I wonder what happened?

I had a little extra time this week in between other tasks, so I decided to try some new searches on the recently upgraded FamilySearch website.  I found a few items that with scans of original documents that directly answered a few questions, but I also found one that had a bit of a surprise…

Transcription errors are fickle beasts

Ancestry.com has opened up marriage records for free access this week through Sunday.  I was able to carve out a little bit of time today to see what I could find in a quick search on a couple of the lines I’m researching, and found some interesting results…

Of the arts and self-employment…

Wow, has it really been that long?  I guess it has.  I’ve spent the majority of my time trying to get my photography business going and wasn’t able to devote much of any of my time to personal projects this year.  But through all of it, I haven’t forgotten about my research.

20 years ago today…

So there we go leaving the reception in style on our first car ride as a married couple on August 2, 1992.  The Continental was owned, restored and driven (in an appropriate chauffeur’s uniform) by a friend of Jennifer’s father.

A little more on today’s Mystery Monday…

So I did a little more digging around to see what other records I could find on Francis Lamb and Anne Quinn and family today.  I came across the family listed in the 1850 U.S. census as well, without any Thorntons in the same household.  However, there were Thorntons elsewhere in the building in 1850…

Mystery Monday–Who was Mary Thornton?

So I know that my Lamb ancestry traces through New York City, specifically Harlem, back to Ireland.  The family legend is that my ancestors emigrated during the great potato famine.  The 1860 U.S. census for New York supports all of this, but adds a mystery that I have yet to solve.

Tombstone Tuesday - A poetic family legend

By now you should know that my surname is Lamb and that I've been able to trace my direct surname line to Francis Lamb (b. 1796 in Ireland).  There's an old family legend that links this line with a famous Lamb, a link that I am still trying to prove.  You've probably heard of him.  His nickname has appeared in quite a few crossword puzzles through the ages.  That nickname is Elia, and the poet was Charles Lamb.

Wordless Wednesday - a postcard from the past

So what does this postcard of UCLA in the 1960s have to do with my family?  My parents are the couple right there in the foreground; they were students there at the time this photo was taken.

Wordless Wednesday - Poppies!

A younger me and one of my sisters among the poppy fields in California.

SNGF (but on Sunday) - Ahnentafel Roulette

So the rules are that I'm supposed to take my father's age, divide it by four, and then find the person listed as that number on my ahnentafel report and write at least three facts that I know about him/her.  For me, this leads to a woman who I need to research further, my 2nd great grandmother Katie Lamb.

We're all bozos on this bus

Last year at Thanksgiving, we got everyone together again for a big family holiday dinner.  Since I'm in the middle of a career change to become a professional photographer, I was naturally asked to take the family reunion photo for the event.  I got everyone lined up, put the camera on self-timer and got in the shot.  Then, since we can't just let it go at just sitting for a standard group shot, I asked everyone to point at something off to their right when the shutter clicks.  Everyone had a great time and we try to get together like this as often as we can, but just like the Firesign Theater album title from 1971 says, "I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus."  B-)