A 5,300-year-old kinsman on my father’s line, and the accident that nearly ended him Every so often, a DNA match stops being a name or reference number on a screen and turns into a person. That just happened to me with a burial FTDNA’s “Ancient Connections” tool calls Sharakhalsun 6004 (sample SA6004) in the archaeological […]
The Wagon Driver of Sharakhalsun Read More »
Since receiving my BigY DNA test results from Family Tree DNA, I’ve been on a mission to come up with plausible “routes and reasons” that could explain how/ why my Y DNA genetic ancestors could have travelled through the millennia from the Altai Mountain region in Siberia all the way to Oeftinghausen, the documented home
Using Claude to Provide Color Read More »
Fritz and Dora Rathkamp came to Milwaukee in 1868. Dora was born Dorothee Hülsemann in 1838. She was born in Albringhausen, a 16km drive from Oeftinghausen, where the Rathkamp family lived. Albringhausen today is basically a suburb of Bassum, population 16,604 and is the home of Stiftskirche St. Mauritius und St. Viktor. This church was built
My Hülsemann Ancestors, and Their Brush With Napoleon Read More »
In the early to mid-2000s, I was really struggling with finding exactly where our Rathkamp ancestors came from, prior to their migration to Milwaukee. But I started seeing a pattern: I was using the German Genealogy site genealogy.net and noticing that, while I wasn’t finding MY Rathkamps, all of the Rathkamps I was finding were
Schmalförden Höfe, Familien, Fluren…early days Read More »
Overview Since my first DNA test in the mid-2000s, I’ve been fascinated by and driven to learn about how my paternal ancestors could have possibly made their way from the Altai Mountains in Siberia (origin point of the Q Haplogroup) to Menninghausen/ Oeftinghausen, Germany. If traveled by car today, this drive would take 73 hours.
Crunching the Numbers…and the Bones Read More »
For over 40 years, I’ve spent my life working with metal; first as a machinist, then through engineering and technical sales. I always found it fascinating that my paternal line, the Rathkamps, were recorded as blacksmiths and Beibauers in the village of Oeftinghausen as far back as the 1600s. I assumed it was a local
From the Steppe to the Forge to the Shop: A 20,000-Year Journey in My DNA Read More »
One of the things I love about genealogy is being able to make a big discovery by piecing together tiny discoveries. As mentioned in a previous post, William and Olive Rathkamp are the only great grandparents of mine for which I have no pictures. Not a single picture that I know of has made its
Adding a Face to the Name (Well, Hello There Willie!) Read More »
In October, 2009 I wrote THIS POST about my Great Grandmother, Olive (Hassel) Rathkamp, my dad’s grandmother. Olive died in 1926, 16 years before my dad was born. Until last week she and her Swedish ancestors continued to be a complete mystery. I’ve accumulated some anecdotal evidence, but nothing concrete. Here’s what I suspected: That’s
The Swedes Come Out of the Weeds Read More »
For as long as I can remember, family get-togethers on the Rathkamp side of my family have been gut-busting experiences. Every time we get together, somebody reminds me of the time one of the dogs crapped on my brand new white tennis shoes. My dad, Bill, and my Uncle Dave are both really funny guys
Rathkamp Brothers Take on Samson, the Famous Lowland Gorilla Read More »
I found this gem last night searching through the Google News Archives. The “young lad” is my grandfather, my dad’s dad. The article is from June 15, 1915. While it states my grandfather’s age is 10, he was actually soon to turn 6. “While watching the circus parade at Thirty-second and Clybourn streets, Monday morning,
Circuses and Beer Wagons Read More »
My last post about Esther Rathkamp got me thinking about all the discrepancies and mysteries surrounding her parents William & Olive Rathkamp, my great grandparents. Genealogists are used to dealing with inconsistencies, usually attributed to misspellings of surnames. But Willy & Olive are off the charts. How and why did Olive move from Iron Mountain,
Willy & Olive, What’s Your Story? Read More »
Last week, my cousin Paul asked via FaceBook if I’ve dug up any “Dead Rathkamps” lately. The answer was a simple “no”. I’ve been so busy with other stuff that I haven’t really been working on any genealogy projects lately. One of my favorite nightly rituals is to log on to Google Reader and peruse
Esther Just Before Easter Read More »