Maria Rogers

Photo of my great grandmother Maria Rogers. I have not seen any studio photos of her before. The only photos I've seen were snapshots similar to this one that I posted in March 2005.

Kostal - Helebrant family

Recently-discovered photo of my great grandfather James Kostal and my great grandmother Josephine Helebrant Kostal with Josephine's four children and James' first child with Josephine, Agnes (sitting on his lap). James and Josephine had four children together, including my grandfather Edward Kostal who was born after Agnes. You can compare and contrast the above photo with this later photo of the family. 

"The Dry Creek Base Ball Team of 1910"

Photo I found of my grandfather's baseball team that played in and around the Ravenna, Nebraska area in 1910. My grandfather is standing second from the right.

The date of the photo (1910) is two years after the Chicago Cubs won their most recent World Series...in 1908!

Video from Ravenna, Nebraska - Smaha graves

My mother, Arlene Kostal Cornelius, explaining the significance of the Smaha graves in the Ravenna cemetery.

Video from Ravenna, Nebraska - Helebrant graves

As a result of a conversation with my new-found cousin, I am posting a link to video of my mother, Arlene Kostal Cornelius, talking about the grave of Lou and Josie Helebrant. This video was shot in August 2002 in Ravenna, Nebraska.

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