Fotomat…What’s That?

The following article first appeared on July 25, 2009 for my The Humor of It…Through a Different Lens column for Shades of the Departed.   footnoteMaven has graciously allowed me to reprint my Humor of It articles here on What’s Past is Prologue.  I’m currently on hiatus writing this column for Shades, but I encourage you [...]

Read Full Post »

Surname Saturday: HÖCK

Surname – HÖCK Meaning/Origin – According to the Dictionary of German Names, Second Edition by Hans Bahlow, the name HÖCK be dervived from either dwelling near a hedge (hecke) or from street trader or huckster (höcke). Countries of Origin – The surname HÖCK is German. Spelling Variations – The surname has many variations in the [...]

Read Full Post »

Come to the Family Reunion

Poster courtesy of footnoteMaven.com Come one, come all, to family reunion event of the year!  It’s the 100th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.  Carnival? No, not the kind of carnival with rides and cotton candy!  In the blogging world, a carnival is an event that offers bloggers the opportunity to write a post centered [...]

Read Full Post »

Ten More Things I’m Thankful For on My Genealogical Quest

Two years ago (nearing the end of my very first year of blogging), I wrote “Things I’m Thankful For on My Genealogical Quest”.  Nothing has changed since then – I am still very thankful for each of those things that have been helpful to me as I research my family’s history!  You can read the [...]

Read Full Post »

The Sister Who Disappeared

There’s one in every family…the one who vanished.  Or at least seems to have vanished.  That mysterious figure that family members whisper about.  That person known in name only with no photographs as a remembrance.  That relative about whom know one really knows what happened. My grandfather’s sister, the aunt my father never met, ran [...]

Read Full Post »

The Immigrant Saint

One of the dangers facts about being a genealogist is that no matter what you read, you will read it through a genealogist’s eyes.  It’s like having a genea-lens, and your observation of the world focuses on different things. For example, November 13 was the Catholic feast day of St. Frances Cabrini.  I don’t know [...]

Read Full Post »