The theme for Week 2 is “Favorite Photo.” I’ve had this theme in almost every version of 52 Ancestors because, let’s face it, who can choose just one?! Plus, we should be telling the stories of those photos so they don’t get lost in time. One of my favorites is Continue Reading
Chappelle
2022 – #52 Ancestors Challenge – Week 42 – Lost
This week’s theme is “Lost.” As family historians, we deal with a lot of things that are lost or on the verge of it… memories, records, people… This week, you could explore something that has been lost or the experience of losing something. Below is a copy of my father’s Continue Reading
2022 – #52 Ancestors Challenge – Week 31 – Help
This week’s theme is “Help.” When did an ancestor give or receive help? My first thought is of the neighbors who brought meals to my great-grandparents and their children while they were sick with the Spanish Flu. Another route you could take is when you’ve received help in your genealogy Continue Reading
2022 – #52 Ancestors Challenge – Week 21 – Yearbook
I want to share my experience in researching Yearbooks. First, I was looking for a picture of my husband in high school. So I looked at U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900 – 1999, for Booker T. Washington High School. I found a picture, but it wasn’t him. So I went to Continue Reading
2022 – #52 Ancestors Challenge – Week 20 – Textile
This week’s theme is “Textile.” Clothing, quilts, weaving — there are so many ways to talk about textiles in our family history! Be creative with this week’s theme! My father was living with his mother and grandmother in 1930. His grandmother Lillie was a dressmaker. She was also listed in Continue Reading
2022 – #52 Ancestors Challenge – Week 18 – SOCIAL
Week 18 (May 3-9): Social Maybe you have a story or photo of an ancestor at an ice cream social. Maybe your ancestor was part of a society, like the Masons or Odd Fellows. Maybe you’ve made a connection with a cousin or made a great discovery thanks to social Continue Reading
2022 – #52 Ancestors Challenge – Week 14 – Check It Out
The theme for Week 14 (and the monthly theme for April) is “Check It Out.” We often use this phrase when we want someone to pay attention to something neat. (“Hey! Check it out!”) It’s also something you do with some library books. My college work-study job was at the Continue Reading
2022 – #52 Ancestors Challenge – Week 13 – Sisters
Last year, my sister passed away from cancer, but I can’t get over her passing. I am the eldest sibling, but she was the bridge that kept our family together. I spoke at her home going: A song by Beyonce says, “Take care of your Mother” and “Look out for Continue Reading
2022 – #52 Ancestors Challenge – Week 07 – Landed
My daughter and I landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1976. My husband had accepted a job with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and arrived in January of that year. We had arrived in time to celebrate the Bicentennial Anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Pennsylvania sponsored the Bicentennial Continue Reading
2021 – 52 Ancestors Challenge – Week 28 – Transportation
In 1943, at the age of 19, my father, James W. Chappelle, enlisted in the US Army. He initially became a clerk/typist and dispatch driver, but he wanted out of that role. So he tried to get in the fight. One year later, he became a trucker on the legendary Continue Reading