I’m having some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (#SNGF), with help from Randy Seaver and his prompts! Feel free to join in.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: May 2, 2026

Prompt: “What did your ancestral families do during the Great Depression (1930-1940)? Did they keep their jobs and standard of living?  Did they suffer personally or economically?”

Introduction

My grandmother told me that her father, Henry Makey, had gotten a pay cut during the Depression and they moved to a cheaper apartment. What can I learn around that?

Discussion

In the 1930 census [Ancestry link], as the Great Depression was just getting going (the stock market had crashed on October 28, 1929), Henry Makey (or someone) informed the census taker that they were paying $73 rent for their family of five. He worked as a steamroller engineer on NYC asphalt (Grandma said he paved the streets). The family owned a radio.

Two of the children moved out in the 1930s. From the way Grandma talked, it sounds like she married out (1935) after they moved to the smaller place, but I would love to go to a library for city or telephone directories to verify.

In the 1940 census [Ancestry link], Henry Makey rented at a different place in Queens, for $48 rent, for his family of three. He was still in the same occupation and had earned $3,120 for 52 weeks of work in 1939. That works out to about $60 a week. They reported that he was in the “same place” in 1935.

Grandma’s memory holds up well. The records do not directly show Henry’s pay cut, but they do show the Makey family moving from a $73 apartment in 1930 to a $48 apartment by 1940, while Henry continued in the same line of work and worked a full 52 weeks in 1939. That suggests the Depression did not push him out of work, but it may still have changed what the family could comfortably afford. Moving to a cheaper apartment was exactly the kind of practical adjustment a family might make when income became uncertain or reduced.

ChatGPT, 03May2026

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.

I’m having some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (#SNGF), with help from Randy Seaver and his prompts! Feel free to join in.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: April 25, 2026

Prompt: “Who Is Ancestor #50 in your Ahnentafel list?  What were his birth date and place, his parents, death date and place, spouse’s name, marriage date and place, and how many children they had, and which of his children do you descend from?”

Introduction

I’ve been working since 2021 on an ancestry book based on my children’s ahnentafel. So those are the only ancestor numbers I talk about! That particular number is assigned to Andrew Driskol, on my side. My children descend from Andrew through his daughter Anna Driskol, who married Michael Joseph Anderson in 1906.

Discussion

Andrew would be my children’s 3x great grandfather. What an interesting choice! Andrew is such a mystery to me. Despite the fact that he lived well into the late 19^th century, I have not yet found direct evidence of his existence. Everything I have is something that was reported by/around his children regarding their father.

I believe Andrew was born ca. 1835-1840. He apparently moved to England and married Malvina Hendell probably between 1860 and 1864. Based on children, he probably emigrated to the US about 1868-1869, followed by his wife and eldest children (ages 11 and 9) in 1875. (Malvina’s immigration is the first paper trail I have on any of them.)

They had children in New York City, then Staten Island, Richmond County, New York, until 1883.

I believe he died about 1890, since his eldest son purchased property then, suggesting assumption of family financial responsibility. By the 1900 census, Malvina was a widow and eldest son Edward was the head of household. Malvina died soon after.

Genealogical Summary

Andrew Driskol was born ca. 1835-1840 in Prussia. He married Malvina Hendell probably between 1860 and 1865, possibly in England. Andrew immigrated to the United States about 1868-1869, followed by his wife and eldest children about 1875. He died between 1883 and probably 1890. Documentation for Andrew’s life derives primarily from his children’s vital records, as direct records for him have not been located in standard repositories.

Children of Andrew Driskol and Malvina Hendell:

                                   i. Edward A DRISKOL was born in Feb 1865 in Germany. He arrived on the Holland in 1875. He lived on Van Pelt Ave in Staten Island between 1890 and 1900. In 1900 Edward was an Electrician. He moved to Queens between 1928/9 and 1938. He died after 1938. Note: I don’t believe Edward ever married – in one rather late land record, he was referred to as “single man.”

                                   ii. (perhaps) Edith DRISKOL was born about 1866 probably in England. Note: I believe she died young.

                              2  iii. Mary Malvina DRISKOL, born Mar 1873, New York City ; married Eugene HEMSTREET, 14 May 1891, Northfield, Staten Island; married Francis J VAN DUSKY, 14 Apr 1926, Manhattan; died 9 Mar 1938, Staten Island. Note: Interestingly, after Josephine died, and her sister Mary was widowed, Mary married Josephine’s widower. They had no children, but Mary did by her first husband: Grace, Edward, and Lillian.

                              3  iv. Josephine R DRISKOL, born 1878, Staten Island; married Francis J VAN DUSKY, 27 Dec 1899, Staten Island; died 4 Apr 1925, Staten Island. They also had three children: Edward, Mildred, and Dorothy.

                              4  v. Anna DRISKOL (my ancestor), born 10 Jul 1880, Staten Island; married Michael Joseph ANDERSON, 16 Aug 1906, Staten Island; died 19 May 1922, Staten Island. They had four children: Theresa, Mary, Frances, and Edward, my grandfather.

                                   vi. Joseph DRISKOL was born on 5 Jan 1883 in New York City. Joseph died on 27 Nov 1925 at the age of 42 in Staten Island. He never married.

Challenge

Andrew has always been a challenge to me. Every so often, I resolve to try again on him, and one day I will break through!

I blogged about Andrew in Disappeared and again in Overlooked.

Who is YOUR #50?

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.

I’m having some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (#SNGF), with help from Randy Seaver and his prompts! Feel free to join in.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: April 18, 2026

Prompt: “Have you found an unexpected record recently (or at any time) in your genealogy and family history research?  A document, a book, an article, a letter, etc. This week, please tell us about that unexpected record find and how it helped your research.”

Introduction

My most unexpected record was a letter written by my ancestor 343 years ago!

Discussion

How often has “dumb luck” aided our research? Probably more often than we would like to admit. This was one of those moments.

I submitted a genealogical query and received a response that broke a brick wall wide open. Suddenly, three new generations appeared. When I searched for the oldest of them, I struck gold.

Louis Thibou and his family were French Huguenots who fled France as religious tensions escalated. They went first to London, then sailed to Carolina, where they settled near Charleston in 1680.

Three years later, Louis wrote a letter to his friend Gabriel Boutefoy in London, encouraging him and his friends to come as well. Somehow, that letter has survived. I was blessed to hold it in my own hands at the South Caroliniana Library.

The letter reads almost like a promotional piece for Carolina, but it also contains priceless family detail: “God has given us a son who is called Jacob after the one we lost in England; the captain of a warship was his godfather. Gabriel is well and kisses the hands of his godfather and godmother.” Young Gabriel was my ancestor. I can’t begin to express the awe I felt holding that letter in my hands. Louis thought he was reaching across an ocean but he was also reaching across centuries.

That is what astonishes me most: after all the careful, methodical work that went into finding this line, I was suddenly able to hear my ancestor’s voice across more than three centuries. Research takes discipline, yes, but sometimes it also feels like grace.

Figure 1: Me with the letter written (in French) by my 9^th great grandfather.

References

• A brief history of the Huguenots may be found at Huguenots | South Carolina Encyclopedia
• More on the passengers of the Richmond is at Who Were the Passengers on the Richmond?
• A webpage about Louis’ letter has been archived at Letter from Louis Thibou to friends and family in France, 1683 | archive.org

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.

I’m having some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (#SNGF), with help from Randy Seaver and his prompts! Feel free to join in.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: April 11, 2026

Prompt: “Do you have an ancestor with no defined birth and death dates or places? This week, please tell us about that ancestor and what clues you used to estimate a birth and death dates and places.”

Introduction

I hope you don’t mind if I interpret this week’s prompt a little loosely and apply it to a marriage date rather than a birth or death date.

While tracking my ancestor Jason Smith, it became clear that he had two wives. I first suspected that because a relative posted a tree online saying she was descended from his first wife. That left me trying to figure out when Jason married my ancestor Mary Denny, who then became the elusive Mary Smith. Sigh.

My Response to the Prompt

Because the children were born in the 1830s and 1840s, there was not much documentation in their records to clearly identify their mothers.

So I started with the children and looked for patterns in the sequence, especially any gap that might suggest a death and remarriage. Here is the lineup I was working from:

Adelia Smith, b. ?
William Mulford Smith, b. 14 May 1835
Deborah Ann Smith, b. 31 Dec 1837
Jason A. Smith, b. 20 Mar 1839
Mary Catharine Smith, b. 30 Oct 1841
George Henry Smith, b. 1 Oct 1843
Charles Edward Smith, b. 12 Jul 1845
Oscar F. Smith, b. ca. 1846
Alice Matilda Smith, b. 16 Feb 1850
Sarah H. Smith, b. Jan 1852
Lewis N. Smith, b. Aug 1859

Looking at that list, I suspected the wife change happened somewhere in the middle, but I did not think it was as late as Alice’s birth in 1850.

Then, finally, a newspaper notice turned up online.

I found an item in the Baptist Advocate dated November 14, 1840, and that gave me a much firmer point on the timeline.

That newspaper notice, announcing the November 4, 1840 marriage of Mr. Jason M. Smith and Miss Mary Denny, helped clarify when Jason’s household changed. So, my working theory based on the children’s birth dates turned into something much stronger once I had contemporary evidence to support it.

This guy did not waste any time finding a mama for his littles.

It was a good reminder that when exact dates are missing, we often build a timeline first from the children, the census, and whatever indirect clues we can gather, and then wait for one good record to bring the picture into focus.

How do you estimate unknown dates?

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.

I’m having some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (#SNGF), with help from Randy Seaver and his prompts! Feel free to join in.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: March 28, 2026

Prompt: “Write a story using the phrase “ancestor I really admire” in 200 words.”

Discussion

There are many ancestors I admire, but one stands out: Theresa Kilkenny Anderson (abt 1851–1911).

Theresa’s life reads like a series of losses. Born in Ireland during The Great Hunger, she disappears from her early family and reappears as a young newlywed in New York City. She and her husband, Michael, lost their first child, and though more children followed, hardship did not leave her. She was widowed while pregnant – and then lost that child as well.

And yet, she kept going.

Years later, I find her in the census, working as a laundress, supporting the three children still at home. What I love most is that she was living in the same house as her married daughter. Despite everything, she kept her family close. She was part of her grandchildren’s lives – children old enough to remember her.

When she died, two of her sons paid for her burial.

Theresa could have folded under the weight of her losses. Instead, she built a life defined not by what she lost, but by the family she held together.

She is an ancestor I really admire.

For more information, I wrote more about here in this blog post.

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.