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The Thumb's Christmas

  Our daughter, Anne, was a prolific artist when she was young. Our refrigerator door was full of her drawings, paintings, and school artwork. She liked to create little books, too, as she was also a natural storyteller. One Christmas when she was about eight years old, Anne wrote and illustrated a Christmas story for her little brother, James. If memory serves, she drew her inspiration from a book she had recently gotten from the library by illustrator Ed Emberley. He wrote and illustrated The Great Thumbprint Drawing Book . In it, Emberley showed how to make a variety of animals and people using a thumbprint as a starting point. The creations are simple and charming. It's amazing what you can do with a blog of ink and a few black lines. It's art that's accessible to anyone. Anne's story is called "The Thumb's Christmas," and is based on our family. There is a thumb with glasses (Anne), a thumb with little hair (toddler James), a thumb with a mustache (Ji...
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Wrapping Up the Becker Research & Sharing Resources

 


I'm concluding my research into the Becker/Baker family and their immigration from New York to Canada, and later from Canada to Cleveland. I have made some amazing discoveries along the way, and feel I have a much better handle on when and why they immigrated from place to place.

Here are some highlights and important discoveries I made along the way:

  • I located a fabulous original photo of my great-grandfather Edward in a St. Catharines museum!
  • While creating a timeline, I noticed that Joseph Becker's grandfather Peter Schiltz died in St. Catharines, Ontario, not in Sheldon, Wyoming, New York, where he lived.
  • A Belgian cousin contacted me about our common Schiltz ancestors after reading a blog post.
  • I discovered there were two Joseph Beckers in Sheldon, Wyoming, New York, who each had a son named Joseph. While attempting to separate them in land records, I came across the not-my-ancestor Joseph Becker's will in a Wyoming County deed book. 
  • Though my great-great-grandfather was baptized Peter Joseph Becker, I never saw the name Peter used again in any records. He was known by his second name, Joseph. This could be the German  tradition of giving a child two names; a saint's name for a first name, and a second name being the "rufnamen" or secular/call name. 
  • The surnames Becker and Baker were used interchangeably in records, but over time, the name Baker stuck in our family.

This photo including my great-grandfather Edward (2nd row, 4th from left), was one discovery made during my Becker research.1
 

  • I discovered that my great-great-grandfather had twin brothers; one was stillborn and the other died a day after birth, back in 1863. Tragically, a toddler sister, Elisabeth, died that same year.

 

This stone marks the graves of Jacob and Johanes Becker, twin brothers of my 2x GGF Joseph Becker.2

Joseph's sister Elisabeth's headstone in St. Cecilia Cemetery in Sheldon, New York.3



Researching my great-great-grandfather Peter Joseph Becker (who eventually became just Joseph Baker), was a sort of BOGO (buy-one-get-one) proposition. Because he was a child when his family moved, I had to research his father to determine the reasons for their immigration. Consequently, I now have information about three generations of Beckers—Joseph Becker, Peter Joseph Becker, and Edward Baker. My final report on the younger Joseph Becker's immigration story is available here.

The Becker's fortunes were intertwined with the two other families whose lives intersected in Sheldon, Wyoming, New York. The Schiltz family that immigrated from Belgium in 1845 was one family. The Cailteux family, who married into the Schiltz family, was the other. It was impossible to research the Beckers without also finding information on these families. Further research on these is on my to-do list. I have a good head start though, as I now know so much more about that upstate New York region, and the resources available. It demonstrates that wide and deep research has innumerable benefits.

Over the past months, I've written eleven posts which cover various aspects of this research, or incidental discoveries made on collateral lines:

From Canada to Cleveland, Edward Baker's Journey

Edward Baker's Iron Molding Career 

Rally Around the Team: A Fabulous Photo Find

First to Cleveland? Citizen? Finishing Up with Edward Baker's Story 

Hockey Sticks and Wedding Pics: New Photo Discoveries

Body of Evidence: Correcting Peter Schiltz's Death Location 

Beyond Sacramental Records: Find Family in Church Artifacts 

Discovering Belgian Origins 

Immigrant Ancestors: The Schiltz Family Arrives in 1845 

From New York to Canada: Why Did Joseph Becker Immigrate? 

An Intriguing Immigration Theory for Joseph Becker 

I have also recorded newly discovered information on my family tree as well as on the profiles of these ancestors on the FamilySearch Family Tree. This way, my research will hopefully be of help to others who share these ancestors with me. If you're one of them, I hope you'll keep in touch!


A Researcher's Aside: Sharing Resources

I'm dedicating this section of the post to fellow researchers who are focused on Wyoming County, New York. After spending several months looking at sources, repositories, maps, books, etc., in the area, I thought I would share my locality guide (based on a template created by Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer of Research Like a Pro). 

It includes quick facts, and many links to websites, databases, maps, gazeteers, record sets, info on repositories in the area, and much more. I hope that it is helpful. If you have a resource to add, please email me at ngcintx@gmail.com to let me know.

Click here to view the Wyoming County, New York Locality Guide. 

 

Until next time... 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin 

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2024. All rights reserved.


NOTES

1 "McKinnon Factory LaCrosse Team, 1906," unknown photographer, 1906, George Hope Collection, St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Center, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Digital image supplied by museum to N. Gilbride Casey, Tioga, TX, 2023.

2 Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51744550/johanes-becker : accessed 30 April 2024), Johanes Becker, memorial and headstone photo by "Jim and Elizabeth"; citing St. Cecilia Cemetery, Sheldon, Wyoming, New York. The inscription is written in German. The surname Becker is worn away, however, the names Jacob and Johanes are clearly visible. The information matches death and burial information for the "Infant Beker" and "Johanes Becker" in St. Cecilia Catholic Church parish records naming parents Joseph Becker and Barbara Shiltz. A separate Find a Grave memorial for Jacob is pending and an additional photograph has been requested. This is the only place the name Jacob is recorded.

3 Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51744547/elisabeth-becker : accessed 30 April 2024), Elisabeth Becker, memorial and headstone photo by "Jim and Elizabeth"; citing St. Cecilia Cemetery, Sheldon, Wyoming, New York. The inscription is written in German. Partial translation: Elisabeth Becker born February 1861 died September 1863.



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  1. Jenny May 5, 2024 at 5:56 PM

    What a great resource your locality guide is for other researchers!

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  2. Molly's CanopyMay 6, 2024 at 9:51 AM

    This post is a hearty endorsement for blogging as a spur to research. You learned so much! Also, thanks for the Wyoming County, New York Locality Guide. I don't have anyone from that county, but may use it as an outline to create guides for NY counties I do research.

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    Replies
    1. Nancy Gilbride CaseyMay 6, 2024 at 9:57 AM

      Full credit for the locality guide template to the Research Like a Pro team. They have this template available for free on their website. It's super helpful. Here's a link to all their templates: https://familylocket.com/rlp/.

      Also, the NYG&B publishes individual county research guides in case you did not know that. They are reasonably priced. I would still recommend doing your own guide, b/c that is how you get familiar with the available records for your particular area.

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