Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Revisiting An Old Resource


Internet resources are constantly changing. New sites are always popping up—some with relatively great utility to genealogy researchers—and others are fading away, such as the GenForum site we discussed yesterday. Despite which direction any given digital property might be headed, one thing is certain: in the sheer multitude of sites, it is easy to lose track of some of the useful ones.

As I opened up this series on seeking my paternal grandmother’s relatives the other day, in a comment, reader Intense Guy reminded me of one such forgotten site I had always found helpful, the last time I had spent any serious time researching my New York ancestors: the site with a mission to preserve a historic newspaper resource.

The newspaper was—during most of the course of its history—known as The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Its value was in reporting what the rest of the people in the greater New York City area were up to—those many others not of sufficient social standing to make it into the annals of The New York Times.

The last time I had spent any serious time on my New York ancestors, this Brooklyn newspaper's archive was the focus of a scanning project, the results of which have, over time, found their virtual home in various places. I can’t even remember the first website address I used to search through its pages, well over twenty years ago. Later, I remember the address directed researchers to a spot at the Brooklyn Library.

Now, apparently, the project—including many more years of its issues than when I last visited its website—has moved once again. This time, the online repository is hosted by the New York Public Library. At least, that is the portal through which you can enter for the free access capabilities—though apparently, there is a connection with the subscription service Newspapers.com. At least, that’s the note I spied at the bottom of the search page: “Powered by Newspapers.com.”

When Iggy posted his comment about finding the engagement announcement of my grandmother’s nephew—Wilbur, son of Sophie Laskowska’s brother Michael Lasko—he had indeed found the right person. Between the mention in that brief article about Wilbur’s parents being “Mr. and Mrs. Michael Lasko” and other Lasko articles I was able to find through their search engine, I am certain this is the right party.
            Miss Ruth Louise Plocher, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Plocher of Ridgewood, and Boonton, N. J., and Wilbur G. Lasko are engaged to be married. The announcement was made on Feb. 12, the 22d wedding anniversary of Miss Plocher's parents.
            The bride-to-be, a member of Gamma Pi Delta Sorority, is a graduate of Pratt Institute. Her fiance, son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Lasko, is affiliated with the Texas Oil Company.

8 comments:

  1. I have used the Brooklyn Daily Eagle to research my New York relatives. I found a few useful things.

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    1. It's always great to stumble upon those "few useful things," Wendy. Sometimes, I think genealogical research is like that old Bible verse, "here a little, there a little, line upon line..." We make our momentous discoveries one tiny bit at a time.

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  2. I was searching around for what Walter might have been doing for the Texas Oil Company - given his census record says something about a barge repairman (the best I can decipher it). Sounds like he might have helped the oil company ship lubricating oils around NYC.

    It's interesting that Walter's wife's college was founded with oil money.

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    1. Yes! Isn't that interesting, Iggy? I noticed that, too. I'm hoping more will turn up on this family's story through newspaper reports--if not the Eagle, then through another newspaper...

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  3. Boy we would be lost without the Internet! :)

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    1. When I think of how much we can accomplish in such a short time span--compared to how long it would have taken, pre-Internet--the difference is thought-provoking. I'm not sure I'd be "lost"--after all, I do remember those pre-Internet days--but I definitely prefer all we can accomplish with the Internet than without it!

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  4. Hi Jacqi - I have really started researching my family history in the past month or two. Today I got to thinking about a childhood friend who said she was related to John Wilkes Booth. Her las name is Stevens. Her father's name is Larry and his brother's name is Sid. They both lived in Albany, Oregon. Are they any relations?

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and asking! Unfortunately, that set of names doesn't sound familiar. However, the Booth family has many, many descendants now--at least the one I am associated with. Whoever circulated that original story about the escaping John Wilkes Booth was likely in our family. It's amazing how far and wide that story went!

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