For those with US ancestors… Have you looked at the amount of schooling your relatives indicated they had in the 1940 census? Just to see if my thoughts were correct, I looked up the claimed educational level of all my living ancestors at the time of the 1940 census. Anna Habben’s 4th grade education coincides closely with the family’s immigration to the United States from Germany. The others were about where I thought they would be based upon family tradition. All of mine were living in Hancock County, Illinois, in 1940. Charles Neill (great-grandfather-St. Albans Twp.)–8th grade. Fannie Neill (great-grandmother-St. Albans Twp.)–8th grade. Fred Ufkes (great-grandfather-Bear Creek Twp.)-8th grade. Tena Ufkes (great-grandmother-Bear Creek Twp.)-6th grade. John Ufkes (grandfather-Bear Creek Twp.)-4 years of high school. Mimka Habben (great-grandfather, Prairie […]
It can be tempting to share everything you have with a newly discovered cousin. Sharing is not bad, but try and avoid overwhelming your recently discovered relative. Their level of interest may not be as high as yours and telling them that: your uncle got drunk, threatened his mother, and ended up in jail for thirty days another aunt went insane a cousin was killed after he passed out on the railroad tracks and a train ran over him your uncle’s body was exhumed three times to be autopsied may be a bit overwhelming. I’m not saying to keep stories from your cousin or to paint them a reality that did not happen. Just don’t overwhelm them. You might even want to wait to share ten generations of […]
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