To: Anne (his sister)Canonsburg, PAAugust 18, 1910 Dear sister and brother!We received your letter in the best of health and hope you will receive this letter good as well. Well, Anna, I was glad to notice that this letter was more positive than the previous letter. I read in the previous letter that you were…
On November 30, 1907 Bellonia Ruozzo left the port of Naples aboard the steamer the S. S. Roma with her husband, Vitoliano Leardi and their four year old son, Luigi, to embark on a new life in America. On their ships manifest they stated that their birthplace was in the Province of Caserta, Campania, Italy. When Vitoliano…
My grandfather, Ivan, was born in 1899 in Aspen, Colorado. His father was a miner and had moved from Leadville, CO to Aspen about 1890. The family lived in Oklahoma Flats, along the Roaring Fork River. The family consisted of Charley, Ivan’s father, Anna, Ivan’s mother and his siblings: Oscar, Alfred, Eileen, Carl, Edwin, Richard, twins Ruth…
“I interviewed my grandmother, Eda (Barney) Van Lew. She was born July 24, 1924, so she was 5 yrs. old when the Depression began in 1929. She and her family lived outside of South Glens Falls, N.Y. in a small, cement house called a bungaloo. She had two sisters, Dorothy and Kristine, who were both…
Antonia Emma Heinz was born in Buchau, Bohemia, which is near Karlsbad, on May 25, 1902. She was born to Sigmund von Heinz, who was the youngest of 5 children from Langlammitz and Marie Ulbert. After she was born she was raised by her maternal grandparents Joseph and Marie Ulbert. Antonia lived with Joseph and Marie until…
My Pake, Klaus, loved his cars. His family immigrated from the Netherlands in 1912 when he was only 4. He grew up in the era when automobiles were first introduced and where owning a car signified having succeeded in America. His cousin Grietson Oosterman was a successful businessman who owned Oosterman’s Rest Home and drove a…
Below is a story, written by my father – his own biography. This is a story of a guy named Joe. Joe, that’s me. I was born on April Fool’s Day in 1932. I was born in a small hospital in a small town called Whitinsville in the southern part of Massachusetts. When I was born, I…
I was the daughter of a military man. That meant we lived where the US Air Force decided we’d live. As such it was never anywhere near where my mothers’ parents were, they lived in Los Angeles, CA or my father’s parents, who lived near Boston, MA. That being said, I knew and remember my grandfathers. We would occasionally…
Meinte Gerben Vierstra was born on August 7, 1863 in the town of Sneek, Friesland, the Netherlands. He migrated to Kathaus (Koontz) Germany. This is a small town near the city of Trier on the Mouselle River. From Germany, he came to Canonsburg, PA United States of America. He died in Whitinsville (Northbridge), Massachusetts on…
Week 11’s theme is “Fortune.” Merriam-Webster gives several definitions for fortune: A large sum of money; prosperity attained partly through luck; or destiny, fate. Here’s my story. Finland has a long and often confusing history. It fell under Swedish realm in the 1300’s. During the 1700’s Russia terrorized the people of Finland and was eventually ceded to…