At this stage of life, my bucket list includes connecting my family to their Find A Grave memorials for the next generation of genealogists and their offspring.
My memorials are all family members. I have been researching my family's genealogy and history since the 1960's. It's as been a massive jigsaw puzzle that had more than half it's pieces missing. Thanks to years of working with historical societies and my love for a good mystery, finding the missing pieces and busting thru ' brick walls' has been more of a joy than a hardship . The following are assorted notes and 'brick wall busting's' I have collected over the past 40 or so years. I hope they help.
** For my Auren cousins, regarding the first "Auren" family members that came to this country from Sweden: email notes from Sweden received by me in 2004.
From: Kjell Nordqvist To: The Watson's Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 4:08 PM Subject: Re: Auren My assistant Anita has tried to find when Carl Aurén ( the first), first came to Karlskoga. She has noted that he was here in the middle of the 1830s and that he was a poor child adopted by people at Bregardstorp. Then he became a hired man and served with farmers at Bregardstorp and Bregarden. He then moved to Bjrokborn, where there was an ironworks and a farm. There he met Stina Maria Ersdotter, who had come to Karlskoga in 1835 They got married in 1842 April 4th. Already on March 20 the same year they had got their first child Johanna (got married to the tailor Bjorkman and moved to America with her family, as I have told you before. The Aurén family evidently lived on the land of the poor-house. We thank you for the information you have given us about the Aurén family in America, for which we have sent you info from here. Warm greetings, Kjell Kjell and Anita .
Other info: More old Emails - this one from Lars Bråthe: Hi Kim, As you can see many of the Aurén emigrants came from the Karlskoga and Degerfors area. Degerfors is situated 13 km south of Karlskoga. In approx 1884-1885 there was a recruitment campaign in the mining district (Bergslagen) for steel workers/smiths for Worcester, and very many went. Mainly they got work at American Wire Corp, which made barbed wire to fence the Midwest in.
This is described in a book (PhD thesis) by Hans Norrman (or Norman?) some 20 years ago. The Aurén name has something to do with gold (aurum in Latin) and the ending -én is usually something which appears for people studying at University at their entrance. If e.g. the student came from a place named "Gold-cliff" then it would have been possible for him to have the name Aurén at the entrance of the University studies (Rather than Johansson or Andersson or...). Best regards, Lars
Lars Bråthe (whose home town was Karlskoga and whose greatgrandfather had two brothers, who went to Worcester from Karlskoga).
For these emails I am extremely grateful. Thank you.

**For my Carter family cousins:
For those of us who are descendants of William Carter, I give the following as a gift to dispel anymore confusion about his two wives. William Carter married twice. First to Ann Dale Weldon, born about 1795, daughter of Thomas Weldon and Sarah Brownell. William Carter married her on Dec 21 1815 in Dorchester, Westmoreland, New Brunswick, Canada. She died on Feb 25, 1830 in the same town and is buried there. She was the mother of his first 7 children. William Carter then married Ann Dale Weldon (yes, they both had the same name!), daughter of Andrew Dale Weldon, (Thomas Weldon's brother) and Elizabeth Killam. William Carter married Ann Dale Weldon [number 2] on Aug. 11, 1830 in Westmoreland, New Brunswick, Canada. This Ann Dale Weldon was born Dec 25 1790 in Dorchester, Westmore, New Brunswick, Canada. She died Feb 18 1863 and is buried in Dorchester, Westmoreland, New Brunswick, Canada. She was the mother of Andrew Weldon Carter and my great great grandfather Edward Charles Carter (often known as Charles Edward or just Edward).

** For my Rowe cousins: Assorted notes on John Courtis Rowe Jr, who started life out as a cordwainer's (shoemaker's) son in Utica and died a commercial traveler going through Michigan.
From the original owner of his Find A Grave memorial came only this:
"Transit permit with burial in Auburn but no grave location"
So, from that I dug in with Ancestry. These are my notes:
He listed his occupation in multiple census records as commercial traveler. (Traveling salesman ?) His last census record for the State New York was in 1925, he is listed as a roomer, boarding with a family in Rochester, Ward 3 Monroe New York.
He married Sarah Elizabeth aka "Bessie" or "Libbie" Davies** and they had 6 children: Emma Elizabeth (1875 - 1953) married William L Weed (1866 - 1921), Mabel Lenore Rowe (1877 - 1969) never married, a son, Jessie Rowe (1879 1881), Irene Rowe (1882 - 1952), never married, Bessie H. Rowe (1884 - 1964), married Mostlyn Lloyd Jones (1880 - 1954), and Harry John Rowe (1887 - 1970) , married Edith Mae Schueler {1890 - 1961).
** Sarah Elizabeth Davies parents were Richard and Elizabeth Davies they had 7 children. They named TWO of their daughters Elisabeth moreover, both were called Libbie or Bessie.
When researching the family Davies, John C. Rowe Jr's wife is often confused with her older sister, Elizabeth (1856 - 1883) in census records due to the fact that they both were listed as Libbie or Bessie. But Mrs. Rowe's elder sister never married and died of Consumption at the age of 23. I have yet to find a Find A Grave memorial for John C. Rowe Jr's wife.

**Some assorted notes about the YALE and BATES families connections. I add it here because I have researched this information and found it true. And to the person who originally wrote this, (I don't know their name), I am eternally grateful. Thank You.
From the web: a descendant of the Yale and Bates family wrote,
"It is not the intent of this author to rewrite the YALE Family biography for this has been accomplished by far more studious and serious researchers than myself. It also is not my intent to plagiarize the works by the many noted YALE researchers and YALE family descendants such as Rodney Horace Yale or those works of collateral EATON-HOUGH-RICE-BOARDMAN-MERRIMAN-MIX-STREET-PECK-IVES-PARDEE-LINES-JACOBUS-CURTIS and BEACH family researchers. The happenstance that my Bates Family research has found intermixed YALE family in and around the Homer, N.Y., and Cortland County, New York area has helped me tie in the above mentioned collateral families who played an important role in the development and settlement of the surrounding Cortland, Chenango and Madison County areas of New York State.
I followed the link of my known ancestor Joseph Bates and his wife Amelia Babcock Bates with their friendship and marriage of three of their children into the large and well documented YALE family of Meriden and Wallingford, New Haven Connecticut. Waitstill Yale, the 6th generation descendant of Thomas Yale and Mary Turner is the subject of this Yale family descendances since he pertains to the Homer, Cortland County area. Waitstill was born in the town of Wallingford, Connecticut and later moved to Oriskany, N.Y. in Oneida County. He settled in Lenox, Madison County where he started the first of many of his 14 children by his one and only wife, Sarah Hover. Sarah is buried in Homer's Glenwood Cemetery in the plot of her son-in-law Alexander Bates. Waitstill fought in the battle of Oriskany during the Revolution at the young age of 16. He was the son of Waitstill Yale Sr. and his first wife Jemima Curtis. Waitstill Yale Sr. married as his second wife after the death of Jemima to Olive Boardman of Litchfield, Connecticut in 1775 where there were children were also produced. The Boardman family was huge and descendants were founders of the affluent town of Boardman, Ohio near Youngstown, Ohio Three children of Waitstill and Sarah Hover Yale were married into children of my 3d great grandfather Joseph Bates and Amelia Babcock Bates of Homer, N.Y. Lavina Yale, 14th child of Waitstill Yale . and Sarah Hover married the 4th child of Joseph and Amelia Babcock Bates named Alexander S. Bates. Moses Yale, the 12th child of Waitstill Yale and Sarah Hover married Alexander S. Bates' sister Helen D. Bates, the 6th child of Joseph and Amelia Babcock Bates. Clarissa Yale, daughter of Henry Yale, 7th child of Waitstill Yale Jr. and Sarah Hover was the niece of Lavina and Moses Yale. Clarissa or "Clarusha" married the 5th child of Joseph and Amelia Babcock Bates who was named Briggs Bates. Briggs remained with Clarissa in Lenox, Madison County, N.Y. They are buried in "Quality Hill" Cemetery or now called "Rural Lenox Cemetery" on the Nelson Road in Canastota, Madison County, N.Y." **

If you find that you have different or other information about any of my ancestors, please do share it with me. If I can help you, track down a piece of your genealogical puzzle - I will do my best to help.
If I have anyone's parents or grandparents memorials, contact me if you want them transferred to you. After all, we are all family.

At this stage of life, my bucket list includes connecting my family to their Find A Grave memorials for the next generation of genealogists and their offspring.
My memorials are all family members. I have been researching my family's genealogy and history since the 1960's. It's as been a massive jigsaw puzzle that had more than half it's pieces missing. Thanks to years of working with historical societies and my love for a good mystery, finding the missing pieces and busting thru ' brick walls' has been more of a joy than a hardship . The following are assorted notes and 'brick wall busting's' I have collected over the past 40 or so years. I hope they help.
** For my Auren cousins, regarding the first "Auren" family members that came to this country from Sweden: email notes from Sweden received by me in 2004.
From: Kjell Nordqvist To: The Watson's Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 4:08 PM Subject: Re: Auren My assistant Anita has tried to find when Carl Aurén ( the first), first came to Karlskoga. She has noted that he was here in the middle of the 1830s and that he was a poor child adopted by people at Bregardstorp. Then he became a hired man and served with farmers at Bregardstorp and Bregarden. He then moved to Bjrokborn, where there was an ironworks and a farm. There he met Stina Maria Ersdotter, who had come to Karlskoga in 1835 They got married in 1842 April 4th. Already on March 20 the same year they had got their first child Johanna (got married to the tailor Bjorkman and moved to America with her family, as I have told you before. The Aurén family evidently lived on the land of the poor-house. We thank you for the information you have given us about the Aurén family in America, for which we have sent you info from here. Warm greetings, Kjell Kjell and Anita .
Other info: More old Emails - this one from Lars Bråthe: Hi Kim, As you can see many of the Aurén emigrants came from the Karlskoga and Degerfors area. Degerfors is situated 13 km south of Karlskoga. In approx 1884-1885 there was a recruitment campaign in the mining district (Bergslagen) for steel workers/smiths for Worcester, and very many went. Mainly they got work at American Wire Corp, which made barbed wire to fence the Midwest in.
This is described in a book (PhD thesis) by Hans Norrman (or Norman?) some 20 years ago. The Aurén name has something to do with gold (aurum in Latin) and the ending -én is usually something which appears for people studying at University at their entrance. If e.g. the student came from a place named "Gold-cliff" then it would have been possible for him to have the name Aurén at the entrance of the University studies (Rather than Johansson or Andersson or...). Best regards, Lars
Lars Bråthe (whose home town was Karlskoga and whose greatgrandfather had two brothers, who went to Worcester from Karlskoga).
For these emails I am extremely grateful. Thank you.

**For my Carter family cousins:
For those of us who are descendants of William Carter, I give the following as a gift to dispel anymore confusion about his two wives. William Carter married twice. First to Ann Dale Weldon, born about 1795, daughter of Thomas Weldon and Sarah Brownell. William Carter married her on Dec 21 1815 in Dorchester, Westmoreland, New Brunswick, Canada. She died on Feb 25, 1830 in the same town and is buried there. She was the mother of his first 7 children. William Carter then married Ann Dale Weldon (yes, they both had the same name!), daughter of Andrew Dale Weldon, (Thomas Weldon's brother) and Elizabeth Killam. William Carter married Ann Dale Weldon [number 2] on Aug. 11, 1830 in Westmoreland, New Brunswick, Canada. This Ann Dale Weldon was born Dec 25 1790 in Dorchester, Westmore, New Brunswick, Canada. She died Feb 18 1863 and is buried in Dorchester, Westmoreland, New Brunswick, Canada. She was the mother of Andrew Weldon Carter and my great great grandfather Edward Charles Carter (often known as Charles Edward or just Edward).

** For my Rowe cousins: Assorted notes on John Courtis Rowe Jr, who started life out as a cordwainer's (shoemaker's) son in Utica and died a commercial traveler going through Michigan.
From the original owner of his Find A Grave memorial came only this:
"Transit permit with burial in Auburn but no grave location"
So, from that I dug in with Ancestry. These are my notes:
He listed his occupation in multiple census records as commercial traveler. (Traveling salesman ?) His last census record for the State New York was in 1925, he is listed as a roomer, boarding with a family in Rochester, Ward 3 Monroe New York.
He married Sarah Elizabeth aka "Bessie" or "Libbie" Davies** and they had 6 children: Emma Elizabeth (1875 - 1953) married William L Weed (1866 - 1921), Mabel Lenore Rowe (1877 - 1969) never married, a son, Jessie Rowe (1879 1881), Irene Rowe (1882 - 1952), never married, Bessie H. Rowe (1884 - 1964), married Mostlyn Lloyd Jones (1880 - 1954), and Harry John Rowe (1887 - 1970) , married Edith Mae Schueler {1890 - 1961).
** Sarah Elizabeth Davies parents were Richard and Elizabeth Davies they had 7 children. They named TWO of their daughters Elisabeth moreover, both were called Libbie or Bessie.
When researching the family Davies, John C. Rowe Jr's wife is often confused with her older sister, Elizabeth (1856 - 1883) in census records due to the fact that they both were listed as Libbie or Bessie. But Mrs. Rowe's elder sister never married and died of Consumption at the age of 23. I have yet to find a Find A Grave memorial for John C. Rowe Jr's wife.

**Some assorted notes about the YALE and BATES families connections. I add it here because I have researched this information and found it true. And to the person who originally wrote this, (I don't know their name), I am eternally grateful. Thank You.
From the web: a descendant of the Yale and Bates family wrote,
"It is not the intent of this author to rewrite the YALE Family biography for this has been accomplished by far more studious and serious researchers than myself. It also is not my intent to plagiarize the works by the many noted YALE researchers and YALE family descendants such as Rodney Horace Yale or those works of collateral EATON-HOUGH-RICE-BOARDMAN-MERRIMAN-MIX-STREET-PECK-IVES-PARDEE-LINES-JACOBUS-CURTIS and BEACH family researchers. The happenstance that my Bates Family research has found intermixed YALE family in and around the Homer, N.Y., and Cortland County, New York area has helped me tie in the above mentioned collateral families who played an important role in the development and settlement of the surrounding Cortland, Chenango and Madison County areas of New York State.
I followed the link of my known ancestor Joseph Bates and his wife Amelia Babcock Bates with their friendship and marriage of three of their children into the large and well documented YALE family of Meriden and Wallingford, New Haven Connecticut. Waitstill Yale, the 6th generation descendant of Thomas Yale and Mary Turner is the subject of this Yale family descendances since he pertains to the Homer, Cortland County area. Waitstill was born in the town of Wallingford, Connecticut and later moved to Oriskany, N.Y. in Oneida County. He settled in Lenox, Madison County where he started the first of many of his 14 children by his one and only wife, Sarah Hover. Sarah is buried in Homer's Glenwood Cemetery in the plot of her son-in-law Alexander Bates. Waitstill fought in the battle of Oriskany during the Revolution at the young age of 16. He was the son of Waitstill Yale Sr. and his first wife Jemima Curtis. Waitstill Yale Sr. married as his second wife after the death of Jemima to Olive Boardman of Litchfield, Connecticut in 1775 where there were children were also produced. The Boardman family was huge and descendants were founders of the affluent town of Boardman, Ohio near Youngstown, Ohio Three children of Waitstill and Sarah Hover Yale were married into children of my 3d great grandfather Joseph Bates and Amelia Babcock Bates of Homer, N.Y. Lavina Yale, 14th child of Waitstill Yale . and Sarah Hover married the 4th child of Joseph and Amelia Babcock Bates named Alexander S. Bates. Moses Yale, the 12th child of Waitstill Yale and Sarah Hover married Alexander S. Bates' sister Helen D. Bates, the 6th child of Joseph and Amelia Babcock Bates. Clarissa Yale, daughter of Henry Yale, 7th child of Waitstill Yale Jr. and Sarah Hover was the niece of Lavina and Moses Yale. Clarissa or "Clarusha" married the 5th child of Joseph and Amelia Babcock Bates who was named Briggs Bates. Briggs remained with Clarissa in Lenox, Madison County, N.Y. They are buried in "Quality Hill" Cemetery or now called "Rural Lenox Cemetery" on the Nelson Road in Canastota, Madison County, N.Y." **

If you find that you have different or other information about any of my ancestors, please do share it with me. If I can help you, track down a piece of your genealogical puzzle - I will do my best to help.
If I have anyone's parents or grandparents memorials, contact me if you want them transferred to you. After all, we are all family.