Carnival of Genealogy, 51st Edition

Welcome to the 51st edition of the Carnival of Genealogy!
In this edition, as a tribute to Independence Day, our topic: Independent Spirit. There are so many great posts about men and women who took a different path than others. They set out on their own and did things their way even when others said "it won't work" or "are you crazy?"

These are the ancestors and family members who make our trees all the more interesting, who help the roots branch out in unexpected offshoots, and who add the sparkle when the sun shines down through those leaves.

In She Went West and Climbed Mt. Rainier by Susan Kitchens, read about her grandmother Edy - a woman with "pluck and stamina" at Family Oral History Using Digital Tools. You'll see a fascinating story documented with a unique photographic record of Edy's climb up that volcano.

Next, Ken Spangler offers An Independent Woman! at Beyond Fiction. In a touching tribute to a truly independent woman, Ken recalls his Aunt Juanita who recently passed away. After you read how she took on every adversity without complaint, you'll wish that you too had an Aunt Juanita.

In Katarzyna Dańko: Veterinarian, Witch, and Exile by Stephen J. Danko we hear about Steve's second cousin twice removed. At Steve's Genealogy Blog learn about this "wise woman" Katarzyna who was known in her small village as a "quack veterinarian" with supernatural powers.

The story of Lois Green is waiting to be uncovered over at footnoteMaven. In Free Spirit? by footnoteMaven, we learn only parts of the story but what parts they are! A madam in a New Orleans brothel? A ship-builder who finished a boat in her backyard in 12 months? Fascinating.

In Nama, my independent spirit by Janet Hovorka at The Chart Chick, you can read a long and insightful story of this one-of-a-kind woman. From running the family's car through a drugstore window to building up a bus company and mingling with Hollywood's Old Guard, Nama's story is colorful to say the least.

Jasia, the Goddess of COG, gives us An Independent Lady over at Creative Gene. This post is not only typical of the strong writing skills Jasia consistently offers her readers, but along with her digital scrapbook record of her grandmother Zofia Mizera, she takes us into a life of an independent woman.

Well, it is about time we men prove that we too can be independent. And Becky Wiseman at kinexxions does just that in Robert Quillen - An Independent Spirit. She writes of a cousin who was a contemporary of Will Rogers and during the first half of the 20th century was a well-known and oft-published "paragrapher." Read about Robert's life and his works - and about the statue to Eve!

Amanda Erickson's great-grandmother sounds like a real pistol. In Independent Spirit - Thelma (Seibert)Furry at Random Ramblings, learn more of Thelma who was the first female trial lawyer in Akron, Ohio and who had an FBI file several inches thick!

In Hilaire Bergmeister: A Tribute to An Aunt by Donna Pointkouski at What's Past is Prologue, follow the journey of Donna's great-great aunt from Bavaria to Philadelphia. Donna's great post shows that Hilaire was indeed a "good aunt" who took care of many family members.

While still trying to document a man who may or may not be an ancestor, Jessica Oswalt at Jessica's Genejournal reveals to us the life of Christoph Friedrich Cotta. Read A Probable Ancestor: The Independent and Spirited Christoph Friedrich Cotta to learn more.

I found Tim Abbott of Walking The Berkshires's tale of his Uncle Archie intriguing and humorous. In One Cannot Be an Honest Atheist Without a Fairly Thorough Knowledge of Religion": The Life and Letters of Archibald G. Ogden read about Archie, his letters to family, and his role in getting Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" published.

In Canadian Army - S-7 - CAAS. Brockville - Administrative Training Wing - August 1944 by M. Diane Rogers at CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt' you can find out more about the author's quite independent mother. She enlisted in the army during World War II and despite the protests of her family, she became a "conscientious, careful officer, who knows her work."

You just have to read Owed to an Ugly Wife by Terry Snyder at Desktop Genealogist. How does the song go, "If you want to be happy for the rest of your life . . ."

Randy Seaver presents Martin Carringer (1758-1835), an Independent Spirit posted at Genea-Musings. Randy posits that while he doesn't know much about Martin Carringer, it is often the elusive hard-to-research ancestors who are the independent spirits.

Laura presents Almira Losee's Declaration of Independence posted at The Virtual Dime Museum. Almira sure was a brave woman to go up against Brigham Young and the Mormons in 1877!

Miriam Robbins Midkiff takes the opportunity to highlight one of her "single" ancestors as she presents An Independent Man: John WILKINSON, Jr. posted at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors.

I was hoping that someone would write about the Loyalists and Kathryn Lake Hogan fulfilled my wish as she presents Loyalist Spirit posted at Looking4Ancestors. I also appreciate the fact that Kathryn, along with many other Canadian genea-bloggers, tied their stories in with Canada Day which is July 1st.

Is it really nutty to leave family and friends and move to another continent or country? In Independent Spirit posted at Transylvanian Dutch, John Newmark writes that doing so was a sure sign of an independent spirit.

Bill West presents John Prescott posted at West in New England. Read about Bill's ancestor who dared to cross the Puritans in early Massachusetts.

In Independent From Birth - Carnival of Genealogy 51st Edition posted at All My Branches Genealogy, we learn of Wendy Littrell's ancestor Eve. Here's an interesting post of a young girl given up for adoption, her search for her birth mother, and then in her early 40's being in the same position of giving up her own daughter.

Robert Lord presents Lord and Lady: Vern Olyer Independant and Free Spirited posted at Lord and Lady. Read about Robert's Uncle Vern who was a perfect role model and had quite a few adventures.

Finally, in my own post at Destination: Austin Family, you won't be able to read about any one specific ancestor who had an independent spirit. In Did They Know Their Independence? I explore the traits of the free-spirits in my family tree and how they handled the gift of self-expression.

Thanks to all our contributors for telling us about those "colorful leaves" in their family trees make them that more beautiful and interesting!

And now it's time for the call for submissions to the 52nd Edition
of the Carnival of Genealogy which and will be hosted by Lisa at 100 Years in America: a focus on the simple topic of AGE.

As family historians, we take time to carefully mark the birthdates of our forebearers. We print out family tree charts including this all-important data. We make it a point to note at what age family members have married, had children and passed away.

Take some time to look over the data that you have collected on members of your family tree, and share a story of age with us for the upcoming edition of the carnival. Do you have a member of the family who went to work to support the family while still of a tender age? Someone who accomplished something that was typically done by others beyond his or her years? A couple who married young? A couple with disparate ages? A family member who accomplished something of note at an advanced age? How about family members that lived many years, outlasting many of their relatives and friends?

With the understanding that "age is often a state of mind", share your family story about someone whose story stands out because of their age, either young or old. Submit your blog article for the Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

The deadline for submissions is July 15th.