Ocks.
Today I want to share that I have made one step further in breaking the brick wall for Hersch Oks who arrived in NY as a 17 year old in 1911. I was able to find three census records for him that show a name change to John Oaks or Ocks. The 1920 census of Scotts Bluff, Nebraska shows him living at 1706 Twelfth Ave apt. #402 with his wife Mary (surname unknown) a son Albert 5 yrs old and a son Fred 3 1/2 yrs old. This one shows him as being 24 yrs old (meaning in 1911 he would have been 9 yrs old). But it also shows him as arriving in 1915 not 1911 which would put him at 21 not 17 as listed on the ship manifest. Note he was born in 1894.
In the 1930 census of Cook County, Illinois he was living at 330 E 136th Place apt. #181 with a family of Henry Manweiler, his wife Kate and children William 23 yrs old, David 19 yrs old, and Helen E 5 yrs old. It also shows him and his son Fred living with them as boarders. It says he was 36 and Fred 13. So ten years prior Fred was 3 1/2 and is now 13. But John was 24 and is now 36. One of these is wrong. This one shows him arriving in 1913 putting him at 19. It shows him working in a cement block company. The 1920 one had him working at a sugar company. The third census for 1940 in Wayne County, Michigan shows him with a wife named Hazel. He is now listed as 43 (this should be either 44 or 46 or ?) and is now working as a paint sprayer in an auto company. He is living at 15875 Alden Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. Neither Albert nor Fred are listed here. There is still work to be done on this but this breakthrough leads me to seeking marriage records for him and Mary and him and Hazel, looking for Albert and Fred separately, seeking naturalization and name change papers etc. I can think of all the things that need checking but what should I do first?
Today I want to share that I have made one step further in breaking the brick wall for Hersch Oks who arrived in NY as a 17 year old in 1911. I was able to find three census records for him that show a name change to John Oaks or Ocks. The 1920 census of Scotts Bluff, Nebraska shows him living at 1706 Twelfth Ave apt. #402 with his wife Mary (surname unknown) a son Albert 5 yrs old and a son Fred 3 1/2 yrs old. This one shows him as being 24 yrs old (meaning in 1911 he would have been 9 yrs old). But it also shows him as arriving in 1915 not 1911 which would put him at 21 not 17 as listed on the ship manifest. Note he was born in 1894.
In the 1930 census of Cook County, Illinois he was living at 330 E 136th Place apt. #181 with a family of Henry Manweiler, his wife Kate and children William 23 yrs old, David 19 yrs old, and Helen E 5 yrs old. It also shows him and his son Fred living with them as boarders. It says he was 36 and Fred 13. So ten years prior Fred was 3 1/2 and is now 13. But John was 24 and is now 36. One of these is wrong. This one shows him arriving in 1913 putting him at 19. It shows him working in a cement block company. The 1920 one had him working at a sugar company. The third census for 1940 in Wayne County, Michigan shows him with a wife named Hazel. He is now listed as 43 (this should be either 44 or 46 or ?) and is now working as a paint sprayer in an auto company. He is living at 15875 Alden Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. Neither Albert nor Fred are listed here. There is still work to be done on this but this breakthrough leads me to seeking marriage records for him and Mary and him and Hazel, looking for Albert and Fred separately, seeking naturalization and name change papers etc. I can think of all the things that need checking but what should I do first?
Sunday, November 06, 2016
Just in time for National Adoption Month
The non-profit Mixed Roots Foundation launches Global Adoptee Genealogy-pro.
Check it out: http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/16/11/p8656505/mixed-roots-foundation-officially-launches-global-adoptee-genealogy-pro.
Friday, November 04, 2016
Bonded at Birth Virtual Book Tour stop at Live, Love, Laugh and Don't Forget to Breathe
Did you know November is National Adoption Month? Today I’m introducing Gloria Oren‘s book, Bonded at Birth, in honor of National Adoption Month. Continue reading
Monday, October 31, 2016
10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know
We've now come to the last item on our list, number 10.
Don't tell us we look adopted.
Heck, what is an adoptee supposed to look like?
Did Michael Reagan look adopted? How about Babe Ruth? Or George Carver Washington? Charlie Chaplin? I could go on and on. The list is huge. Did all these as a group have a special look that called out "I'm adopted"? Don't think so.
So why do you think adoptees should look adopted, whatever that look might be? Until you can answer these questions, think before you speak. Adoptees will see you in a different light.
Has anyone ever said this to you? What was your response? Leave a comment.
Don't tell us we look adopted.
Heck, what is an adoptee supposed to look like?
Did Michael Reagan look adopted? How about Babe Ruth? Or George Carver Washington? Charlie Chaplin? I could go on and on. The list is huge. Did all these as a group have a special look that called out "I'm adopted"? Don't think so.
So why do you think adoptees should look adopted, whatever that look might be? Until you can answer these questions, think before you speak. Adoptees will see you in a different light.
Has anyone ever said this to you? What was your response? Leave a comment.
Monday, October 24, 2016
10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know
Number 9
Don't tell us that if our birth mothers loved us, they wouldn't have given us away.
My birth mother was only seventeen and as a minor she had little to say over the matter. She isn't the only one. My mother loved me very much and I lived in her heart nearly forty-one years till we found the way back to each other. Most birth mothers never forget the child they gave away. They remember us on our birthdays, holidays, and day-to-day. Adoptees were loved and will always be loved by their biological mothers (birth fathers are a separate issue, I won't go into here), so remember they had other reasons for giving us up for adoption, and not loving us isn't one of them.
Thoughts, please.
Don't tell us that if our birth mothers loved us, they wouldn't have given us away.
My birth mother was only seventeen and as a minor she had little to say over the matter. She isn't the only one. My mother loved me very much and I lived in her heart nearly forty-one years till we found the way back to each other. Most birth mothers never forget the child they gave away. They remember us on our birthdays, holidays, and day-to-day. Adoptees were loved and will always be loved by their biological mothers (birth fathers are a separate issue, I won't go into here), so remember they had other reasons for giving us up for adoption, and not loving us isn't one of them.
Thoughts, please.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Monday, October 17, 2016
10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know
Number 8
Don't tell us we're special.
We were children like every other child. We're adults like all other adults. What makes us special?
Why am I special? Is it because I have two families? Not so. Non-adopted children sometimes have two or more families, thanks to divorce and remarriage of one or both spouses. Is it because I may be multi-cultural? Isn't an immigrant family multi-cultural, too?
Tell you what, find me a good, logical reason and I'll be glad to have you consider me special. Until then, I'm just one of the crowd like everyone else.
Thoughts, please. Are you special and if so, in what way?
Don't tell us we're special.
We were children like every other child. We're adults like all other adults. What makes us special?
Why am I special? Is it because I have two families? Not so. Non-adopted children sometimes have two or more families, thanks to divorce and remarriage of one or both spouses. Is it because I may be multi-cultural? Isn't an immigrant family multi-cultural, too?
Tell you what, find me a good, logical reason and I'll be glad to have you consider me special. Until then, I'm just one of the crowd like everyone else.
Thoughts, please. Are you special and if so, in what way?
Monday, October 10, 2016
10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know
Number 7
Don't lie to us about our birth mothers.
When we ask about them tell us what you know. If you don't know, say so but don't make up something that will reveal itself one day as a lie.
Even white lies are lies. We may be adopted, but we're not fragile and definitely not stupid. We can handle the truth, give it to us.
Were you lied to as children? What did it feel like when you discovered the truth? Leave a comment below.
Don't lie to us about our birth mothers.
When we ask about them tell us what you know. If you don't know, say so but don't make up something that will reveal itself one day as a lie.
Even white lies are lies. We may be adopted, but we're not fragile and definitely not stupid. We can handle the truth, give it to us.
Were you lied to as children? What did it feel like when you discovered the truth? Leave a comment below.
Wednesday, October 05, 2016
10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know
Due to the high holy days this is posting today instead of Monday.
Number 6
Don't tell us we're angry, we know it.
Wouldn't you be if all your rights to your history and heritage are not in your hands but in the hands of others who think they know better?
Back in the '50s when I was adopted was it really "in the best interest of the child," or "in the best interest of the biological mother," who most likely was a teen, a child herself.
Yes, adoptees are an angry bunch and our anger fuels our energy to press on for opening the gates to our history filed for so long in our sealed records.
Are your records sealed? How would you feel if they were? You ask if we're angry, shouldn't we be?
Your thoughts, please.
Number 6
Don't tell us we're angry, we know it.
Wouldn't you be if all your rights to your history and heritage are not in your hands but in the hands of others who think they know better?
Back in the '50s when I was adopted was it really "in the best interest of the child," or "in the best interest of the biological mother," who most likely was a teen, a child herself.
Yes, adoptees are an angry bunch and our anger fuels our energy to press on for opening the gates to our history filed for so long in our sealed records.
Are your records sealed? How would you feel if they were? You ask if we're angry, shouldn't we be?
Your thoughts, please.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Breaking News! You can now get an autographed copy of the eBook version of Bonded at Birth
Just click on the button below and follow instructions. You will get your very own author autographed copy.
Monday, September 26, 2016
10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know
Number 5
We're halfway through.
Don't tell us to be grateful to our parents.
Since when has wanting to know one's history and where one came from become a hindrance affecting gratefulness?
Are all genealogists adoptees? No. So why can they seek out their roots of past generations but when we do it, it's interpreted as being ungrateful?
We are grateful, in fact many times, very grateful but we also have and want the right to know who we really are, where we really came from. Our roots. Our heritage.
Here's something to think about - our DNA know it all - but we don't. Nice thought! So what's so harmful if we knew?
Thoughts on this please.
We're halfway through.
Don't tell us to be grateful to our parents.
Since when has wanting to know one's history and where one came from become a hindrance affecting gratefulness?
Are all genealogists adoptees? No. So why can they seek out their roots of past generations but when we do it, it's interpreted as being ungrateful?
We are grateful, in fact many times, very grateful but we also have and want the right to know who we really are, where we really came from. Our roots. Our heritage.
Here's something to think about - our DNA know it all - but we don't. Nice thought! So what's so harmful if we knew?
Thoughts on this please.
Monday, September 19, 2016
10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know
Number 4
Don't give false information on our medical records.
First, this can be a dangerous practice, especially in an emergency situation.
Second, it is a great effort and time demanding task to clear one's record of false information, convincing the source we're telling the truth and have it all replaced with a big I DON'T KNOW.
How was your medical records handled as you were growing up? Did your adoptive family provide info that attained to their family or did they admit not knowing? Leave a comment below.
Don't give false information on our medical records.
First, this can be a dangerous practice, especially in an emergency situation.
Second, it is a great effort and time demanding task to clear one's record of false information, convincing the source we're telling the truth and have it all replaced with a big I DON'T KNOW.
How was your medical records handled as you were growing up? Did your adoptive family provide info that attained to their family or did they admit not knowing? Leave a comment below.
Monday, September 12, 2016
10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know
Number 3
Not all grass is greener on the other side.
Our biological side might not have been ideal for raising a child but not all adoptive sides are ideal either. I was lucky as many others are. I had wonderful adoptive parents. My birth mother's life wasn't easy. But look at the cases reported of abuse by adoptive parents or murder by adopted children. Situations happen and it's not because we're adoptees. Genetic mental issues can lead an 'adoptee' to murder, but can anyone say that the same person with the same predisposition would not have done the same had he been raised by his biological family? I don't think so, unless you can claim to be some kind of prophet.
What are your thoughts on this? Leave a comment below.
Not all grass is greener on the other side.
Our biological side might not have been ideal for raising a child but not all adoptive sides are ideal either. I was lucky as many others are. I had wonderful adoptive parents. My birth mother's life wasn't easy. But look at the cases reported of abuse by adoptive parents or murder by adopted children. Situations happen and it's not because we're adoptees. Genetic mental issues can lead an 'adoptee' to murder, but can anyone say that the same person with the same predisposition would not have done the same had he been raised by his biological family? I don't think so, unless you can claim to be some kind of prophet.
What are your thoughts on this? Leave a comment below.
Monday, September 05, 2016
10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know
Back with the next one in our series.
2. Since adoption is no secret and when the adopted child grows up he or she will learn about the birds and the bees anyway, don't tell us, as children, that we were brought by the stork, or found in a cabbage patch, or even that we smiled at you so you knew we were yours.
As an adoptee and as a mother of three biological children I will say this once and only once - all babies smile, and they'll smile at any face they see. Our smile did not pick you, and in most cases you either chose us before ever seeing our smile or you met us when we were given to you to raise.
Were you told you were adopted? If yes, what was the story told to you? If no, how did you feel about that when you found out? Please comment below.
2. Since adoption is no secret and when the adopted child grows up he or she will learn about the birds and the bees anyway, don't tell us, as children, that we were brought by the stork, or found in a cabbage patch, or even that we smiled at you so you knew we were yours.
As an adoptee and as a mother of three biological children I will say this once and only once - all babies smile, and they'll smile at any face they see. Our smile did not pick you, and in most cases you either chose us before ever seeing our smile or you met us when we were given to you to raise.
Were you told you were adopted? If yes, what was the story told to you? If no, how did you feel about that when you found out? Please comment below.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
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