I’ve adapted Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge.
Each week I follow my children’s ahnentafel numbering to select the featured ancestor, ensuring no one through the mid–sixth generation is left behind.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2026 Week 37: A Small Detail I Love

Who to Chase?

My Week 37 ancestor is Fanny Segal. Fanny is someone whose name is the detail I’m trying to pin down.

Precious Little Info

I have no direct records of Fanny. Her name comes from records her son, Joseph Frank, left behind.

Record	Date	Mother’s name	Mother’s birth place
Joseph’s marriage	1888	Fanny	Not asked
Joseph’s death	1916	Sophie [?] Segal*	Russia

* Upon further reflection, I rather doubt my reading of “Sophie.” The copy I have is extremely blurry but I no longer think it says Sophie. New York City is digitizing its vital records, but has not yet gotten around to Manhattan 1916. The first letter is in line with other capital “S” in the record.

An Important Detail

It might be worth a trip into New York City to try to get a better copy of Joseph’s death certificate. I’ve found no potential siblings for Joseph to try to chase his parents that way. So on reflection, I’ve realized that I don’t really know one very important detail about Fanny Segal—her name. Every question answered, every recheck, seems to lead to more research – and more possibilities!

Why, oh why can’t they digitize Manhattan fully?

AI Disclosure

This post was created by me with the help of AI tools. While AI helps organize research, the storytelling and discoveries are my own.

Next Week’s Topic: A Document With Personality