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: Two Truths and One Lie

This isn't a game that I used to play, but I have heard of it.  It certainly makes an interesting challenge for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.

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

1.  Let's play the game "Two Truths and One Lie."  Tell three family stories — two must be true, and one must be a lie, an untruth.

2.  Have your readers guess which story is the lie and give their reasons for picking that story.

3.  Share your three stories on your own blog, on Facebook or other social media, or in a comment on this blog.  Share the link to your stories on this blog, so readers can respond.

4.  After all comments are in, share the lie in a comment on your post.

Okay, here goes.

1.  My great-great-grandmother Martha Winn (1837–1884) was three months pregnant when she married my great-great-grandfather Frederick Cleworth Dunstan (1840–1873) in 1858.

2.  My great-grandmother Jane Dunstan (1871–1954) was three months pregnant when she married my great-grandfather Thomas Kirkland Gauntt (1870–1951) in 1891.

3.  My mother, Myra Roslyn Meckler (1940–1995), was three months pregnant when she married my father, Bertram Lynn Sellers, Jr. (1935–2019), in 1961.

Which story is the lie?  Why do you think that story is the lie?

The Big Reveal

Even though Randy's instructions said to share the lie in a comment, everyone else updated the original post, so I'll do that also.  The lie is #2.  My great-grandmother was actually six months pregnant when she married my great-grandfather.  I guess the Nineties were a little more swinging than the Sixties in this case.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Did Your Grandparents Know Their Grandparents?

We have a really fun challenge today for Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!

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

1.  Marie Cooke Beckman on her blog, MarieB's Genealogy Blog--Southeastern USA, asked and answered this question, and it is right up the SNGF alley:  Did your grandparents know their grandparents?  Thank you for the idea, Marie!

2.  Tell us about your grandparents and their grandparents 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.

This is a really cool topic!  I love it!

My maternal grandparents were Abraham Meckler (1912–1989) and Lillyan "Lily" E. Gordon (1919–2006).

• Abraham Meckler's maternal grandparents were Gershon Itzhak Nowicki (c. 1856–1948) and Dube Yelsky (c. 1848–1936).  Gershon and Dube immigrated to the United States in 1922 and lived in Brooklyn.  They changed the spelling of their family name to Novitzky, and Dube used the name Dora.  My grandfather knew both of them.  My maternal uncle Gary Meckler, who was born in 1951, was named after Gershon.

• Abraham's paternal grandparents were Simcha Dovid Mekler and Beila (birth and death years unknown for both).  They both died in Europe, almost definitely before my grandfather was born, and he never met them.

• Lillyan Gordon's maternal grandparents were Mendel Hertz Brainin (c. 1862–1930) and Ruchel Dvojre Jaffe (c. 1868–1934).  The immigrated separately to the United States in 1906 and lived in Manhattan.  They used the secular names Morris/Max and Rachel Dorothy, and my grandmother knew both of them.  She was born in their house.

• Lily's paternal grandparents were Avigdor Gorodetsky (c. 1863–1925) and Esther Leah Schneiderman (c. 1867–1908).  Esther Leah was my grandmother's birth name, following the Ashkenazi tradition of naming after a deceased ancestor (my grandmother changed her name as an adult).  Esther Leah's death was what precipitated the chain migration of this branch of my family to the United States.  Avigdor came in 1914 and changed his name to Victor Gordon.  My grandmother knew him, and I have a big family photo with the two of them in it.

My paternal grandparents were Bertram "Bert" Lynn Sellers, Sr. (1903–1995) and Anna Gauntt (1893–1986).

• Anna Gauntt's maternal grandparents were Frederick Cleworth Dunstan (1840–1873) and Martha Winn (1837–1884).  They both died in England before my grandmother was born, and she never knew them.

• Anna's paternal grandparents were James Gauntt (1831–1899) and Amelia Gibson (c. 1831–1908).  Everyone lived in Mount Holly, New Jersey and the nearby vicinity.  Since Anna was born in 1893 and James died in 1899, there's a reasonable chance she knew him.  Amelia died when my grandmother was 15 years old, so I'm pretty sure she knew her.

• Bertram Sellers' maternal grandparents were Sarah Ann Deacon Lippincott (1860–aft. 1904) and Joel Armstrong (c. 1849–c. 1921).  I don't know if he knew them.  I don't have documented dates of death for either person or confirmation that they were divorced, which I believe to be the case.  I suspect he might have known his grandmother; I'm pretty sure she's in the household with Grandpa's mother in 1900, so his mother was apparently on speaking terms with her mother.  If I have researched the correct person, his grandfather remarried and had a second family, so maybe he didn't know them, but I really don't know.

• Bert's biological paternal grandparents are still unknown to me, as I have not yet determined his biological father.  His adoptive father's parents were Cornelius Godschalk Sellers (1845–1877) and Catherine "Kate" Fox Owen (1849–c. 1923).  As Cornelius died so young, none of his grandchildren knew him.  Kate had a second husband, George W. Moore (1840–1920).  Bert did know Kate, and we have a photo of her.  In fact, she's the person who paid for his father's funeral, as he also died very young.  It's reasonable to believe that Grandpa probably knew George Moore, even though we don't have a photo of him, as Grandpa's brother was named after George.  I was told that Grandpa's father loved his stepfather so much that he named his second son George Moore Sellers after him.  That certainly suggests he was around the family.

And I am proud to say that I didn't need to look up any of the above information except some of the birth and death years.

Events in My Family Tree: November 26

My cousin Al shows up three times in today's list!

Births

Bessie May Gaunt, daughter of James Knox Polk Gaunt and Sarah Naomi Boone, was born November 26, 1876 in Indiana.  She is my 3rd cousin 3x removed via the Gaunts.

Joseph V. Gaunt, son of Benjamin Gaunt and Mary Elizabeth Sever, was born November 26, 1885 in Burlington County, New Jersey.  He is my half 2nd cousin 2x removed via the Gaunts.

Claude Gaunt, son of William B. Gaunt and Fannie Rebecca Hall, was born November 26, 1891, probably in New Jersey.  He is my 2nd cousin 2x removed via the Gaunts.

Harry Eldridge Person was born November 26, 1892 in Pennville, Jay County, Indiana.  He was the husband of Hazel Pearl Gaunt, daughter of Ross B. Gaunt and Mary Ann Dale, who is my 4th cousin 2x removed via the Gaunts.

Treva Louise Gaunt, daughter of Charles Lee Gaunt and Bertha Wilson, was born November 26, 1907 in Dunkirk, Jay County, Indiana.  She is my 5th cousin 1x removed via the Gaunts.

Emma Kelley, daughter of Joseph Kelley and Martha W. Lawrence, was born November 26, 1912 in New Jersey.  She is the 2nd cousin 1x removed of my 1st cousin Albert Lore on his Eckman line through the Lawrences.

Rose Gordon, daughter of David Gordon (originally Dovid Gorodetsky) and Freeda Alterman, was born November 26, 1916 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York.  She is my 1st cousin 2x removed on my Gorodetsky line.

Ruth Eckman, daughter of Frank Eckman and Mary Elizabeth Wilbur, was born November 26, 1926, most likely in New Jersey.  She is the 1st cousin 1x removed of my 1st cousin Albert Lore on his Eckman line.

Andrew J. Gordon, son of Charles R. Gordon and Robbin Patricia McStroul, was born November 26, 1962 in San Diego County, California.  He is the 1st cousin 1x removed of my aunt Mary McStroul and the 2nd cousin of my not-quite-cousin Angela Williams.

Baby Boy Kent was born November 26, 1975.  He is my nephew.

Stephanie Marie Hutchison was born November 26, 1983.  She is my half 1st cousin 2x removed.

Marriages

John S. Bowker and Louisa J. Armstrong, daughter of Joel Armstrong and Catherine Stackhouse, were married November 26, 1852 in Burlington County, New Jersey.  Louisa is my 3x-great-grandaunt on my Armstrong line.

Albert Lynn Lore, son of Frank Everett Eckman and Dorothy Mae Sellers, and Lucille Fisher were married November 26, 1993 in Kissimmee, Osceola County, Florida.  Albert is my half 1st cousin on my Sellers line.

Deaths

Martha Winn, daughter of Thomas Winn and Mary Parr(?), died November 26, 1884 in Manchester, Lancashire, England at the age of 47.  She is my great-great-grandmother.

Opal Edna Gage, daughter of James W. Gage and Mary Rosella Hutson, died November 26, 1967 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio at the age of 82.  She is my 5th cousin 2x removed on my Gauntt line through the Hutsons.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Your Top End-of-line Ancestors

The Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post that Randy Seaver posted tonight is a rerun from 2018, and I don't have anyone else in my extended family I have researched to the same degree where I could readily pull up that information, so instead I went back and found an older Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, from September 2023, that I did not write about at the time.

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.  Show us your pedigree (or fan) chart.  Who are your end-of-line ancestors?  Describe the top five or ten of them.

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

Okay, bowing out of showing the pedigree/fan chart.  I have tried to create those in the new version of Family Tree Maker that I have, and I must be doing something horribly wrong, because it just isn't working.  So, feh.

But I can write about the end-of-line ancestors!  Not sure what Randy means by the "top" five or ten, though.  Top problem causers?  Top frustration generators?  Maybe just furthest back in time.  I decided to write only about my father's side, since I don't have a lot of real concrete data on my European-born ancestors on my mother's side.

• Paternal grandfather Bertram Lynn Sellers, Sr. (1903–1995):  Born out of wedlock to his mother, with no father listed on the birth certificate, he gained the name Sellers when his mother married Cornelius Elmer Sellers seven months later.  I proved with Y-DNA testing that he was not biologically a Sellers, but I'm still trying to find his biological father.  (I researched the Sellers line back to 1615 in Weinheim, Baden, so not much to worry about there,)

• 2x-great-grandfather Joel Armstrong (1849–c. 1921):  I know two more generations back on his paternal line (see below), but I still don't know who his mother was, because his father was apparently widowed by 1850.  With more information available nowadays than when I got hung up on this, I probably should be able to resolve this question if I simply get back to working on it.

• 3x-great-grandmother Rachel R. Stackhouse (c. 1826–aft. 1885):  Married Abel A. Lippincott before 1846, probably in New Jersey.

• 4x-great-grandfather Joel Armstrong (c. 1798–1854):  Married Catherine Stackhouse in 1823 in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

• 4x-great-grandmother Catherine Stackhouse (c. 1798–c. 1865):  Married Joel Armstrong in 1823 in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

• 4x-great-grandfather Stacy B. Lippincott (?–?):  Married Alice Parker before 1826, probably in New Jersey.

• 4x-great-grandmother Alice Parker (?–?):  Married Stacy B. Lippincott before 1826, probably in New Jersey.

• 4x-great-grandfather John Gibson (?–?):  Married Mary before 1833, probably in New Jersey.

• 4x-great-grandmother Mary —?— (?–?):  Married John Gibson before 1833, probably in New Jersey.

• 4x-great-grandmother Jane Coleclough (c. 1811–1865):  Married Richard Dunstan in 1833 in Manchester, England.

• 4x-great-grandfather Thomas Winn (c. 1792–?):  Married Mary Parr(?) c. 1812, possibly in Shropshire.

• 4x-great-grandmother Mary Parr(?) (?–bef. 1842):  Married Thomas Winn c. 1812, possibly in Shropshire.

So I included twelve ancestors, nine of whom are 4x-great-grandparents.  I really need to get back to work on this!

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.

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 12

This may be the first time I've had two events from the English side of my family on the same day.

Births

Martha Winn, daughter of Thomas Winn and Mary Parr(?), was born August 12, 1837 in either Chorlton-upon-Medlock or Manchester, Lancashire, England.  She is my great-great-grandmother.

Irwin Millstein, son of Nathan Millstein and Sarah Gordon (originally Gorodetsky), was born August 12, 1929 in Bronx, Bronx County, New York.  He is my 1st cousin 2x removed via the Gorodetskys.

Robert Reuben Gauntt, son of Reuben Lewallen Gauntt and Dorothy Selace, was born August 12, 1946, probably in New Jersey.  He is my 5th cousin on my Gauntt line.

Lory David McStroul, son of Fred Lincoln McStroul and Belle Silberman, was born August 12, 1953 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California.  He is the 1st cousin of my aunt Mary McStroul.

Wayne Lee Gaunt, son of William Richard Gaunt and Ina Mae Pflueger, was born August 12, 1954, possibly in Indiana.  He is my 6th cousin via the Gaunts.

Shachar Leven was born August 12, 1975.  She is my 4th cousin.

Astrid Erin O'Brien was born August 12, 1980.  She is my half 1st cousin.

Lauren Eileen Dunn was born August 12, 1997.  She is my 2nd cousin 2x removed.

Marriage

Robert Hill and Maria Dunstan, daughter of James Dunstan and Maria Hilton, were married August 12, 1832 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.  Maria is my 3x-great-grandaunt.

Death

Everett Elwin Gaunt, son of Walter Everett Gaunt and Norma Marguerite Prusso, died August 12, 1982 in Newark, Alameda County, California at the age of 62.  He is my 4th cousin 2x removed via the Gaunts.

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.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Where Were They 150 Years Ago?

This wee's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is an "encore" theme, but moved forward in time a few years.

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

(1) Determine where your ancestral families were on 12 January 1869:  150 years ago.

(2) List them, their family members, their birth years, and their residence locations (as close as possible).  Do you have a photograph of their residence, and does the residence still exist?  How many do you have in each generation living in January 1869?

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

So Randy posed this question almost four years ago, on May 16, 2015, but since we're now looking at 1869 instead of 1865, one additional ancestor of mine might have been alive.  One thing that has changed since 2015 is that I learned that my grandfather was a Sellers through informal adoption, so this time I am not posting about all the Sellers family ancestors.

Catherine (Stackhouse) Armstrong (born 1796–1800), my 4th great-grandmother, may or may not have been alive.  I have narrowed down her death to 1860–1870 (and I have not narrowed it down further since 2015).  If she was alive, she was living somewhere in Burlington County, New Jersey.  I don't know who she might have been living with or if she lived alone.

Franklin Armstrong (1825–after 1870), my 3rd-great-grandfather, was living in Mansfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey with his son, Joel Armstrong (1849–~1921), my 2nd-great-grandfather.

Abel Amos Lippincott (1825–after 1885) and Rachel (Stackhouse) Lippincott (~1825–after 1885), my 3rd-great-grandparents, were living in Burlington County, New Jersey.  I don't know exactly where.

Sarah Ann Lippincott (1860–after 1904), my 2nd-great-grandmother, was almost definitely living somewhere in Burlington County, New Jersey.  In the 1860 census she was not yet born and in the 1870 census she was not with her parents, however.

James Gauntt (1831–1889) and Amelia (Gibson) Gauntt (1831–1908), my 2nd-great-grandparents, were almost definitely living in Burlington County, New Jersey.  I don't know exactly where.  They likely had three to five children living with them, but not my great-grandfather Thomas Kirkland Gauntt, because he was born in 1870.

Frederick Cleworth Dunstan (1840–1873) and Martha (Winn) Dunstan (1837–1884), my 2nd-great-grandparents, were living in one of the suburbs of Manchester, Lancashire, England.  I don't know exactly where.  They had four children living with them, but not my great-grandmother Jane Dunstan, who was born in 1871.

Zvi (died before 1903) and Esther Mekler, my 3rd-great-grandparents, were probably living in Kamenets Litovsk, Russia (now Kameniec, Belarus), with their son Simcha Dovid Mekler (died before 1903), my 2nd-great-grandfather, and his older brother Eliezer.

Bela (died before 1924) (I don't know her maiden name yet), my 2nd-great-grandmother, who would later marry Simcha Mekler, was probably somewhere in the area of Kamenets Litovsk, but that's just a guess.  She would have been young, maybe between 10–15 years old, and probably living with her parents, but I still don't know their names either.

Abraham Yaakov (died before 1896) and Sirke (died before 1893) Nowicki, my 3rd-great-grandparents, were probably living in Porozowo, Russia (now Porozovo, Belarus) with their son Gershon Itzhak Nowicki (~1858–1948), my 2nd-great-grandfather.

Ruven Yelsky (~1838–~1898) and Frieda (Bloom) Yelsky (~1838–~1898), my 3rd-great-grandparents, were probably living in Porozowo, Russia with their daughter Dora Yelsky (~1858–1936), my 2nd-great-grandmother.

Gersh Wolf Gorodetsky and Etta (Cohen) Gorodetsky (died before 1891), my 3rd-great-grandparents, were almost definitely living in Podolia gubernia, Russia, probably near Kamenets Podolsky (now Kamyanets Podilskyy, Ukraine).  Their son Isaac/Avigdor Gorodetsky (died 1925), my 2nd-great-grandfather, should have been with them; I have approximated his birth year to 1864–1868, so by 1869 he had probably been born.

Joine (died before 1893) and Chane Etta (died before 1891) Schneiderman, my 3rd-great-grandparents, also were likely living in Podolia gubernia, Russia, probably in the area of Kamenets Podolsky.  My 2nd-great-grandmother Esther Leah Schneiderman (died 1908) may have been with them; I have approximated her birth year as between 1868 and 1874.

Solomon (died before 1909) and Yetta Brainin, my 3rd-great-grandparents, were probably living near Kreuzburg, Russia (now Krustpils, Latvia) with their son Mendel Hertz Brainin (~1862–1930), my 2nd-great-grandfather.

I still don't have photographs of any of the residences and don't know if any of them exist today.  I really do want to work on that, though.

Without the Sellers family lines, it appears that I had 29 (maybe only 28) ancestors who were alive on May 16, 1865.  The breakdown is:
• 1 4th-great-grandparent
• 15 3rd-great-grandparents
• 13 2nd-great-grandparents

And still none of my great-grandparents had been born yet, but we're getting closer!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: What Ancestor Had the Most Children?

It's Saturday night, and time for more genealogy fun with Randy Seaver!  This week we're mining details from our family tree programs:

For this week's mission (should you decide to accept it), I challenge you:

(1) The Family History Hound listed 20 Questions about Your Ancestor, and I'm going to use some of them in the next few months.

(2) Please answer the question "What ancestor had the most children?  How many?"

(3) Write your own blog post, make a comment on this post, or post your answer on Facebook or Google+.  Please leave a link to your answer in comments on this post.

The most children I have entered for any couple in my database is ten.  I found two couples with ten children.  The first couple I am listing are my great-grandparents.

Jane and Thomas Gauntt, c. 1940's

Thomas Kirkland Gauntt, born May 23, 1870 in Fairview, Burlington County, New Jersey; died January 21, 1951 in Mt. Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey.  He was the son of James Gauntt and Amelia Gibson.  He married Jane Dunstan September 2, 1891, probably in Burlington County, New Jersey.

Jane Dunstan, born April 28, 1871 in Manchester, Lancashire, England; died August 1, 1954 in Mt. Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey.  She was the daughter of Thomas Cleworth Dunstan and Maria Winn.

The children of Thomas Kirkland Gauntt and Jane Dunstan are:

1.  Frederick Cleworth Gauntt, born January 7, 1892 in Rancocas, Burlington County, New Jersey; died March 17, 1910 in Rancocas, Burlington County, New Jersey.

2.  Anna Gauntt, born January 14, 1893 in Westhampton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey; died January 19, 1986 in Lindstrom, Chisago County, Minnesota.  She married Charles Cooper Stradling on November 3, 1913 in Masonville, Burlington County, New Jersey.

3.  Bertha Gauntt, born June 14, 1895 in Camden, Camden County, New Jersey; died before June 27, 1900, probably in New Jersey.

4.  Carrie Florence Gauntt, born September 9, 1896 in Rancocas, Burlington County, New Jersey; died April 19, 1985 in Burlington, Burlington County, New Jersey.  She married Levi Ellis on July 29, 1914 in Mt. Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey.

5.  Mary Louise Gauntt, born October 31, 1899 in Mt. Laurel, Burlington County, New Jersey; died 1971, possibly in New Jersey.  She married Oliver Goldsmith Holden on August 10, 1919 in Mt. Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey.

6.  Edna May Gauntt, born July 15, 1902 in Masonville, Burlington County, New Jersey; died January 29, 1981 in Orlando, Orange County, Florida.  She married Roscoe Sherman Flynn on July 4, 1920 in Hainesport, Burlington County, New Jersey.

7.  James Kirkland Gauntt, born August 7, 1905 in Masonville, Burlington County, New Jersey; died October 31, 1949 in Fern Park, Seminole County, Florida.  He married Katherine Boyle in 1932 in West Virginia.

8.  Thomas Franklin Gauntt, born July 14, 1908 in Masonville, Burlington County, New Jersey; died December 4, 1991 in Sarasota County, Florida.  He married Anna Marie Stayton on July 12, 1935 in New Jersey.

9.  Elmer Gauntt, born March 30, 1912, probably in New Jersey; died June 1, 1912, probably in New Jersey.

10.  John H. Gauntt, born December 30, 1914, probably in New Jersey; died March 16, 1917, probably in New Jersey.


The second couple are the great-grandparents of Jane Dunstan and therefore my 4th-great-grandparents.  I don't have as much information about them and their children.

James Dunstan married Maria Hilton on June 6, 1811 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.

The children of James Dunstan and Maria Hilton are:

1.  Sarah Dunstan, born about March 11, 1812 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.

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

3.  Maria Dunstan, born about January 10, 1816 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.  She married Robert Hill on August 12, 1832 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.

4.  Harriet Dunstan, born about January 7, 1818 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.

5.  Frederick Augustus Dunstan, born about December 20, 1918 in Manchester, Lancashire, England; died after April 5, 1891.  He married Bridget before 1844.

6.  Mary Ann Dunstan, born about September 25, 1822 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.

7.  James Dunstan, born about July 7, 1824 in Manchester, Lancashire, England; died before 1832.

8.  Susannah Dunstan, born about April 27, 1828 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.

9.  Caroline Dunstan, born about February 16, 1830 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.

10.  James Dunstan, born about October 2, 1831 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Recent Ancestor Photographs

Even while he's busy posting about Genealogy Jamboree, Randy Seaver found time to come up with a new challenge for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!

For this week's mission (should you decide to accept it), I challenge you:

(1)  Do you have photos of all of your ancestors back to the 1850 time frame?  Which recent ancestors do you not have a photograph of?  

(2)  Review your files, and list the ancestors for whom you want and/or need to find a photograph.  Also list where they resided and where they died.  Where would you look to find a photograph of them?

(3)  Share your answers on your own blog post (and leave a comment here with a link), or on Facebook or other social media.

1.  I have photographs of my parents, all four grandparents, and eight of nine great-grandparents, counting my paternal grandfather's adoptive father.  As I have not yet identified my grandfather's biological father, it would be surprising if I had a photo of him.  Of my sixteeen great-great-grandparents (eighteen if I count the unidentified great-grandfather), I have photos of only ten.

2.  The great-great-grandparents of whom I have no photographs are:

• Frederick Cleworth Dunstan (1840–1873) and Martha (Winn) Dunstan (1837–1884), who lived and died in the area of Manchester, Lancashire, England
• Amelia (Gibson) Gauntt (1831–1908), who lived and died in Burlington County, New Jersey
• Cornelius Godshalk Sellers (1845–1877), who was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and later lived and died in Philadelphia
• Simcha Meckler (?–before 1903) and Baila (?) Meckler (?–before 1925), who lived and died in the area of Kamenets Litovsk, Russian Empire (now Kamyanyets, Belarus)

My great-grandmother Jane Dunstan had a brother, Frederick, who also immigrated to the United States.  I could try to track down his descendants to see if any of them have photos of the parents.  I also know of some cousins on a collateral line of that family who are still in England.  They would be another possible resource.

I am in touch with several Gauntt cousins.  I'm sure that at least one of them has a photo of Amelia, right?

Cornelius Sellers is a tough one.  He died young and his widow remarried.  Cornelius' only surviving child died young also (before his mother), but one son survived from the widow's second marriage.  Perhaps someone on that side of the family might have a photo of Cornelius.  Another possibility is through his Civil War service.

I doubt any photograpohs of Simcha and Baila Meckler ever existed.  The only person I know of to ask is my cousin in Israel.

Unfortunately, other than Cornelius, it is unlikely that these great-great-grandparents appear in any archival collections, but one should always check, just to make sure.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Female Ancestors' Ages at Death

The project for this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is kind of an extension of one Randy Seaver did this past April, when he asked people to figure out the lifespans of their great-great-grandparents.

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

1) Review your pedigree chart (either on paper or in your genealogy management software program) and determine the age at death of your female ancestors back at least five generations (and more if you want to).

2)  Tell us the lifespan in years for each of these ancestors.  Which of your female ancestors in this group lived the longest?  Which lived the shortest?  

3)  Share your results in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or on Facebook or Google+.

So here are my female ancestors for whom I have at least approximate birth and death years in my family tree program:

Mother:
• Myra Roslyn (Meckler) Sellers Preuss, 1940–1995, 54 years

Grandmothers:
• Anna (Gauntt) Strickland, 1893–1986, 93 years
• Lillyan E. (Gordon) Meckler, 1919–2006, 87 years

Great-grandmothers:
• Laura May (Armstrong) Sellers Ireland, 1882–1970, 88 years
• Sarah Libby (Brainin) Gordon, about 1885–1963, about 77 years
• Jane (Dunstan) Gauntt, 1871–1954, 83 years
• Minnie Zelda (Nowicki) Meckler, about 1880–1936, about 56 years

 Great-great-grandmothers
• Amelia (Gibson) Gauntt, about 1831–1908, about 77 years
• Sarah Ann Deacon (Lippincott) Armstrong, 1860–about 1927, about 67 years
• Martha (Winn) Dunstan, 1837–1884, 47 years
• Ruchel Dwojre (Jaffe) Brainin, about 1868–1934, about 66 years
• Esther Leah (Schneiderman) Gorodetsky, about 1874–1908, about 34 years
• Dobe (Yelsky) Nowicki, about 1858–1936, about 78 years

3x-great-grandmothers:
• Frieda (Bloom) Yelsky, about 1838–about 1898, about 60 years
• Jane (Coleclough) Dunstan, about 1811–1865, about 54 years

And that's everyone I have entered in my database.  I have more names and dates for the Gauntt lines, but I haven't had time to enter that information.

The longest lived I know about in those five generations was my paternal grandmother, Anna (Gauntt) Stradling, partner of Bertram Lynn Sellers, Sr., who lived to be 93 years old.  The shortest by far was Esther Leah (Schneiderman) Gorodetsky, wife of Victor Gorodetsky, who died at about 34 years old.

The average age for these 15 women (I have fewer than half the number Randy has!) is a little more than 70 years.  (Well, I used to have more, until I went and proved that Elmer was my grandfather's adoptive father.)  The averages for each generation are:
• Mother:  54 years
• Grandmothers:  90 years
• Great-grandmothers:  76 years
• Great-great-grandmothers:  62 years
• 3x-great-grandmothers:  57 years

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Lifespans of My Great-Great-Grandparents

This week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge from Randy Seaver sounds interesting:

1)  We each have 16 great-great-grandparents.  How did their birth and death years vary?  How long were their lifespans?  

2)  For this week, please list your 16 great-great-grandparents, their birth years, their death years, and their lifespans in years.  You can do it in plain text, in a table or spreadsheet, or in a graph of some sort.

3)  Share your information about your 16 great-great-grandparents with us in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or on Facebook or Google+.  If you write your own blog post, please leave a link as a comment to this post.


Even before I started working on this, I was wondering how the statistics would look.  I suspected my great-great-grandfather who lived to be 90 might skew the average.  I also thought about how many of my great-great-grandparents I don't have birth and death information for.  So let's see how it played out:

Here are the 14 great-great-grandparents whose names I know, in alphabetical order (because that's how I keep my my family lines straight in my head):

• Beila ——, ??–before 1924
• Joel Armstrong, 1849–about 1921
• Mendel Hertz Brainin, about 1861–1930
• Frederick Cleworth Dunstan, 1840–1873
• James Gauntt, 1831–1889
• Amelia Gibson, 1831–1908
• Victor Gorodetsky/Gordon, about 1866–1925
• Ruchel Dwojre Jaffe, about 1868–1934
• Sarah Deacon Lippincott, 1860–1927
• Simcha Meckler, ??–before 1904
• Gershon Itzhak Nowicki, about 1858–1948
• Esther Leah Schneiderman, about 1874–1908
• Martha Winn, 1837–1884
• Dobe Yelsky, about 1858–1936

So I ran into problems.  First, I don't know the father of my paternal grandfather, so I definitely don't know his parents' names.  Second, I have no concrete information about my Meckler great-great-grandparents.  I decided to do my list with the 12 great-great-grandparents I have dates for, even if several of them are approximate:

• Joel Armstrong, 1849–about 1921, 82 years
• Mendel Hertz Brainin, about 1861–1930, 69 yeras
• Frederick Cleworth Dunstan, 1840–1873, 33 years
• James Gauntt, 1831–1889, 58 years
• Amelia Gibson, 1831–1908, 77 years
• Victor Gorodetsky/Gordon, about 1866–1925, 59 years
• Ruchel Dwojre Jaffe, about 1868–1934, 66 years
• Sarah Deacon Lippincott, 1860–about 1927, 67 years
• Gershon Itzhak Nowicki, about 1858–1948, 90 years
• Esther Leah Schneiderman, about 1874–1908, 34 years
• Martha Winn, 1837–1884, 47 years
• Dobe Yelsky, about 1858–1936, 78 years

The average birth year for these 12 ancestors is 1853, with a range from 1831 (two of them) to 1874.

The average death year is 1915, with a range from 1873 to 1948.

The average lifespan is 63 years, ranging from 33 to 90.  The average male lifespan is 65, and the average female lifespan is 62.

It looks like I was right about my 90-year-old 2x-great-grandfather skewing things, at least a little.  If it weren't for him being such an outlier, the average male and female lifespans would be even closer.

I hadn't realized that two of these ancestors had died quite so young, at 33 and 34 years.  I know that Esther Leah Schneiderman (Gorodetsky) died a month after the birth of her eighth surviving child and blood was mentioned in the cause of death.  I don't know what caused the death of Frederick Cleworth Dunstan.  He was a file grinder, but I don't know if that was a particularly hazardous job.

Of these ancestors, only two lived to be older than 80.  I believe several of my great-grandparents lived past 80, so my family members appeared to be living longer, at least for a while.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Three More Ancestry Questions

Randy Seaver told us last week that he was splitting up this little genealogy quiz into two parts, so we were expecting this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun to be the final three questions, and indeed it is:

1) My friend and colleague Linda Stufflebean posted JUST FOR FUN – 4 X 6 = 24 FAMILY TREE QUESTIONS on her blog last week, and I thought we could answer half of the questions last week and half this week.

2)  Here are the last three questions:

*  Name four places on my ancestral home bucket list I’d like to visit:

*  What are the four most unusual surnames in your family tree?

*  Which four brick walls would you most like to smash through?

3)  Answer each of the questions based on your own ancestors, not the collateral lines.  If you didn't answer the first three questions, you can include them this week.

4)  Share your answers with us in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this post, in a Facebook post or a Google+ post.  Please provide a link to your response if you can.

So here are mine.  The hard part again was restricting answers to my own ancestors.

D.  Name four places on my ancestral home bucket list I'd like to visit.
This one was tough, because how do I narrow it down to just four?  But I decided to choose:
• Kamyanets Podil's'kyy, Ukraine (formerly Kamenets Podolsky, Podolia, Russian Empire)
• Kamyanyets, Belarus (formerly Kamenets Litovsk, Grodno, Russian Empire or Poland)
• Krustpils, Latvia (formerly Kreuzburg, Courland, Russian Empire)
• Porazava, Belarus (formerly Porozovo, Grodno, Russian Empire or Poland)

E.  What are the four most unusual surnames in my family tree?
• Brainin from Kreuzburg, Russian Empire
• Coleclough from Lancashire, England
• Winn from Lancashire, England
• Yelsky from Pororozovo, Grodno, Russian Empire

F.  Which four brick walls would I most like to smash through?
First I have to state that I don't have any brick walls.  "What??!" I hear you ask?  "How can she possibly not have any brick walls?"  I only count a research question as a brick wall if I have tried every possible avenue, and I haven't done that yet with any of my thorny problems.  My choices below are those where I have exhausted most possibilities and have only a couple left.
• Find out what happened to Raymond Lawrence Sellers (1945–??), the son that my 90-year-old aunt gave up for adoption.  He was born in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey and was placed for adoption in that county.  I hope he is still alive and is amenable to meeting her.  My aunt has tried twice to do the Ancestry DNA spit test, and neither was usable.  Now she's going to do the Family Tree DNA swab test.  I hope, hope, hope we find a close match once she's in the database.
• Determine the biological father of my paternal grandfather, Bertram Lynn Sellers (1983–1995).  I only recently proved via Y-DNA that this was not Cornelius Elmer Sellers.  I'm hoping autosomal and Y-DNA will help me solve this problem.  (This one was a no-brainer for my short list.)
• Learn something (anything!) about my great-great-grandmother Beile [unknown maiden name] Meckler (??–??), mother of Moishe Meckler.  She was born, lived, and died in the Russian Empire, probably all in or around Kamenets Litovsk, Grodno gubernia.  I have nothing but a given name.
• Make contact with some cousin from my Jaffe/Michels line.  My great-great-grandmother was a Jaffe, a very common Jewish surname.  Her sister married a Michelson.  Their son, Bere-Leib, was the only person I know from the Jaffe side of the family who immigrated to the U.S.  He changed his name to Barnet Michels and married Rose Yudelson; they had three children.  One died young but had surviving children, whose names I don't know.  The other two siblings refused to talk with me.

Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Where My Ancestors Were 150 Years Ago

This week for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, Randy Seaver suggested people locate their ancestors 150 years ago:

1)  Determine where your ancestral families were on 16 May 1865 - 150 years ago.

2)  List your ancestors, their family members, their birth and death years, and their residence location (as close as possible).  Do you have a photograph of their residence from about that time, and does the residence still exist?

3)  Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status or Google+ Stream post.

I discovered I don't have any specific information for where people were living just after the American Civil War officially ended.  I've found most of the U.S. ancestors in the decennial censuses but not the in-between years.  For my Jewish ancestors, who were all still in Eastern Europe, I have no real information on locations but can make educated guesses.

Rachel (Godshalk) Sellers (1809–1894), my 3rd great-grandmother, was probably living in Belvidere, Warren County, New Jersey (where she was in 1860) or in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (where she lived in 1870).

Cornelius Godshalk Sellers (1845–1877), my 2nd-great-grandfather, had not yet been mustered out of the army after the end of the Civil War; he mustered out on June 6.  He was somewhere in the Washington, D.C. area.  (I really need to get his unit's morning reports.)

John Fox (1786–1880) and Catherine (Fisher) Fox (1789–1877), my 4th great-grandparents, were living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  I don't know exactly where.

William Owen (~1809–1878) and Sarah Fox (1816–1878), my 3rd-great-grandparents, were living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with their daughter, Catherine Fox Owen (1849–1923), my 2nd-great-grandmother.  I don't know exactly where.

Catherine (Stackhouse) Armstrong (born 1796–1800), my 4th great-grandmother, may or may not have been alive.  I have narrowed down her death to 1860–1870.  If she was alive, she was living somewhere in Burlington County, New Jersey.

Franklin Armstrong (1825–after 1870), my 3rd-great-grandfather, was living in Mansfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey with his son, Joel Armstrong (1849–~1921), my 2nd-great-grandfather.

Abel Amos Lippincott (1825–after 1885) and Rachel (Stackhouse) Lippincott (~1825–after 1885), my 3rd-great-grandparents, were living in Burlington County, New Jersey.  I don't know exactly where.

Sarah Deacon Lippincott (1860–after 1904), my 2nd-great-grandmother, was almost definitely living somewhere in Burlington County, New Jersey.  In the 1860 census she was not yet born and in the 1870 census she was not with her parents, however.

James Gauntt (1831–1889) and Amelia (Gibson) Gauntt (1831–1908), my 2nd-great-grandparents, were almost definitely living in Burlington County, New Jersey.  I don't know exactly where.

Frederick Cleworth Dunstan (1840–1873) and Martha (Winn) Dunstan (1837–1884), my 2nd-great-grandparents, were living in one of the suburbs of Manchester, Lancashire, England.  I don't know exactly where.

Zvi (died before 1903) and Esther Mekler, my 3rd-great-grandparents, were probably living in Kamenets Litovsk, Russia (now Kameniec, Belarus), with their son Simcha Dovid Mekler (died before 1903), my 2nd-great-grandfather.

Bela (died before 1924) (I don't know her maiden name), my 2nd-great-grandmother, who would later marry Simcha Mekler, was probably somewhere in the area of Kamenets Litovsk, but that's just a guess.  She would have been young, maybe between 5–10 years old, and probably living with her parents, but I don't know their names.

Abraham Yaakov (died before 1896) and Sirke (died before 1893) Nowicki, my 3rd-great-grandparents, were probably living in Porozowo, Russia (now Porozovo, Belarus) with their son Gershon Itzhak Nowicki (~1858–1948), my 2nd-great-grandfather.

Ruven Yelsky (~1838–~1898) and Frieda (Bloom) Yelsky (~1838–~1898), my 3rd-great-grandparents, were probably living in Porozowo, Russia with their daughter Dora Yelsky (~1858–1936), my 2nd-great-grandmother.

Gersh Wolf Gorodetsky and Etta (Cohen) Gorodetsky (died before 1891), my 3rd-great-grandparents, were almost definitely living in Podolia gubernia, Russia, probably near Kamenets Podolsky (now Kamyanets Podilskyy, Ukraine).  Their son Isaac/Avigdor Gorodetsky (died 1925), my 2nd-great-grandfather, may have been with them; I have approximated his birth year to 1864–1868.

Joine (died before 1893) and Chane Etta (died before 1891) Schneiderman, my 3rd-great-grandparents, also were likely living in Podolia gubernia, Russia, probably in the area of Kamenets Podolsky.

Solomon (died before 1909) and Yetta Brainin, my 3rd-great-grandparents, were probably living near Kreuzburg, Russia (now Krustpils, Latvia) with their son Mendel Hertz Brainin (~1862–1930), my 2nd-great-grandfather.

I don't have photographs of any of the residences and don't know if any of them still exist.  (I hardly have any photos of the ancestors in this list!  I think I have photos of eight of them.)  I suspect none of the homes in Eastern Europe are still there, though.

It appears that I had 36 (maybe only 34) ancestors who were alive on May 16, 1865.  The breakdown is:
• 3 4th-great-grandparents
• 18 3rd-great-grandparents
• 15 2nd-great-grandparents

None of my great-grandparents had been born yet.

This was an interesting exercise.  It really pointed out to me how many birth and death years I am lacking for my mother's ancestors.