Getting Started

This all started with Misty Lucas, my sister-in-law in Oklahoma, and Amanda Flynn, my sister-in-law in Omaha.  I blame them for what has happened to my time since!  They both started on Ancestry.com and I resisted as long as I could.  But when Billy Thomas passed away November 25, and my Dad had given me a packet of old family photos from Aunt Peg (Billy's mother) a couple weeks before, I could not resist any longer.

I want to record as much of our family history as I can.  I want to capture stories that have been passed down so we know more than simply when someone was born and when they died.  I want to know what kind of life they lived, if we can discover that as much as possible.

Grandma Millie asked me to scan some photos to send to my Mom's first cousin in California.  On the backs of some of the photos it would say things like, "My brother, your grandfather", or something like that.  But what I find even more amusing is the cars in the photos would always be clearly labeled: "1932 Chevy."  This stack of photos had me just as intrigued, and off I set to ask Grandma questions and record some of the people and stories.

I think Ancestry.com is an amazing tool, but it is difficult to share some of the stories that I find, so I hope to do that here.  I also hope this can serve as a repository for some of the photos and documents we find.

We are going to learn a lot about the Lucases, Flynns, Zadinas, Dervins, Budins, Denahys, Kirkpatricks, etc.  Hang on for the ride...it should be a good one!

Here is a photo and record to get us started.  The photo was in the stack from Grandma Mil to scan for Bob Zadina.  This is my Great Grandmother Frances Budin Zadina, and her brother, sister, and parents - my Great, Great Grandparents.

So, tracing the genealogy line:
Frances' parents ___ & ___ Budin, sitting in the photo, (get to hunt for this on Ancestry.com), my great, great grandparents from Bohemia
Their daughter, Frantiska Frances Budin, my great grandmother
Her son, Joseph Francis Zadina, my grandfather
His daughter, Mary Zadina Flynn, my mother
Her daughter, Michaela Flynn Lucas, me

In looking up Frantiska Budin, I found the Passenger List for when she arrived in New York in 1905, via Bremen.  Here is the document, line 2 (click to make it larger):

Ship Name: Kaiser Wilhelm II
Port of Arrival: New York
Birth Date: About 1886
Name: Frantiska Budin
Age 19
Female
Single
Seamstress
Able to read and write
Nationality (Country of Which Citizen or Subject): Bohemia
Race or People: Bohemia
Last Residence: Potech, Bohemia
Final Destination: Omaha, Nebr
She had a ticket to the final destination
By whom was passage paid: Self
Whether in possession of $50, and if less, how much?  $3
Whether ever before in the US: No
Whether going to join a relative or friend; and if so, what relative or friend, and his name and complete address.  Br in law: Jos. (?) Koreny (???) 1915 So. 14th Str. Omaha, Nebr. (If someone can help with the spelling of the name, would be much appreciated!)
Ever in prison or aimshouse, or institution for care and treatment of the insane, or supported by charity? If so, which? No
Whether a Polygamist? No
Whether an Anarchist? No
Whether coming by reason of any offer, solicitation, promise or agreement, express or implied, to labor in the U.S. No
Condition of Health, Mental and Physical. Good
Deformed or Crippled. Nature, length of time, and cause. No

Ship Details:
Ship in Service from 1903-1917
4 Funnels, 3 Masts
Shipping Line: North German Lloyd
Note: Largest express liner in the world built to date. Dining room was 108 feet by 69 feet wide. Height from keel to roof of smoking room was 72 feet high. Won the trans-Atlantic speed record in 1903. Her best days' run being 564 nautical miles. Passengers: 775 first, 343 second, 770 third. Maiden voyage: Bremen-Southampton-New York, April 14, 1903. Renamed: (a) Agamemnon (1917), (b) Monticello (1927) United States Government. Scrapped at Baltimore in 1940. Running mates: Kronprinzessin Cecilie (identical), Kronprinz Wilhelm and Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.