Interview with Louise Weiler
Back in the 1970s (I think) I interviewed my grandmother, Louise Adelaide Weiler about her childhood. I had caught the genealogy bug, and she and I were going through old photos and I was filling in the tree. I made this tape, which I have drawn from for various biographical information, especially in the epilog I compiled of the Autobiography of her father Rev. William Weiler. Here is the unedited recording (it's in two parts).…
Lois Ann Wagner singing 1964
Here are some tapes of my mom, Lois, singing some folksongs back in 1964. She still has her guitar that she is playing, a 1930s Gibson she got in a pawn shop. Inside of houseboat, 1964. Lois Wagner
Baby Diana Tapes
I (Diana Vida Thornton) was born in January 1964. My parents, Charles Paul Thornton and Lois Wagner lived on a houseboat on the Allegheny River on the North Side, Pittsburgh, PA. Houseboat where Paul, Lois and Diana Thornton lived. ca April 1964 My mom Lois recorded several tapes of me, probably about the same time the photo above was taken. Two are just me making baby noises but one is of my mom talking and…
Research and Biographies
Genealogy is more than just names and dates. It is about your family's story. I can turn your data into narrative and images that tell your story. I've been doing "genealogy" since I was 10, but until I wrote my first biography, it was just thousands people who had no form, no context, no connection, no humanity. Even I glaze over looking at my tree. So I started writing chapters for each of my ancestors…
Scanning and Restoration Services
Diana has a Master's Degree in Archaeology with specialties in historic documentation and photography. She has 40 years experience in genealogy and digital photo restoration. Her own collection contains nearly 5,000 photos, documents and objects from her family. Collection Scanning Send your originals for professional high resolution scanning and preservation. I will carefully scan both sides of your photographs, postcards, letters, drawings, newspaper clippings and documents. Original photos will be returned in archival storage sleeves…
Nonie
My aunt Babe told me that my great grandfather Nonie drowned but no one knew when. She showed me this photo of him (seated) and his uncle Davy taken shortly before he died. Finally I tracked down an article that filled in this hole. I have yet to find any death or burial records. When my grandfather Ernest was six and a half, on a Monday afternoon, September 27, 1908, his father Nonie drowned. He…
The Nonie Puzzle SOLVED
For years I struggled to confirm my great grandfather's name. He is listed clearly on one of his children's birth certificates as Nonie Monroe Thornton along with his wife Agnes Elkins. My aunt told me that he had drowned at a young age leaving his wife and 3 young sons. The problem was that I could not find Nonie in any records besides his sons' death/birth certificates, including the 1900 census he should have been…
Old Pittsburgh Maps
1910 map of the Point "The Pittsburgh Mapping and Historical Site Viewer provides a window into the past, allowing anyone to see how the city took shape over time. It shows how the city of 22,433 people in 1835 changes over time: how neighborhoods grow and expand, while others were planned but never built. Street names change over time, empty lots become buildings, and schools and churches open and close. The maps were made by…
I’m my own grandpa [video]
This is often how I feel when I'm researching my father's side of the family. Lyrics: Many, many years ago when I was 23 I was married to a widow who was pretty as can be This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red My father fell in love with her and soon they too were wed This made my dad my son-in-law and really changed my life For now my daughter…
S.S. Columbia sailing [video]
A short video of the Columbia, the ship Rev. William Weiler came to the in May 1891 on, filmed only 3 years later in June 1902. It shows the ship as it gets under way in Hoboken, with waving passengers. I suspect the scene would have been similar when it left Hamburg. Bonine, R. Camera, American Mutoscope And Biograph Company, Paper Print Collection, and Niver. "Columbia" sailing. United States: American Mutoscope & Biograph, 1902. Video.…