Category: Ancestor Stories
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Litmanova Immigration: The Girl Who Followed Her Parents to America
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In August 1901, a thirteen-year-old girl boarded a ship in Bremen, Germany, and crossed the Atlantic alone. She came from Litmanova, a mountain village in the Kingdom of Hungary, and she was following the wave of Litmanova immigration that had already carried her father, her neighbors, and her community toward…
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WWII POW Aftermath: The Haunting Collapse of a Promising Army Officer
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In January 1940, Stephen Marcisak walked into a recruiting office in Fort Bliss, Texas, and enlisted in the Regular Army. Within two years, his commanding officer described him as “highly intelligent,” “direct,” and “forceful” — a natural leader destined for greater things. By December 1942, he had earned his commission…
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Her Secret to Family Survival? Keep the Door Open
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My great-grandmother Mary Plunkett Dowling lost her mother when she was about five years old. She spent the next forty years making sure no one else in her family would face that kind of unmooring. Hers is a story of family survival, practiced quietly, year after year. No newspaper headlines…
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The Truth About Oäkta in some Swedish Birth Records
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The first time I found oäkta in Swedish birth records, I felt something close to embarrassment. My ancestor’s story, I assumed, was one she would have wanted hidden. I was wrong. Sissa Andersdotter was twenty years old when her son Sven was born in 1867 in Näsum parish, Sweden. The…
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RootsTech 2026 Day 2: Five Advanced Sessions and One Very Tired Brain
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RootsTech 2026 Day 2 was a full day — and a heavy one. Seven sessions, most of them Advanced/Professional level, plus a running battle with the session calendar to figure out what to watch now, what to move to replay, and what to add to the wish list for next…
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She Lost Two Children, Then Crossed an Ocean to Build a New Life
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In January 1885, Anastasia Hlinka buried her first child in the village of Litmanova, Slovakia. Maria Hurkala lived seventeen days. Nine years later, Anastasia buried a second child, Petrus, at seventeen months old. And then she crossed an ocean to build a new life — not in a dramatic moment…
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When Your Mom & Dad Disagree: Conflicting Evidence in Genealogy
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Two naturalization papers. The same daughter. Two completely different birthdays. When my great-grandfather Vasil Marcisak filed his Petition for Naturalization in 1935, he listed his daughter Eva’s birth date as March 4, 1911. Eight years later, Eva’s mother Anna filed her own petition and recorded May 15, 1911. One of…
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Why Attending RootsTech 2026 Virtually Is the Right Move Right Now
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Six years ago, I started attending RootsTech virtually. I haven’t looked back. With nearly 300 sessions completed, I’ve learned that virtual attendance isn’t a consolation prize — it’s a legitimate, powerful way to engage with the world’s largest genealogy conference. This year, attending RootsTech 2026 virtually is my deliberate, strategic…
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From Leluchów With Love: Andreas Knysz and Paraskevia Kowalski
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Andreas Knysz and Paraskevia Kowalski were born in the same small mountain village in what is now southern Poland, married there in 1868, and raised three daughters there. As far as the records show, they never left. Andreas died in 1873 at just twenty-eight years old, leaving Paraskevia a widow…
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They Were Standing on the Edge… and Never Knew It
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Ola Andersson and Hanna Persdotter were standing on the edge of a major shift in their family, but had no idea it was coming. When Ola died in 1915 in Wånga, Sweden, all his grandchildren lived nearby. When Hanna died in 1926, she believed only two had left for America.…