The Kaski & Untiedt Family Trees

I spent November and December focused on researching my Kaski line, specifically my grandfather, his parents, and siblings. The matriarch of this line is Mariah Alvina Ecklund Kaski, my great-grandmother.   Her youngest daughter, Elaine, described Mariah as having dark brown eyes, auburn hair when young, then dark with a natural white wing; height of 5'4 with a 14.5 dress size. She loved to garden and had lots of house plants [just like her great-great granddaughters]; she also read a lot. She was a very hard worker, who was very close to her sisters. Illnesses included rheumatic arthritis. Mariah and Peter had a total of 9 children: one child died at birth. By 1930, the eldest child, Earl, had already moved out of his parent's home; the US census record from 1930 (screenshot below) is likely the only official record showing the Peter & Mariah family. My grandfather, Elroy M., was 3 years and 5 months old.

 I finally got curious enough and sent off my sample to get Ancestry to tell me what they think of my DNA. It basically aligns with my tree, aligning my Untiedt & Mann sides as Sweden & Denmark. And here's how that compares to my family tree; below shows the regional background area each of my great-grandparents originated from, deriving 19% Finnish, 6% Swedish, 25% Norwegian, and 50% German.  However, my German ancestors came from northern Germany. Right along the lines of Denmark, or in some cases, in places, that at various points in history were part of Denmark. As well, Sweden also conquered various parts of these same lands, and so, it is not surprising that my German ancestry is actually aligned with Swedish and Finnish ethnicities. Especially when you considered the vast number of blonde hair children our family has produced.

My grandfather, Elroy Kaski, passed away when my dad was 5 years old, so all I know about him are the few stories I've heard, and the things I've found through my family tree journey. Here's a few of the finds I thought my father and aunt and cousins might appreciate. Can you feel the love tonight? My grandparents:  Elroy Kaski & Delores Morud Phone Book, 1956 What's not to love about these old phone book directories? High school 1943 Can you imagine high school in 1943? How amazingly different his life must have felt to his parents who grew up in rural Finland and South Dakota. And how challenging a time, when the world was enveloped in the second world war. For my grandfather, his siblings were deployed and off fighting for the U.S. military while he, the youngest, stayed behind with his mother. Draft registration card, 1944 At the time he completed the draft registration card, WWII was a stark reality Elroy would have understood too well. 5 years in to WWII, my g...

 An entertaining new addition to Ancestry.com has been Yearbook photos. There's a lot of years out from a wide array of places. Imagine your worst yearbook picture living on in your family tree for generations? Yikes. Here's some of the yearbook pics I've found.  New finds, June 2022 Morud line   Renee Bertrand, 1971 Ward Benson, 1976 (my 2nd cousin, once removed, through Martha Maurud Benson) Mary Farrell, (wife of my 2nd cousin, once removed through Martha Maurud Benson) New finds, April 2022 Morud line Debbie Lambertz, 1967      Matthew Larson, son of Debbie Lambertz, 1994 Brian Lambertz, 1967      Kaski line Diane Kaski (my 1st cousin, once removed), 1966 Leah Farkas (second cousin), 1995 Westbrook Teer (spouse of 2nd cousin), 1993 Jayme Halbritter (grandson of my great-uncle), 1988 Patti Robison McAvoy (1st cousin, once removed), 1973 Ralph Robison (1st cousin, once removed), 1976 Shore & Venegas lines Earl Shore Jr (great-uncle of m...