Bringing people together

It's been proven time and time again that the internet brings people together. Despite negative stories about MySpace and other social networking sites that serve as a haven for pedophiles, weirdos and the like; cyberspace does act as a conduit for people to meet , exchange information and discover new relationships.

I was reminded about it this past week as I've connected with a second cousin that I did not know existed!

To make a long story short, notes from a family photograph led to a Google search which led to this humble weblog. The kicker was the photograph my cousin was looking at was this photo! She wrote me and it has led to a series of e-mails determining our exact relationship to one another.

Turns out we are second cousins once removed!

Hopefully we will be able to exchange more photographs and family information.

Interesting!

Another WWI draft registration card

Last Friday I posted a picture of my maternal grandfather's World War I draft registration card. Since then, I found the draft registration card of my paternal grandfather, Floyde W. Cornelius Sr. Although he did not serve in the military during The Great War, my Aunt Sandy told me that he was drafted and was actually on his way to boot camp when the war ended on 11 November, 1918. He was sent back home and was not required to serve. It's further interesting because my grandfather spelled his name "Floyde" with an ending "e", but it's spelled without the ending "e" on the card. Obviously a clerical error.

World War I draft registration cards

Thanks to a tip from a distant relative in the Czech Republic, I became aware of a free offer from Ancestry.com where you can obtain copies of World War I draft registration cards. The free offer runs through the end of February and is available at: http://www.researchguides.net/free.htm.

I found the above draft registration card of my grandfather, Edward Kostal. The card dates from 1917. Interestingly, there were three Edward Kostals available for the draft that year -- two from Nebraska. I wonder if they ever met.

Technorati tags: Kostal, Genealogy

I'm still around!

I know I haven't made any meaningful posts here for several weeks. I'm awaiting some more photos from my cousin, including a photo of my great grandfather, James Kostal, when he first came over to the U.S. from Czechoslovakia. Technorati tags: Cornelius, Kostal

Uncle "Jay" Cornelius (1908-2005)

I received word late Friday that my great-uncle "Jay" Cornelius passed away at the age of 97.

Uncle Jay (his real name was "General") was the brother of my paternal grandfather, Floyde Cornelius Sr. There were a total of eight children in the family and collectively their lives spanned three centuries. The oldest sibling, Owen Cornelius, was born in 1889. My grandfather was the fifth-oldest sibling and was born in 1896. Jay (born in 1908) was the youngest -- and the last surviving -- sibling.

Uncle Jay was the family genealogist. In 1981, he compiled a history of the Cornelius family and called it Cornelius Roots and Shoots. He pulled together everything by hand as this was long before computers and the Internet. My own interest in genealogy was, in part, sparked by his book as well as the birth of my son Kevin in 1995. In fact, I wrote Uncle Jay in 1996 and received back a 4-page letter written in a strong hand. In the letter he wrote that he was trying to document that one of our distant ancestors fought in the American Revolutionary War -- thus qualifying all of his descendants for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution.

I regret that I never met him in person.

Uncle Jay is survived by his wife, Esther. They were married 64 years.

Technorati tags: Cornelius

Turning 80!

November 20 was my mother's 80th birthday. We had a party for her at a local restaurant and a total of 48 friends and family attended. I checked Wikipedia to see how November 20 fared in world history. Besides the usual group of celebrities who were born or who died on November 20, it turns out that Sen. Robert Kennedy and Mom were born on the same exact day! I can't imagine turning 80 years old! Technorati tags: Kostal, Cornelius

New book!

Several months ago my mother was contacted by an author who was writing a book about the servicemen from the Ravenna, Nebraska area who served in the nation's wars. The author, Valerie Vierk, knew of my grandfather, Edward Kostal, who was wounded in France in World War I and my uncle, James Kostal, a pilot who was lost in a non-combat training accident off the Sea of Japan in 1953. My mother spoke to Valerie and offered her memories of both her father and brother. I have also been in contact with Valerie to supply family photographs, including some from this humble family weblog. She has also been kind enough to provide me with some photos and newspaper clippings that she has accumulated. I just received word that Valerie's book, Gold Stars and Purple Hearts: The War Dead of the Ravenna, Nebraska Area, is now available for order online. Here is the link in case someone from the Ravenna area would like to order a copy. When you get to the site, click on "Book Store," then the down arrow to see "ISBN" and then enter the ISBN number which is 1420876074. We've already ordered our copy!

E-mail subscriptions

I have several friends, colleagues and family members who read my humble blog. I either tell them about blog additions or they subscribe to the blog feed through Bloglines, My Yahoo! or some other RSS-enabled newsreader. (There are buttons on the right sidebar that let you easily subscribe to this blog.) I have now added the ability to subscribe to this blog via e-mail. Look again on the right sidebar. Just enter your e-mail address and, once you confirm the subscription, you will receive blog updates by e-mail.

John and Agnes Glodowski

Wedding photo of my great aunt, Agnes Kostal Glodowski, to John Glodowski. Agnes was my grandfather's older sister.

I don't have records showing the year they were married. John was born in 1882 and passed away in 1939. Agnes was born in 1890 and passed away in 1985. They had a son -- John "Jack" Glodowski.

Agnes was one of my grandfather's three siblings whom I got to know. My aunts Tonnie and Albie are the two others.

"The play's the thing"

Sorry for using the quote from Act II, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, but we found this interesting photo of my grandfather, Edward Kostal, with some family papers. It was apparently taken to publicize a play from his high school days (he attended Ravenna High School). He is standing second from left. Unfortunately, we have no idea what play it is.