This isn't a long one this week; but volunteers for hosting Open Threads have been a bit sparse as of late. So, I thought I'd come out of hiding and pull my weight with a little quickie diary about my summer plans (which I'm very excited about). I'm hoping everyone can join in and share what you've got lined up this summer.
Genealogy & Family History Community
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After several years of research, I'm finally heading out on my second cemetery hunt. The first was technically before I started actively researching my family history. I visited my birth town in 2008 to find my paternal grandparents' graves. When my grandfather died in 1959, my dad paid $75 for 3 plots in the local cemetery. He buried his mother next to his dad 3 years later. That third plot has been waiting for him for over 50 years. My siblings and I will bury his and our mothers ashes probably next year (whenever we can coordinate a time when we can all make the trip).
The impetus behind my trip this year is that 2014 is the 250th anniversary of the founding of the first German colonies on the Volga River in Russia. My ancestors were part of the original settlers in two of the colonies founded in 1764: Dobrinka and Galka.
To celebrate the 250th anniversary, the Center for Volga German Studies (CVGS) at Concordia University right here in Portland, Oregon is hosting several conferences throughout the summer for each of the original colonies. More will follow over the next few years for the anniversary of each colony. Lucky me though - my colonies are both this year.
The first will be a little bigger - 2 days June 27th and 28th right here in Portland (conveniently enough for me). CVGS hopes to link up to other celebrations around the world including events in South America, Germany, and present-day Dobrinka.
The Galka conference is scheduled for August 2nd at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. That's quite a ways away for me to travel for just one day. However, I've got other reasons to go. Number one is that my grandmother's father, John Henry Bischoff is buried in Deerfield, Kansas. He died around 1907 just a little over a year after moving his family from Russia. They couldn't afford a gravestone at the time, so the grave has been left unmarked all these years.
My Great-Grandparents - John Henry Bischoff and Katharine Neiwirth
I thought I was going to be in for a tough time finding the exact burial plot, but lo and behold, a few weeks ago help arrived. I received an email from my cousin's wife. She said they were driving through Kansas and were heading to the Deerfield cemetery to find our great-grandfather's grave. She wanted to know if I had any information on where it was located. I gave her the only clue I knew - my Dad said he was told by his uncle that he was buried next to a man named Bauer.
Fortunately, they met a worker at the cemetery who pulled out old (and I mean OLD!) maps of the cemetery. Looking for both a Bauer and Bischoff, they found it on 3 different maps.
Yay! The hard work is already done for me. I just need to go and visit it myself. Now what to do with my time? Well... my grandmother's little brother Jagor also died right after they arrived in America. He died before their father did while they were living in Sugar City, Colorado. My cousin's wife said that my Dad's cousin knew where he was buried. I'm trying to get in touch with him to find out more. If I can get a good sense of where to go and what to look for, I'm going to keep driving out to Colorado to find his grave too. It's going to be a ton of driving, but what else is there to do in Kansas?
Bischoff family picture taken before departure from Russia in 1905
What makes Jagor's death even more tragic was that he was placed on the far right edge of the family when they sat for a family picture before leaving Russia. When the photos were delivered, they found he had been almost completely left out. The only trace of him is his hand on his sisters lap. So the family was left with no picture of the son/brother that they lost so early. I think it is this fact that gnaws at me and makes me want to find his grave to make sure he is remembered.
I've also got one more item on the agenda (other than the conference, of course). I've suspected that my grandfather had a half-brother who settled in Kansas. The church records from Russia to prove it haven't been found, but the half-brother's grandson lives in Missouri. I talked to his wife a couple years ago on the phone. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to know much about his grandfather's history. I am hoping they will be agreeable to a short visit where we can compare family pictures. I'm flying into Kansas City, so I figure I can take a detour and visit them first before turning around and driving into Kansas.
So that will be my Kansas trip. In July, we are taking a camping trip to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho where it just so happens one of the grandsons of my Dad's Aunt Katie lives. If I can overcome my introverted tendencies, I'd like to call him up as well to see if I can visit him and see what pictures and stories he's been handed down.
Well, that's my agenda for the summer. Anyone else have sleuthing planned this summer? If not, what are the places you want to go "some day"?