Monday

Swedes in Chicago

In 1910 Stockholm Sweden was the only city with more Swedish-born inhabitants than Chicago, Illinois.  I just stumbled across this this morning and I am surprised I have never come across this before.

The Encyclopedia of Chicago
presented by
Chicago History Museum, The Newberry Library, and Northwestern University


The entire site is a treasure-trove of information on Chicago worth spending a good chunk of your morning on. I did.  I have bookmarked it as one of my favorite links. Reminds me..I haven't been to the Chicago History Museum in a number of years. I have got to get down there.
click below to see the section on the Swedes in Chicago.



Thursday

134 years ago today - Albin & Anna Abrahamsson

16 July 1881, 134 years ago today, Robert Albin Abrahamsson married Anna Karolina Karlsdotter in Håcksvik, Älvsborg, Sweden. He was 21 and she was 22. Whether it was a union of love we can't know as times and marriage were different then. But stories of them and their nine children all seem to be happy accountings passed on by their children to their grandchildren and great grandchildren and great great grandchildren. There are now close to 300 of us, direct descendants of the couple, my great-grandparents.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ALBIN & ANNA!

            



                                           **clicking on photos or documents will enlarge them for easier viewing*

Monday

Hey guys! This is supposed to be fun!

I really need to vent. I am not a total "newbie" to this genealogy pastime but I also know I have lots and lots to learn. Social media has proved to be a HUGE help in my family history research. So many out there sharing their expertise, looking up records, translating documents etc..  BUT..a few, and I do mean a very few, have really got on my nerves with a very rather snobby "I have all the answers and you aren't doing this right" attitude. Telling others their work isn't good, not sourced correctly, and that their questions are simplistic, redundant or in general wasting their time. Hey guys! This is not brain surgery! This is a hobby! This is supposed to be fun! We were all "name grabbers" when we first began. Let us not discourage anyone from continuing this very satisfying journey to find and understand the family that made us who we are.  Amy Johnson Crow said it the best , check it out.

"GENEALOGY AND ELITISM: IT ISN'T WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S HOW YOU SAY IT"

Amen Amy.