Another Favorite Thing - Family History, I Am Doing It!!

I remember now why I have been so bad about writing a journal. My day to day life is exciting to me, but may not be so exciting to others. One of the things that I love is family history research. I get it from my Dad who has selflessy devoted his life to genealogy research and temple work. I always thought that with all of the research Dad did, there was no need for me to get involved. Then, I realized that although Dad has found all there is to find within my direct line, there were stories about the people on Bob's side of the family, who also happen to be my children's ancestors, I wanted to know more about those people. It all started with a box of pictures in Grandma Lutz' closet. I started asking her about the people and realized that once she is gone, there was nobody left who even knows who they are. She had stories about family members but the stories handed down in a family are not always true and I wanted to learn about them for myself. I joined Ancestry.com and started doing research. I found that almost every County in the United States has a free family history site and the internet is filled with cemetery inscriptions, vital records, stories, old newspaper articles, immigration records and so much more. Not only that but it's not hard at all to find people who are willing to go to the local library or historical society to do research for you, for little to no money.


Allow me to introduce you to Mensenkamp family. The handsome person in the back row, second from the left, is Charles Leopold, Bob's grandfather. Other family members are parents Adolph and Mary Christine Kaiser. They had 8 children but oldest daughter Mary died as an infant. Sons are Robert, Charles, George, Roy and Elmer. Daughters are Elmer's twin Emma and Cora. Emma (next to her father) tragically committed suicide by drinking acid when she had a husband and 2 small children. Her sister Cora, who helped Emma's husband care for the children after her sister's death, ended up marrying him. Even though there were 5 sons in the family, there are no male heirs in this family or any of the other Mensenkamp families that came to the US together in the mid 19th century. The stories that have been handed down through the family are a start, but I have found through my research, are not always accurate. The true stories are much more interesting. Family history research, is fascinating and is the ultimate jigsaw puzzle. Thanks Dad for handing down the Spirit of Elijah to me.