2022 Branching Out 52 Ancestors in a Year

When creating and researching your ancestry and developing a family tree, it is helpful to “Branch Out”.   There are lots of different branches on a person’s family tree and how any branches does one need?  

I have discovered in researching genealogy that occasionally you call “halt” to those distant branches.  But then you discover an important piece of information on that last twig.  

As I first began working with family trees and learning genealogy; I began collecting death certificates, obituaries, marriage licenses and birth information.  This collection was valuable when connecting members of the Gabel family.  

Common with all immigrants when choosing a location to live, was near where other relatives lived.  But how people were related was not often shared with younger members of the family or they did not listen or care when told.  So when asking for information in family members, the answer was often “I don’t know” or Dad said “we were cousins”.  

Since there were several Gabel families in the 1920 census living in eastern Montana and listed as farmers as well as born in German or Russia; somehow they had to be related.  Many lived in sugar beet growing areas as well as close to other families from Russia, who were also farmers and born in Russia; somehow there had to be connection.

Unfortunately many of the older immigrants did not marry when coming to the United States.  Only a few had lost their wives and remarried.  But that marriage certificates often had their parents names on it.  The parents who were in Russia!  

Obituaries of the older immigrants,  which were written by their children seldom had the immigrants parents names listed as probably they had no idea.  

Marriage certificates of the children of the immigrants often listed a different name for their mother.  Many of the immigrants may have 2 first names such as Catherina, Margaretha or Anna,  and often were referred to by various names.  Leroy’s great grandmother was Katherine, Margaret or Margaretha Katherine.  At time I wondered if his great grandfather had 2 different wives!  

It was hard to establish his great grandmother’s maiden name as well.  The marriage certificate might sat Cellen, Gabel, Clam or various other names.  Finally discovering her obituary, which was written in Germany, I assumed the information provided by her husband listing her maiden name was Klamm was accurate.  

Using the last name Klamm in an ancestry search along with a first name common for Germans from Russia, I discovered a Conrad Klamm who was crossing the Canadian border and going to a Philip Gabel residence in Lincoln, Nebraska!  And then through DNA, Leroy’s DNA has a matches Klamm DNA!

All discovered by branching out!