Pirates

Today is "International Talk Like a Pirate Day," which was started by two guys, John Baur and Mark Summers, back in 1995.  But, the "Argh" didn't really take off until Dave Barry wrote about it in his column on 9 Sept 2002.  Go here to read Dave Barry's original column.  The history of "Talk Like a Pirate Day," and its resulting aftermath, is explained on its founder's website.  So, get your pirate talk on, or ye be seeing the pointy enda me sword!

Happy 47th Anniversary!

That is what I would be saying to my parents today, if they were still on this Earth.  Today would be their 47th wedding anniversary.  I posted about their wedding previously on this blog, at Happy 45th Anniversary.  My sisters and I still have their wedding photo album and some of the table favors, which are pictured below.  We are very fortunate that our parents saved everything their entire lives!

Today in History - The US Constitution Signed

The US Constitution embodies the fundamental principles upon which the American republic is conducted. It was drawn up at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and signed on 17 September 1787, and it was ratified by the nine required states the following year. It superseded the Articles of Confederation in force since 1781 and established the system of federal government that began to function in 1789.
Source: TheFreeDictionary.com

Ahnentafel Roulette!

This week's Genea-Musings: Saturday Night Genealogy Fun mission is 'Ahnentafel Roulette.'

This mission has three steps:

1. Figure out how old your great-grandfather, or other ancestor, would he be if he had lived. Then, divide this number by 4 and round the answer off to a whole number. This is your "roulette number."
2. Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ahnentafel. Who is that person?
3. Tell three facts about that person with the "roulette number." 

I chose my maternal great-great-grandfather, Frank Elbert for this mission because the numbers worked out. He was born in 1851, so he would be 160 years old if he were still alive today. I then divided 160 by 4, and got 40 as the ancestor ahnentafel number to look for.

My ancestor with ahnentafel number 40 is Robert Crist, who is my paternal 3rd great-grandfather.

Three facts about Robert Crist are:

• He was born in Baltimore, Maryland on 29 Nov 1825, but moved with his family to West Twp,. in Ohio, at the tender age of 2.
• As a youth, he taught in one of the old log schoolhouses in the community, but farmed in his later years.
• He married Mary Ruff on 1 July 1850, and they had 10 children together.

Why don't you spin the ahnentafel roulette wheel yourself?  You might get a nice genealogy surprise.