The Simon Family of Aschach: A New Branch for Our Family Tree

Back in February, I mentioned that the digital archives of Bistum Regensburg (Catholic Diocese of Regensburg) were apparently going online this year, after years of waiting. Sure enough, beginning in July, the parish books started appearing at Matricula in alphabetical order. As of this writing, we’re on the letter R, less than 5 parishes away …

The Roesch Connection

The Big Picture: My Dad grew up on Roesch Avenue in the city of Buffalo. This month I learned we’re descendants of the Roesch family. After years of not being available in the United States, the archives of the Catholic Diocese of Regensburg in Bavaria are coming online this summer, one parish at a time. …

Ancestor Spotlight: François-Alexis DeLevi (1658-1748)

Deep into the German/French ancestry on my Dad’s side is my 9th great-grandfather François-Alexis DeLevi (variations: DeLevy, Levi, Levy). He was a Surgeon by trade in a small town called Homburg. It was surrounded by walls and it was essentially a barracks in his time, with military activity bustling. When I visited the Archives at …

Waiting on Bistum Regensburg: The Digitization Project is Underway

After years of inquiries, it’s a thrill to know that the Catholic Diocese of Regensburg is digitizing its records and soon they will be available online, most likely for free. The tough part now is waiting. And there is no clear indication when the project will be complete. I have 3 immigrant ancestors born in …

My Innkeeping Ancestors from Flieden Parish in Hessen

When I learned my immigrant ancestor Nicolaus Becker was from Hesse-Kassel, I had to wait patiently for years until his home parish of Flieden digitized its records for online viewing. That happened in 2021. It was the middle of COVID-19 when the churchbooks landed on Matricula in early 2021, and I used the ‘stuck at …

St. Boniface RC Church, Buffalo, Transcription Project

I’m working on indexing marriages for St. Boniface RC Church in Buffalo, New York. The German-American Catholic Church served the Fruit Belt area and it was located at 151 Mulberry St. A transcription project like this is helpful for my own research, with numerous connections to the parish through my paternal grandmother, but it may …

Buffalo Zoo Memorial: Esther Taylor Wettlaufer (1902-1914)

Something a bit different: I’m exploring the family history of someone I’m not related to, at least that I know of. But I have a connection with her still, my hometown of Buffalo is her hometown. I was walking around the Buffalo Zoo taking pictures of the animals when I realized a fountain with a …

The Cruise Connection: WikiTree Challenge Establishes Distant Relation To Tom Cruise

For those unfamiliar, WikiTree is where genealogists collaborate to build one big family tree together. It has great tools for collaboration and one fun aspect of it is their challenges. They do a weekly WikiTree Challenge connecting famous people to the larger tree and building out more connections to them. This week’s challenge was American …

Another Kenneally Connection: More DNA Evidence Points To Askeaton, Co. Limerick

I first learned of my Kanalley family being DNA-connected to the Kenneally family of Askeaton, Co. Limerick years ago. Indeed, my immigrant ancestor’s death notice says he was from Co. Limerick, so it wasn’t a surprise, but it was interesting to follow that lead, which led to learning we still have relatives in Askeaton to …