Amateur Genealog

My family the Heintzelman family has lore that has come from our ancestry in Germany. Ancestry is a very important part of a person. Knowing who came before you can affect a person greatly. If someone knows the hard work that their ancestors did it can lead to a lot more humility for that person. No person gets to where they are in life without the hard work of the people that came before them, especially in America. Almost no one is a native of American which makes it a melting pot for all cultures, which means knowing your history is important. The hard work of my ancestors I feel is extremely important due to the story that surrounds the last name of Heintzelman. The story of the Heinzelmännchen, which originated in Cologne, Germany, was a legend about elves who would do the chores of the lazy townspeople. Every night when the townspeople went to sleep the Heinzelmännchens would come up to do that work that the townspeople had neglected to do (Kopisch and Thrlet). This was a myth that was started many years ago in Cologne but is still remembered today. The story of the Heinzelmännchens is commemorated in statues that stand in Cologne and through my last name. The story of the Heinzelmännchen has been passed down from generation to generation in my family, as the beginning of our last name and heritage. However, this is not the only way that lore is passed down, we have also passed down our history through our names, as many Heintzelmans have been named after

As I embarked on this assignment I was unsure how to begin and what stories to tell. I did not know if I should commence with how my family came to America, my family tree, or a fascinating story about how my grandparents met. In order to complete this assignment I convened with my grandfather, Earl W. Stafford Sr., who knows a lot about our family history, to learn as much as I could.

I usually do one line of my mother's side, and once my road block was cleared of who my 3rd great grandfather's father was, that arrived in Canada via New York and Albany in August 1785, the line was very well documented in Clan and Peer books. Other lines are obscured with the lack of records when they arrived, born, married, lived and died all before regular census records. So the quilt has many holes.

William, known as Bill, was born on July 20, 1921 in Minneapolis, MN. He worked in the plaster/stucco business for over 25 years before working at Northwest Airlines. His wife’s maiden name was Lorraine Mulcahy. Lorraine was born on August 13, 1922 in St. Paul, MN. Lorraine went to college at the University of Minnesota where she got her Bachelor of Science degree and became a dental hygienist. My grandma “Lo” is the genealogy nut in our family. She has searched for birthdates, marriage licenses, and other documents of her grandparents. I called grandma Lo to get some information on my great-grandparents and family stories. I found out I was part Norwegian and I never even knew it! Grandma Lo’s parents were Edward Mulcahy and Olga Shermoen. Her father Ed was born on April 15, 1880 in Minneapolis, MN. Ed worked as a claim agent for the Great Northern Railroad in the twin cities. Olga was born on March 15, 1888 in Hawley, MN. She also worked for the Great Northern Railroad as a matron. Edward was 100% Irish while Olga was 100% Norwegian. This makes my grandma Lorraine 50% Irish & 50% Norwegian. My grandpa Bill was adopted in Minneapolis so his genealogy is unknown. He was told by his adopted parents that he was mostly Irish. If we pretended Bill was 100% Irish, this would make my mom 75% Irish and 25% Norwegian.

At some point of our lives, we’ve all wondered who our ancestors are, and what might

Origins of a family have meaning and history. By keeping track of family relations also known as a family tree it can allow us to keep records of the past. The Edwards family tree shows great record from the early 1700 's to the mid 1800 's. This family tree demonstrates when a person was baptized; when they got married; and when they passed away. The Edwards family chart show the different relations of marriages and fertility rate from today 's society. From the chart we can determine that the Edwards family show a different demography compared to todays society. This is because life expectancy was shorter; families were larger; and finally marriages were happening at a young age.

I’m amazed at how many Americans don’t know their own family heritage any further back than their grandparents. For many years, I was one of them. I would casually tell people, “My family never really talked much about our family tree, because we were afraid we’d find horse thieves hanging from the branches.” But, bad or good, I always wondered about my roots.

Since I have always had such a fascination with genealogy, I thought it an honorable undertaking to research our ancestry. I wish someone had done it fifty years ago so that I might have access to more information on our direct line of ancestors, other than the word of mouth passed down through the generations that I’ve had to rely on and what little I have found digging through dusty courthouse records.”

My tree is set to private, but I'm willing to share it to those with surnames listed on my research list. I'm constantly researching and to any cousins past the levels not able to trace, I'll be in touch when can find any leads.

I started a family, researching into genealogy last year. I found distant cousins through trees and Ancestry DNA. Jaguanana reached out to me on Ancestry our DNA predicted us 1st-2nd cousins by

This is part four of the series "Where Do I Start as a Beginning Genealogist?". Glad to see you! If you haven't read parts

Family history is something most people do not know much about. This is unfortunate because some people do not or are unable to value their families past. Family history is important for many different reasons. It can be used to meet family members a person never knew about and for educational purpose. I was fortunate enough to have my grandparents still alive to tell me about their great-grandparents and grandparents. I never truly understand how interesting and important it is to know about where my family came from until I did this project. My family consists of Polish and German immigrants.

An aunt was going through Ancestry.com to find out more information about her family members, when she came across a name that she knew well, but shocked her at the same time, according to Dallas News.

In order to become an Accredited Genealogist you must first submit an application to begin your process. You also need to include in your application your four generation research project. The second step, is you must acquire and pass the written test. This test can be taken at The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. The final step in the process is to participate as well as pass the oral review. This is judged by accredited genealogists.

My mother's side family tracing is limited. I hope can find out more about her side.