This is a photograph of my mother’s grandmother, Helen Spiegel Dobbs, and a friend putting on a show of international unity at a resort in New Mexico sometime between 1913 and 1916. In this picture, Helen (right) represents the USA, and her friend, Claudia Meador Sanger (left), wearing a sombrero, portrays Mexico as they toast the friendship between those two countries. The photograph was taken … Continue reading Back When We Were Friends
A month ago, I wrote an article titled “Massachusetts Ancestors with Wikipedia Articles.” Yet it’s only now, through further study, that I am realizing the significance of what three of those ancestors did when they put their names on a document in the spring of 1638. These men are ancestors on my father’s side of the family, and their names were Philip Sherman, John Coggeshall, … Continue reading The Importance of the Portsmouth Compact
I paid $20 for a month of ChatGPT Pro to see how it could help me with editing the rewrite of my book on Family History, Gathering Leaves. I have been working on this rewrite called Gathering More Leaves for about two years, and I am perpetually stuck in the middle of the book. Parts of the original book were generated using software specifically designed … Continue reading Imagine Me and You. I do.
(or at least it feels that way) A year ago, I wrote about discovering that my ethnicity estimate at ancestry.com had changed yet again. I’m a little thick-headed because I don’t fully understand why it keeps changing. I need to read more. At any rate, it’s December, and I just learned that the ethnicity estimate was updated in July. I’m beginning to understand things better, … Continue reading Ethnicity Update #9
Growing up, I had no idea I had Colonial American ancestors on both my parents’ sides. My mother’s colonial ancestors settled in the South, from the Carolinas to Georgia. My father’s ancestors were YANKEES! These are all ancestors of my father who settled either in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Plymouth Colony, the Rhode Island Plantation Colony, or they are the ancestor of ancestors who … Continue reading Massachusetts Ancestors with Wikipedia Articles
When my great grandfather James M Dobbs was appointed to a consul generalship in South America at the start of the 2nd Cleveland Administration, his name appeared in newspapers all over the United States. In the majority of those appearances, it was one item in a list of other men who had been appointed to an office that April in 1893. Most of the newspapers … Continue reading International Man of Mystery Part 6
The game “Are you a Mayflower descendent?” involves using genealogical software to explore one’s ancestry and discover connections to historical figures. Through various reports, the author learns they are a direct descendant of 49 individuals in 17th century Massachusetts but remains unable to confirm a link to Mayflower passengers, instead tracing roots to Puritans. Continue reading Are You a Mayflower Descendent?
The recent discussions about immigrants eating cats and dogs remind me that my ancestors were immigrants. Some arrived from Europe as early as the 1630s, while others came as late as the 1880s. Their experiences varied—some were treated better than others. For instance, my German ancestors managed to preserve their culture and language long after arrival, which the English-speaking population found objectionable. There was pressure … Continue reading From Bavaria to New York: An Immigrant Journey
Disclaimer: I am having fun exploring the exciting new world of AI. I wrote some notes and then used Google’s NotebookLM AI chat feature to help draft this blog post. Afterward, I used Revoicer, along with a clone of my voice, to create part 1 of the podcast. Finally, I used the podcast generation feature in NotebookLM to create part 2. The podcast will be … Continue reading The Evolution of Technology: What Changed Since 1901?
In 2023, during my visit to Paris, my final stop before heading home was the Arc de Triomphe, located just a few blocks from our hotel. The Arc de Triomphe is one of Paris’s most iconic landmarks, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the center of Place Charles de Gaulle. Commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after his victory at the Battle of … Continue reading Lucien François Gaume, Veteran of the French Revolutionary Wars
Gathering Leaves 