RELEASE DATE: APRIL 27, 2008
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
Family researchers interested in tracing their Polish roots may want to consider joining the Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan (PGSM). Three times yearly, the organization publishes the attractive Polish Eaglet, which is one of the publications indexed in the well-known Periodical Source Index (PERSI). Although the Eaglet focuses on data in southeastern Michigan, its contents sometimes expand coverage of material to other areas in the U. S. and Canada as well as Poland.
Topics of articles in the 2007 issues include the SUSALLA family; stories of the first settlers of Parisville, MI (which disputes the claim of Panna Maria, TX, being the oldest Polish village in the U. S.); St. Michael Catholic Church and Cemetery in Port Austin, MI; Huron County, MI, polka kings and their roots; the BUREIZA family; St. Mary of Czestochowa Parish and Cemetery in Kinde, MI; the World War I diary of Ignacy ZAPYTOWSKI; Polish army veterans buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit and in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, MI; a brief history of the Polish army in France in World War I; and the KOLASA family of Bay City, MI. Photographs usually supplement the narratives. Regular features include notices of publications pertaining to Poles or Polish research and free queries submitted by members. Each issue has a full name index.
Annual dues of $20 may be mailed to the society in care of the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library, 5201 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48202. You can visit the organization's website at http://www.pgsm.org.
As mentioned previously in this column, the Overland Journal: the Official Journal of the Oregon-California Trails Association often has articles containing genealogical information. For example, an article appearing in Vol. 26, No. 1 (Spring 2008) concerns Sarah, daughter of Franklin Ward and Elizabeth (COOPER) GRAVES. Born in 1825 in Dearborn Co., IN, and died in 1871 in Corralitos, CA, Sarah GRAVES married (1) Jay FOSDICK in 1846; (2) William Dill RITCHIE/RITCHEY in 1848; and (3) Samuel SPIRES in 1856. Reading such an article not only provides details about Sarah and her family but also furnishes insight into the circumstances of their lives and the part they, along with other pioneering families, played in American history.
Today, art and genealogy are not necessarily associated with each other, except perhaps on pedigree charts drawn in unusual patterns or the use of calligraphy to write in names and dates. From the fifteenth century to the early nineteenth century, however, that was not the case. Both artistic and affiliated with families, coats of arms played an important role in the past. Although European coats of arms shared commonalities, they also showed differences, especially in the qualifications for receiving them. In Spain, for instance, men could obtain arms through either paternal or maternal descent.
Kimberly Roblin's "A Call to Arms: The Heritage and History of European Heraldry" discusses the history and other aspects of the subject. Appearing in the March/April 2008 (Vol. XV, No. 2) issue of Gilcrease: Journal of the Gilcrease Museum, the article focuses on Spanish documents in the collection that pertain to coats of arms belonging to Juan Ochoa de Lexalde, a member of the Hernan Cortes expedition to Mexico and early settler in what is now Los Angeles, CA; Juan Tirado, who was also a member of the Cortes expedition; and the Cendoya, Arizavaleta, Jauregui, and Goya families from the northern Spanish province of Guipuzcoa. Colorful photographs of manuscripts, paintings, and the Cendoya family tree accompany the interesting narrative. The items are stored in the Gilcrease Museum, located in Tulsa, OK.
Charles N. Ferguson, 811 South Market, Shawnee, OK 74801 is seeking information about these individuals who resided in Cooke Co., TX, in 1930:
Eugene MCCRACKEN, white, male, 58, b. in TX, birthplace of
parents unknown
Maud MCCRACKEN, wife, white, female, 53, b. in TX, father b. in TN, mother b. in
TX
Sa____? SOLOMAN, daughter, white, female, 30, b. in TX, father b. in PA, mother
b. in TX
John MCCRACKEN, brother, white, male, 70, b. in TX, parents born in U. S.