Road trip to Bunnell Cemetery

Friday evening I was working on my family history when I realized that quite a number of my Bunnell ancestors were buried in Reynolds, IN. After using Google Maps, I found out that Reynolds, IN was about 60 miles from my sister's home in Valparaiso. Not only that, but thanks to searching "cemeteries +Reynolds, IN" in Google, I discovered that there is a "Bunnell Cemetery" in Reynolds. Wow, there was a cemetery named after some of my relatives...now I really had to see this! So, the very next day my sister Carole, my niece Hannah and I went on a little road trip to Bunnell Cemetery!


It was a beautiful day for a road trip too. The mandatory stop for ice cream made the time in the car fly by. For once, I didn't need to stop and ask for directions to the cemetery! We found it with no trouble at all. I remembered to bring the camera but forgot to wear shoes, and the ground was covered in cactus! The discoveries were so worth a number of stickers on the toes!

Nathaniel Bunnell, the son of my 4th G grandfather, Nathaniel Bunnell.
This Nathaniel Bunnell was born in Ross County, OH and
married Susannah

Susannah and her husband Nathaniel share a headstone.
Susannah's inscription faces the north
and Nathaniel's inscription faces the south.

This was the first Bunnell headstone I found. You

could easily see it from where we parked.

All in all, I found about ten Bunnell graves and a few other names I recognized from my family history. Many, many more of my ancestors, including my 3rd great grandparents are buried in the Monticello cemetery which is less than eight miles from this cemetery. My Bunnell and Hanaway ancestors came to White County around 1832 so there is a lot of family history to be found in this area!

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Three beauties on the beach:

Mabel Hanaway Kleckner, Margaret Anderson Hanaway
Arlene Guinee Wozniak

July, 1971

Many a summer past included a visit to my cousins cottage in Stevensville, Michigan. The Hanaway clan is quite large and we are now spread out over most of theses great United States. I grew up enjoying the simple joys of gathering with family. There was a lot of fun to be had at the cottage too. Playing with my MANY, MANY cousins; running down sand dunes, fishing, swimming, boating, and of course eating pot luck dinners! Many visits were short day trips, if I was lucky, I would get to spend a night or two! Who minds sleeping on the beach with a campfire, roasting marshmallows, telling spooky stories and falling asleep under the stars? Those clearly were some special times and I cherish the memories. When I can create them for my children I jump at the chance. Although many parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are now gone, there are those of us who still take the time to get together and we always have a blast! The cottage is still in the family. When the opportunity knocks I take advantage of a little road trip with my kids and once again enjoy the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.

"You Have Family, You Have History"

I know, I know, I haven't been blogging lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working on my genealogy.

Mailed my reservation in for the "You Have Family, You Have History", Illinois State Genealogical Society Conference. This year it will be held on October 23, 2010, in Peoria. Can't wait to attend and learn even more!

I continue to work on my Sommer/Rusch relatives and am happy to say I continue to gain ground. Thanks to FamilySearch.org and lots of hours of reading microfilm I have connected even more relatives.

Two weeks ago, my cousin Marian emailed me indicating she found another relative right here in Chicago, about 11 years earlier than our ancestors! What a find! Now, perhaps we'll be able to find a cousin or two to connect with in our area. No matter, we both were excited and happy to share the information with each other! That's what cousins are for right?!!


Getting my Hanaway family trees lined up for printing. This year I will be putting a "scrapbook look" to them. Our reunion is coming up on July 18th and this year I think I will print off about nine different trees for door prizes or raffles. That's a gift I would love to receive!

July 8th the MLS Historical group will hold a meeting at the National Archives on 73rd and Pulaski in Chicago. Mrs. Eula Nichols will be present a program on the LDS Family History Centers, well, guess what? Mrs. Nichols has taught ME a trick or two using the FamilySearch.org database at the Chicago Heights Family History Center (my favorite one) and I love her assistance. Cannot say enough wonderful things about her! Most of all, she doesn't mind at all, when I ask, "just one more question." Cannot wait for July 8th! Thank you Mrs. Nichols!

One thing leads to another...

My parents, Norbert and Arlene (nee Guinee) Wozniak, divorce became final when I was about ten years old. I say final because in the early sixties it was not easy for a woman with three children to divorce her husband. My mother had a difficult time finding an attorney who would represent her-the way she wanted to be represented. She needed to keep her children and she needed housing for the four of us. In the end, it was a priest from our church (yes, a Catholic church too) who put her in touch with an attorney who handled her case until it was finalized. It took almost four years. My mother received custody of us girls and ended buying back our house from the bank.

I had no relationship with Norb after the divorce. When I was 26 years old, I searched for him and discovered he lived not far from me. So, in 1981, I had a visit with him at his home. I met his wife Shirley who seemed like a very quiet and nice woman. The visit was pleasant enough, but for reasons of our own, Norb and I never saw each other again. In 1989, I was informed through a cousin in Wisconsin that Norb had died three weeks earlier.

Recently I was searching Google, and discovered that Shirley had passed away last November. I was wondering what would have happened to the "stuff" of Norb's that perhaps no one would want and the executor of Shirley's estate would donate to a charity or even toss out. So, I wrote some letters to all the people mentioned in her obituary. I probably wouldn't have done that except for a wonderful friend who belongs to the New Lenox Public Library Genealogy Club, of which I am also a member. She constantly comes to our monthly meetings tellings us stories and showing us pictures some new found relative has shared with her. Thank you Mary! You inspired me!

One of the people I wrote to phoned me and left a message that she contacted a good friend of Shirley's and that that woman was willing to send me some photographs! Now, I haven't received them yet, but I am looking forward to the mail each and everyday! I have less than a dozen pictures of my father and several of his parents. I am hoping that the photographs I receive will include some of his parents and grandparents. Now, that would be a real family treasure!

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!

Today I took a vacation day from my GSU job and intended to spend the day at my favorite Family History Center - in Chicago Heights, IL. And, guess what...I did! Well, I spent about three hours there. I am continuing my research on my Sommer relatives and was searching through a reel of microfilm from Cleebronn, Germany when a gentleman came in to use another microfilm machine. Having the gift of gab, I didn't wait to long to ask him what records he was looking at-- tax records from the 19th century. One thing lead to another and I discovered his name is Earl Bell and he is the US GenWeb county coordinator for Nash County, North Carolina! Imagine my surprise (see you never know who you may meet until you open your mouth and ASK!) Of course I couldn't let an opportunity slip by, so I asked him a LOT of questions about tax records and his web site. It was a very interesting conversation and I learned quite a bit. Check out his link if time permits.
Now, when I wasn't talking to Earl, I was actually looking at microfilm. I couldn't believe it, but I found four more marriage records (all in German) for my Sommer ancestors, from 1691 through 1796. I also discovered several more children my 5th Great Grandfather Johann Martin Sommer and his wife Johanna Sophia Schoch had. Best of all I actually found the death records for; Johann Sophia Schoch in September, 1788, her father Georg Adam Schoch in July, 1782, Johann Martin Sommer in August, 1791, and quite a number of death records for Martin and Sophia's children. One or two of the marriage records may even lead me back another generation or two. So, I'm doing a little genealogy dance and wearing a smile on my face tonight!
Can't wait to get these records translated!