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 […]
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John Kruttschnitt Played a Practical Joke at His Sister’s Wedding Reception
Newspapers in New Orleans and other cities carried breathless accounts Rebecca Kruttschnitt (1889-1975) wedding in 1911 to English suitor Henry C. Woodhouse. The reports focused on the resplendent venue, the glamorous dresses worn by the bride and her maids, and the bountiful flowers that adorned the scene. They missed the most interesting event. “The wedding […]
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, and its beginnings in North America. This dogged pursuit took me to the home of the genealogical society in Logan County, Kentucky, where my third great-grandfather, J.R. Boyce, was born. When I showed the eminently […]
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 on the Internet, I wanted to believe that I was related to the great Moses Levy, a New York merchant who commissioned portraits for most family members. My fifth grandmother was a Levy, Eva Levy. […]