Amanuensis Monday: Myrtle Vanevery and Delta Sigma Sorority

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

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Below I transcribe a couple newspaper articles from the St. Louis Star and Times mentioning my grandmother, Myrtle Vanevery Deutsch (1900-1951).

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St. Louis Star and Times, June 26, 1933, p. 6.

DELTA SIGMA OFFICERS 

Miss Florence E. Slatery, 5879 Delor street (left), as national president, today opened the annual convention of the Delta Sigma Sorority at the Coronado Hotel. Above (right), is Mrs. David Campbell, 5927 Kingsbury avenue, national treasurer, and below is Miss Myrtle Van Every, chairman of the committee in charge of a bridge luncheon to be given tomorrow afternoon at the Glen Echo Country Club in honor of visiting delegates. The Delta Sigma is a national philanthropic organization. More than 200 delegates and local members are attending the convention, which will continue with business sessions and social entertainment until Thursday evening.

St. Louis Star and Times, Sept 13, 1933, p. 14

Sorority Has Rush Tea

Missouri Alpha Chapter, Delta Sigma Sorority, began its fall rush season Saturday with a tea at the home of Miss Florence Slatery, 5879 Delor street.

In the receiving line were: Miss Esther Linquist, national secretary of the organization, and Miss Myrtle Van Every, president of the local chapter. Chapter officers presided at the tea table, decorated in pink and lavender, sorority colors.

Invitations were issue to the following rushes: Misses Dorothy Burscheid, Naomi Burton, Inez Green, Mildred Johnson, Terrye Kuntzsch, Evelyn Leatherbury, Melba Proctor, Marle Townsend, Lillian Woodruff and Mrs. Richard Hauk.

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Notes:

1. Both of these articles were found in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch archives There are actually four newspapers in the collection: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1874-2016), St. Louis Star and Times (1910-1950), St. Louis News (1978),  St. Louis Times (1978-1979). When the archives were first released earlier this year, the Star and Times articles weren't searchable.

2) I'd seen references to her activity in the Delta Sigma sorority previously, but this is the first article that mentioned she was President of the local chapter. And this is also the first article that identifies Missouri as the Alpha Chapter.

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Gena Philibert-Ortega at GenealogyBank Debunks Myths about Cemetery Research
• James Tanner at Genealogy's Star asks: Record Hints vs Manual Searching: Which Wins?
• Bill West at West in New England has announced submissions are open for the Eighth Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge
• Examining mitochondrial DNA may help identify unknown ancestry that influences breast cancer risk (Source: Science Daily)
• A single migration from Africa populated the world (Source: NY Times)
• A Nazi Time Capsule Unearthed in Poland (Source: History.com) 
• Can Bats in a Cemetery Attract Wildlife? (Source: St. Louis Public Radio)

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• September 25
• Start of Banned Books Week (US)
• September 26
• European Day of Languages (EU)
• September 27
• World Tourism Day (UN)
• September 29
• Meskel (Ethiopian Orthodox/Eritrean Orthodox)
• Michaelmas (Christian)
• September 30
• International Translation Day (International Federation of Translators)
• October 1
• Navaratri Oct 1-10 (Hindu)
• Muharram - New Year (Islam) (starts at sunset)
• International Day of Older Persons (UN)
• October 2
• International Day of Non-Violence (UN)
• Rosh HaShanah - New Year (Jewish) (starts at sunset)
• October 3
• German Unity Day (Germany)
• October 4
• St. Francis Day (Catholic)
• Beginning of World Space Week (UN) (Oct 4-10)
• October 5
• World Teacher's Day (UN)
• October 6
• German American Day (US)
• October 9
• National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust (Romania)

George Washington Did Have Children. Two of them.

I have heard it repeated countless times by trustworthy genealogists that George Washington had no children. Today I found out that is untrue. After marrying Martha Dandridge Custis, he adopted two of her grandchildren from her first marriage.

A child by blood is not more of  a child than a child by law.

If I interpret the above link - Organizations Acknowledge George Washington's Biracial Family Tree - correctly, it is new information, or at least confirmed rumor, that Washington's adopted son had children with slaves. However, it isn't new information that the adopted son had children through marriage.

George Washington Parke Custis married Mary Fitzhugh in 1804, and their child, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, married Robert E Lee. Here's a chart of their descendants for three generations.

I first learned of this news story at: ExtremeGenes

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Diane Haddad at Genealogy Insider provides 3 Tips for Choosing a DNA Relative to Test
• Natalie at Crestleaf offers Oral History Prompts to Get Your Older Relatives Talking
• In Get Your Chuckles Here Sheri Fenley, The Educated Genealogist lists her favorite sources for genealogy humor
• Tamura Jones at Modern Software Experience discusses software that refuses to let you enter same-sex marriages, and workarounds in Deliberately Limited Genealogy Programs
• Melissa Barker, A Genealogist in the Archives discusses Your Ancestors and their Signatures

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• September 18
• National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (US)
• September 19
• International Talk Like a Pirate Day (Geek)
• September 21
• International Day of Peace (United Nations)
• September 22
• New Years Day (French Republican Calendar)
• Equinox (Wicca/Pagan)
• Hobbit Day (Geek)
• September 26
• European Day of Languages (EU)
• September 27
• World Tourism Day (UN)
• September 29
• Meskel (Ethiopian Orthodox/Eritrean Orthodox)
• Michaelmas (Christian)
• September 30
• International Translation Day (International Federation of Translators)
• October 1
• Navaratri Oct 1-10 (Hindu)
• Muharram - New Year (Islam) (starts at sunset)
• International Day of Older Persons (UN)
• October 2
• International Day of Non-Violence (UN)

Be extra careful with geographical names

Just received a comment on an old post correcting an error I made several years ago.

I recorded a residence as "Houston, Texas" when the census record is for Houston County, Texas. The city of Houston is in Harris County. The county is about 100 miles north of the city. This is also a reminder that recording both City and County whenever possible is important.

I retrieved the census record in my early research and have never re-viewed it. I hope I wouldn't make that mistake today.

Updates to Family History Documents

I updated the Family History Documents page, adding a couple of new discoveries.

1) Mary Blackadar Piersol's book, Records of the Van Every Family; United Empire Loyalists (1947) is now available online. The copy that was scanned was a copy that the owner had handwritten a few notes, including additional names.

2) Sixty Years in Southern California (1853-1913), containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark (1916) is also available online. [It's unclear if I am related to this family, however, a few individuals are mentioned in this work who were briefly in St. Louis, but left before my ancestors arrived.]

3) I updated the link to an article by Gary Boyd Roberts on Notable Descendants of the Immigrant Stoughton Siblings of Massachusetts. (I've updated this link a few times. The New England Historic Genealogical Society seems to have a habit of reorganizing their website.)

Pelion Van Every - Genealogy in the Comics

I wonder how I am related to the fictional character, Pelion Van Every, from the classic comic strip, "The Heart of Juliet Jones." The below strip appeared on November 28, 1961. [Source: St. Louis Post Dispatch Archives]

I like how this comic suggests not all family stories are accurate.

It's impossible to know where the cartoonist came up with the surname Van Every. He may have known someone with the surname, or have borrowed it from the famous historical novelist and Hollywood screenwriter, Dale Van Every.

The character Pelion Van Every appears to have only been a part of the strip between November 1961 and February 1962. Juliet Jones is researching the history of the fictional town of Devon, and seeking descendants of co-founders Pelion and Dundee. She ultimately introduces Pelion Van Every to Dundee Greer. And, well, I don't want to spoil what happens next.

Weekly Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Arlene Eakle provides some suggestions on how to Fortify your Genealogy Research Projects
• Tamura Jones at Modern Software Experience has a series on Choosing Genealogy Software including Why You Need a Desktop Application as your Main Genealogy Program and Using More than One Genealogy Program.
• Maureen A. Taylor, on Photo Detective, discusses Toxic Hairstyles in Family Photos
• Author George RR Martin, on Not a Blog, offers a Salute to Immigrants
• WikiTree announces a Source-a-Thon with cash prizes (Geneapress)
• Irish Birth/Marriage/Death Records now available free online (Who Do You Think You Are Magazine)
• David Malki, in his webcomic, Wondermark, illustrates a conversation some of us may have had.

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• September 10
• Waqf al Arafa - Hajj Day (Islam)
• World Suicide Prevention Day (World Health Organization)
• September 11
• Start of Eid al Adha - Sept 11-14 (Islam)
• Auditor's Day (Church of Scientology)
• Grandparents Day (US/Canada)
• National Day of Service (US)
• September 12
• Saragarhi Day (Sikhism)
• September 14
• Elevation of the Life Giving Cross (Orthodox)
• September 15
• International Day of Democracy (United Nations)
• September 16
• National POW/MIA Recognition Day (US)
• International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer (United Nations)
• Constitution Day (US)
• September 18
• National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (US)
• September 19
• International Talk Like a Pirate Day (Geek)
• September 21
• International Day of Peace (United Nations)
• September 22
• New Years Day (French Republican Calendar)
• Equinox (Wicca/Pagan)
• Hobbit Day (Geek)

Labor Day 2016

Happy Labor Day

As you light up your barbecue and enjoy your day off from work (those who have the day off) - take some part of the day to consider the advancements we have made in workers' rights over the last century - Many of us may have ancestors who worked in the coal mines or sweatshops.

Also consider in what ways the struggles aren't over.

Here's a playlist of songs which may help.



A Pict Song - Rudyard Kipling (1917)

Rome never looks where she treads,
Always her heavy hooves fall,
On our stomachs, our hearts or our heads;
And Rome never heeds when we bawl.
Her sentries pass on—that is all,
And we gather behind them in hordes,
And plot to reconquer the Wall,
With only our tongues for our swords.

We are the Little Folk—we !
Too little to love or to hate.
Leave us alone and you'll see
How we can drag down the Great!
We are the worm in the wood !
We are the rot at the root!
We are the germ in the blood !
We are the thorn in the foot !

Mistletoe killing an oak—
Rats gnawing cables in two—
Moths making holes in a cloak—
How they must love what they do!
Yes,—and we Little Folk too,
We are as busy as they—
Working our works out of view—
Watch, and you'll see it some day!

No indeed ! We are not strong,
But we know Peoples that are.
Yes, and we'll guide them along,
To smash and destroy you in War!
We shall be slaves just the same ?
Yes, we have always been slaves;
But you—you will die of the shame,
And then we shall dance on your graves.

We are the Little Folk, we ! etc.

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Diane L. Richard at Upfront with NGS discusses Digital Estate Planning Laws and the genealogist.
• In an interview at ExtremeGenes Thomas MacEntee discusses PokemonGo, Augmented Reality, and the future of genealogy
• Maureen Taylor at the FamilyTreeMagazine Photo Detective provides 3 Tips to Locate Photos of Ancestral School Days
• Rachel Swarns at The New York Times discusses Georgetown University's Plans to Atone for Slave Past 
• Efraim Zuroff at the Jerusalem Post says there is Hope for Change in Lithuania, as he describes a Holocaust memorial event in Moletai, Lithuania.  In I'm Not Jewish, Lithuanian playwright, Marius Ivaškevičius, explains why he participates. (Lithuanian original)

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• September 4
• Immigrant's Day (Argentina)
• September 5
• Labor Day (US)
• International Day of Charity (United Nations)
• September 6
• Start of Paryushana Parava - Sept 6-15 (Jain)
• September 8
• Nativity of Virgin Mary (Christian)
• International Literacy Day (United Nations)
• September 9
• Day of the Victims of Holocaust and Racial Violence (Slovakia)
• Children's Day (Costa Rica)
• September 10
• Waqf al Arafa - Hajj Day (Islam)
• World Suicide Prevention Day (World Health Organization)
• September 11
• Start of Eid al Adha - Sept 11-14 (Islam)
• Auditor's Day (Church of Scientology)
• Grandparents Day (US & Canada)
• National Day of Service (US)
• September 12
• Saragarhi Day (Sikhism)
• September 14
• Elevation of the Life Giving Cross (Orthodox)
• September 15
• International Day of Democracy (United Nations)
• September 16
• National POW/MIA Recognition Day (US)
• International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer (United Nations)
• Constitution Day (US)
• September 18
• National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (US)

Poem: The Genetic and Synthetic

The below poem of mine was entered into the 2016 International Society of Family History Writers and Editors Excellence-in-Writing competition and was awarded second-place in its category.

I've added a few footnotes for the references.

The Genetic and Synthetic

I research my roots:
The nucleotides of life
and the synthesis
of ancestral experience
make me whole.

If she hadn’t left
her Texas home at age 20;¹
If he hadn’t fled
the Russian pogroms;²
These words wouldn’t be written.

Rural Transylvania, 1910.
A gun fired:
One child maimed;
One child entered
a depression-fueled starvation
he never exited;
One child, my maternal grandfather,
stood witness.³

Philippines, 1945.
A gun fired:
One soldier cleaning his rifle;
One soldier entered
a hospital he never exited;
His brother, my paternal grandfather,
stood Kaddish.⁴

Neither event changed my DNA,
but both influenced how I was raised,
who I became.

1. My maternal grandmother, Myrtle Vanevery Deutsch
2. My paternal 2nd great grandfathers, Moshe Leyb Cruvant, Morris Blatt, and Selig Dudelczak could all be referenced here, with a little flexibility on the term, Russian, to include Lithuania, Poland, and Volhynia, respectively.
3. More details can be read here.
4. More details can be read here.

Finished?!

Every Family Historian will at some point interact with someone who declares

"Oh, I finished researching my family history."

We'll stare at them, confused. Finished?

It's very confusing from a mathematical perspective. Two parents, four grandparents, eight great grandparents. It keeps building. 4096 10th great grandparents. I know a handful of my 10th great grandparents, but not even double digits. Sure, there is undoubtedly some pedigree collapse, but I still have to identify the ancestors each time, so there are 4096 slots to be filled in that generation regardless of how many names get repeated.

And even if at some point I have all 4096 identified, there are 8192 11th great grandparents. And then 16,384 12th great grandparents. How can anyone finish?

And here I am only addressing one's ancestors. Family trees don't only go backwards in time. There's also the research of siblings, and descendants.

So, no, don't tell me you finished. Maybe you stopped. Maybe you gave up. Maybe you are satisfied with what you have found. (I guess that is possible) But, no, you didn't finish. You left the rest of the research for someone else to accomplish. (Please tell me you took good notes, and cited all your sources. Sigh.)

Amanuensis Monday: Israel Swayze and The Beaverdams Church

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

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Below I transcribe a plaque, mentioning my 4th Great Grandfather, Israel Swayze (1753-1844)

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THE BEAVERDAMS CHURCH 1832

Early in the 1790s a group of settlers in this area had been converted to Methodism and formed a Class which in 1795 was included in the newly-established Niagara Circuit. Services were held in the home of a prominent local settler, Israel Swayze, and camp meetings took place on his property. This church, one of the oldest remaining Methodist chapels in the province, was built in 1832. The Reverend Egerton Ryerson, who later was principally responsible for the founding of this province’s educational system, was the first minister to preach in the chapel. The building was renovated extensively in 1879, but regular services were discontinued about 1890.

Architectural and Historic Sites Board of Ontario.

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Image source: OntarioPlaques.com

Notes:

1. Other sources indicate the meetings were on the property of Israel and his son, Hiram Swayze. Hiram deeded the land to the congregation where the church was built in 1832.

2. Israel Swayze isn't the only ancestor of mine responsible for the founding of a place of worship. My 8th great grandfather, Myndert Frederickse, helped found a Lutheran church in Albany, New York. And my 2nd great grandfather, Selig Feinstein, helped found Tpheris Israel Congregation in St. Louis.

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Leland Meitzler at GenealogyBlog shared an article on how More States are Giving Adult Adoptees Access to Original Birth Records
• Lorine McGinnis Schulz at Olive Tree Genealogy shares Five Ways to Jumpstart Your Genealogy When It Has Stalled
• Linda Barnickel at Ancestry Blog highlights 5 Hidden Questions in the US Census
• The National Archives is Rebooting their Social Media Strategy
• Natalie at Crestleaf provides Cemetery Research for Genealogy: A Step-by-Step Beginners Guide
• Chery Kinnick at Nordic Blue lists Ten Things I've Learned in Ten Years of Blogging
• Euny Hong at Quartz argues 23andMe has a problem when it comes to ancestry reports for people of color

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• August 29
• Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Christian)
• International Day Against Nuclear Tests (United Nations)
• August 31
• Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland)
• September 1
• Ecclesiastical Year Begins (Orthodox Christian)
• September 2
• VJ Day (US)
• September 3
• Flag Day (Australia)
• VJ Day (Republic of China)
• September 4
• Immigrant's Day (Argentina)
• September 5
• International Day of Charity (United Nations)
• September 6
• Start of Paryushana Parava - Sept 6-15 (Jain)
• September 8
• Nativity of Virgin Mary (Christian)
• International Literacy Day (United Nations)
• September 9
• Day of the Victims of Holocaust and Racial Violence (Slovakia)
• Children's Day (Costa Rica)
• September 10
• Waqf al Arafa - Hajj Day (Islam)
• World Suicide Prevention Day (World Health Organization)
• September 11
• Start of Eid al Adha  - Sept 11-14 (Islam)
• Auditor's Day (Church of Scientology)
• Grandparents Day (US & Canada)
• National Day of Service (US)

Who got married?

One of the two individuals mentioned in the clipping below from the  Cincinnati Daily Press, July 26, 1860, might be related to my wife. However, that is not why I am sharing this. 

I found the phrasing particularly interesting. I am fairly certain if the below appeared in a newspaper today, many readers would assume something very different from what most 1860 readers assumed. 

"...Night before last, however, a wedding took place near the Brighton House and almost before the pair had become legally one, Charles Schrock and Henry Erndt became involved in a difficulty, when, after many words and a few blows, the latter drew a knife and stabbed his antagonist in the side and arm..."

Of course, both readers are making an assumption. We need to be extra cautious about the assumptions we make.

Amanuensis Monday: Anton Schrock - Obituary (*Where* was he born??)

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

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Below I transcribe the obituary for my wife's 3rd great grandfather, Anton Schrock, which appeared in the Marble Hill Press on June 21, 1900. The clipping was found at ChroniclingAmerica.

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Died – At his home near this place, the 15th, Anton Schrock aged about 81 years. Deceased had been in poor health sometime and being quite old, was an easy victim. He was a highly respected citizen and has been a resident of this county about forty years and of the United States sixty years. He was born in Frankenstine, Germany December 31, 1819. He leaves a widow, seven children and a host of friends to mourn their loss.

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Notes:

1. The one word which, for almost any reader, will jump up and wave its arms about forcing the individual to take notice, is the name of the village in Germany. Not everyone realizes it is a name of an actual village. There is a castle there, too. Mary Wollstonecraft, along with three author friends, including future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, traveled nearby in 1814. They challenged each other to a competition to see who could write the best horror story. I don't think there is any dispute who won. Frankenstein was published in 1818.

It should be noted that the only documentation I've seen indicating the village of Frankenstein as Schrock's birthplace is this obituary. Anton Schrock was born after the publication of the novel, and it's very easy to imagine that his claim to have been born there is about as truthful as my Polish-born great grandfather's claim to have been born in Dublin, Ireland.

The passenger manifest for Anton Schrock and his wife, Caroline, indicate their town of origin was Neurode, Germany. Which is approximately 750km from Frankenstein. It's certainly possible Schrock was born in Frankenstein, moved to Neurode, and then immigrated to America. Caroline could have been from Neurode, and Anton from Frankenstein. There are a lot of possibilities.

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Emily Garber at (Going) The Extra Yad discusses Serendipity and blogging
• Janice Brown at Cow Hampshire discusses ways to Promote your Blog
• Genealogy software today encourages us to enter GPS coordinates for locations. What happens if those GPS locations change? Newsround, the BBC's News for Children, reports Austalia is moving! (Slowly, yes, but GPS coordinates are off.)
• With the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Av this past week, I found the timing appropriate for Ancestry's recent addition of Niagara Falls Honeymoon and Visitor Registries
• In Challenges of Adding Sources to Family Trees Part I James Tanner at Genealogy's Star discusses the historical reality that source citations are a relatively new focus.

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• August 22
• Flag Day (Russia)
• August 23
• European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism
• International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
• August 25
• Krishna Janmashtami (Hindu)
• Liberation Day (France)
• August 28
• Women's Equality Day (USA)
• National Grandparents Day (Mexico)
• Feast of the Mother of God (Eastern Orthodox Church)
• August 29
• Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Christian)
• International Day Against Nuclear Tests
• August 31
• Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland)
• September 1
• Ecclesiastical Year Begins (Orthodox Christian)
• September 2
• VJ Day (US)
• September 3
• Flag Day (Australia)
• VJ Day (Republic of China)

Adoption and Genealogy

Six years ago, Tamura Jones at Modern Software Experience discussed Adoption and Genealogy in the posts Adapted Ahnenlist and Adoption in Genealogy. At that time, I had no idea adoption was in my future.

If you're already familiar with the traditional Ahnenlist/Ahnentafel format, his idea for adapting it to include both (A)dopted and (B)irth parents is so natural, you probably don't need me to explain it here, or follow the links in the paragraph above. An instance where the letters in a numbering system are actually meaningful in themselves is rare, it seems like kismet when it happens.

Of course, adoption isn't the only non-traditional relationship that the genealogist has to think about today. For example, it's 'conceivable' someone might want to indicate surrogacy in a chart. Polyfamilies may also wish to chart multiple lineages. The individual genealogist might need to come up with their own lettering system, but no one should feel compelled to ignore a lineage in their reports important to them in their research.

While it is possible to separate the lineages into separate reports, and this may seem easier, sometimes the whole can be greater than the parts. An interwoven ahnentafel might reveal commonalities and differences previously unconsidered. There are 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, and their meanings can be indicated in a key at the bottom of the list. If somehow we run out of room for relationships, there's always the Greek alphabet waiting in the sidelines.

Days of Love - Religious and Personal

Tu b'Av is a relatively obscure Jewish holiday that falls on the fifteenth day of the month of Av (sundown Thursday, August 18 to sundown Friday, August 19 this year).

The fifteenth day of each month on the Hebrew calendar falls on a full moon, and the holiday was observed as a sort of fertility festival during the period of the Second Temple. After the destruction of the Second Temple, it was forgotten for the most part in the Diaspora, only to be revived in modern times as a Jewish alternative to St. Valentine's Day.

To some, St. Valentine's Day, or Tu B'Av, may feel manufactured for greeting card companies, florists, and chocolatiers. However, most couples have their own personal "Days of Love." Whether the annual date commemorates a first date, an engagement, a marriage, or another anniversary, it's significant only to the individual couple.The memories connected with these dates are often stronger than the ones associated with the annual religious or societal holidays. Still, any reason for two people to celebrate their love for one another is a good reason.

To A Lady
by Victor Hugo,
From Les Feuilles D'Automne 

Child, were I king, I'd yield my royal rule,
     My chariot, sceptre, vassal-service due,
My crown, my porphyry-basined waters cool,
My fleets, whereto the sea is but a pool,
     For a glance from you!

Love, were I God, the earth and its heaving airs,
     Angels, the demons abject under me,
Vast chaos with its teeming womby lairs,
Time, space, all would I give--aye, upper spheres,
     For a kiss from thee!

translation by Thomas Hardy
photogravure by Goupil et Cie, from a drawing by Deveria, appears in a collection of Hugo's poetry published by Estes and Lauriat in the late 1800s.

Weekly Genealogy Picks

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Diane L Richard at Upfront with NGSGenealogy discusses the importance of name pronunciation to genealogists. 
• Lithuania puts an old Jewish cemetery under state protection
• Cnaan Liphshiz at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency looks at the impact of geography on religious ritual in Fasting in the Lands of the Midnight Sun. As family historians we might consider the impact geography may have had on the customs of our ancestors as they migrated.
• The Lincoln Trio, a Chamber Ensemble, has released an album celebrating their ancestors with English, Armenian and Swiss composers. Have you researched the music of your ancestral homelands?
• Owen McCafferty at The Mischpoche Tree provides some tips on contacting distant relatives

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• August 14 
• Tish'a B'av - Jewish (begins at sunset Aug 13)
• August 15
• Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary - Catholic Christian
• Dormition of the Theotokos - Orthodox Christian
• August 17
• Birthday of Marcus Garvey - Rastafari
• August 18
• Raksha Bandhan - Hindu
• August 19
• Tu B'Av - Jewish (begins at sunset Aug 18)
• August 20
• St. Stephen's Day - Hungary
• Feast of Asma - Bahai
• August 23
• European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism
• August 25
• Krishna Janmashtami - Hindu
• August 28
• Women's Equality Day - USA