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A close call
History happens. Our family story almost didn’t. Dad served on the USS Essex in World War II. She was the first of a new class of aircraft carriers commissioned for service in the…
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Greetings from Ron and Dee
We had hoped to join our son’s family on vacation this summer, but the airline software mess gave us a staycation instead. We look forward to a slower time in their company. Our…
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Edwin Frank Springsteen, 1924-2016
My father, Edwin Frank Springsteen, was born a hundred years ago on November 30, 1924. He made his entrance on the Brink farm in Watertown Township, Clinton County, near DeWitt, Michigan. Dad joined…
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Glimpses of Aggie Springsteen
I was fortunate to know two of my great-grandmothers. Grandma Springsteen lived about an hour away in Lansing, Michigan but I remember her extended visits to Sheridan. I was fifteen years old when…
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A brief lesson in European research
I was wrong. European records are a challenge. I was wrong about this one. Understanding European records I have investigated my deep American ancestry for decades and still have much to share from…
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Time to gather at the river
The last Sunday in July is upon us again. It’s time for Verda Case Springsteen Olsen’s clan to meet, greet and eat at the pavilion in East Riverside Park in Belding. The next…
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Children of Lodewyk Van Sande and Monica Meert—his, hers, and theirs
Families can be complicated, and immigrant families might be even more challenging to sort out. My wife Dee’s great-grandparents Frans Lodewyk Van Sande (later Louis Van Zandt) and Monica Meert had at least…
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Emma Van Zandt, the forgotten grandmother
Emma Van Zandt had at least twelve grandchildren, but I don’t know how many of them knew her. If you, dear reader, knew Emma or her husband Richard, I would sure like to…
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The passing of a generation
Dorothy Marie Springsteen, 1930-2024 My aunt Dorothy passed from this life recently, leaving the world with a great family. Some of them were gathered at her home in 2015 to meet her great…
