It Takes a Village
Cousin Maria Gärtz and Linda Gartz visiting Gerstheim (May, 2011) a German town and our ancestral home in Alsace. The original church no longer exists, but its records have been microfilmed. So who was the first bold soul [...]
Farewell, my homeland
Bags packed. Ready to go. Hugs, and tears and kisses all around. “I’ll write as soon as I can,” Lisi says to her father, sisters and brother. “Safe journey,” they say. “Come back to us.” “We’ll miss you so.” I [...]
The Fallen—Part II
Travel Tuesday “Names of the Fallen”Samuel Ebner-2nd from top Father and Son, both Samuel Ebner ~ 1902-05. My grandmother, Lisi’s,brother and father. In the first post in this three-part series about Samuel Ebner, my grandmother’s younger [...]
The Fallen—Part I
“Names of the Fallen” #403 “Samuel Ebner” Travel Tuesday Many of us family history buffs have relatives/ancestors who fought in World War I and/or II, and if they died in those wars, it’s likely we might find [...]
The Fallen—coming in three parts
The letters were hidden for decades, but when they were brought to light, their indecipherable handwriting unraveled, and the readable German words translated into English, they revealed unknown secrets about my family’s relation to this monument and a relative whose [...]