Back to the Blogosphere

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It’s been over a month since I last posted on the blog—the longest break I’ve ever taken. But I really needed it.

But in the month I’ve been away from blogging (and pretty much away from the laptop), I’ve nevertheless learned a great deal related to my extended family tree. In these five weeks, I have heard from numerous new cousins who found me through the blog. So even while I was taking a break from new research, the blog has been doing its work, helping me find new cousins and new information.

So in the weeks to come I will introduce these new cousins and share the stories and photos and new information they’ve shared with me about their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents.  I have been moved by all of them and am so grateful that they’ve all reached out to me and made these connections.

Two sad notes. My cousin Henry Rosenberg died earlier this month at the age of 94. I had had a lovely conversation with Henry back in the fall, and he was engaged and warm and friendly and so willing to share his life story with me. I was shocked and saddened to learn that he had passed away. I wrote about Henry and my conversation with him here, here, and here. He was related to me through our mutual ancestors Abraham and Geitel Katz Blumenfeld, Henry through their son Moses and me through their daughter Breine.

Also, on November 27, 2022, my cousin Joan Lorch Staple passed away after living a remarkable life for more than 99 years. Joan was related to me through our mutual ancestors, Jacob Seligmann and Martha Mayer, she through their daughter Martha and me through their son Moritz, my three-times great-grandfather. I will share more about Joan’s remarkable life in my next post.

Losing these two wonderful cousins—both of whom were born in Germany in the 1920s and escaped from the Nazis with their families as young people, both of whom went on to live very long and productive lives—reminded me once again of the urgency of the task of finding cousins and learning their history before it is too late.

And so I return to blogging with a renewed commitment to tell the stories of those in my extended family tree.

See you next week!

18 thoughts on “Back to the Blogosphere”

  1. As a young man, I planned to write about our family roots. Then the time came to raise my own family. There was no time to research, and all my uncles and aunts died. Now I see the same thing happening to our children raising their families. So now you know the reason for writing my family story, Amy.
    Best wishes for your exploration of your ancestry!

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  4. So sorry to hear about the deaths of your cousins. So much history gone. I’m glad you had a restorative break. I was glad to have one, too, and glad to resume the stories. I’ve found that the short blog pieces are much more fun than writing books. But I think the books need to be done, too.

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  7. Hi Amy, glad you feel better after your break, it’s good to study ourselves sometimes isn’t it ? Sorry to read about your cousins, gosh what long lives they had.

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