Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Who Are Your 32 3rd-great-grandparents?

I'm not sure how many names I'll be able to come up with for tonight's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge from Randy Seaver.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music), is:

1.  Who are your 32 3rd-great-grandparents?  List them (with birth names).  Tell us when and where they were born, married, and died.  [NOTE:  This is easily done in your genealogy software program or online family tree by making an Ahnentafel or Ancestors report from yourself as #1, then copy and paste.]

2.  Share your list of your third-great-grands on your own blog post or in a Facebook, SubStack, or BlueSky post.  Leave a link on this blog post to help us find your post.

Let's see how well I do.

32.  Unknown.

33.  Unknown.

34.  Unknown.

35.  Unknown.

36.  Franklin Armstrong:  born about 1825 in New Jersey, probably in Burlington County; married Unknown before 1849, probably in Burlington County, New Jersey; died September 13, 1870 in Mansfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.

37.  Unknown:  born before 1832 in New Jersey, probably in Burlington County; died before October 8, 1850, probably in Burlington County, New Jersey.

38.  Abel A(mos?) Lippincott:  born about January 26, 1825 in New Jersey, probably in Burlington County; married Rachel R. Stackhouse before 1846, probably in Burlington County, New Jersey; died May 28, 1888 in Florence, Burlington County, New Jersey.

39.  Rachel R. Stackhouse:  born about 1825–1826 in New Jersey, probably in Burlington County; died November 15, 1890 in Chester Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.

40.  Hananiah Selah Gaunt:  born about January 25, 1795 in Burlington County, New Jersey; married Abigail Atkinson 1826–1829, probably in Burlington County, New Jersey; died April 15, 1852 in Burlington County, New Jersey.

41.  Abigail Atkinson:  born about August 19, 1804 in New Jersey, probably in Burlington County; died February 1883 in New Jersey, probably in Burlington County.

42.  John Gibson:  born before 1814 in New Jersey; married Mary before 1832, probably in New Jersey; probably died in New Jersey.

43.  Mary:  born before 1814 in New Jersey; probably died in New Jersey.

44.  Richard Dunstan:  born about June 9, 1813 in Manchester, Lancashire, England; married Jane Coleclough December 25, 1833 in Manchester, Lancashire, England; died after April 7, 1861, probably in Lancashire, England.

45.  Jane Coleclough:  born about 1811 in Lancashire, England; died April 12, 1865 in Chorlton, Manchester, Lancashire, England.

46.  Thomas Winn:  born about 1792 in Lambrook, Shropshire, England; married Mary Parr(?) about 1812, possibly in Shropshire; died in England, possibly in Lancashire.

47.  Mary Parr(?):  died before June 7, 1841, probably in Lancashire, England.

48.  Zvi Mekler:  born before 1854 in Russia; married Esther before 1872 in Russia; died before 1903, possibly in Kamenets Litovsk, Russia.

49.  Esther. born before 1854 in Russia; died in Russia.

50.  Unknown.

51.  Unknown.

52.  Abraham Yaakov Nowicki:  born before 1839 in Russia; married Sirke before 1857 in Russia; died before 1896 in Russia.

53.  Sirke:  born before 1839 in Russia; died before 1893 in Russia.

54.  Ruven Yelsky:  born before 1841 in Russia; married Frieda Bloom before 1859 in Russia; died about 1898 in Russia.

55.  Frieda Bloom:  born before 1841 in Russia; died about 1898 in Russia.

56.  Gersh Wolf Gorodetsky:  born before 1823 in Russia, probably in Orinin or Kamenets Podolsky; married Etta Cohen?/Kagan? before 1840; died after 1905 in Russia, possibly in Kishinev, Bessarabia.

57.  Etta Cohen?/Kagan?:  born before 1823 in Russia; died before 1891, possibly in Kamenets Podolskiy, Ukraine.

58.  Joine Schneiderman:  born before 1841 in Russia; married Anna Ida (Chane Etta?) Kortisch? before 1868 in Russia; died before 1893 in Russia.

59.  Anna Ida (Chane Etta?) Kortisch?:  born before 1841 in Russia; died before 1891 in Russia.

60.  Solomon (Zalman?) Brainin:  born before 1846 in Russia; married Yetta before 1864 in Russia; died in Russia.

61.  Yetta:  born before 1846 in Russia; died in Russia.

62.  Joseph Jaffe:  born before 1854 in Russia; married Anna Binderman before 1872 in Russia; died in Russia.

63.  Anna Binderman:  born before 1854 in Russia; died in Russia.

Not anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be.  Seven totally unknown names, and for one of those I do have a small amount of hypothesized information.  For the 27 with names, only four are missing surnames.  It could have been much worse.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: How Many Autosomal DNA Matches Descend from Your Eight Pairs of 2nd-great-grandparents?

My participation in tonight's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge from Randy Seaver is not going to be pretty.  Or fun.

Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision.

1.  How many autosomal DNA matches do you have descended from your eight 2nd-great-grandparents (they would be your third cousins)?  Do you know how they are related to you?  Have you corresponded with them?  Why are your numbers high or low?

2.  Share the number of your autosomal DNA matches for each of your 2GGP and answer my questions above on your own blog, on Facebook or other social media, or in a comment on this blog.  Share the link to your post on this blog, so readers can respond.

Oh, this is going to be painful.

First, I need to mention a couple of clarifications.

I do not have eight 2nd-great-grandparents.  I have sixteen 2nd-great-grandparents, as does everyone else.  I have eight pairs of 2nd-great-grandparents, which I'm pretty sure is what Randy meant (and what I changed the title of mine to).

And not all of my autosomal matches who descend from any given pair of 2nd-great-grandparents are going to be my 3rd cousins.  I can have other relatives in addition to 3rd cousins who descend from one pair of ancestors.  If the question was intended to be "How many autosomal matches do I have who are identified as 3rd cousins?", that's significantly different from what Randy wrote, and he wouldn't have to ask, "Do you know how they are related to you?"  Maybe he started with one idea and it morphed into another.

Now that I've cleared the air on that (once an editor, always an editor), on to the disaster of my response for this challenge.

I have mentioned before (particularly when the question of DNA comes up) that my mother was Ashkenazi Jewish and that Ashkenazi Jews suffer from high degrees of endogamy due to lots of intermarriage.

Well, on Family Tree DNA, my current results show that I have 24,697 autosomal matches.

I'm sure that the vast majority of those are on my maternal side, and I have no idea (and probably never will) how they are specifically related to me, due to endogamy and the lovely obstacles that can exist for doing Jewish research in the former Russian Empire in general, particularly in the former Grodno guberniya, where three of my lines go back to.

For reasons unknown to me — I have not actually done much with my FTDNA matches in quite a while and have not kept up with all of the announcements — 1,525 of those matches are identified as paternal, 38 as maternal, and 710 as both.

I have very few matches on FTDNA where I have identified the specific relationship I have with them.  So I have no idea how FTDNA has come up with the numbers of matches that are paternal, maternal, or both.  I'm pretty sure I have not identified 38 relationship matches total, much less 38 on my maternal line alone.

And there is absolutely no crossover in a genealogically relevant period of time between the paternal and maternal sides of my family.  Absolutely none.  Period, end of report.

So I have no idea how FTDNA has identified 710 of my matches as being both paternal and maternal.  That is just flat-out wrong.  Unless there is another way to interpret "paternal and maternal" that I'm not coming up with on my own.

On top of all that, I don't even know one set of my 2nd-great-grandparents, because I as yet have not identified the biological father of my paternal grandfather.  If I don't know who that great-grandfather was, I don't know who his parents were.

As for the number of matches I have who are descended from my eight sets of 2nd-great-grandparents?

To quote Randy:

The number of autosomal DNA matches I have on FTDNA with a known common 2nd-great-grandparent is:

NONE.

The number of autosomal DNA matches I have on AncestryDNA with a known common 2nd-great-grandparent is:

Three total.

• James Gauntt (1831–1899) and Amelia Gibson (1831–1908):  2

• Mendel Hertz Brainin (c. 1860–1930) and Ruchel Dwojre Jaffe (c. 1866–1934):  1

Some days it's just not worth chewing through the straps.

I do have additional cousins who descend from various of my 2nd-great-grandparents and for whom I know the exact relationship who appear as autosomal matches in both databases.  I have corresponded with almost all of them.  Several of them I was able to determine the exact relationship only because I corresponded with them.  Some I recognized by name and knew the relationship immediately.

The huge numbers of matches on my maternal side I already discussed above.  I don't really know that I would characterize the numbers of matches on my paternal side as being particularly low.  It's more that I don't know the exact relationship for most of them.  That is due mostly to a lack of response when I have reached out, particularly with matches on AncestryDNA.  I attribute that to the fact that many, many people who test at Ancestry do it strictly for the cutesie-poo (and mostly useless) pie chart and don't care about anything else.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: What Were Your Ancestors Doing 100 Years Ago?

Keeping tabs on my ancestors for this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun from Randy Seaver should keep me busy for a while.

Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision.

1.  Every one of your ancestors was doing "something" in their lives in early 1925.  Do you know, or do you have to guess?

2.  Tell us about what your ancestors were doing in early 2025 in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook post.  Please leave a link on this post if you write your own post.

Well, in 1925, neither of my parents was born yet, so I'm starting with my grandparents.

My paternal grandfather, Bertram Lynn Sellers (he wasn't Senior yet, because there wasn't a Junior yet), was still with his first wife, Elizabeth Leatherberry Sundermier.  He was 21, and she was 19.  Their first child, Bertram Ezra Sellers, was 18 months old.  My aunt, Dorothy Mae Sellers, was just barely a gleam in their eye, as she wouldn't be born until October.  They were living in Northampton township, Burlington County, New Jersey.  I don't know what my grandfather was doing for work; the first occupation I have for him is from 1930, when he was a textile weaver in the silk mill in town.

My paternal grandmother, Anna Gauntt, may have already separated from her husband, Charles Cooper Stradling; I don't know when that happened.  In 1925 she was 32 and living in Northampton, New Jersey.  She and Charles had an 11-year-old daughter, Ruth Carrie Stradling; I'm pretty sure that she was with her mother.  I don't know if my grandmother was working or if Mr. Stradling was.

My maternal grandfather, Abram Meckler, was 12 years old and living with his parents (my great-grandparents), Morris Meckler and Minnie Zelda (Nowicki) Meckler, and four of his siblings (two older brothers, two younger sisters) in Brooklyn.  Morris was about 43, and Minnie was about 45.  Morris was a carpenter, Minnie was a housewife and took care of the children, and my grandfather was going to school.

My maternal grandmother, Esther Lillian Gordon, was 5 years old and living with her parents (my great-grandparents), Joe Gordon and Sarah Libby (Brainin) Gordon, and her two older brothers in Manhattan.  Joe was about 33, and Sarah was about 35.  Joe was an operator in the clothing industry, which meant he was involved in production.  He may have been observing Jewish mourning practices, because his father had died on January 26, but this branch of my family was not as observant as my grandfather's (who were very traditional and very Orthodox), so maybe not.  Sarah was a housewife and took care of the children.  I don't think my grandmother was going to school yet.

Anna's parents, my great-grandparents Thomas Kirkland Gauntt and Jane (Dunstan) Gauntt, were living in Northampton, New Jersey.  Thomas was 54 and Jane was 53.  Thomas was probably a farm laborer, as that is what he did for most of his life.  Jane was a housewife.

Minnie's parents, my great-great-grandparents Gershon Itzhak Novitsky and Dora (Yelsky) Novitsky, were living in Brooklyn, possibly with their son Sam.  Gershon was about 69, and Dora was about 67.  They had arrived in the United States in 1922.  I don't know if Gershon was working yet, but in 1930 his occupation was listed as a Hebrew teacher, so it's possible.  Dora was a housewife.

Sarah's parents, my great-great-grandparents Morris Brainin and Rose Dorothy (Jaffe) Brainin, were living in Manhattan.  Morris was about 64 and Rose was about 57.  Morris may have been a rabbi at the time, and Rose was a housewife.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Who Is the Earliest Ancestor in Your Maternal Tree?

I guess I should have expected this to be the topic for today's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun from Randy Seaver, considering that last week's challenge was the earliest ancestor in the paternal tree.

Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision.

1.  Today's challenge is to answer the question "Who Is the Earliest Ancestor in Your Maternal Family Tree?"

2.  Tell us about your earliest maternal ancestor in your family tree on your own blog post, in a comment here, or on your Facebook page.  Be sure to leave a link to your report in a comment on this post.

[Thank you to Linda Stufflebean for suggesting this topic!]

I know the answer to this question without needing to check my tree.  But I will need to look at it to verify some years of birth and death (most I do know by heart).

Actually, I can go back the same number of generations on two different lines on my mother's side.  But one of those ancestors was born a little earlier, so I'm going to follow that line.

1.  Janice is the daughter of Myra Roslyn Meckler (1940–1995)

2.  Myra is the daughter of Abram Meckler (1912–1989).

3.  Abram is the son of Minnie (originally Mushe) Zelda Nowicki (about 1880–1936).

4.  Mushe is the daughter of Gershon Itzhak Nowicki (about 1858–1948).

5.  Gershon is the son of Abraham Yaakov Nowicki (?–?).

So I know the name of my 3rd-great-grandfather, but I don't know anything else about him.  I estimate that he died before about 1896, because I have a cousin who was probably named after him, and that cousin was born about 1896.  I know that his wife was named Sirke, but I don't know her family name.  And that's all I have.  Since we're talking about a Jewish family in Grodno gubernia, Russian Empire, I'm lucky to have that.

But as with last week's challenge, I can say that I have total confidence in all of my information.

For the other family line I mentioned above, I can also get to a 2nd-great-grandfather whose father's name I know, but that guy was born about 1863, five years later than Gershon.

1.  Janice is the daughter of Myra Roslyn Meckler (1940–1995).

2.  Myra is the daughter of Lillyan E. Gordon (1919–2006).

3.  Lillyan is the daughter of Joe Gordon (originally Joyne Gorodetsky; about 1892–1955).

4.  Joyne is the son of Avigdor Gorodetsky (about 1863–1925).

5.  Avigdor is the son of Gersh Wolf Gorodetsky (?–?).

I have no idea when Gersh Wolf died, because I know of no grandchildren or great-grandchildren who were named after him.  That could mean that he was alive when those grandchildren were born or that no one liked him and wanted to name a kid after him.  I have a hint that Gersh Wolf's wife was Etta Cohen (which would probably have been Kagan in the Russian Empire), but that's all I know about her.

Now that I think about it, I can do the same exercise on a third line.

1.  Janice is the daughter of Myra Roslyn Meckler (1940–1995).

2.  Myra is the daughter of Lillyan E. Gordon (1919–2006).

3.  Lillyan is the daughter of Joe Gordon (originally Joyne Gorodetsky; about 1892–1955).

4.  Joyne is the son of Esther Leah Schneiderman (about 1867–1908).

5.  Esther Leah is the daughter of Joyne Schneiderman (?–?).

I have an estimate for when Joyne Schneiderman died, because Joyne Gorodetsky was probably named after him.  So he died roughly before 1893.  His wife's name I have from one source as Anna Ida, which might have been Chane Etta.  And that's it for that line!

But wait!  I can do this two more times!

1.  Janice is the daughter of Myra Roslyn Meckler (1940–1995).

2.  Myra is the daughter of Lillyan E. Gordon (1919–2006).

3.  Lillyan is the daughter of Sarah Libby Brainin (about 1885–1963).

4.  Sarah is the daughter of Morris Brainin (originally Mendel Hertz Brainin; about 1861–1930).

5.  Mendel is the son of Solomon (originally ?) Brainin (?–?).

And . . .

1.  Janice is the daughter of Myra Roslyn Meckler (1940–1995).

2.  Myra is the daughter of Lillyan E. Gordon (1919–2006).

3.  Lillyan is the daughter of Sarah Libby Brainin (about 1885–1963).

4.  Sarah is the daughter of Rose Dorothy (originally Ruchel Dvjore) Jaffe (about 1868–1934).

5.  Ruchel Dvojre is the daughter of Joseph Jaffe (?–?) and Anna Binderman (?–?).

So five different lines, and I can take each of them back only to the name of a 3rd-great-grandparent.  I guess the Brainin line should be second, because Mendel Hertz Brainin's very roughly estimated birth year is second after Gershon Itzhak Nowicki's.

Oh, the joys of Ashkenazi Jewish research!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Where Were Your 16 2nd-great-grandparents Born, Married, and Died?

This week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun exercise from Randy Seaver had me looking up a lot of information!

Here is your assignment, should you decide to accept it (you ARE reading this, so I assume that you really want to play along; cue the Mission:  Impossible! music!):

1.  Where did your 16 2nd-great-grandparents live and die?  What are their birth, marriage, and death dates and locations?

2.  Write your own blog post, leave a comment on this post, or write something on Facebook.

I can write about only twelve of my great-great-grandparents.  I may have their names committed to memory, but not all that other data.

• James Gauntt:  born June 18, 1831 in New Jersey; married February 1, 1851 in Westhampton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey; died February 16, 1889 in Rancocas, Burlington County, New Jersey

• Amelia Gibson:  born June 1831 in Burlington County, New Jersey; died June 19, 1908 in Lumberton, Burlington County, New Jersey

• Frederick Cleworth Dunstan:  born January 18, 1840 in Deansgate, Manchester, Lancashire, England; married October 18, 1858 in Manchester, Lancashire, England; died September 21, 1873 in Hulme, Lancashire, England

• Martha Winn:  born August 12, 1837 in Manchester, Lancashire, England; died November 26, 1884 in Manchester, Lancashire, England

• Simcha Dovid Mekler:  unknown when born, possibly in Kamenets Litovsk, Grodno gubernia, Russia; married before 1885 in Russia; died before 1904, possibly in Kamenets Litovsk, Grodno gubernia, Russia

• Bela <unknown maiden name>:  unknown when born, in Russia; died before 1924, possibly in Kamenets Litovsk, Grodno gubernia, Russia

• Gershon Itzhak Novitsky:  born about 1858, probably in Porozowo, Grodno gubernia, Russia; married about 1875 in Russia; died December 12, 1948 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York

• Dora Yelsky:  born about 1858, probably in Porozowo, Grodno gubernia, Russia; died February 9, 1936 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York

• Victor Gordon:  born between 1864–1868, probably in Kamenets Podolsky, Podolia, Russia; married before 1891 in Russia; died January 25, 1925 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York

• Esther Leah Schneiderman:  born between 1868–1874 in Russia; died December 10, 1908 in Kishinev, Bessarabia, Russia

• Morris Brainin:  born between 1860–1863, probably in Kreuzburg, Russia; married before 1883, possibly in Kreuzburg, Russia; died February 13, 1930 in Harlem, Manhattan, New York County, New York

• Rose Dorothy Jaffe:  born between 1866–1871 in Russia; died November 9, 1934 in Harlem, Manhattan, New York County, New York

As fuzzy as some of the information is for my great-great-grandparents on my mother's side, at least I have something, which is more than I can say for my paternal grandfather's paternal side.  I'm still hunting for that biological father.

Mother's Day 2022

For Mother's Day this year, here is my maternal line in photographs.  I have five generations.

My mother Myra with her three children:
me, my sister Stacy, and my brother Mark

My mother Myra, her mother Lily (my grandmother),
and *her* mother Sarah (my great-grandmother)

My great-great-grandmother Rose Dorothy on the left

And somewhere I have a photo of my great-great-grandmother with my great-grandmother.  I really need to find that.

Events in My Family Tree: November 9

Ruth Garfinkel was born on her mother's 23rd birthday, in the same city.  Maybe it was the same hospital also.

Births

Martha Freedman was born November 9, 1907 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  She was the wife of Jack Garfinkel, son of Yikusee'ael Koifman Garfinkel and Sora Rivka Mekler, who is my 2nd cousin 2x removed on my Mekler line.

Thelma Higgins, daughter of Ervie Oscar Higgins and Elizabeth Opal Gaunt, was born November 9, 1917 in Lawrence County. Tennessee.  She is my 5th cousin 1x removed via the Gaunts.

Harold Leon Brainin, son of Benjamin Brainin and Yetta Braunstein, was born November 9, 1927 in Bronx, Bronx County, New York.  He is my 1st cousin 2x removed on my Brainin line.

Ruth Garfinkel, daughter of Jack Garfinkel and Martha Freedman, was born November 9, 1930 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  She is my 3rd cousin 1x removed on my Mekler line through the Garfinkels.

Judy Ann Redtfeldt, daughter of Gordon Ardel Redtfeldt and Lucille J. Vaughn, was born November 9, 1944 in West Covina, Los Angeles County, California.  She is my 5th cousin 1x removed on my Gauntt line via the Vaughns.

Elliot Seth Birnboim was born November 9, 1965.  He is my 4th cousin.

Brenda Jean Conwell was born November 9, 1970.  She is my 6th cousin.

Marriage

Rudolf R. Schleinkofer and Barbara Lee Allen, daughter of Clarence Allen and Mary Elizabeth Stradling, were married November 9, 1968 in New Jersey, possibly in Burlington County.  Barbara is my 5th cousin 1x removed on my Gauntt line through the Allens.

Deaths

Achsah Taylor died November 9, 1829 in Pilesgrove Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey at the age of 69.  She was the wife of Samuel Gaunt, son of John Gaunt and Jean Satterthwaite, who is my 1st cousin 6x removed via the Gaunts.

Rose Dorothy Jaffe (originally Ruchel Dwoire Jaffe), daughter of Joseph Jaffe and Anna Binderman, died November 9, 1934 in Manhattan, New York County, New York at the age of about 68.  She is my great-great-grandmother.

Mary A. Woolman died November 9, 1944 in Burlington, Burlington County, New Jersey at the age of 80.  She was the wife of Benjamin Franklin Gaunt, son of Benjamin Franklin Gaunt and Elizabeth K. Frazer, who is my 2nd cousin 3x removed via the Gaunts.

Ruth Hutson, daughter of Sherman Hutson and Lorinda Brown, died November 9, 1963 in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana at the age of 55.  She is my 5th cousin 2x removed on my Gauntt line through the Hutsons.

James Kenneth Yount died November 9, 1984 in Citrus County, Florida at the age of 62.  He was the second husband of Catherine Allean Hutson, daughter of Earl Morris Hutson and Catherine Corenne Utley, who is my 6th cousin 1x removed on my Gauntt line through the Hutsons.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Ancestor Photographs

We're going on another scavenger hunt through our family hstory holdings for this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with Randy Seaver!

Here is your assignment, if you choose to play along (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music):

(1) How many ancestors do you have photographs of?  What is your oldest ancestor photo (the year it was taken)?

(2) Tell us in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or on Facebook.  Be sure to leave a comment with a link to your blog post on this post.

At first I (mis)read this challenge to be how many photos do you have of each ancestor, instead of how many ancestors!  I was thinking, How in the world am I going to count all those photos Zadie took before the end of the day today?  Phew, thank goodness I only need to figure out which ancestors had photos taken of them.

• Parents (Bertram Lynn Sellers, Jr.; Myra Roslyn Meckler):  I have many of both, going back to childhood, teenage years, marriage, and later, including after their divorce.

• Paternal grandparents (Bertram Lynn Sellers, Sr.; Anna Gauntt):  A good number for each of them individually and one of them together.  I think the oldest are for their teenage years (none when they were children), and then throughout their lives.

• Maternal grandparents (Abraham Meckler, Lillyan E. Gordon):  Many of my grandmother (a lot taken by my grandfather), very few of my grandfather.  The ones of my grandmother go back to when she was fairly young.  I have one of my grandfather when he was 13 and then only three or four during young adulthood, but I have many more from while he was married to my grandmother.

• Great-grandparents (Cornelius Elmer Sellers versus Mr. X; Laura May Armstrong):  Only one of Elmer Sellers, my grandfather's adoptive father and the only father he knew; it is with Laura Armstrong.  Mr. X, my grandfather's biological father, is as yet unidentified.  A few of Laura May Armstrong, mostly later in life.

• Great-grandparents (Thomas Kirkland Gauntt, Jane Dunstan):  A couple for each of them when they were younger, and then several during their life together.  I think I have cousins with more photos of Thomas Gauntt.

• Great-grandparents (Morris Mackler [Moishe Meckler], Minnie [Mushe] Zelda Nowicki):  One photo each of Morris and Minnie.

• Great-grandparents (Joe Gordon [Joine Gorodetsky], Sarah Libby [Sore Leibe] Brainin):  A few of them here in the States, including two from before they were married (one is an engagement photo).  One of Sarah in Europe circa 1905.

• Great-great-grandparents (Catherine Fox Owen, Cornelius Gottschalk Sellers):  One of Catherine (Owen) Sellers, none of Cornelius Sellers.

• Great-great-grandparents (Joel Armstrong, Sarah Ann Deacon Lippincott): One that has been identified as them, but I'm not sure the identification is correct.

• Great-great-grandparents (James Gauntt, Amelia Gibson):  One of James Gauntt, none of Amelia Gibson (although cousins might have photos of her).

• Great-great-grandparents (Frederick Cleworth Dunstan, Martha Winn):  None.

• Great-great-grandparents (Simcha Dovid Meckler, Baila):  None.

• Great-great-grandparents (Gershon Itzhak Nowicki, Dube Yelsky):  Two different photographs of them as a couple, one from Europe and one from the United States.

• Great-great-grandparents (Victor Gordon [Avigdor Gorodetsky], Esther Leah Schneiderman):  Two or three of Victor Gordon, one of them from Europe, which includes Esther Leah.

• Great-great-grandparents (Morris [Mendel Hertz] Brainin, Rose Dorothy [Ruchel Dvoire] Jaffe):  One of Rose Dorothy Jaffe in Europe; one of the two of them in New York City.

• Great-great-great-grandparents:  Only one possibility, 3x-great-grandfather Gersh Wolf Gorodetsky.  What I have is a photo of a photo, so dating it accurately is pretty much impossible.  It being of Gersh Wolf is my best guess based on the little bit of information I have.

I think the oldest photo I have is the one of Avigdor Gorodetsky and Esther Leah Schneiderman in Kamenets Podolskiy, Russian Empire, circa 1890.  And I counted a total of 25 ancestors of whom I have photographs.

I really should talk to cousins about getting more copies of photographs.

Events in My Family Tree: August 18

I lived in Alameda County, California from 1989 to 2017, but I somehow missed the opportunity to meet my cousin Jeanne Gaunt.

Births

Daniel Gaunt, son of Daniel Gaunt and Mary Githens, was born August 18, 1909 in New Jersey, probably in Burlington County.  He is my 2nd cousin 5x removed via the Gaunts.

Sarah Ann Harris was born August 18, 1842 in Ohio.  She was the wife of Ner Gaunt, son of Benjamin Gaunt and Mary Sheets, who is my 2nd cousin 4x removed via the Gaunts.

Etta Friedman, daughter of Moshe(?) Friedman, was born August 18, 1864 in Romania.  She is the great-grandmother of my aunt Mary McStroul.

Ruth Ann Votaw, daughter of Daniel W. Votaw and Louisa Gaunt, was born August 18, 1871 in Wabash County, Indiana.  She is my 3rd cousin 3x removed via the Gaunts.

Morton Eli Perlman, son of Louis Perlman (originally Perlmutter) and Jennie Novitsky (origiinally Nowicki), was born August 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York.  He is my 1st cousin 2x removed on my Nowicki line.

Arnold Lesser was born August 18, 1921 in Rosedale, Queens, Queens County, New York.  He was the husband of Taube Michels, daughter of Barnet Michels (originally Michelson) and Rose Yudelson, who is my 2nd cousin 2x removed on my Jaffe line through the Michelsons.

Doris Danuff was born August 18, 1925 in Manhattan, New York County, New York.  She was the wife of Samuel Millstein, son of Nathan Millstein and Sarah Gordon (originally Gorodetsky), who is my 1st cousin 2x removed on my Gorodetsky line.

Jeanne Ellen Gaunt, daughter of Nolan Sidney Gaunt and Marjorie Ellen Harris, was born August 18, 1943 in Alameda County, California.  She is my 5th cousin once removed via the Gaunts.

Erika Lynn Lederman was born August 18, 1972.  She is my 2nd cousin once removed.

Marriages

Charles Gaunt, son of Lewis Cass Gaunt and Mary A. Kindlesparger, and Pearl E. Cory were married August 18, 1903 in Wabash County, Indiana.  Charles is my 3rd cousin 3x removed via the Gaunts.

Samuel Michael Brainin, son of Nathan(?) Katz and Lena Brainin, and Blanche Mildred Sax were married August 18, 1946 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.  Sammy is my 1st cousin 2x removed on my Brainin line.

Stephen Gershwind, son of Irving Lawrence Gershwind and Frances Perlman, and Arline Silver were married August 18, 1962 in Great Neck, Nassau County, New York.  Stephen is my 2nd cousin once removed on my Nowicki line through the Perlmans.

Oscar Phillip Van Hoy and Susan J. Yates, daughter of Charles Yates and Grace Allen, were married August 18, 1973 in New Jersey.  Susan is my 5th cousin once removed on my Gauntt line via the Allens.

Richard Wayne Gaunt, son of Jack Lowell Gaunt and Rosemary Ann Trindade, and Cynthia Jean Cook were married August 18, 1979 in San Francisco, San Francisco County, California.  Richard is my 5th cousin once removed via the Gaunts.

Deaths

Irene M. Gaunt, daughter of Robert Barclay Gaunt and Harriet Prickett, died August 18, 1950 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania at the age of 77.  She is my 4th cousin 3x removed via the Gaunts.

Clarence Neil(?) Allen, son of Elwood Lambert Allen and Lillian Steel(?), died August 18, 1996, possibly in Mount Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey, at the age of 79.  He is my 5th cousin on my Gauntt line through the Allens.

Events in My Family Tree: July 19

Mary Rose Allen's wedding was on the 26th anniversary of her grandfather's death.  Maybe by the time she married no one still alive in the family remembered?

Births

Edith Albert was born July 19, 1929 in Manhattan, New York County, New York.  She was the wife of Victor Lederman, son of Gabriel William Lederman and Anna Gordon, who is my 1st cousin 2x removed via the Gordons.

Kathy Anne Dutcher Rundell, daughter of Julian Dutcher and Carol Alene Gauntt, was born July 19, 1961 in Los Angeles County, California.  She is my 2nd cousin on my Gauntt line.

William Oliver Gauntt, Jr. was born July 19, 1963.  He is my 2nd cousin.

Joshua Kardish was born July 19, 1977.  He is my 3rd cousin.

John James Gaunt was born July 19, 1978.  He is my 5th cousin once removed.

Tabitha Genevieve Moran was born July 19, 1984.  She is my 5th cousin 2x removed.

Marriages

Israel Kessler and Sarah Gordon, daughter of Victor Gordon and Esther Leah Schneiderman, were married July 19, 1941 in Bronx, Bronx County, New York.  Sarah is my great-grandaunt on my Gordon line.

Mark Horn and Mary Rose Allen, daughter of Clarence Allen, Jr. and Grace Stagnato, were married July 19, 1980 in New Jersey.  Mary is my 5th cousin once removed on my Gauntt line through the Allens.

Deaths

Clarence Allen, Sr., son of Cyrus Kunze Allen, Jr. and Clara Barton Shinn, died July 19, 1954 in Mount Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey at the age of 54.  He is my 4th cousin once removed on my Gauntt line through the Allens.

Taube Michels, daughter of Barnet Michels and Rose Yudelson, died July 19, 2008, possibly in New York, at the age of 84.  She is my 2nd cousin 2x removed on my Jaffe line through the Michels family (which used to be Michelson).

Events in My Family Tree: June 18

When my mother named my sister Stacy, she didn't know that we had several Stacys in our family tree on our father's side, or that they were all male!

Births

James Gauntt, son of Hananiah Selah Gaunt and Abigail Atkinson, was born June 18, 1831 in New Jersey, probably Burlington County.  He is my great-great-grandfather.

Altha M. Harvey was born June 18, 1911 in Stanislaus County, California.  She was the wife of Donald E. Gaunt, son of Elmer Boone Gaunt and Edna Wright, who is my 4th cousin 2x removed via the Gaunts.

Kerri Ann Rogers, daughter of Stanley C. Rogers and Shirley June Gaunt, was born June 18, 1958 in Alameda County, California.  She is my 5th cousin once removed via the Gaunts.

Steven Lloyd McHenry was born June 18, 1974.  He is my 6th cousin.

Marriages

Gene Dawson Champ, son of Ralph Champ and Lucile Claycomb, and Elsie M. Blunk were married June 18, 1960, probably in Indiana.  Gene is my 5th cousin once removed on my Gauntt line through the Claycombs.

Paul Brainin, son of David Harry Brainin and Rebecca Harbour, and Elvira Frazer were married June 18, 1967 in Millville, Cumberland County, New Jersey.  Paul is my 1st cousin 2x removed on my Brainin line.

William Boyd and Jane Anne Gaunt, daughter of Burman J. Gaunt and Gretchen K. C. Hopman, also were married June 18, 1967, possibly in Indiana.  Jane is my 6th cousin via the Gaunts.

Deaths

John F. Gaunt, son of Jacob Gaunt and Melvina F. Bennett, died June 18, 1877, probably in Jay County, Indiana, at the age of 10.  He is my 3rd cousin 3x removed via the Gaunts.

Stacy Gaunt, son of Samuel Gaunt and Achsah Taylor, died June 18, 1887, possibly in New Jersey, at the age of 87.  He is my 2nd cousin 5x removed via the Gaunts.

Leonard B. Eckman, son of John Robert Eckman and Mary Sousa, died June 18, 1998, possibly in New Jersey, at the age of 68.  He is the uncle of my 1st cousin Al Lore.

Miriam Jaffe died June 18, 2001, probably in New York or New Jersey.  She was the wife of Donald Lawrence Lederman, son of Gabriel William Lederman and Anna Gordon, who is my 1st cousin 2x removed via the Gordons.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: How Many Children Did Your Ancestors Have?

I'm playing catch-up to an older Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post that I intended to comment on at the time, so no, you are not in a time warp.  That's why my topic doesn't match what's on Randy's blog today.

Here is your assignment, if you choose to play along (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music, please!):

(1) Thinking about your ancestors back through 2nd-great-grandparents — in other words, ancestors #2 to #31 on your pedigree chart — how many children did they have?  How many lived long enough to marry?  How many died before age 10?

(2) Tell us all about it in a blog post of your own, in comments on this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.  Be sure to link to them in a comment on this blog post.

So I took my cue from Randy and am only recording children born to my ancestral couples, not to other marriages or relationships those ancestors might have had.

#2–3:  Bertram Lynn Sellers, Jr. (1935–2019) and Myra Roslyn Meckler (1940–1995), 3 children, all lived long enough to marry.

#4–5:  Bertram Lynn Sellers, Sr. (1903–1995) and Anna Gauntt (1893–1986), 1 child, who lived long enough to marry.

#6–7:  Abraham Meckler (1912–1989) and Lillyan E. Gordon (1919–2006), 3 children, all lived long enough to marry.

#8–9:  Unknown, possibly Mundy (?–?) and Laura May Armstrong (1882–1970), 1 known child, who lived long enough to marry; small possibility of a second child, who died before the age of 10.

#10–11:  Thomas Kirkland Gauntt (1870–1951) and Jane Dunstan (1871–1954), 10 children, 6 lived long enough to marry, 3 died before the age of 10.

#12–13:  Morris Meckler (~1882–1953) and Minnie Zelda Nowicki (~1880–1936), 7 children, 6 lived long enough to marry, 1 died before the age of 10.

#14–15:  Joe Gordon (~1890–1955) and Sarah Libby Brainin (~1885–1963), 4 children, 3 lived long enough to marry, 1 died before the age of 10.

#16–17:  Unknown, possibly Mundy (?–?) and Unknown (?–?), 1 known child, who lived long enough to marry.

#18–19:  Joel Armstrong (1849–~1921) and Sarah Ann Deacon Lippincott (1860–after 1904), 3 known children, all lived long enough to marry.

#20–21:  James Gauntt (1831–1899) and Amelia Gibson (1831–1908), 9 known children, 7 (that I know of) lived long enough to marry

#22–23:  Frederick Cleworth Dunstan (1840–1873) and Martha Winn (1837–1884), 6 children, 4 lived long enough to marry, 2 died before the age of 10.

#24–25:  Simcha Dovid Mekler (?–before 1905) and Bela (?–before 1924), 2 known children, both lived long enough to marry.

#26–27:  Gershon Itzhak Novitsky (~1858–1948) and Dora Yelsky (~1858–1936), 7 known children, all lived long enough to marry.

#28–29:  Victor Gordon (~1866–1925) and Esther Leah Schneiderman (~1871–1908), 9 known children, 8 lived long enough to marry, one died before the age of 10.

#30–31:  Morris Brainin (~1861–1930) and Rose Dorothy Jaffe (~1868–1934), 8 known children, 7 lived long enough to marry, one died before the age of 10.

I didn't break down the children by sex, but the total number of children is 74.  Of those, 62 lived long enough to marry (the original question Randy posed, not whether they actually did marry) and 9 died before the age of 10, but I don't have death dates for everyone, so both numbers might actually be higher.  In addition, there is one child whose father is unknown, but that man might be the same as someone else's, which would bring total number of children to 75 and 10 children who died before the age of 10.

I had 15 families, the same number as Randy, but my average was 4.93 children per family and 4.13 children who lived long enough to marry.

One family had only 1 child and two other families had only 1 known child.  One family had 2 known children, but there were almost definitely more.  Three families had 3 children; one of them might have had more.  One family had 4 children, one had 6, two had 7, one had 8, two had 9, and one had 10.  Several of those might have had more children.

My parents had 3 children and no deaths before the age of 10.  My grandparents' generation averaged 2 children and no deaths before the age of 10 per family.  My great-grandparents' generation averaged 5.5 children and 1.25 deaths before the age of 10 per family; and my great-great-grandparents' generation averaged 5.625 children and 0.5 deaths before the age of 10 per family.

My numbers differed from Randy's in some ways, but as he said, it's hard to tell what exactly that signifies.

Twelve Mothers

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Which Ancestors Would You Like to Talk to?

This week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is almost too easy in some ways.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music here), is:

(1) We sometimes find we have questions we would love to discuss with our ancestors:  the who, what, when, why, and how questions that might help with our genealogy research.

(2) Which ancestors would you like to talk to?  What questions would you ask?  

(3) Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.

So the easy answer here is, "Every one!"  I have questions I would like to ask of every single one of my ancestors (and collateral relatives, too).  The most obvious question is parents for those end-of-line ancestors, but I'd love to know about birth dates, marriage dates, siblings, grandparents, details of their lives, and so much more.  I can't think of a single ancestor for whom I know everything, which means there's always something more to learn.

Oh, we're supposed to come up with something concrete?

Well, feh.

In that case, the first person who comes to mind of whom to ask questions is my paternal great-grandmother, Laura May (Armstrong) Sellers Ireland.  And the first question to ask of her would be, "Who was the biological father of my grandfather, Bertram Lynn Sellers?"  I have to hope she would actually know the answer, of course.

The second question I would ask is, "Who was the father of your daughter Bertolet Grace Sellers?"  (Who was born three years after her husband, Cornelius Elmer Sellers, had died.)  I think it's a safer bet that she would know the answer to that one.

And for a possible third question, I might ask, "Did Elmer know that my grandfather wasn't his biological son?"  I'm pretty sure Elmer knew, but it would be nice to confirm that.

Gee, after that, nothing else seems quite so compelling.

I do have two questions about photographs that I would like to ask of ancestors, though.

I have a photo of my great-grandmother Sore Leibe Brainin and her mother, Ruchel Dwojre (Jaffe) Brainin, with another woman and two girls.  I want to know who those other three people are.  I think they are Ruchel Dwojre's sister, Yetta Rashe (Jaffe) Michelson, and possibly her two daughters.  But I don't know for sure, and no one I know can verify or refute my hypothesis.

I also have a photograph of a photograph of a man.  It looks as though it was colorized.  The man resembles the male Gorodetsky members of my family.  My hypothesis is that he is Gersh Wolf Gorodetsky, my third-great-grandfather.  I think asking my great-grandfather Joe Gordon (originally Joyne Gorodetsky) or his father, Victor Gordon (originally Avigdor Gorodetsky), would be good options to get that answer.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Which Ancestral Home Would You Like to Visit?

Randy Seaver asks for a difficult decision in this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

Here is your assignment, if you choose to play along (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music, please!):

(1) Tell us which ancestral home (an actual building, a village, a town, even a country) you would most like to visit.   Which ancestors lived there and for how long?  

(2) Share your ancestral home information in your own blog post or on Facebook, and leave a link to it in the comments.
 
Thank you to Linda Stufflebean for suggesting this topic.

Randy appears to be fortunate in that he has several lines in his family that were in the same location, making it easy to choose that place.  Mine are kind of scattered all over the place, which makes the choice difficult.  On the other hand, Randy did give country as an option, so I think I'll choose "Russian Empire."  As in the one that doesn't exist anymore.  But it was the country from which all of the ancestors on my mother's side of the family emigrated.

All the American documentation I have says that the Brainins came from Kreuzburg, which is now Krustpils, Latvia.  I would love to go there and try to find some European documents that actually confirm that's where they were from.  Supposedly my 3x-great-grandfather was a doctor; maybe that increases the possibility of finding a record about him?

The Mecklers came from Kamenets Litovsk, Grodno gubernia, which is now Kamyanyets, Belarus.  I have that family tracked back to my 3x-great-grandfather Zvi Mekler.  I wouldn't expect to find much about my family in modern Kamyanyets, but I want the opportunity to look.

The Nowicki family came from Porozovo, Grodno gubernia, now Porazava, Belarus.  This is another location where not much has survived regarding the former Jewish population, but you never know unless you try.

The Gorodetskys were at least registered in Orinin, Kamenets Podolskiy gubernia, which is now Orynyn, Ukraine.  I don't know how far back that registration goes or how long it might have been since someone lived there.  The family was apparently at one time in the city of Kamenets Podolskiy (now Kamyanets Podilskyy), which is where my great-grandfather and his older sister are said to have been born, so that's probably the more important location to visit first.

The Schneidermans were also said to have been from Kamenets Podolskiy, although I don't think it was stated whether that was the city or merely the gubernia.

I don't know where the Jaffes, Bindermans, Blooms, or Yelskys are supposed to have been from.  I guess I would start searching for the Jaffes and Bindermans in Krustpils and the Blooms and Yelskys in Porazava.  I might also have Cohen/Kagan and Kardish/Kortisch ancestors.  I would start my search for them in Kamyanets Podilskyy.

So that gives me a lot of territory to cover.  What was once one (very large) country would now necessitate going through at least three modern countries.  And not going at all to modern Russia, because my ancestors all seem to have stayed in the Pale, apparently not having any of the high-end occupations that permitted one to reside in Russia proper.

I Love It When Cousins Call Me!

Ruchel Dwojre (Jaffe) Brainin,
one of the ancestors my
cousin asked me abour.
She is our great-great-grandmother.

I had a wonderful surprise on Wednesday.  Out of the blue, I got a phone call from one of my younger cousins!

He told me that his mother had given him all of the genealogy materials I had shared with her.  I haven't heard yet what prompted this, so I don't know at whose instigation this happened.  But he apparently started reading thorugh it avidly and then had lots of questions.  So his mother gave him my phone number.

We spent an hour and a quarter on the phone!  Mostly he seemed to want to know what I knew about any rabbis on the Brainin branch of my family (the line we have in common) and which members of the family were Orthodox Jews, but he also asked about anecdotes and stories, things that went beyond just the bare facts that are in the family tree information he already had.  I was able to remember lots of things (really good, since I didn't have any papers in front of me and I was totally unprepared), which seemed to satisfy at least some of his curiosity.  But some of what he asked about I still don't have answers for.  Now that someone else is asking, however, I feel a little reinvigorated about researching that line.  Maybe that was just the motivation I need to make some new discoveries!

I met this cousin and his family in person in 2013, when the IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy was held in Boston.  I actually stayed at their house for the week.  One of the amusing things about the phone call today is that my cousin didn't seem to remember having met me, even though that was only six years ago and at the time we made a big deal about the fact that we share the same birthday.  I don't feel so bad about some of my forgetfulness if someone 34 years younger than I am is forgetting things also!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: How Did Your Parents Meet?

For this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, Randy Seaver is recycling a question he has asked before, but he has reworded the challenge:

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music!), is:

(1) One of our family stories for our descendants should be how we met our spouses.  Another one should be, if we know it, how did our parents meet each other?

(2) This week, let's tell our "parents meeting" story if we know it.  If you don't know that story, tell us another one about one of your relatives meeting his/her spouse or significant other.
 
(3) Tell us in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook post.  Please leave a comment on this blog post to lead us to your answers.

As I mentioned, Randy has asked this question at least once before.  I answered it back in 2015.  I have not added any details to my knowledge of how my parents met (I really need to talk to my father about that), so I'll write about my great-grandparents instead this time.

I was told by my mother that her maternal grandparents, Joe Gordon and Sarah Libby Brainin, met when Joe was boarding in Sarah's parents' house in Manhattan.  It was common for immigrant families to take in boarders, particularly from the same ethnic group, both as a way to help make ends meet and to help new immigrants arriving in the United States.  Apparently my great-great-grandparents, Morris and Rose Dorothy (Jaffe) Brainin, had boarders at various times.

My great-grandfather arrived in New York City in 1909 as Jojne Gorodetsky.  In the 1910 census he had already changed his name and was enumerated as Joe Gordon, living with his uncle Sam Schneiderman (his mother's brother) and Sam's family in Manhattan.

My great-grandmother arrived in New York City also but earlier, in 1905, as Sore Leibe Brainin.  Her father, my great-great-grandfather Mendel Hertz Brainin (he went by Morris and Max in the United States), arrived in 1906.  I still haven't found my great-great-grandmother Ruchel Dwojre Brainin on a passenger list with the three young children she brought with her, but by 1910 the entire family was here and was enumerated in Manhattan also (except for Sarah's brother David).

Joe must have become a boarder in the Brainin household sometime between 1910 and 1913.  Joe and Sarah became engaged in 1913 and married on April 4, 1914 in Manhattan.  The marriage lasted until Joe's death on May 2, 1955.

I have Joe and Sarah's engagement photo, but I can't find the scanned version.  My grandmother told me that this photo of them was taken while they were engaged.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: How Many Generations Did Your Parents or Grandparents Know?

I skipped last week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun because it was a repeat, but this week's is one of those that's interesting because it makes you think about parallel timelines.

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music, please!):

(1) Miriam Robbins wrote a wonderful post today about her grandson playing with a toy first used by Miriam's great-grandfather.  See Seven Generations for the details.

(2) So how many generations of family did you know, or your parents or your grandparents know?  Ancestors and descendants.  

(3) Tell us in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook post.  Please leave a comment on this post with a link with your response.

Ok, here's mine:

1.  I (born 1962) knew:
• My paternal grandparents, Bertram Lynn Sellers, Sr. (1903–1995) and Anna Gauntt (1893–1986), and my maternal grandparents, Abraham Meckler (1912–1989) and Lillyan E. Gordon (1919–2006)
• My parents, Bertram Lynn Sellers, Jr. (1935– ) and Myra Roslyn Meckler (1940–1995)
• My siblings
• My two stepsons
• My five grandchildren

2.  My father, Bertram Lynn Sellers, Jr., knew:
• His paternal grandmother, Laura May Armstrong (1882–1970), and his maternal grandparents, Thomas Kirkland Gauntt (1870–1951) and Jane Dunstan (1871–1954)
• His parents, Bertram Lynn Sellers, Sr. and Anna Gauntt
• His siblings
• His four children
• Seven of his grandchildren
• At least two of his great-grandchildren

3.  My mother, Myra Roslyn Meckler, knew:
• Her paternal great-grandfather, Gershon Itzhak Nowicki (~1858–1948)
• Her paternal grandfather, Morris Meckler (~1862–1953), and her maternal grandparents, Joe Gordon (~1892–1955) and Sarah Libby Brainin (~1890–1963)
• Her parents, Abraham Meckler and Lillyan E. Gordon
• Her siblings
• Her three children
• Three of her grandchildren

4.  My paternal grandfather, Bertram Lynn Sellers, Sr., knew:
• His paternal grandmother, Catherine Fox Owen (1949–1923), and possibly his maternal grandmother, Sarah Ann Lippincott (1860–after 1904)
• His parents, Cornelius Elmer Sellers (1877–1918) and Laura May Armstrong
• His siblings
• His five children
• At least nine of his grandchildren
• Probably seven of his great-grandchildren
• Probably three of his great-great-grandchildren

5.  My paternal grandmother, Anna Gauntt, knew:
• Her paternal grandmother, Amelia Gibson (1831–1908)
• Her parents, Thomas Kirkland Gauntt and Jane Dunstan
• Her siblings
• Her four children
• Her six grandchildren
• Her two great-grandchildren
• One of her great-great-grandchildren

6.  My maternal grandfather, Abraham Meckler, knew:
• His maternal grandparents, Gershon Itzhak Nowicki and Dora Yelsky (~1858–1936)
• His parents, Morris Meckler and Minnie Zelda Nowicki (~1880–1936)
• His siblings
• His three children
• His five grandchlidren
• Probably one of his great-grandchildren

7.  My maternal grandmother, Lillyan E. Gordon, knew:
• Her paternal grandfather, Victor Gordon (~1866–1925), and her maternal grandparents, Morris Brainin (~1861–1930) and Rose Dorothy Jaffe (~1869–1934)
• Her parents, Joe Gordon and Saray Libby Brainin
• Her siblings
• Her three children
• Her five grandchildren
• Three of her great-grandchildren

So, as in Randy's family, the most I seem to have is seven generations, but in my case for two ancestors.  Both of my paternal grandparents knew seven generations in their families (and I have five-generation photographs of each of them with a child, grandchild, great-grandchild, and great-great-grandchild).  My parents and my maternal grandparents each knew six generations, and I know five.  There's a chance my father will get to meet a great-great-grandchild.

I did find it interesting that among my parents and grandparents, only my mother knew a great-grandparent.

Events in My Family Tree: April 5

Poor John Gaunt — his brother Samuel died on John's 29th wedding anniversary.

Births

John Sellers, son of Paul Sellers and Elizabeth Hofmen, was born April 5, 1768 in Pennsylvania.  He is my 1st cousin 6x removed.

John B. Gaunt, son of John Gaunt and Euphemia Thornton, was born April 5, 1826 in Ohio.  He is my 2nd cousin 4x removed.

Abraham Martin Gaunt, son of Selah? C. Gaunt and Mary E. Sever, was born April 5, 1874 in Pemberton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.  He is my 2nd cousin 2x removed.

Rhoda Hanthorn was born April 5, 1902 in Pennsylvania.  She was married to Justus Edwin Sellers, son of Elmer Ferguson Sellers and Minnie B. Frey, who is my 5th cousin 2x removed.

Lillian Edith Eckman, daughter of Horace Samuel Eckman and Helen Marie Gorsky, was born April 5, 1930 in New Jersey, probably in Burlingotn County.  She is the 1st cousin once removed of my 1st cousin Albert Lore.

Linda Helaine Brainin, daughter of William David Brainin and Beatrice Horowitz, was born April 5, 1950 in Bronx, Bronx County, New York.  She is my 2nd cousin once removed.

Marriages

George Heath, son of George Heath and Martha Stuart, and Philadelphia Lucas, daughter of James Lucas and Phladelphia, were married on April 5, 1800 in Surrey, England.  They are the 3rd-great-grandparents of my aunt Mary McStroul.

John Gaunt, Jr., son of John Gaunt and Elizabeth Kirby, and Elizabeth Colson French were married on April 5, 1860 in Woodstown, Salem County, New Jersey.  John is my 3rd cousin 4x removed.

Barnet Michels (originally Michelson), son of Leizer Michelson and Yetta Rashe Jaffe, and Rose Yudelson, were married on April 5, 1917 in Manhattan, New York County, New York.  Barney is my 1st cousin 3x removed via the Jaffes.

Deaths

Anna Maria Mack, daughter of Alexander Mack, Jr. and Elizabeth Neis, died April 5, 1770 at the age of 17, possibly in Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.  She is my 5th-great-grandaunt.

Nancy Holsinger, daughter of David Holsinger and Lydia Mack, died April 5, 1854 at the age of 45 in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.  She is my 2nd cousin 5x removed via the Macks.

Samuel M. Gaunt, son of John Gaunt and Elizabeth Kirby, died April 5, 1889 at the age of 71 in New Jersey.  He is my 3rd cousin 4x removed.

America Malone, daughter of Charlie Malone and Harriet Crawford, died April 5, 1926 at the age of about 8 in Midland, Muscogee County, Georgia.  She is the 1st cousin 2x removed of my not-quite-cousin Angela Williams.

William Easlick, son of Vinton Thompson Easlick and Beulah Anna Elizabeth Bozarth, died April 5, 1932 at the age of 10 months in New Jersey.  He is my 4th cousin on my Gauntt line through the Easlicks.

Sarah Rozetta Sellers, daughter of Henry Sellers and Lavina Danner, died April 5, 1951 at the age of 83 in Ada, Hardin County, Ohio.  She is my 4th cousin 3x removed.

Joseph Naclerio died April 5, 1980 at the age of 30 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York.  He was married to Kim Perlman, daughter of Murray Elliott Perlman and Helen Ruth Greenebaum, who is my 4th cousin on my Nowicki line thorugh the Perlmans.

Samuel Naglee Ellis, son of Levi Ellis and Carrie Florence Gauntt, died April 5, 2011 at the age of 93 in Medford, Burlington County, New Jersey.  He is my 1st cousin once removed via the Gauntts.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Where Were Your Ancestors in 1900?

For this week's challenge on Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, Randy Seaver is having us kind of split the difference between 1865 and 1917, because now we're looking for where our ancestors were living in 1900.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music), is:

(1) Where were your ancestors in the year 1900?  Make a list with their ages and locations (with street addresses if you know them).

(2) Share your information in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or on Facebook or Google+.  Please leave a link to your post in a comment to this post.

Here's my list.  I'm still shy on specific addresses for a lot of my ancestors.  When I have them, I'm listing birth years of my ancestors in parentheses.

My 2nd-great-grandfather Joel Armstrong (1849) was living in Burlington County, New Jersey.  I have not been able to determine which Joel he is among the three or four of about the same age in the county.

My great-grandmother Laura May Armstrong (1882) and her mother, Sarah Deacon Lippincott (1860), were living with Sarah's uncle and aunt Amos and Rebecca Lippincott at 343 Broad Street, Mount Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey.

My great-grandfather Cornelius Elmer Sellers (1874) was living in Mount Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey with his mother, Catherine Fox Owen, and stepfather, George W. Moore.

My 2nd-great-grandmother Amelia (Gibson) Gauntt (1831) was living in Burlington County, New Jersey, almost definitely with one of her children.

My great-grandparents Thomas Kirkland Gauntt (1870) and Jane (Dunstan) Gauntt (1871) were living in Mount Laurel, Burlington County, New Jersey.  Living with them were their surviving chidlren Frederick Cleworth, my grandmother Anna (1893), Carrie Florence, and Mary Louise.

My 2nd-great-grandparents Simcha Dovid (unknown birth year) and Bela (unknown maiden name) Mekler (unknown birth year) might have been alive.  I know Simcha died by about 1904 and Bela by about 1924.  If they were alive, they were probably living in the area of Kamenets Litovsk, Russian Empire (now Kameniec, Belarus).  Living with them would have been their daughter Sora; they might have had additional children, but I don't know of any.

My 2nd-great-grandparents Gershon Itzhak Nowicki (about 1858) and Dora (Yelsky) Nowicki (about 1858) were probably in Porozowo, Russian Empire (now Porozovo, Belarus).  Chldren living with them would have included Zlate (Jennie here in the U.S.), Schmuel (Sam), Louis, Chaim, Harry, and Mirke.

My great-grandparents Moishe (Morris) Meckler (about 1882) and Mushe (Minnie) Zelda (Nowicki) Meckler (about 1880) might have been married already.  The only date I have seen for their marriage is October 3, 1900, but I have no European documents to substantiate that, so it could have been a year or two before or after (although after is less likely).  It's possible that their oldest child, Sarah, was already born and was living with them.  If they were not married yet, they probably would have each been living with their respective parents.

It's possible that my 3rd-great-grandfather Gersh Wolf Gorodetsky (unknown dates) was still alive in 1900, because I have not found any descendants named after him.  On the other hand, maybe his children didn't like him and that's why they didn't name anyone after him.

My 2nd-great-grandparents Isaac/Victor Gorodetsky (about 1866) and Esther Leah Schneiderman (between 1868–1874)) were living in Kishinev, Bessarabia, Russian Empire (now Chișinău, Moldova) with their children Etta, Joine (Joe, my great-grandfather; about 1892), Sure (Sarah), Dovid (David), and Chaim (Hyman).

My 2nd-great-grandparents Mendel Hertz (Morris) Brainin (about 1861) and Ruchel Dwojre (Rose Dorothy) (Jaffe) Brainin (about 1868) were living in the Russian Empire, possibly in or in the area of Kreuzburg (now Krustpils, Latvia).  Living with them were their children Nachman (Max), Chase Leah (Lena), my great-grandmother Sure Leibe (Sarah Libby), Dovid (David), Velvel (William), Pesche (Bessie), and Benjamin.  Benjamin had a twin sister, but she is said to have died about 1898.

There's also a possibility that my 3rd-great-grandfather Solomon Brainin (died before 1909) was alive.  The first child I know of and whom I am pretty sure was named for him was born in 1909.  If Solomon (not really his name, but I don't know what his Jewish name was) was alive, he would also probably have been living in the area of Kreuzburg.