#90: Restoring a Name to the Silence | Annie Strahle

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (2026-30): Free Space
The weekly prompt is provided by www.amyjohnsoncrow.com. The prompt for the week of July 20 is "Free Space."

As genealogists, we often go searching for milestones: the marriages, the homesteads, and the long lives that built our family trees. But sometimes, we uncover a life cut short—a story that simply slipped through the cracks of family memory over the past century and a half, lost to time until records bring it back to light.

In this post, I am rediscovering and sharing the forgotten story of my great-great-grandfather’s sister, Annie Strahle, 137 years after her death.

#89: A Record I Want to Understand Better | 1920 US Census for Elizabeth Sulki

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (2026-29): A Source I Want to Understand Better

The weekly prompt is provided by www.amyjohnsoncrow.com. The prompt for the week of July 13 is "A Source I Want to Understand Better." While Amy Johnson Crow provides a prompt, she understands that people will interpret it in many different ways. I have chosen to interpret a "source" as the specific document used to prove a fact, rather than a broader collection. For this week's post, I am going to get a better understanding of the 1920 U.S. Census for Elizabeth Sulki in the Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York.

This 1920 Census entry serves as the "fingerprint" of the family after they fled Washington. While the surname is recorded as "Sulki," the seven sons listed confirm the identity of the family.

#88: Mystery Monday #1 | The Death of Mary A.E. Malone Chappell

For my inaugural "Mystery Monday" genealogy blogging prompt, we are stepping into a chilling homefront mystery from the final year of the Civil War, uncovered through a striking contrast between official state records and a Depression-era federal history project.

[Update 11 Jul 2026: New evidence has been found! Please scroll to the bottom of this post for the resolution of this mystery.]

The Two Faces of Evidence

When researching family history, we often find that official documentation tells only half the story, leaving oral traditions to fill in the gaps. Such is the case with Mary A. E. Malone (1824–1864), daughter of Daniel and Wilmouth Malone of Dinwiddie County, Virginia.

Source Document	Date Recorded	Details Provided
Dinwiddie County Death Register	September 1864	Lists her cause of death simply as: "Killed."
WPA Historical Inventory (Report DIN288)	November 19, 1936	"Mary A. E. Malone, born May 5, 1824. Killed September 16, 1864, by a soldier during the war between the states."

Clipped portion of the 1864 Death Register for Dinwiddie County, Virginia. Mary is the bottom line, and the cause of death is visible in the far right column.