Life Changing Valentine's Day

The prompt for week 7 of 52 Ancestors in 52 week is Valentine, was there a special love story in your family. After much thought it finally occurred to me, that yes there is and it's ME!

Back in 1999 I met Raman Venkataraman. We met online in a chat room on a website called ICQ. We met there night after night and talked about a variety of things. Eventually, we exchanged phone numbers. After a few months, we decided to meet. The question was where? After all, at that time, I lived in Tulsa, OK and he lived in Bethlehem, PA. It was finally agreed upon to meet in Chicago over Labor Day weekend. 

It was a whirlwind weekend with museums, boat rides and lovely dinners. We clicked! After that, he came to Tulsa over Thanksgiving weekend. This gave him an opportunity to meet one of my sons as well as my friends. This too proved to be a wonderful weekend. It was then my turn to visit PA. So over the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, I visited PA. Just as he did on his visit to Tulsa, I met his one son and his soon to be fiancé. It was a wonderful time. 

But then came the big discussion about what happens now? How do we continue this relationship when we live 1200 miles apart? Neither one of us could continue with this traveling back and forth. He was a tenured professor it was not reasonable or practical for him to pack up and move. But for me it was a more reasonable expectation as I was a dental assistant and could more easily find a job. 

With this decision, arrangements were made,  and the move was set in motion. On February 12, 2000 I got in my car and started the 1200 mile trek. Two and half days later on February 14, 2000 I arrived in Bethlehem, PA and started my new life!

So tomorrow, Valentine's Day 2018, marks our 18th anniversary of being us. And in July, on the 3rd to be exact, we will celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. We've traveled the world, supported each other through cancer, surgeries, and the adjustment to retirement. Our life has been mundane as a merry-go-round and as exciting as a roller coaster. But through it all, we've laughed together, yelled at each other and still end up saying "I love you." 

Happy Valentine's Day

#6 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks--Favorite Name

For week 6, Amy Crow's suggestion was "Favorite Name." Gosh, that sounds so easy BUT how do you pick just one? In my family none of the names for the men are terribly unusual. There's, Joel, William, Israel, Joseph, August, David, Arnold, Kevin, Patrick, Alexander, to name a few. 

For the women, the names are quite typical, with Margaret, Marie, Mary, Charlotte, Martha, Louise, Sophie and on Sophronia. The most unusual, however, would have to be Mourning. For the life of me I can't find a reason or history behind using this as a first name.

Oh, and the most frustrating of them all has to be Daniel and John! In one branch of the family, There's Daniel (A) who had a son Daniel (B) and a son John  (A). Daniel (B) has a son Daniel (C) as well as a son John (B). John (A) also has a son Daniel (D) and a son John (C), and on it went for generations. To make matters even more confusing, no middle names were recorded. Many died intestate making it very difficult to sort out estate and probate records as they all lived in the same county. There should have been a law! 

Kendrick Lamar, a rapper/song writer from California has said, "If I'm gonna to tell a real story, I'm gonna start with my name." Then make it strong and for goodness sake, if you must be named after an ancestor add a middle name so distinguishing one from the other is more easily done.

If I'm gonna tell a real story, I'm gonna start with my name.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/kendrick_lamar

If I'm gonna tell a real story, I'm gonna start with my name.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/kendrick_lamar

#5 of 52 The Evolution of a Family Name Through the Census

For week 5, of 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks, the prompt was "In the Census." Census enumerations, depending on the year, can often give the family historian a snippet of not only their own family but a peek at the entire life of the neighborhood. But the one thing that stood out, for my family was the how our family name evolved.
August Schralla, was my 2x great-Grandfather. He was born in Stöckheim, Germany on 9 Oct 1825. His baptismal recorded his name as Johann Christian August Schütte, known as Schrell. He was born out of wedlock. The record, however, stated that his father's name was supposedly, Christian Schrell.
(Mary-Ann Vandaveer, trans., Evangelische Kirche Salzderhelden (Kr. Einbeck) ).

On 23 Nov 1860, August Schrill and his wife and infant (who was listed separately) appeared in a passenger manifest for a ship that arrived in New York from Germany.

"New Orleans, Passenger Lists, 1813-1963," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 Apr 2018), entry for August Schrill, age 34 years 3 months, arrived New Orleans, Louisiana, 1860, S.S. Ottilie.

In the 1870 U.S. Census, the family name appeared as Schriller:

1870 U.S.census, Adams County, IL population schedule, 3rd Ward Quincy, p 113 (penned), dwelling 793, family 940, August Schriller; NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 187.

 Then in 1880 U.S. census, the name appeared as Schreller:

1880 U.S. census, Quincy, Adams Co., IL, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 29, p. 519 A (stamped) p. 17, (penned), dwelling 152, family 164, August Schreller, NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 175.

It's not until the 1900 U.S. census did the family name appear as Schralla-the name I grew up with:

1900 U.S. census, 25th precinct, Quincy, Adams Co, IL, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 143, sheet 10-B, dwelling 205, family 206, Henry Schralla; NARA publication T62, roll 236.