Category Archives: Genealogy How To’s

Band of Brothers inspires couple to solve family WWII mystery

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Knapp Notes

When Erik and Sonni Bornmeier spent Memorial Day 2018 watching Band of Brothers, they had no idea the series would inspire them to try to solve the mystery of what had happened to Sonni’s great-uncle, an Army Air Force pilot … Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy How To's, Genealogy News, WWII | Tagged | 2 Comments

Genealogy e-newsletters worth a look

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Knapp Notes

Recently a reader asked me to provide some tips about how people new to genealogy can learn more about how to uncover their own amazing true stories of their family’s history. One way is to subscribe to several genealogy-focused electronic … Continue reading →

Posted in Best genealogy websites, Genealogy How To's, Genealogy News, Libraries, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

October is Family History Month!

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Knapp Notes

Family History Month was first observed 10 years ago. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch introduced a resolution on September 12, 2001, to designate the month of October as Family History Month. Hatch had circulated a draft for months, but formally introduced … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Genealogy How To's, Libraries | Tagged | 1 Comment

The 72-year wait is almost over!

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Knapp Notes

According to ancestry.com, on April 1, 1940, there were just over 132 million people living in America. Today, about 87% of Americans can find a direct family link to one – or more – of them. Are you one of … Continue reading →

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Mark your calendars

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Knapp Notes

What’s happening on April 2 in 2012? Well, to those of us who are avid genealogists, it’s an important day. That’s when the 1940 U.S. Census becomes available online to the public. For those of you that aren’t genealogists, there … Continue reading →

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A case of mistaken identity…

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Knapp Notes

I received an interesting note from one of our readers recently that confirmed some of my own suspicions. As you know (if you read my last post!), our cousin from St. Louis, Jeff Trares, located a photo of John Sebastian … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Genealogy How To's, May, Photos, Trares | Tagged , | Leave a comment

John W. Palm (1881 – 1925): Part 1

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Knapp Notes

Remember when I started this series of blog posts I said that only two members of the St. Joseph band had no apparent connections to the KNAPP-KLINE clan? I lied. Not intentionally, of course. But while researching the coronet player … Continue reading →

Posted in Draft Registration Cards, Family History, Genealogy How To's, Knapp, Local History, Photos, Portage County, St. Joseph Band | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Cletus J. MAY (1888-1945)

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Knapp Notes

Cletus John MAY, the serious-looking young man with the base drum,  was born 10 July 1888 in Portage County, Ohio. He was the son of John L. MAY and Mary J. PAULUS. Cletus’s mother, Mary J. PAULUS, was the daughter … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Genealogy How To's, Knapp, May, Paulus, Photos, Sisters of Notre Dame, St. Joseph Band | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Peter J. Trares – 1st photo of a Trares ancestor!

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Knapp Notes

I ran across a family tree on ancestry.com the other day that featured the first photo of a TRARES that I have run across during my research. I showed it to Mark and he saw the same thing I did … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Genealogy How To's, Germany, Hessen, Knapp, Photos, Polls, Portage County, Trares, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

The bridge from Germany to the U.S.

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Knapp Notes

One of the sites that was made known to me through a Google search is called The Birkenhördt Project. It is a non-commercial site devoted to documenting all genealogical relationships in the Southern Palatinate and the French district of Bas-Rhin. … Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy How To's, Germany, Photos | Leave a comment