Meet you at the library!

Posted on February 5, 2019 by thefamilywitch

I couldn’t even tell you how many times I have said those words! And what can I say, it’s been more than a little hectic around here… But, I’ll be combing the last two weeks posts into one. And yes, that would be my personal collection of library cards from oooohhh, the last twenty some years! I have always LOVED the library! Where else could have I gained the knowledge I had been looking for?! Who hasn’t picked up a copy of D’aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths or played Oregon Trail at some point? I can easily remember many years of walking from my Grandparent’s house after school, up the street to the library, and spending hours there until dinner time!

Since I’ve been spending countless hours scouring through newspapers for obituaries, I found this gem of a pic! Yes, that second one is me holding a cake pan. I’m not sure what’s going on with my Hawaiian print shirt.. but hey, it was the 80s! Our library had them available for checkout so parents could make fun cake shapes. But honestly, most the time the cakes seemed to look like they came off of Nailed It! And while it isn’t National Library Week yet, it’s usually the second week in April; here’s a good list of 10 Easy Ways You Can Support Libraries! I also have to include this link of 10 ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Books For Adults, Because It’s Way More Fun To Mess Up Your Life In Book Form I stumbled across as another homage to my library since they were one of my favorites! So much so, that I bought some for my kids last year!

Ok, so besides declaring my love for the library that’ve spanned across the US.. I have to give two other shoutout’s. One to YSU’s Maag Library; where I probably spent too much time when I should’ve actually been in high school. And my most recent discovery, the John F Germany Public Library in Tampa! While I haven’t had the time to make it back there yet since finishing up classwork; my personal research list of available items seems to be getting longer!

Now, onto part two of the post! Who I’d like to meet from my tree.. this one actually wasn’t that hard to decide on! LITTLE GRANDMA!! My 2x Great-Grandmother, Anna Marie Massaro Carano (1874-1959). From what I hear, she was little, but fierce! I think that seems to be the standard description for most of my Italian matriarchs… But from a few of the pictures I’ve seen of her and with talking to relatives, they say she was easily under 5′ in height!

Anna Marie Massaro was born on September 25, 1874, in Carovilli, Isernia, Italy. Daughter to Donato and Maria Julia De Dominicis Massaro. She was the second wife to my 2x Great-Grandfather, Pasquale ‘Pascal’ Carano (1867-1927), and they were married on March 29, 1897, in Krebs, Oklahoma. The information on the Italian immigration to Krebs is amazing! But, as I learned from doing my final report on their family; things weren’t all roses for the mining community and many of them headed out of Oklahoma and into Ohio for new opportunities in the early 1900’s. My Great-Great Grandparents included!

Life was going well for them in Ohio, but unfortunately tragedy struck on December 3, 1927, when my Great-Great Grandfather suffered a fatal accident while at work. Since there was such a tight knit familial community, it’s easily seen within the censuses that my Great-Great Grandmother continued living with some of her children. While other children and additional family were living next door and the adjacent streets. It seems as though it’s always been that way! She died on February 23, 1959, in Hubbard, Ohio, at the age of 84. My mother was very young when she died, so she doesn’t have too many memories of her. But I can’t imagine being a young woman in my early 20s, having to leave my country for a new life, and being thrust into a marriage with young children to take care of… but they made it work!

Well, again, sorry for the delays!! I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey thus far and will stop back to see what else will be popping up shortly! As always, feel free to send me a message with any questions or suggestions.

Hope you’re having a fantastic week!
Andi

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It’s not unusual…

Posted on January 21, 2019 by thefamilywitch

For me to be a little late! Although the eclipse most definitely helped to turn into a little bit of a DNA genealogical adventure the last few days with all the new Ancestry kits being processed from Xmas… but, I’ll need to save THAT for later.

It’s also not unusual to find an unusual name within your family tree! Sometimes we even bless our children with a not so common name; my 18 year old daughter’s name is Porcelain. Me and my husband did take quite a bit of crapola from some people, but it didn’t stop us from naming her what we wanted! Plus I guess it buffered things for when we named our one son, Soren. But for this week’s #52ancestors, instead of focusing on just one individual, I think I’m going to list my top 5! So.. here we gooooooo!

#1 – Mindwell Strong (1742-1812)
While not MY relative.. Mindwell Strong is my husband’s 5th Great-Grandmother. Taken from Ancestry’s LifeStory; “When Mindwell Strong was born on July 28, 1742, in Torrington, Connecticut, her father, Jacob, was 38, and her mother, Mindwell, was 28. She married Samuel Everett on May 27, 1762, in her hometown. They had four children in 12 years. She died on December 6, 1812, in Granville, Ohio, at the age of 70.” Yay for the Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) in helping to make the connections!!! Their son Samuel Everett Jr. is my husband’s 4th Great Grandfather, he married Agnes Buttles on May 24, 1771, in Granby, Connecticut. They had eight children in 15 years. Their daughter, and Mindwell’s Granddaughter; Mila Everett, the lovely lady pictured above, is his 3rd Great-Grandmother. And she’ll lead us into the 2nd unusual name.. since she married him!

#2- Shubael Marchant Pease (1791-1861)
One of my husband’s 3rd Great-Grandfather’s… because you know, we all have 32 of ’em! I’ve been able to tentatively locate 29 of them. Some of them are definitely more documented than others. I think that smirk Shubael has, goes along nicely! Their daughter married Jacob Hochstetler. And while I didn’t include her on the list; her name was Hilpah.

#3- Experience Sweeting (1695-1729)
Now we’re jumping over to my side! Say hello to my 8th Great-Grandmother! This is one of those lines where I’m incredibly grateful to all the extended cousins who have worked on this line before me! There are quite a few documents on Ancestry.. I have yet to get them all linked up, but I have been trying to focus on more of the recent lines before jumping back to some of the further ones. Most of the information I found for this connection came from John Cary: The Plymouth Pilgrim. While not THE John Cary, he’s a couple more generations back.. Experience Sweeting’s husband, John Cary, was born in 1690 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. They had at least three sons and two daughters between 1718 and 1729. It appears that Experience died April 7th, 1729, a few weeks after giving birth to Beriah Cary. John Cary married three more times before passing away the 12th of October, 1770.

#4- Merlin Edward Cisler (1909-1981)
Merlin was my 1st cousin, twice removed. How can you NOT like a name like Merlin?! I first mentioned the Cisler family with my first post for 52 Ancestors with my Great-Grandparents, Sarah Edwards and Nathan Cisler; Merlin was their Grandson. Merlin’s parents were, John Harold Cisler and Vera Adenia Karcher. This picture has Merlin, in the hat, and my Great-Uncle; Herbert Edward McKnight.

#5- Americus Graham (1853-1937)
Americus Graham was the husband of my 3rd Great-Aunt, Sarah Margaret Duvall. While Find-A-Grave has four of the children linked, according to my tree, it appears they would have had nine. Looks like I’ll need to delve into this line a little more and figure out just how many there were since I have some census records, but I shouldn’t have a problem finding more documentation!

So there ya have it! My top 5 names from the family tree! I thought it might be good to link to Find-A-Grave for others that might be researching, but I might switch it up to linking in WikiTree instead… I do need to get back to cleaning up the tree on there now that I’m done with classes. Especially since it looks like some others have been working on some lines that were a little frustrating and I left alone. I definitely recommend taking part of some of the challenges on WikiTree! They’re a TON of fun! Any questions or comments? Shoot me an email!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and has a fabulous week!
Andi

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Rise to the challenge!

Posted on January 13, 2019 by thefamilywitch

I figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to catch up with week 2 of #52ancestors! I’ll most likely be posting the next one on the weekend as well. I tend to do most of my research on the weekends; lounging on the couch while my kids and husband play video games! They’ve been enjoying Zelda lately! Since this one is all about a challenge; I thought I’d go with one of my more frustrating surnames; King.

It wasn’t until last July when I finally located my Great-Grandmother’s obituary, that I could definitively connect her with her parents and siblings. Previously to this, I had her mother’s obituary, which has her listed with her fourth husband’s name… BUT my Great-Great Grandmother’s second husband’s name… just happens to be, you guessed it, King. My Great-Grandmother’s step-father’s obituary does have her listed as a child, along with both her full and half-siblings, but her name at the time was that of her third husband, which I haven’t been able to find very much information on this time in her life at all! The multiple marriages and the timing of them really has made it difficult!

Mary Catherine Garlitz, my 2nd Great-Grandmother, was first married to David King. His parents, my 3rd Great-Grandparents, were John King, born around 1806 with death unknown; and, Christena Francis, born April 1834 in Pennsylvania, and passed away on March 15th, 1906, in Upper Tyrone, Fayette, Pennsylvania. I have the 1870 and 1880 censuses that have John, Christena, and their children listed.

1880 U.S. Census, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, South Huntingdon, Enumeration District 119, Page 235B, dwelling number 71, family number 75, John King household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : 13 Jan 2018); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll number 1204.

Of course there’s the 1890 frustration! And then, according to the 1900 census, Christena is widowed and living with her son Joseph, his wife, and their family of two children; along with her son John, brother to Joseph. She’s listed as having nine children, with seven of them living. However, I only have been able to find information on six of them. The Garlitz line also has it’s own set of challenges, but we’ll save that for another day!

So here’s where the challenge has comes about. There are “Potential Father/Mother” hints on Ancestry that has John’s parents as Samuel King and Hannah Missimer. While I have looked into the censuses of the Westmoreland and Fayette counties rather extensively, I haven’t really been able to associate a paper trail without it being rather speculative. Trying to locate newspaper articles leads to an endless amount of frustration! Seriously, there’s a LOT of John King’s in the area, AND there’s some other clues that have parts of the family relocating to Ohio! However, since I have my DNA matches, I DO have matches to other’s that have Samuel and Hannah in their trees on both Ancestry and MyHeritage! I haven’t gathered all the matches to the trees yet, but I am hoping to narrow this line down with the help of DNAPainter! If I can figure this out; it may potentially open up 5 more generations leading me back to Ireland and England!

Now there’s kinda a part 2 as well.. and that’s my own personal goal/challenge! Which is… to hopefully *fingers crossed* join the Associated Daughters of Early American Witches before the end of the year! According to the website; “The Purpose of the Society is: – to search for and preserve the names of those accused of witchery in that portion of Colonial America now the United States of America; – to locate the living female descendants of all witches who were accused in the American colonies prior to published records of same.”. I think that in itself is fantastic! But can I just say that the swag is pretty awesome looking too!!

I hope you’ve enjoyed one of my many tree challenges! If you have King’s in your tree, or Garlitz, or ties to Fayette and Westmoreland counties; I’d love to see if we can make a connection! Email me any questions or comments!! Hope you had a great weekend!

Spirited Searching and Many Blessings!!
Andi

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First of all…

Posted on January 10, 2019 by thefamilywitch

img_1274It’s been a while!! And there’s been a LOT that’s snowballed.. For one, I have a 15 year old that’s already in college now! EEEeeekk!! But super exciting things have happened, and I just can’t foresee them not continuing. WHERE to even start?!

Soooo.. incredibly long story, short; a while back I was working on a project having to do with meditation, energy work/Reiki, and karmic connections. And while the  metaphysical realm has been my primary business for the last 18 years; for the last couple of years, I’ve also been working on family trees and helping adoptees, and non-adoptees, track down family. Genealogy always been an interest of mine since I love history and hearing of people’s stories and experiences! Mix in the witchy-ness of ancestral gratitude and BAM! It’s just another one of those things that brings about connection. But maybe I’m just weird… And lemme tell ya, there’s absolutely some interesting characters in both mine and my husband’s families.. past and present! But, we all have them.

And then, after getting my DNA test done back in 2017, there had DEFINITELY been some interesting experiences to say the least! Both spiritually and with connecting with new people I would have never known I was related to! Things really started getting pretty interesting once I had the brilliant idea to start comparing the astrological side of things to the events that seemed to be re-occurring within different family lines. And really, that lead me to wanting to study the more academic side of genealogy. I’ve taken plenty of classes for astrology, tarot, reiki, etc., why not look into getting certified in genealogy?!

So… last year I enrolled in the Boston University Certificate Program in Genealogical Research. It. Was. GRUELING. I’m pretty sure it was about 5-6 weeks in I sobbed to my husband, “WHAT THE F#@K WAS I THINKING?!”. At the end, I passed with a B! There definitely were plenty of tears shed, but persistence pays/paid off! I haven’t applied for certification yet, but I’m taking a minor break and gathering info so that I can within the next few months.

Ok, let me pause right here real quick to say; I’m TOTALLY blaming this on transiting Saturn (5H- creative, fun) making a trine to Mars (1H- self, personality) that happened from February to November for me; and it had also made a trine to Chiron (9H- multigenerational, higher education) from March to December. Pretty much the timing of when I made the decision, enrolled, and finished. Yep, me and Saturn are close friends…

Wait a sec Andi.. Is there going to be GENEALOGY stuff that you’re posting?! Yes. But don’t worry, the witchy metaphysical stuff will be here too! ESPECIALLY some karmic work! Because if there’s something I’ve definitely noticed within the last 2 years it’s many people wondering just who they really are… This is also the reason for the site name change too. It’s the most simplistic way I describe myself when I think of my BEing! And it’ll make more sense as things go along.. maybe!? LOL! Anyways, I think that’s a long enough rambling to what’s been up! And while I might be a couple days behind, here we are with the FIRST of posts for #52ancestors…

Family of Edward C. .jpgI’d like to introduce you to my Great-great Grandmother; Sarah Edwards Cisler… and as you can see in the picture, her parents and siblings! So actually, you’re getting to meet a whole family. But, Sarah is the one were gonna focus on! She was born on the Edwards farm close to Rinard Mills, Ohio; on January 1st, 1853,  and passed away at the age of 68, on May 18th, 1921.

Education seems to be rather important within the family; Sarah received a school education and at the age of 16 had become a teacher and taught three terms. With her being a Capricorn Sun, with a Virgo Moon, it’s understandable to see how she would accomplish this! At the age of 23, on October 28th, 1875, she married Nathan Cisler and over the course of 18 years they had 9 children. I’d mention which child I’m related to… but that might spoil some fun later!

One of the reasons I wanted to start with her was because they’re the first one’s I started with because they’re my Grandmother’s family and she is the one that originally had me interested in genealogy when I was younger and her family had already done quite a bit of the research, pre-internet days. Sarah, would have been my Grandma’s Grandma.. and I wonder if they were able to spend time together as much as I had with my Grandparents? I also feel lucky and grateful that I’m able to see a picture of my 3x Great-Grandparents!!! I mean, c’mon they were born in 1826 and 1828! That’s getting close to 200 years ago! I thought it was incredibly fortuitous that Sarah was born on January 1st. But another thing with her.. beside being a teacher, she was a writer and poet as well. Is she the only one within the family? Nope, obviously. But I can definitely see where I have acquired some of my interests now!!

Here is some of the poetry Sarah had written when her parents had passed on, that came from her diary, and was shared by a cousin on Ancestry.

poetry by sarah edwards

In following back on the Edwards line, I have two more generations within the same area that I’ve been able to place. My 4th Great-Grandfather, Edward Edwards, not Sarah’s father above in the picture, but HIS father; was born the 5th of November, 1790, in Maryland; and passed away at the age of 36, on March 13, 1827, in Washington County, Ohio. Unfortunately for my 3rd Great-Grandfather, Sarah’s father; his father’s death occurred only a few months after he was born.

I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse into some of my ancestors. And while I have offered insights of the stars and future for many years; it’s now the time to blend it together more with remembrance of roots and experience from the past! As always, I’m open to receiving your email for any questions or comments!

Many Blessings!
Andi

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Venus enters Cancer

Posted on June 11, 2016 by thefamilywitch

Venus_CancerVenus enters into Cancer on June 17th until July 12th, and it’s going to feel like it’s all about securing what is valuable and eliminating what isn’t! Saturn is also making it’s second square to Neptune this day; further bringing that feeling of needing structure and security to be long lasting, but wanting to meet starry-eyed expectations and actually being able to deliver on them might bring a hinderance. If you’ve felt you were pouring water into a bucket with holes, you’ll be able to see how that way of doing things isn’t serving any purpose or bringing the changes needed and how to better dive into your pool of resources.

While Venus thrived on the energy of others while in Gemini, now in Cancer she’s wants to build some self-reliance to become Queen of the castle! The Sun however, is still holding onto the Gemini energy for a couple more days until it enters Cancer on the 20th. Memories may come rushing in at this time and the emotional range will be vastly DEEP; churning like the tides from love/hate, pleasure/pain, logic/emotion, etc.. Subconsciously and instinctively reacting to situations leads to the trust in your ability to make decisions and how you’re needing to deal with others. The persistent and tenacious energy can lend to wholehearted nurturing, but if not safeguarded can lead to overpowering demands that feel like water eroding rock.

Venus also has phases, like the Moon and she recently reached her Full cycle on June 6th at 16º Gemini 36’. So while she may have been further from the Earth, she was closer to the Sun and receiving the light to shine on what is truly important to the beauty of life. The Sabian Symbol at this time is; 17º Gemini: The head of a robust youth changes into that of a mature thinker.

This natural progression from charming Mercurial participation in outer superficial associations gives way to an intense realization of deeper encouragement of self nurturing. Growth will come in crabwise waves, bringing with it ways to cultivate the inborn wisdom into seasoned, experienced realities for one and all.

-June 27th-
Venus trine Neptune: Fantasies and daydreams can easily lead to indulging in comfort. Be careful putting too much significance in things of little substance. Impermanence is heightened and activities feel done more with compassion, but may lead to little results.

-June 30th-
Venus opposition Pluto: Intense emotions come through from concealed conflicts. Time to get the crab out of the shell and deal with the real issues under the surface before they get more out of hand. Consequences will be long lasting whether dealt with now or later.

-July 1st-
Venus sextile Jupiter: Life feels blissful and abundant. Hope and faith bring about positive attitudes of manifesting the next steps easily. Social events feel more welcoming and time spent with others leads to more understanding and connectedness.

-July 6th-
Venus trine Mars: Balancing wants and needs seems like a piece of cake! Your passions lead the way as you look to help and be of assistance. Action comes about fluidly in making things more appealing in tasks for yourself and others.

-July 7th-
Venus square Uranus: Patience and flexibility in dealing with others is tested. Look for new experiences and ways of doing things, but be careful not to lose sight or under appreciate what you already have as emotions are unstable and arguments are easy to come by today!

-July 12th-
Venus enters Leo

If you’re wondering how Venus will be affecting you, you can enter in your natal information at astro.com and see where Venus is in your chart. Then you will look to see which house occupies the sign of Cancer You can also adjust the chart settings to show your transits to see exactly where Venus is transiting through your chart! A simple google search of “venus cancer  transit + your house #” will start you off on getting some good information. Cafe Astrology is a great source! Of course, you can always contact me at facebook or email if you’d like me to take a look at your chart as well!

Many Blessings!
Andi

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Neptune Retrograde

Posted on June 7, 2016 by thefamilywitch

excalibur-neptuneThe yearly cycle of Neptune turning retrograde is upon us early next week on the 13th and this one could really stir up some indecisiveness regarding boundaries! But let’s take a quick jaunt back to when Neptune entered Pisces in April 2011 and we were given an optimistic glimpse of what was to come; but maybe what was forgotten at that time was just how deep Pisces in the mighty Ruler of the Sea can be! And then when Neptune retrograded back into Aquarius in November that year, we were being reminded that we were going to need to set aside differences to unite and work together.

Last year on November 26th, the first of three squares of Saturn in Sagittarius to Neptune began; “A Girl Blowing a Bugle” and while the U.N. Climate Talks at the time may have been a wake-up call to protect Mother Nature and what is vital for everyone, there is a woman that’s been blowing quite the bugle right now! Hillary Clinton announced her presidential campaign a few months earlier in April 2015 as Mars made a sextile to Neptune, bringing some decisive action to dream big as the first female President! And then what else had happened in November? Oh, only the Democratic debates! See how things are lining up here?!

So while Neptune usually spends around half the year moving forward, there’s still a good chunk retrograding, leaving aspirations to be reviewed with new revelations and redemption continually happening. Sacrifices being made will need to be done without egotistical agendas, otherwise the burden becomes to great to bare with an overwhelming breakdown. But a fine balance between the reality vs. the illusions of situations could lead to less reliance on there being hope for change and falling back into destructive habits! Stay with the trust in your intuition and there’ll be an evolution in where the potential is being seen, sought out, and then implemented when it’s been reliable through and through.

Now with Neptune turning retrograde at 13° Pisces, and the second square occurring with Saturn a few days later on the 17th; the Sabian Symbol “A Sword in a Museum” expresses the remnants that remain from battle. While the sword can be used in creating destruction or as defense, the consequences encountered were different for every side involved. We can also be reminded that “The pen is mightier than the sword.” at this time when we’re hoping that truth will prevail through uncertainties with swift justice. It’s going to be important not to get too caught up in any collective drama or spontaneity to forcibly change the perspectives that have been in place. Though it may feel like you’re trying to please everyone in not creating waves by pulling Excalibur from the stone, your willpower is just as strong as anyone else! Share the knowledge and understanding with others and draw upon the strength from the past in the times of turmoil by remembering that learning from the struggle and continuing to apply those lessons was just as important as going through it!

While Neptune can take it’s time to bring the understanding through the undercurrents to the surface, we’re able plan for what’s motivating us while continually being inspired. Don’t forget, it sometimes important to come up for air though! So if you have any questions regarding how Neptune could be affecting you or how you can slay your dragons, you can reach me at facebook or email!

Many Blessings!!
Andi

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