As I peruse other blogs, I see some pretty neat things.  I came across digital scrapbook pages and thought I'd give it a whirl.

This scrapbook page was designed by Raspberry Road Designs.  The photo is of Joseph CAHILL and Jean Marie MILLER taken on their wedding day on 28 October 1967; privately held by Julie Marie CAHILL Tarr.

The 11th Edition of Central & Eastern European Genealogy Carnival is being hosted by Steve Danko over at Steve's Genealogy Blog.  The theme is given names and Steve has listed some possible topics to discuss as follows:

Did any of your ancestors have an unusual given name?

Have you discovered the meanings behind the given names of your ancestors?

Did your ancestors use any naming patterns for their children?

Are there any given names that are particular common in your family history?

Did any of your ancestors have given names that you particularly like or dislike?

Does your family celebrate "Name Days"?

Did your immigrant ancestors change their given names after they arrived in America?

Tell us about the first (given) names in your family. You can concentrate on one name, a few names, or you can go wild and write about the first names of all your ancestors!"

Naming Patterns

One thing I always found odd was my paternal grandmother's middle name (or second given name to stay true to the theme if the carnival *wink*).  As the first born child, her middle name was Garrison, which was her mother's maiden name.  As I look through both sides of her family, I see this pattern, although not strict.  In many cases, the first born child received either the mother's maiden name or the father's, mother's maiden name (the second born usually got the other).  In a few cases, a child took the mother's, mother's maiden name.  So for example, my fourth-great-grandfather Calvin Price WEBSTER was the second born and Price was his father's, mother's maiden name (Rachel PRICE).  Calvin's brother, Luther Norton WEBSTER, was the first born and took his mother's maiden name (Sarah NORTON) as his middle name.  Again, it's not consistent by any means, but it it helpful to know this to determine possible middle names and/or maiden names for others in these lines.  For example, my second-great-granduncle, Edward P MULLIGAN could be Edward Parks for his mother's mother's maiden name, or, his father's, mother's maiden name could start with a P.

My immediate family has a small pattern that started with my paternal grandparents, John "Jack" Francis CAHILL and Joan Garrison McMAHON.  Their only son (my dad) was named Joseph, who married Jean Marie MILLER, and had me (their only child) Julie.  I followed suit and married James, and if we have children, we'll follow along with the Js.

Popular Names

Looking at the list of over 6,600 individuals in my database, I have many clusters of common names such as Ann/Anne/Anna, Mary/Marie/Maria/Marilyn/Marion, John, James, Henry, Charles, David, Dorothy, Lydia, Margaret/Margery/Marge/Marguerite, Richard, Robert, Samuel, Sarah/Sara, Susan/Susanna/Susannah/Suzanne, Thomas, Warren, and William.  This include both of my lines, as well as my husband's and my step-father.

On the Cahill side the most popular female name is Mary/Maria/Marie/Marion (162/15/7/15 respectively).  The most popular male name is John, with 179 (William follows closely with 166).

On the Miller side the most popular female name is Anna/Ann (19).  The most popular male name is Henry (14).

Unique Names

My grandaunt has a unique name (one of my favorites), Marcella.  It's unique to the family because so far, it's the only one, but additionally, because its origin is Italian [1].  To my knowledge, there are no Italians in that family line.

I also have many names that are unique in terms of today's common names, but not necessarily unique to their time periods.

• Solomon NORTON (my sixth-great-grandfather, born in the mid 1700s) - Solomon means "peace." [2]
  
• Mehitabel GRAVES (my ninth-great-grandmother, born in the late 1600s) - Mehitabel is a variant of Mehetabel, which means "God makes happy." [3,4]
  
• Hulda WACH (my second-great-grandmother, born in 1869) - Hulda means "sweet, loveable." [5]
  
• Emil Charles MILLER (great-grandfather, born in 1889) - Emil means "rival." [6]
  
• Dorcas HOPKINS (my ninth-great-grandmother, born in the mid to late 1600s) - Dorcas means "gazelle." [7]

____________________________________

Notes

All information, with the exception of those noted, derived from my personal GEDCOM family tree file (created by Julie Marie CAHILL Tarr, accessed 20 September 2008; privately held by Julie Marie CAHILL Tarr, Normal, Illinois)

1.  "Marcella," Behind the Name (http://www.behindthename.com/name/marcella), accessed 20 September 2008.

2.  "Solomon," Behind the Name (http://www.behindthename.com/name/solomon), accessed 20 September 2008.

3.  "Mehitabel," Behind the Name (http://www.behindthename.com/name/mehitabel), accessed 20 September 2008.

4.  "Mehetabel," Behind the Name (http://www.behindthename.com/name/mehetabel), accessed 20 September 2008.

5.  "Hulda," Behinf the Name (http://www.behindthename.com/php/search.php?nmd=n&terms=hulda), accessed 20 September 2008.

6.  "Emil," Behind the Name (http://www.behindthename.com/name/emil), accessed 20 September 2008.

7.  "Dorcas," Behind the Name (http://www.behindthename.com/name/dorcas), accessed 20 September 2008.

I have many brick walls, but this one is kinda tricky.  Feel free to weigh in.

Here's what I know:

My great-great-grandparents were Emil MILLER and Hulda WACH.  Both were born in Germany in immigrated to the U.S.  They were married in Chicago, Cook, Illinois on 8 August 1886. [1]  Based on the marriage license, Emil was 23 and Hulda was 18, which makes their estimated year of birth 1863 and 1868 respectively.

I cannot find either of them in the 1880 U.S. census, so I assume the both immigrated between 1880 and 1886.  The 1890 U.S. census would be extremely helpful here, but they are long gone (so many of my brick walls could be knocked down, if even just a small bit, by these records; ugh!).  So on to the 1900 U.S. census.  Here's where it get interesting.

Based on the information I have through handwritten notes by my grandmother and information compiled by my uncle, I know that Emil and Hulda had three children together:  Henry (born in 1887), Emil (born in 1889), and Ida (1891).  [2,3,4]  In searching the 1900 U.S. census I found two likely sources.  One shows Hulda and Ida, which I believe to be true.  The information recorded is as follows:

• Hulda Miller, head, DOB Aug 1864, age 31, widowed, one child born, one child living, born in Germany, parents born in Germany, year of immigration 1884. [5]
  
• Ida Miller, daughter, DOB 31 July 1892, age 7, single, born in Illinois, parents born in Germany. [6]

Makes sense in terms of DOB, age, birthplace, and Hulda's immigration.  However, it says one child born (we know she had three up to this point) and where are Henry and Emil?  And here's the kicker, it says she's widowed.

Moving onto the other possible source.  I found the following information in another 1900 U.S. census record:

• Emil Mueller, head, DOB Jan 1864, age 36, divorced, born in Germany, parents born in Germany, year of immigration 1881. [7]
  
• Emil Mueller, son, DOB May 1889, age 11, single, born in Illinois, parents born in Germany. [8]
  
• Henry Mueller, son, DOB June 1886, age 13, single, born in Illinois, parents born in Germany. [9]
  
• Mary Chewrisky, mother-in-law, DOB April 1837, age 63, one child born, no children living, born in Germany, parents born in Germany, year of immigration 1881. [10]

Again, makes sense in terms of DOB, age, birthplace, and Emil's immigration.  But...

• In the census info for Hulda, it lists her as a widow.  Hmmm, error?
  
• The month for Emil's (son) birth does not match the month on his death certificate or handwritten notes from my grandmother.  Could be an error on either part.
  
• The year for Henry's birth does not match the year on his WWI draft registration card.  Again, could be an error.
  
• And finally, who it Mary?  Hulda's mother was Amelia (American; Emillie in German).  She married a WACH, probably in Germany, and immigrated to the U.S.  At some point she married a SCHULTZ.  I suppose Emil and Hulda could have divorced between the time Ida was born in 1891 and 1900, and perhaps he remarried during that time.

There are just too many "buts" at this time to be even a little sure.  I think if I can track down the right death certificate for Emil it will answer some questions.  But there are so many possibilities.  I've narrowed it down to a handful, but non of them are for a death before 1900.  So again, is there an error on the census for Hulda?  And if so, is the census for Emil my Emil, or just a coincidence?  And if that's a yes, then again, who the heck is Mary?

Looks like I've got some more digging to do to solve this mystery.  I'll post a follow-up, if and when, I find the answers.

Notes

1.  Cook County, Illinois, marriage license no. 105006 (1886), Emil MILLER & Hulda WACH, Cook County Clerk.

2.  "World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database and images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), Henry Fredrick Miller. 

3.  State of Illinois, death certificate no. 5539 (1938), Emil MILLER, Cook County Clerk; copy held by Julie Marie CAHILL Tarr. 

4.  Social Security Administration, "Social Security Death Index," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), entry for Ida Brunner, 1970. 

5.  1900 U.S. census, population schedule, Chicago Ward 15, Cook, Illinois, enumeration district (ED) 492, sheet 13A, p. 25, dwelling 162, family 247; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com ); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623. 

6.  Ibid.

7.  1900 U.S. census, population schedule, Chicago Ward 16, Cook, Illinois, enumeration district (ED) 512, sheet 11B, p. 22, dwelling 75, family 209; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com ); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623. 

8.  Ibid.

9.  Ibid.

10.  Ibid.

Taking a cue from Thomas MacEntee's "On This Day" posts at his blog Destination: Austin Family, I am starting a regular post called "Family Events."  Instead of doing this for each day like Thomas does, I am going to post on Sunday's for the upcoming week.  So, here's the debut of "Family Events!"

Robert Anthony Briedis

My "uncle" Bob and my dad were first cousins and grew up together like brothers.  He was born on 6 August 1952 to Robert Anthony Dombrowski and Florence June McMahon.  He was later adopted by his mom's second husband, Vilhelms Briedis.  Although Bob moved to southern California about ten or so years after I was born, we were very close.  I spent several vacations in California.  The last time I saw his was at my wedding five years ago.  He passed away on 2 September 2007 of pancreatic cancer; he was 55-years-young. [1]

Clara Hilda ROTTMAN & Carl SLENTZ

Clara, my first cousin twice removed, married Carl on 3 September 1934 in Ohio. [2]

George STOFFEL

My great-granduncle, George, was born on 1 October 1901 in Illinois.  George was my great-grandmother's brother.  He died on 3 September 1978 in Illinois. [3]

Mildred Dolores MILLER Hicks

Mildred, my maternal grandfather's sister, was born on 10 December 1922 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.  She married Sidney William HICKS and together they had a daughter, Beth.  They also adopted a son, Paul.  Mildred died on 6 September 1976, six months before I was born. [4,5]

Ashbel WEBSTER

Ashbel was one of 12 children born to my sixth great-grandparents, Ashbel WEBSTER and Rachel PRICE.  He was born on 8 August 1756 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut.  He married Mercy SWETLAND on 7 September 1777.  Ashbel died on 13 November 1838 at age 82. [6]

Notes

[1] Personal knowledge of Julie Marie CAHILL Tarr, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE].

[2] John BEATTY, "Ancestry World Tree," database, Ancestry.com (http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi).

[3] Memorial card for George STOFFEL, September 1978; privately held by Julie Marie CAHILL Tarr.

[4] State of Illinois Health Department, birth certificate no. 53513 (1922), Mildred Delores MILLER, Cook County Clerk. 

[5] Memorial card for Mildred Hicks (1976); privately held by Julie Marie CAHILL Tarr.

[6] Family Search, "Ancestral Files," database(familysearch.org), Ashbel Webester (AFN 4F36-QX).