The life of Philip Benjamin (1779-1852) remains a mystery. But a review of his legal woes in the 1820s, when he was trying to raise a family, paints a clear portrait of him as a swindler. The first-generation Jewish American was in and out of court, losing case after case, with the exact ineffectual attorney, […]
James Richard Thompson: The Brains Behind the Operation
James Richard Thompson (1873-1927) was born in Virginia City, Montana, the second son of William Thompson (1832-1900) and Annie Marie Boyce (1846-1894). Relatives described him as an avid reader who lived in a house filled to the brim with books. The three boys – including William Boyce (1869-1930) and Joseph Edward (1875-1950) – were wonderfully […]
John Kruttschnitt Played a Bizzare Practical Joke at His Sister’s Wedding Reception
Newspapers in New Orleans and other cities carried breathless accounts of Rebecca Kruttschnitt’s (1889-1975) wedding in 1911 to English suitor Henry C. Woodhouse. The reports focused on the glorious venue, the glamorous dresses the bride and maids wore, and the bountiful flowers that adorned the scene. They missed the most exciting event. “The wedding reception,” […]
Roadblock Ahead: Tracing the Boyce Line Back to West Virginia
This amateur genealogist has spent many frustrating years trying to trace his Boyce line back to Hardy County, West Virginia. This dogged pursuit recently took me to the genealogical society of Logan County, Kentucky, where my third great-grandfather, J.R. Boyce, was born. Unfortunately, all hell broke loose when I showed the eminently helpful staff there […]
Charting My Jewish Roots Along a Misleading Path
I got woefully lost tracing my family’s Jewish roots and fell into a familiar trap. Like many family history researchers trolling the Internet, I wanted to believe I was related to the great Moses Levy, a New York merchant who commissioned museum-quality portraits for most of his family members. My fifth grandmother was a Levy, […]
Little to Nothing Remains of Philip Benjamin’s Time in Charleston
Nothing is worse than the crushing blow of dashed expectations, especially regarding genealogy research. I had high hopes that a recent visit to Charleston, S.C., would turn up something — a gravestone, a house, a place of business, anything — related to my fourth great-grandfather, Philip Benjamin (1779-1852). My spirits rose when a Google Maps […]
Major Life Events Probably Forced Simmers Family Moves
One thing that’s often lost in genealogy research is why families move. It’s relatively easy to find out where they moved using the Census or City Directories. Using Google Maps, you may even be able to quickly find the houses where your family once lived still standing. What you can rarely figure out, unless it […]
Was King Tut’s Curse the Real Cause of W.B. Thompson’s Demise?
Tabloids have established that an early visit to Kit Tut’s tomb was decidedly bad for your health — in fact, it might even kill you. A long list of famous people was presumably laid low for unwisely disturbing the pharaoh’s 3,000-year repose. Maybe it’s time to add William Boyce Thompson’s name to the list. According […]