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Through Rootsweb message board, and Stumble Upon
Surname Locations
Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia...England, Yugoslavia/Macedonia, Bulgaria(?)
Best genealogy moment
Several:
1. Finding the newspaper story of the death of my Maternal Grandfather.
2. Getting the birth records of my Father, and his parents death records, out of the Old Country.
3. Getting the Immigration File of my Father.
4. Solving the 40+ year mystery of what happened to an Aunt, when she died, and where she is buried.
Specialty
I have no specialty, as such, but have blogged, occasionally, about my Genealogy Research, and about Genealogy in general, since 2002, on a blog now retired, and on a new blog since October 2007, which has a growing list of Genealogy Links in its sidebar.
That ongoing Scrollable Archive is listed above.
My blogging here, may, from time to time link to something there, and vice a versa, as the spirit moves me.
Time in history
I love history, period, especially American & British.
The Uncle was thrilled to get the pictures, documents, the DNA Info, and the Genealogy Report, and told me some of the cousins came by to look at the Photos, and DNA Report, asking him to make copies of many of the photos.
So far none of the cousins have contacted ME, to ask questions, or follow-up on my request for more info on their families, or the invite to do research on Ancestry for them.
Last month I got my Uncle's DNA Results back, and decided I wanted to do more than just send THAT to him. ;-D
In the last 2 months, as a member of the pay side at Ancestry, I took advantage of this access to make several startling discoveries regarding not just the Wells/Hesson side of my lineage, but the Daugherty/Fraze/Tanner side.
This mainly involved marriages, and deaths.
Anyway I spent the money to make copies of documents, and over 50 photos (Covering 1915 to 2003), most of which my Uncle had never seen.
I made Genealogical Care Packages for him, and his 7 children, my cousins, many of whom I had not seen in over 30 years before a visit to Va. in March.
My Uncle got his DNA Report, the Pictures, and copies of documents.
He also got a 36 page Descendant Report. ;-D
With the confirmation of the DNA Report I was finally able to lay claim to names, and dates sent me by another researcher 7 years ago, which traced our Wells Line back to PA. in the early 18th century.
I spent the last 2 weeks adding names and dates to my Genealogy program, and made a report.
The Cousins got copies of documents.
I wrote a letter, explaining what I'd been up to, Genealogically, since my last report to them 6 years ago, and let them know that if they wanted copies of the DNA Report, photos, and Descendant Report, they'd have to take it up with their Dad. ;-D
I also encourged them to share the names of their wives, and husbands, and kids, for a future edition of the Report, and offered to use my access to Ancestry to look up stuff on the ancestors of their spouses.
With over 90 Family Groups, and about 300 names, even with the notes from that old Wells Researcher, I've got my work cut out for me. ;-D
My Uncle will be going thru his records, and photos, looking for anything that might be of interest to me, and sending me copies, in the hopes that I can use the stuff to help illuminate that confusing, mostly unknown, 50 year period from 1890 to 1940 in the lives of our Ancestors.
My Father, Gorge Kundurdziev, was born in Gevgelija, Macedonia, in 1923, went to "Bulgarian" Schools, and served in the Bulgarian Military in WW2.
He was in the Macedonian Underground against Tito, and was forced to flee in 1946, never to return, or see his parents, and sisters in the flesh again.
He immigrated to the US in 1951 married my Mom in 1957, built a life, and raised a family, keeping a sporadic correspondence up with his parents, and sisters thru the mail even as he became mentally ill in 1969, and spent the last 18 years of his life in mental hospitals, dying in 1988.
For a brief time, in the 80's, I corresponded with a cousin by mail, and she helped me get some birth and death records out of the country before Yugoslavia broke up, and all correspondence ended in 1990.
I profoundly regret never talking extensively to Dad about his past, and only have memories of the stories mom told of what little he told her.
Getting those documents in the late 80's led me to become the Family Genealogist and, until now, that effort was by neccessity, and circumstance, focused on my American Roots.
I have 3 photos of my Father in his Uniform from the war, the 1st photos, as far as I know, ever taken of him in the United States, his Immigration File, over 80 photos sent by his relatives to him over 35 years, 6 letters in Macedonian (Bulgarian?), from 1982, from my Aunts, and Cousins, and letters in limited English from a cousin, and Aunt, in 1989.
Almost all of the photos have short notes on the back, but they are in Macedonian or Bulgarian, and the 6 letters from 1982, are also in one of those languages.
I need help translating all that, and with understanding how to research in Yugoslavia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and The Ottoman Empire, and am taking steps in this regard
Why my Mom kept ONLY those letters I have no clue, but the ones in English, in 1989, were in response to the death of my Father in Dec. 1988.
It has suddenly become very important for me for one simple reason:
The Aunts and Cousins, after surviving years of Yugoslav turmoil, discovered the Internet about 4 years ago, and apparently discovering my 1st blog, where I wrote about my Father, tried to communicate with me.
It was confusing, on all sides, because of their limited English, constantly changing e-mail addresses, unfamiliar names (and unfamiliar cousins, too!), limited responses to my efforts to confirm who they were, and my suspicion based on stories I've read about Europeans who take advantage of Americans researching their roots.
1 person, though, managed to convince me because she had info, and mailing addresses I could believe, and match to what I knew.
I wrote her, and my Aunts.
She responded, they did not.
I responded again, and never heard from anyone that I could believe, again.
Maybe the letters got lost in transit, I do not know.
My Mother always said that things happen for a reason....
In late 2007 I closed that old blog, and started a new one, re-posting my old stories about my Father, but not using his name, or mine.
As the months went by I noticed Macedonian readers in traffic stats, and one of my Sisters was contacted by someone claiming to be a cousin of the same name, the same person I used to correspond with, and who I trusted a few years back.
This past week my sister finally convinced to me to trust again, and I got an e-mail from this "Cousin" asking for a picture, and for contact.
I sent a picture, and links to pictures on my blog, of my Father, and asking for something similar in return.
The recipient of my e-mail spent 5 minutes exploring my blog links, and then yesterday sent letter, and e-mail to my sister, with info I believe, and a very old photo, probably from the late 1960's.
I NOW BELIEVE. ;-D
There is apparently a 70+ year old sister of my Dad, in tears at this apparent breakthrough in communication, and I can understand why.
The picture includes my Grandfather, and Grandmother, and there is a match with photos that I own. ;-D
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