Domestic partners in 1930

Okay, so I'm doing a little more indexing tonight before bed, and I come across this interesting gem.  In the 1930 U.S. census for La Crosse County, Wisconsin, there was the Molstead household.  Take a close look at the two highlighted lines...

In this case, the head of household was Myrtle Molstead, a 23-year-old single woman.  She lived with her 21-year-old sister Ella and a 25-year-old single woman named Amanda Belkey who is listed as the partner of the head of household.  Families like this might not have been discussed freely in the 1930s, but here is one documented case where it occurred.

A hundred years ago today....

So after a crazy busy December (which is why I haven't updated in the last few weeks), I'm doing a little bit of indexing while I finish my glass of Sweet Rebecca wine after a quiet celebration at home of the new year today.  Yeah, I'm a nerd, but what genealogist isn't a bit of a nerd?  Anyway, I'm indexing marriage records from Washington, D.C., and I come across this one...

On 1 January 1911, Guiseppe Carradi and Anna Cavalieri were married by Nicholas Yaselli at St. Aloysius Church in Washington, D.C.  As far as I know, this couple is not related to anyone that I've found in my family, but I thought it was a nice coincidence with indexing today that I get a record from exactly 100 years ago.

Surname Saturday: Campbell

So we reach another Saturday and that means another surname study.  We cycle back to my own ancestry again with a line where I only know my second great grandmother, Jane Neal Campbell.

Wordless Wednesday - Another year, another get together

Surname Saturday: Bennetts

Okay, I missed updating with a surname post last week, so let's get back to the schedule with the line that should have been posted then.  Today we'll look at another line where I know only two generations.  As far as I know right now, this line wholly resided in England, specifically in Cornwall.

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.

Surname Saturday: Cahoon

Well, here we are at another Saturday and that means another look at a surname that I'm researching.  We come back to my lines this week with one that I learned about only very recently, and that discovery came about after discovering that a surname further down the line was misspelled.  So, today we look at the Cahoon surname connection.

One of many who served

Today is November 11, Veterans' Day in the United States.  Although I only got as far as a recruiter's office before deciding that I was too afraid to serve after all, there were quite a few other family members who did serve honorably.  One of them was my grandfather, Floyd Beach.  Here he is in his Navy uniform sitting outside an unidentified building near the start of his military career.

Surname Saturday: Benjamin

This week we move back to my wife's lines and look at the surname history of her 2nd great grandmother, Clara Benjamin.  This is another line in America during the 19th century where we should be able to find out more.  So far, I've only got two generations in my notes, but I was able to confirm a couple of details using Beta FamilySearch, and I also found a possible residence through the search there that I still need to verify.

Call for articles - Genealogy Stories, Holiday edition

The pursuit of genealogy is all about finding and telling family stories.  There is quite a bit more to the family story than just dates and places.  Let's hear some of the stories that have been told around the dinner table or that have come up in our research.  Dates and places by all means can be included, but they shouldn't be the main focus of the story submitted for the carnival.

As this carnival will be posted on November 30, just after Thanksgiving in the U.S. and leading into the winter holidays, the theme of this carnival will be "Holiday."  This theme can be interpreted in a number of ways; here are some ideas to get you started:

• Tell us a story about the most memorable holiday celebration you've had.
• Are there any unique holiday traditions in your family history?
• What does a specific holiday mean to your family?
• Share a picture from a holiday celebration and tell us about it.
• Find someone in your ancestral lines who was born, married or died on a holiday and tell us the story of that person(s).
• You could even use the British definition of the term "holiday" and tell us about a memorable vacation.

Once you've written your post, submit it to the carnival to participate.

Let's have fun with this.