Wow! Nine Hints for 7GGF Johann Valentine Landt from Germany

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When I opened my Huskonen-Dingman-Van Court-Scheppelmann Family Tree on Ancestry.com this afternoon, I saw that 99+ ancestors and collateral relatives had “hints.” I clicked on the first name on the list: Johann Valentin Landt from Germany who is my 6th great grandfather. Here is how I am descended from Johann on my tree:

  • Johann Valentine Landt (1695 – 1791) 6th great-grandfather
  • Velton Landt (1739 – ) son of Johann Valentine Landt
  • Elizabeth Landt (1754 – ) daughter of Velton Landt
  • Jacob Dingman (1788 – 1871) son of Elizabeth Landt
  • Nelson Dingman (1818 – 1907) son of Jacob Dingman
  • Andrew Simpson Dingman (1853 – 1909) son of Nelson Dingman
  • Wallace Betts Dingman (1881 – 1920) son of Andrew Simpson Dingman
  • Mary Jane Dingman (1908 – 1975) daughter of Wallace Betts Dingman
  • Wallace Dingman Huskonen You are the son of Mary Jane Dingman
Ancestry.com claimed that there were nine hints attached to Johann. In opening up the list, I found that one from the Netherlands was no longer available. Another hint was for Velton Landt, Johann’s son. So there were seven hints to check out. And I was very interested in doing so because I have been turning more attention to my German ancestry, which comes from my mother’s side. There are other family lines involved, in addition to the line outlined above.
Incidentally, I think that it is interesting that Elizabeth Landt, with her German ancestry, married Rudolphus Dingman, my fourth great grandfather, who was of Dutch ancestry.
Here are the hints any my first take on each:
Ancestry Member Trees

This hint compiles information from 15 other Public Ancestry Member Trees.

Name Johann Valentine Landt

Birth 1695 – , , , Germany

Death 8 Aug 1791 – Claverack, Columbia, New York, United States

This hint has considerable information in the 15 trees and many appear to be well-documented. I will have to spend some time reviewing the data, including parents of Johann and names and dates for children.

Dresden, Germany, Weekly Church Reports of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1685-1879
Birth, Marriage & Death
Name Johann Valentin Lindt

This record is for Johann Valentin Lindt [sic] and is hand-written. This will take some time to translate and evaluate before I add anything to Johann’s record on my tree.

Germany, Select Marriages, 1558-1929
Birth, Marriage & Death
Name Valentin Lindt

This record is only an index entry about the child of Valetin Lindt as Johann Valentin Lindt. This probably is Johann. More checking is necessary.

Slovakia, Church and Synagogue Books, 1592-1910
Birth, Marriage & Death
Name Johann Lant
Spouse Eva Elisabetha
Gender Male

This record is for the birth of Johann Gottlieb Lant, child of Johann Lant and Eva Elisabetha. Given the source of the record in Slovakia and the differences in names, this probably is not my guy.

U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783
Military
Name Johannis Landt
Military 27 Apr 1780 – New York

This is not my Johann, who would be 85 in 1780, but probably is his grandson. This needs to be confirmed before adding it to his grandson.

U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
Immigration & Emigration
Name Johannes Lantz
Arrival 1710 – New York, New York
Here is another record that could apply to my Johann, as he would have been 15 years old in 1710, but this needs more research to confirm that it applies. Ancestry.com provides this detail about the source: JONES, HENRY Z., JR. The Palatine Families of New York: A Study of the German Immigrants Who Arrived in Colonial New York in 1710, Volume I. Universal City, CA: Author, PO Box 8341, Universal City, CA, 1985. 624p.

New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920
Immigration & Emigration
Name Johannes Lant
Vital 1759 – Claverack, Columbia, New York, United States
Residence 1759 – Claverack, Columbia, New York, United States

This is another index entry with no other qualifying data, but the date and location are appropriate for Johann, so it probably is good information despite the slight variation in surname spelling. I will add the residence info to Johann’s record.

There remains the hint for Velton Landt:
Germany, Select Marriages, 1558-1929
Birth, Marriage & Death
Name Valentin Lindt
This is “index only” entry for Valentin Lindt, father of male child Johann Valentin Lindt. The Source Information states that the original data was taken from Germany, Marriages, 1558-1929. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. It is not clear from the online information why the index record would seem to be about a birth when the title of the database suggests it is about marriages. Following the link provided on Ancestry.com yields the information that there were many Valentins with similar surnames including Lindt, Landt, Lintz, Lentz, Luentz.

I will probably add data to Johann’s profile from only three or four hints of the nine presented. Ancestry.com tends to cast a wide net in suggesting family tree hints. It is easy to add information to your tree from these hints, but care is needed to add only relevant information.

Voting in Election 2016 Should Be Fraud-Free

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MJ and I voted today in the 2016 Election. Obviously, since there are 19 days to go before the November 8 Election Day, we voted by mail. For four years before this spring’s primary, I worked as a poll worker in Brecksville. The Cuyahoga County Election Board encouraged poll workers to vote by mail, and as a result, I learned the advantages: you don’t have to wait in line (in 2012 at my polling place, waits of a half hour were common), and you also can study the ballot at your leisure and make sure that you are voting the right way for officials and issues.

Several weeks ago, I requested our mail ballots on the website of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections–after confirming that we were registered.  I simply entered last name and the date of birth for each of us.

The ballots were mailed out on October 12 as mandated by Ohio law.  I got mine two days later and MJ’s arrived after three days.  Over the past weekend, I researched the recommendations for the various judgeships that were on the ballot for Cuyahoga County and the State of Ohio. There also was an election for the state school board to be studied. Local issues are pretty straight forward.

As far as the national, state, and county elections are concerned, we pretty much voted for Democrats, which included Hillary Clinton and Tom Kaine for president and vice president.

Until recently, I maintained an independent status, and I was considered an independent when I served as a poll worker. Our four-person poll worker teams consisted of one or two representatives of each party along with me as an independent, depending on the election. Certain functions could be performed only by two registered voters with each party represented.

A year ago, the “Party of No” (Republican) finally got to me, and I voted in the Democrat primary, making me a registered Democrat.

Donald Trump, in his failing campaign as the Republican presidential candidate, is claiming that the system is rigged; that it will be rife with fraudulent voting.  Based on my experience as a poll worker, and being exposed to the procedures that the Cuyahoga Board of Elections follows to 1) register and track voters, 2) check them in at the polling place, and 3) collect and count the ballots, I can say that Donald doesn’t know what he is talking about–at least in Ohio. First of all, you have to bring proof of your identity to the polling place. Beginning with this first step it is impossible for somebody to vote more than once as each voter is checked against a poll book compiled for the specific election. Then every voted ballot is entered into a sealed voting machine for counting by optical scanning. The paper ballot is collected by the machine as backup if a recount is needed. The machine count and the ballots are then turned over to the Election Board where they are added to the county vote totals. There are many checks and balances in this system, which is in place across the state of Ohio. There might be some voter fraud  in other jurisdictions across the country, but not in Ohio.

In closing, the Board of Election tracks our ballots from request through to counting. We received text messages that they were mailed, and the website also indicated that they were mailed.  In a couple of days, I expect to be notified that our ballots were received and submitted for counting.

Mary Jane’s Piano and Pizza Parties

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My wife, Mary Jane (MJ for short), has been diagnosed with dementia. This condition has been developing for awhile, and in fact, because of it she had to give up her piano teaching practice in the spring of 2014. Since that time, we have been slowly working on sorting piano music, written records about students, and miscellaneous other paper materials. We have been throwing out some papers and preparing other materials for donation to Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory.

Today I found a copy of an email MJ submitted to a piano teachers discussion group on Yahoo in 2004. I read it with joy because it reminded me of the MJ I knew for more than 50 years. Today, she isn’t able to operate her computer, much less organize an event like this and communicate about it with this much information. I am publishing her email text it its entirety here:

From: “mjhuskonen”<mjhuskonen@ameritech.net>
To: <piano-teachers@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 9:03 AM
Subject: [piano-teachers] Re: Holiday parties & gifts from students

I have a Holiday pizza party for students only. Each student plays two of their favorites pieces. In most cases, one or both are Holiday pieces. We have a number drawing to determine the order in which they play. I select one student to play “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as a “sing along” to end the recital portion of the party. I started a new tradition last year of giving a miniature bust of a composer as my gift to each student. One student is chosen to play the mystery tune to “guess the composer.” Last year it was “Ode to Joy” (Beethoven) and this year my six year old December beginner is playing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” (Mozart). She knows she is playing something VERY SPECIAL but, since she wasn’t here last year, I’m not telling her why. it is special. She is very excited to find out why and is delighted that she is playing somethng special. (I hope someone guesses this one.)

I started using the composer statues since I found it difficult to find anything that could be given to anyone from ages 5 to 75 years. I previously have given a couple of sheet “new music” pieces to each student, but found wrapping little boxes with composers much less time consuming. For next year, I’m considering having each student play something from the “Nutcracker” and therefore everyone will be playing the “mystery tune.”

The first student to arrive is assigned the job of giving out pre-printed name tags. I put names on all the giffs and the person who first guesses the name of the composer passes the gifts out at random. Each student then has to match the name on the gift to a name tag. It serves as a “mixer” and then it’s off to the kitchen for pizza and punch. After eating, we fill whatever time is left with “painting” decorations on Holiday cookies which they take home to their families. Some, of course, are eaten here. I set out paint brushes and a variety of colored icings. It’s amazing how many students are also very good artists. (One of my adult students is a high school art teacher and I’11 use his talent to inspire anyone who needs help.)

Regarding gifts, I haven’t had the courage to request that they not bring me anything. Some take great pleasure in bringing, candy, cookies, ornaments, or something special they have made. I immediately open any gifts brought to a lesson, but set aside and open later, any that are brought to our Holiday parly. Thank you notes are mailed to everyone who brings a gift. My favorite gifts are Christmas tree ornaments which every year remind me of students “from the past.” No matter how many years old they are, I still fondly remember which student the ornament came from.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

MJ

Look for me to publish more information like this in this blog in the future. I aim to do so because of attending a meeting of the Cuyahoga Valley Genealogical Society a couple months ago and hearing Dr Deborah Abbott make the case for writing down what you have done with your life for your children and other descendants.  In this case, I am acting on behalf of MJ, for the benefit of her children, grandchildren, and other descendants, and I hope to record other aspects of her life, along with some of my own experiences.

 

The Question of Writing Dates

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In an online article “Data Entry Standards for Genealogists & Research,” there is a section on Dates. Here is what this guide says about entering dates:

  • The most readable and reliable format for presenting dates is day, month, year; this style is least likely to create confusion when entering, matching, or merging data.
  • Abbreviate months as: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec without a period. Enter days with double digits and present four digits for the year.
  • Dates can be estimated, if documented as such, by preceding the date with one of the following codes which are all entered without a period: about = “abt” after =“aft” before =“bef” between =“bet” calculated =“cal”

Go here to read the entire article: https://www.geni.com/projects/Data-Entry-Standards-for-Genealogists-Research/3102

I bring this up because I still see many date entries in online family trees using the practice common in American English of entering a date in all numerals with the month, day, and year separated by slashes. Thus, the 4th of July 2000 would be written 4/7/2000. The Cambridge Dictionary Online website uses this specific example to illustrate how American English differs from British practice, pointing out that the date would be 4/7/2000 in British English. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/dates

The practice in genealogy outlined in the geni.com article above is preferred because it spells out a date precisely. The reader will not misunderstand the day of the month or the month. Also, there is no confusion about what century is referred to, as in 1916 or 2016, which there possibly could be with the year presented only with two digits as 16.

I find that I am so conditioned to using the genealogical approach to writing out dates that I date my handwritten checks (I still use these for some payments) in the format two-digit day, three-character month, and four-digit year.

I do use another format whenever I am entering dates into my Evernote application on all my devices, which sorts everything automatically and will find anything I want to retrieve. It is the ISO style for dates. Here is how the Chicago Manual of Style describes it:

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recommends an all-numeral style consisting of year-month-day (i.e., from largest component to smallest), hyphenated. The year is given in full, and the month or day, if one digit only, is preceded by a zero. Thus January 19, 2010, appears as 2010-01-19. Among other advantages, this style allows dates to be sorted correctly in an electronic spreadsheet and other applications.

This is found in the Chicago Manual of Style online at http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/ch09/ch09_sec037.html

Again, this is the date entry style I use for notes in Evernote. Each note with a date in the title is filed chronologically, either in ascending order or descending order, depending on my setting at the moment for sorting for the database.

For further reading on dates in genealogy:

MyHeritage Blog pont of 12 Jan 2015 entitled “Understanding Dates: Five common mistakes to avoid” at http://blog.myheritage.com/2015/01/understanding-dates-five-common-mistakes-to-avoid/

“Introduction to Genealogy, Lesson 1e: Recording Dates” is a comprehensive article about the subject at About.com Genealogy. Go here: http://genealogy.about.com/library/lessons/blintro1e.htm

 

 

Online Guide to Historic Maps of Cleveland and the Western Reserve

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Did you every wonder if a map was available for a specific location in the Cleveland area and for a specific time period?

Well, there is a website for that: Cleveland Cartography at http://www.clevelandmemory.com/speccoll/maps/clevmaps.html

The website was created and is maintained by Bill Barrow, head of special collections at Cleveland State University. You can read about Bill and the Special Collections at CSU at http://library.csuohio.edu/speccoll/

The objective of the Cleveland Cartography website is to provide “Information about historical and contemporary maps and map-related happenings in and about Cleveland and the Western Reserve region of northeastern Ohio.”

One of the pages on the website provides some useful background on maps and Cleveland history: “Using Maps to Study Local History in Cleveland, Ohio.” Bill Barrow created this brief tutorial to instruct you on what is available and how to use it to learn about neighborhoods and related topics. You’ll find it here: http://www.clevelandmemory.org/speccoll/maps/USING/. Be sure to click through the links he provides to get the full value.

 

August Scheppelmann: His Two Arrivals in New York

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On 11 Aug 1922, August Scheppelmann, grandfather of my wife, Mary Jane Van Court Huskonen,  arrived in New York on the SS George Washington. The passenger manifest provides some important details: August’s home address was simply RFD Linesville, PA. He was a U.S. citizen by naturalization, which took place in District Court [Federal] Pittsburg [sic] PA, on 18 Oct 1902.

SS George Washington

The transatlantic voyage of the George Washington, of the North-German Lloyd Service, began on 2 Aug 1922 in Bremen. Many of the passengers had what appeared to be German surnames, and most were naturalized in a wide variety of federal and local courts  Also, they gave home addresses from all over America.  It is possible, even probable, that a tour operator made arrangements for these German-Americans to visit the land of their birth, almost exactly four year after the end of WWI in November 1918.

August Scheppelmann was returning to the United States after visiting his family in Nienburg, Germany. He had emigrated from Germany in 1897, arriving in New York on 15 Oct on the SS Normmania, of the Hamburg-Amerika Linie. His occupation: blacksmith, and his destination: Pittsburg [sic]. He was traveling to meet a cousin, whose name I have yet to decipher.

ss-normannia-1890-1898

We’ll have more on the life and times of August Scheppelmann in future posts.

Grandpa Huskonen Becomes a U.S. Citizen

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My paternal grandfather, Evert Huuskonen, immigrated to America in 1902. He arrived in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, on the SS Tunisian, and entered the U.S. at Buffalo, New York on 29 Oct 1902. He left behind in Finland his wife, Ida Maria, and four children: Edith, Emil, Wilma, and Mary. They would join him the next year in Conneaut, Ashtabula, Ohio. The family would later change the spelling of their family name to Huskonen.

Evert was literate, and liked to read Finnish newspapers, according to my cousin, Joyce Huskonen White. Over the years, he learned enough English to finally petition for citizenship on 10 Oct 1935 in the Common Pleas Court in Jefferson, the county seat of Ashtabula County. He was naturalized three years later on 22 Apr 1938 at age 64.

In the 1940 Census, he was enumerated with the designation NA in the citizenship column, which indicates that he was naturalized. In earlier censues, his citizenship status was AL, for alien.

Based on this census record, I went to the website for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and requested a search for his C file (citizenship file). The cost for this search was $20. If I had known his Citizenship No., I could have avoided this search step and simply ordered his C file.

After a few weeks, I received a letter back from USCIS confirming that Evert did become naturalized and providing his citizenship file number. I could order his C file for for an additional payment of $20. Alternatively, I could have driven to Jefferson and obtained a copy from the Common Pleas Court. Because of the 1.5-hr drive to and from Jefferson,  I opted for ordering the C file from USCIS.

I received copies of the papers in Evert Huskonen’s C file a few weeks later. The file included his Declaration of Intention (aka first papers), his Petition for Naturalization, and a copy of his Certificate of Citizenship.Declaration of Indent -- Huskonen, Evertb
Petition for Citizenship -- Huskonen, EvertThe Declaration and the Petition both listed Rautalampi, Finland as his birthplace, and listed the names and residences of family members, starting with his wife, Ida Maria, my grandmother, and continuing with daughter Edith Nikkari, living in New York City; son Emil, Ashtabula, Ohio; Wilma Seppelin, Warren, Ohio; Mary Siekkinen, Ashtabula, Ohio; son Hugh, Williamsfield, Ohio; and Walfrid (my father), Andover, Ohio. In addition, the Petition gave birthplaces in Finland of Ida Maria (Kongikangas) and Edith, Emil, Wilma, and Mary (Rautalampi). Son Hugh was born in Conneaut, Ohio, and son Walfrid in Ashtabula, Ohio.

An interesting item from the Petition for Naturalization is that my maternal great uncle, Walter Dingman, gave an affidavit that he know Evert. At the time, he was a farmer in Williamsfield. Another witness was B M Coursen, a farmer living in Andover.Certificate of Citizenship -- Huskonen, Evert

More on Grandma Huskonen’s Alien Registration

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As I posted yesterday, my grandmother, Ida Maria Huskonen, was required to register as an alien during WWII. As it turned out, she was one of more than 4.7 million people living in America who registered as aliens. In my grandmother’s case, I’m sure that my father, Walfrid, took Grandma to Jefferson, the Ashtabula County seat, for her original registration on 21 Sep 1940 to fill out a two-page Alien Registration Form. The Form is filled out with a typewriter and signed by Carrie Knapp, registering official.

In yesterday’s post, I outlined the process I followed to obtain her alien file (A file) from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency (https://www.uscis.gov/). It yielded a photostatic copy of the filled-in Alien Registration Form (see below), plus one copy of an Address Report Card dated 24 Jan 1951 (also below).  Apparently, Grandma had to report her address every year until 1951. The handwriting on this card suggests to me that it was filled out by my father (at least it looks like other handwriting samples I have from him). Since only one card remained in her file, I assume that as she submitted new card, the previous year’s card was discarded. Also interesting is that the back of the card is stamped with Andover, O, which probably indicates that it was turned in at the post office in Andover.

Both documents included her registration number: 1994788, which probably was assigned to her when she filled out the Alien Registration Form in Jefferson.

I was struck by the fact that the typewritten name on the Form was Ida Maria Huskonen, but she signed her name very clearly as Ida Mari Huskonen. The spelling of Mari apparently is the more traditional Finnish spelling for Maria (see http://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/finnish).

Most of the information requested (required) by the Alien Registration Form I already knew before obtaining Grandma’s file, including such data as her birth date and birthplace in Finland, the date she arrived in American, and the ship she arrived on.

Because of her role as housewife in 1940, many of the questions didn’t yield anything new and or interesting, but for other registrants, occupation and employer data would be valuable. Other lines of questioning involved activities over the previous five years (clubs and other organizations), military service, citizenship applications, and criminal records, For most of these, she answered “none.” She did provide answers for how many relatives were living in America (husband and 6 children).

Images of the Form (front and back) and the Address Report Card are provided below:

Alien Registration-Form p1-Huskonen, Ida Maria Alien Registration-Form p 2-Huskonen, Ida Maria Alien Registration card--Huskonen, Ida Maria

 

 

Grandma Was An Alien!

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The Alien Registration Act of 1940 (aka the Smith Act) was enacted by the 76th U. S. Congress on 29 Jun 1940. It required all non-citizen adult residents to register with the government (It also set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government).

Registrations began on 27 Aug 1940, and the newly created Alien Registration Division of the Immigration and Naturalization Service planned to register between three and three and a half million people at 45,000 post offices by 26 Dec 1940, after which those not registered became subject to penalties of the Smith Act.

The Division advanced the view that registration benefited the alien, who “is now safeguarded from bigoted persecution.” The alien was to bring a completed form to a post office and be fingerprinted. Registration cards would be delivered by mail and would serve “in the nature of protection if the alien later runs afoul of the police.” The details required for registration were expanded since the passage of the Act to include race, employer’s name and address, relatives in the U.S., organization memberships, application for citizenship, and military service record for the U.S. or any other country.

The government encouraged registration by asking citizens to participate with this rationale:

“The Immigration and Naturalization Service asks for the cooperation of all citizens in carrying out the Alien Registration program in a friendly manner so that our large foreign population is not antagonized. Citizens may be of great help to their non-citizen neighbors or relatives by explaining to those who do not speak English well what the registration is, where aliens go to register, and what information they must give.”

The number registered passed 4.7 million by January 1941. In the following WWII years, even more aliens were registered.

What Are Alien Files?
The result of all this activity was a large collection of records called Alien Files, or “A-Files.” They are individual files identified by subject’s Alien Registration Number (“A-number”). An A-number is a unique personal identifier assigned to a non-citizen. A-Files became the official file for all immigration and naturalization records created or consolidated since April 1, 1944.

A-Files can be a rich source of biographical information. A-files contain relatively modern immigration documents collected together in one file. The United States collected increasing amounts of information from immigrants through the 20th century. A-Files from mid-century can hold a wealth of data, including visas, photographs, applications, affidavits, correspondence, and more.

Just as each immigrant received a singular A-number, each immigrant’s A-File is special. A-File content depends on the history of interaction between the immigrant and the agency. Some A-Files are only a few pages. Others contain scores or hundreds of pages in multiple folders.

More Background

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) started issuing each non-citizen a unique A-number in 1940 as part of the Alien Registration Program (see Alien Registration Forms). On April 1, 1944, INS started using A-numbers to create individual files, called A-Files. INS opened or consolidated A-Files for every immigrant who arrived after April 1, 1944 or naturalized after April 1, 1956, and for immigration law enforcement matters.

Before A-Files, many aliens had more than one file with the agency. For example, an immigrant might have a Visa File, an AR-2, and a C-File. Accessing all agency records for an alien often required INS personnel to search multiple records systems and indexes. INS introduced A-Files to streamline its record keeping. Issuing each immigrant an A-number allowed INS to create one file for each immigrant containing all the agency’s records for the subject.

From April 1, 1944 to March 31, 1956, A-Files contained all INS records of any active case of an immigrant not yet naturalized. When the agency opened an A-File for a non-citizen with previous agency records, INS consolidated its other records for the subject into the new A-File. Upon naturalization, INS consolidated (refiled) all agency records of the new citizen in his or her Certificate File (“C-File”) and the A-File ceased to exist. Beginning April 1, 1956, INS started filing all agency records for active cases, including naturalization records, in the subject’s A-File. USCIS continues this practice today.

If the immigrant later naturalized between ca. 1942 and 1956, you may find the A-number at the bottom of the naturalization index card maintained by the naturalization court. If that A-number is below approximately 5.6 million, there should be a corresponding Form AR-2 (see C-Files). If the immigrant did not later naturalize, you may find the number on or among the immigrant’s personal papers.

This all seems a bit complicated, and, to some extent, it is. However, the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is the repository for A-files and its website has an orderly way to seek out the file material for an ancestor who might have been required to register during WWII. Be advised, however, that it does require payment of search and retrieval fees.

This diagram from the USCIS website (https://www.uscis.gov/historyandgenealogy ) shows the process for searching and retrieving a file (if any).USCIS Flow Chart

The receipt reproduced a the end of this post shows the information that I provided in my online search request.

After about 30 days, I received a letter confirming that indeed my grandmother did have an A-File and that for $35 I could request that it be retrieved and sent to me.

I filled out Form G-1041A, Genealogy Records Request online and paid my $35. Then more wating!

Finally, after about 100 days, I received the requested file for Ida Maria Huuskonen.

In this case, there wasn’t much I didn’t already know about Grandma in this file. I knew when she emigrated from Finland and where from, and I knew who her family members were in this country. But if somebody does not know all this information, then the alien registration form can be provide valuable additional information.

Was receiving the file worth the $55 I spent for searching and retrieving it? From an information standpoint, probably not. But I did derive satisfaction from seeking out and obtaining one additional record set for my paternal grandmother.

The Genealogy Program established by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency is described in a brochure. To view it and download it, go here:
http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/History%20and%20Genealogy/Genealogy/genealogy_brochure.pdf

USCIS brochure cover

My Receipt for the original search request for Grandma’s file:

Search Request Case ID: GEN-10115019
The total charge $20.00 has been paid on line.
Below is a summary of your request. Print this page as your confirmation.
Requester Information:
Name: Mr. Wallace D Huskonen
Address: 9240 Meadow Lane Brecksville, OH 44141 USA
Phone: 440-526-1238
Email: whuskonen@gmail.com
Immigrant Information:
Name: Ida Maria Huskonen
Date of Birth: 03/17/1869 (Actual Date of Birth)
Country of Birth: Finland
Immigrant Information Additional:
Immigrant Place of Residence: Ashtabula, Ashtabula County, Ohio. Period of Residence: abt 1903 to abt 1920
Immigrant Place of Residence: Williamsfield Twp, Ashtabula County, Ohio. Period of Residence: abt 1920 to abt 1950
Immigrant Place of Residence: Ashtabula, Ashtabula County, Ohio. Period of Residence: abt 1950 to 1958
Immigrant Arrival Date: 08/12/1903
Immigrant Information Optional:
Maiden Name: Ida Maria Hytonen
Spouse’s Name: Evert Huuskonen
Other Nam e: Ida Maria Huuskonen
Other Information: Married in Finland Oct 20, 1893
Case Opened Date: 1/17/2014 2:40:40 P M

 

Doing Catholic Cemetery Research in Cleveland Area

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We just learned of a very important research tool for genealogists searching for information about Catholic ancestors (and non-Catholic family members buried with them) in the Cleveland area. The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland has been putting online a database of all burials in the cemeteries of its Catholic Cemeteries Association.

The association started out with smaller cemeteries. Recently, it uploaded data for Calvary Cemetery, which is big news. According to Wikipedia, Calvary is the largest Catholic cemetery in greater Cleveland and one of the largest in Ohio. According to the Wikipedia entry, there are more than 305,000 interments in the cemetery.

Calvary Cemetery sign

To read more about Calvary, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvary_Cemetery_(Cleveland)

Here is how the Association website describes work on this very important research resource (http://www.clecem.org/Services/BurialSearch.aspx) :

Over the past two years the Catholic Cemeteries Association [serving the Diocese of Cleveland] has embarked upon the consolidation of all burial records into a centralized database. The online burial search and shopping cart are only available at this current point in time for the following cemeteries:

All Saints, Northfield
All Souls, Chardon
Calvary, Cleveland
Holy Cross, Akron
Holy Cross, Brook Park
Resurrection, Valley City
St. Joseph, Avon
Calvary, Lorain
St. Mary, Cuyahoga Heights
St. Mary, Elyria
St. Mary of the Falls, Berea
Elmhurst Park, Avon
Holy Trinity, Avon
Work is currently ongoing on the following cemeteries:
St. John, Cleveland
St. Joseph, Cleveland
Assumption of Mary, Brook Park
St. Paul, Euclid.

To search our database for names and burial locations, you will need to create an account using the link below. https://www.clecem.org/Account/Register.aspx

I am not Catholic, but I frequently do research for friends and clients who are. I was able to create an account by entering a user name, my email address, a password, and a security question.

Once I had created an account, I was able to log in and search for names. The process is very user friendly and I easily found the information that I was looking for.

When visiting this website, you might want to check out the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) at https://www.clecem.org/Information/FAQ.aspx.

One important FAQ for researchers:

Do cemeteries keep accurate records?
The Catholic Cemeteries Association has always had expert record keeping. Records dating back more than 150 years are kept at the cemetery offices and are updated daily.