The Kaski & Untiedt Family Trees

In 1972, Elsa Krabbenhoft Radichel published the Krabbenhofts & Kin , a 107-page book outlining the known family history of the Balthasar (born 1760) Krabbenhoft family, and his son, Wulf's descendants, who primarily settled in Clay County, Minnesota.  Despite decades of researching the Krabbenhofts, it was only recently that the book came to my attention. Thanks to Lars Möller, whose connection to the Krabbenhofts is through his second great-grandaunt, Margaretha Kuehl Krabbenhoft, wife of Henning Otto Krabbenhoft. Edie Thiel then provided a scanned copy of this family gem allowing generations to now have access and to secure for the future. It is my desire to secure for the future that has me making this post which hopefully other Krabbenhoft family history seekers will locate and be able to learn more. Here's a link to a copy saved on my Google Drive that should be accessible to anyone selecting the link. I need to continue working on long-term solutions for accessabilit...

Color-coding helps visualize the Top Ancestor DNA Supports (TADs). Quick visual Orange = DNA Match              Blue =  Top Ancestor DNA Supports (TADs)            Pink =  DNA path The visual above quickly tells me the following: Orange  (Maynard) is a DNA match to at least one of the DNA kits that I manage. Blue  shows the Top Ancestor DNA Supports (which ancestors are genetically confirmed as related to the Orange person). On the paternal branch, there are DNA matches that prove all of Maynard's great-grandparents (i.e., Hans Olsen). On the maternal branch, I have confirmed that John Henry Anderson is genetically Maynard's grandparent, but haven't been able to confirm Hans & Kari, his great-grandparents (no color coding). Pink  demonstrates the DNA path that supports the Top Ancestor DNA Supports (TADs). On the maternal branch, I have been able to genetically confirm beyond his great-g...

A lot of Untiedts look alike. Determining which similarly featured Untiedt is pictured in these archived albums is a challenge. Plucking from his memory, my uncle, Don Untiedt, labelled what he could two years ago. The following were labelled as either Don Untiedt or his father, Paul V. Untiedt, but they also looked like they could have been Keith Untiedt. I've stared at a lot of side-by-side compares to known images of all three possible persons: Don, Paul and Keith. One day I think I know, then the next I'm unsure. I mean, doesn't the middle above and the far right below look like the same person; oh, no I mean the far left and the bottom mid. Using some of the best consumer photo apps didn't consistently distinguish accurately when I loaded images of known Untiedts, so it's not fully reliable for definitively labelling any archives. I also spent a lot of time comparing the slight ways the Paul CS Untiedt front porch changed over thr years And so my Unlabelled, Un...

Many Versions of Bertha My great-grandmother, Tillie Anderson Morud, was the child of John Henry Anderson and Bertha Olson. Tillie told me that her mother came to the US alone from Norway and didn't speak the same dialect as her spouse and had no family in the area. Unable to communicate, living on a rural homestead, she birthed 6 children, enduring what must have been a very difficult South Dakotan farm life. For decades, I've tried to research her and trace her roots. Likely due to her lack of English skills and limited ability to read and write, each confirmed record told different versions of the same facts. The 1925 South Dakota census shows her as "Betsey" while the 1935 South Dakota census lists her as "Bertha". Other spellings are "Bertina", "Brita", and "Betsy". The U.S. Census records from 1900 to 1940 indicate that she was born sometime between 1858 and 1865. And then, there's when she immigrated to the U.S.; the ...

If you were born in Minnesota prior to 2002, your birth data is publicly available, along with the other 3,000 Minnesota-born persons in our family tree. For a family researcher, like myself, this data is gold. Very useful as it provides your full legal name, date and place of birth, and your parents' full names. But, from the perspective of a hacker, or identity thief,  you might be a more vulnerable candidate. For example, if you have a password reset hint using your mother's maiden name, that account has likely already been hacked, because it's very easy (and free) to find that data about you. Check out the link below for more details. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Minnesota,_Birth_Index_-_FamilySearch_Historical_Records

Continuing the prior posts about  Bernice's Birthday Book , ( Mar & Apr ) below are the May birthdays that Bernice Mann Untiedt held most dear (at least around the 1940-1950s). May 1, Mann & Untiedt: Betty Mann and Barbara Untiedt Betty & Barb are two very special ladies from Bernice's life, both who we've been blessed to still have with us here on Earth. Both who also made their careers as school teachers. Betty (Soutar) Mann married Bernice's brother-in-law, Verlyn in 1952. Betty's a fellow family historian but also a historical advocate for Rock County, Minnesota. In 2022, Betty was honored with a lifetime achievement award for her history work (see  news article  for details). Barbara (Untiedt) Spalinger is Bernice's middle daughter. Barb, my aunt, has made her life in Kodiak, Alaska, with her two children, dogs, and husband, Al. More recently, she's added "grandma" to her list of joys and accomplishments. May 4 & 5, Mann: Rober...

I consider myself to be a family history archivist, not a digital content creator. As an archivist, I've been pretty hesitant to edit historical pictures beyond the basics: cropping, rotating, or an occassional straightening. This is despite owning Lightroom and using it for own personal photography projects. I try hard to find the original picture if available. When I can't, I try and start with the best copy that I can locate. Then, I very carefully scan with the highest settings and save initially as high-quality TIFFs comparing carefully the digitial and print versions. I tell myself "if this photo was destroyed tomorrow, did I get the best reproduction possible?" Properly archived, I can then start sharing the best possible jpeg version, keeping the character as is (sun-damaged, wrinkled, torn, or finger-printed).  But, I had an important photo of my great-grandparent Mann's wedding. The best print had some oily fingerprints. After the initially scans showed ...