Family History

Connections to 2020 Cleveland Presidential Debate

Tomorrow night I will be watching the first Presidential debate leading up to the 2020 Presidential election on TV. For the record, I have some connections to the site of this debate in the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion at the Health Education Campus at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic. For example,

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Huskonen Family Oral History by Mary Jane Dingman Huskonen 1970

This oral family history was recorded on a reel-to-reel tape recorder in 1969 or 1970 at the home of Wallace and Mary Jane Huskonen, 6644 Hawthorne Dr, Brecksville, Ohio. Speaking was Mary Jane Huskonen (born Dingman, known simply as Mary) with comments by her son, Walfrid. Mary made the recording for her granddaughter Karen who

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Mom Was Born 110 Years Ago Today

Mary Jane Dingman was born on December 14, 1908 (110 years ago today), to Wallace Betts Dingman and Grace Green Morley Dingman. She was born at the family’s home in Conneaut, Ashtabula County, Ohio. She grew up to be a teacher, wife, and mother, then a teacher again, business manager, and finally a caregiver. Her

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Finnish Newspaper Features My Visit to Finland

This morning, I received an email from Cousin Matti in Finland with a digital image of the report in the Savo regional newspaper about my visit to Finland during the last week in June. The headline translates into “Enjoying a Visit to My Grandparents’ Birthplace.” I wrote a basic article and sent it to Matti

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“Love Never Dies” Leaves Cleveland

Yesterday was the last day of the Cleveland, Ohio, run for the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical, “Love Never Dies.” I didn’t attend any of the performances. It would have been way too sad for me to enjoy. Here’s why: my late wife, MJ, loved the smash hit, “Phantom of the Opera.” We saw it twice,

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James S. Morley, An Important Collateral Relative

James S. Morley was not a blood relative, but he was very important to my family’s history. He and his wife, Jennie, raised my Grandma Grace as their adoptive daughter from the time she was orphaned at about age four, hence the somewhat tenuous collateral relationship. James Selby Morley died on the 6 Jun 1900

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The Mystery of Hiram Oliver Dingman

What happened to Hiram Oliver Dingman, my great uncle born in Sandy Creek Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania? Using Ancestry.com (which I used for most the the research described herein), he is easy to track through 1860 when he was 12 years old, living in the household of his father, Nelson Dingman, in Salem Township, Mercer County,

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Brother of Detective Was Named Evert

I just finished reading The Dying Detective, by Swedish crime writer Leif G.W. Persson  (translated by Neil Smith into British English). This novel is a police procedural without much dramatic action–a subset of crime fiction that I actually prefer. The story required 454 pages from start to finish, but I found that it went quickly. It is set

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More on Gift of Family History from Finland

Yesterday, I received the email below from my brother, Walfrid. It was a follow-up to the subject of my post on Aug 8 (http://www.collectingancestors.com/2017/08/10/a-gift-of-family-info-from-finland/ ) Wallace, Attached is my translation of Kaapro Kustaanpoika Huuskonen.  I had help from Matti [a cousin in Finland and the provider of the subject biography] in translating a couple of places,

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A Gift of Family Info from Finland

My brother Walfrid has maintained regular correspondence with cousins in Finland. Recently, I asked him exactly what the relationship was. He responded with his best explanation. I entered the info in my Ancestry.com tree. There were some missing “leaves” so I decided last evening to contact our cousin Matti myself by email and ask for

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