Grandma's Granny's Family Album

When I was 14, I saw Roots on TV and knew that I wanted to do that too.  Trace my family back to the Old Country and write a book about it.  So when I was 15, my mother gave me a genealogical research trip to Germany as an early graduation present. left, my mother and I at Sulzbach am Taunus on the way to the Hotel Sulzbacher Hof,   right ,  me at train station for Sulzbach am Taunus (Ts) me leaving Obernau, Sulzbach am Main 2 km ahead We were going on scant knowledge of my father's family ( see Sulzbach Pedigree Chart ) - my grandfather Jacob Sulzbach's birthdate and place, 1861 in Frankfurt, his emigration about age 18, their Roman Catholic religion, and the family's namesake hometown of Sulzbach.  Oh yes, and his maternal grandfather, name unknown, had been a burgermeister (mayor) of Frankfurt.  I had done research on my mother's family in Nova Scotia the year before and it was fairly easy - with a name, date, and hometown, you could go to the archives ...

Before genealogy was popular, I was asked a lot why I liked it.  Because it's a puzzle, I said, and everybody likes puzzles.  Family history is a seek-and-find puzzle:  in these 100 random letters, can you find the names you want?  Sometimes they are easily found in the top horizontal line, and sometimes you have to catch a break to discover them bafflingly diagonal and backwards.   I especially love names, and names in lists, which is why I can amaze students by knowing the pronunciation, spelling, and test scores of children I don't even teach.  One of my favorite things to do is follow the children in large families from one census to the next, checking names and ages to find out their futures:  did they die, move out, stay to take care of Mama and Papa, or change their name? Grandpa Val Wendel, age 3 Three generations back, the Wendel siblings make an especially fun puzzle, so I will include it here for you to try your hand at solving. (See We...