Did the Vespers and the Fryhofers know each other?
Recently I connected with Susan Vesper, a 5th cousin. She alerted me to an error in my Ancestry tree and we've been trading data and photos ever since. When I added Susan to my tree, I did a little more research on her lineage. She descends from Johann Wilhelm Vesper, my ggg grandfather Frederick Vesper's brother. Three of Johann Wilhelm's sons came to America in the late 1800s and they lived for a few years…
Christmas Past
PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR MEMORIES AND PHOTOS OF CHRISTMAS WHEN YOU WERE A KID OR OLD PICS FROM YOUR PARENTS/GRANDPARENTS FOR THE ONLINE COLLECTION. My Wagner family sure knew how to do Christmas. There was always a tree, lots of presents, and usually a model train set at my grandparents house. Living up north in Pittsburgh, there was usually snow. I was lucky to have my grandparents (Homer Wagner and Louise Weiler) nearby to spoil…
Digitizing your Photos – Captions
OK, so you've just spent two weeks scanning your box full of family photos. GREAT! Don't stop there, because this is not much better than not scanning them. The next step is to IDENTIFY them - IMMEDIATELY. Why captions/metadata are critical The caption will travel with the photo. Programs like Lightroom read the metadata and use it to group photos into collections or find a photo. If there is only one person in the photo,…
Pittsburgh 1928 film
1928 is about when my grandparents Earnest Thornton and Helen Strawser connected in Pittsburgh. Earnest is listed in the 1930 census living on North Side. My Eckert, Giegerich, Weiler and Wagner ancestors were also here at that time.
The kidnapping of Stillman Snow, Snowville, VA
He was laboring to prevent the sudden discovery that he was the lost child Written by Dr. Chester Bullard about his brother, Stillman, and published in a newspaper about 1890, according to “Early History of Snowville ,” by Louise B. Allison, 1958 Stillman was the son of Asiel Snow and Elizabeth Bullard Two strokes of paralysis convinced me that I am on the borderland, I feel it my duty before my voice is hushed upon…
Capitol paddle wheeler
Capitol paddle wheeler steamer boat on the Mississippi River. Early 1900s. The roof on the top center was bright red.
Bill Russell Timeline
This was compiled by Ben Wagner. DOWNLOAD "Bill Russell Time Line" compiled by Ben Wagner PDF
Annotated Bibliography – Bill Russell
This was compiled by Ben Wagner. DOWNLOAD "Bill Russell annotated bibliography" PDF
Bill Russell YouTube Videos
A collection of YouTube videos about Bill Russell. It's actually quite tricky to find them amongst the Bill Russell basketball player and Bill Russell artist videos. Here is silent motion footage of Bill Russell with the legendary Bunk Johnson in 1946 at Washington Square in New York City. Presumably this is when he was playing with George Lewis at the Stuyvesant Casino, New York, , in June 1946. Also pictured is Bunk's wife Maude. Bill…
William Russell Jazz Collection at the Historic New Orleans Collection
42,500 items tracing the development of jazz in New Orleans that follows the migration of New Orleans musicians to New York, Chicago, California and beyond. William Russell, born Russell William Wagner (1905-1992), was a jazz historian and collector who focused on traditional New Orleans style jazz. The William Russell Jazz Collection documents his lifetime of studying New Orleans jazz and related musical forms such as brass bands, ragtime, and gospel music. Mr. Russell amassed…