Another Cousin Connection Through Genealogy Blogging

In February 2015 I wrote a blog post titled The Benefits of Genealogy Blogging. In this post I listed several benefits of writing a genealogy blog. One of the benefits is that my genealogy blog acts as cousin bait. Basically, cousin bait means that if a relative of mine searches for one of our common ancestors online, they may find my blog and then contact me.

Over the years of writing this blog, I have had quite a few previously-unknown cousins contact me because of this blog. I actually have used Evernote to help me keep track of these cousin connections and how these cousins found me.

I wrote about one of these cousin connections in January 2015. This was quite an exciting and unexpected cousin connection because this newly-discovered cousin is not a distant cousin, but a very close cousin on my mom's side of the family. If you'd like to read that post, click HERE.

Today, I'm sharing exciting news about another cousin connection. I recently received an email from another previously-unknown cousin. He told me that he stumbled onto my blog and then shared two obituaries for our common ancestor, Ole Anthon Christopherson (my paternal 2nd great-grandfather). Ole was born in Norway in 1837. He immigrated to the United States in 1866.

In these obituaries are details about Ole's life that I didn't know about, including his years sailing the world as a merchant marine. Fascinating! I will be sharing these interesting details about Ole's life in future posts.

Genealogy blogging really is so beneficial in so many ways. I'm glad I began this blog. Thank you to my newly-discovered cousins who've contacted me and shared wonderful information and photos with me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2018 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

A Precious Photo of Chester Malvin Iverson

In June 2016, I shared the exciting and wonderful news about a new cousin connection I made because my family tree is on WikiTree.com. This new cousin's name is Maureen. She is so awesome and sweet and it's been really fun sharing and receiving family history photos and information with her. I'm grateful that Maureen has been so willing to share these precious photos, documents, and information with me. I'm also grateful that she has given me permission to share them on my blog.

In my post from last June I shared one of the beautiful photos that Maureen shared with me. It was a photo of Rose Josephine Iverson, my first cousin twice removed.

Today, I'd like to share another of the photos that Maureen shared with me.

Chester Malvin Iverson
Photo Courtesy of My Cousin Maureen

This is Chester Malvin Iverson, my first cousin twice removed, and one of Rose Josephine Iverson's brothers.

Chester was born on 26 August 1900 in Benson, Minnesota to his parents, Iver Martin Iverson and Mary Cecelia Miller.

He was the second oldest of five children born to Iver and Mary.

Chester enlisted in the United States Navy in Seattle, Washington when he was only 16 years old, just shy of his 17th birthday.

In an upcoming post, I will tell you more about Chester and his service in the Navy during WWI.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2017 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

More Proof That It's Worthwhile To Have Your Family Tree Online

Last month I received an email from a a very nice woman named Maureen. She found my family tree on WikiTree and then contacted me. It turns out that we are cousins on my Iverson side. Our common ancestor is Iver Iverson, my 2nd great-grandfather who was born in Norway, immigrated to the United States in 1858, and fought in the American Civil War.

Maureen and I have emailed back and forth. She is so sweet! She shared amazing documents and photos with me and also gave me permission to share the photos here on my blog.

Here's one of her photos. This is Rose Josephine Iverson, my 1st cousin twice removed. Isn't she beautiful?

Rose Josephine Iverson

Photo Courtesy of my Cousin Maureen

 I recently gave my "Family History Blogs and Social Media" presentation at the Fresno County Genealogical Society's June General Meeting. One of the things I talked about in that presentation is the importance of sharing our family tree online. This recent cousin connection with Maureen is just one more example of why that is true.

My regular readers may also remember another amazing thing that happened because my family tree is online. I call it the Engle Family Postcards Adventure on my blog. If you aren't familiar with what happened, you can read about it by clicking on the "The Engle Family Postcards" tab at the top of my blog.

I'm so glad that Maureen contacted me. I look forward to us sharing more family history information with each other in the future.

Do you have your family tree online? If so, what connections have you made because your tree is online?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2016 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

A New and Exciting Cousin Connection

I have very exciting news to share with you. A few months ago, I was contacted by a gentleman because he saw my genealogy blog while doing an internet search. It turns out that this gentleman is a cousin. This new cousin connection is quite a happy surprise for our family.

This isn't a distant cousin connection. This is a close cousin connection. You'll see what I mean as you read further in this post.

This cousin's name is Marco and he lives in Brazil. Marco left a comment on my personal blog's Facebook page.

Here's a little bit of background so you know how Marco fits in my family tree.

My regular readers will probably recognize the name of my great-grandfather, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster. I refer to him as "The Traveling Dentist" here on my blog. Watson changed his name to Frederick sometime during his life. Throughout the rest of this post, I'll refer to him as Frederick.

Frederick and his second wife, Esther Matus Villatoro, who I descend from, had five children:

1. Carlota Adelia Webster
2. Edna Lillie Webster
3. Debs Warren Webster (my grandfather)
4. Eugene Rollin Webster
5. Alice Webster

Carlota and Debs were the only children to survive to adulthood.

With this background in mind, I'll explain what happened when Marco contacted me. He told me that his mother was a daughter of my great-grandfather, Frederick. I wondered if he was mistaken. As I mentioned, only two of Frederick and Esther's children survived to adulthood, my grandfather and his sister Carlota. In 1955, my grandfather traveled to Mexico to visit his sister Carlota and her family. And Marco wasn't one of Carlota's children.

Well, through a series of emails in which Marco and I shared photos, documents, and information, it turns out that his mother is in fact a daughter of my great-grandfather, Frederick! It appears that late in life Frederick did have another child. And that child is Marco's mother.

This means that my mother has a newly-discovered aunt (Marco's mother) and I have a newly-discovered great-aunt. And Marco is my mom's newly-discovered 1st cousin and my 1st cousin once removed. See? This cousin connection is a very close cousin connection.

The photo at the top of this post was sent to me by Marco. It's a picture of my great-grandfather Frederick holding Marco's mother (right) and a young boy (left). I wondered if this little boy was Frederick's child too, but Marco told me he was not Frederick's son.

My mom and I are so excited about this new cousin connection. And we're so happy that Marco found my genealogy blog and contacted me.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

 
© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved