Wordless Wednesday: Meet Edward and Jane
OK, not entirely wordless this week. These are my great-grandparents, Edward Tragheim (1881 – 1971) and Jane Ann Waddell (1879 – 1973). They are my mother’s father’s parents.
I’ve been doing some intensive genealogical research recently and Edward was the son of Edward Tragheim (1861-1939), who was the son of Samuel Tragheim (1834 – ????), who was the son of Mendel Tragheim, from Hasenpoth (Aizpute), in Courland, Latvia, which was at that time part of Russia. Mendel and Samuel were certainly Jewish, but Samuel married in church and no one in my family had any notion of a Jewish connection until last week. They’re taking it well 
I’d really like to figure out where and when Samuel died. He appears to have left his family in Scotland to move to London, where he made at least two patent applications. He then moved to Manhattan where he remarried a Johanna Lesser in 1877. There’s also a marriage in 1875 between a Samuel Tragheim and an Ann Smith in St. Louis, Missouri. Could that be the same Samuel? What an interesting possibility!
20 Responses to “Wordless Wednesday: Meet Edward and Jane”
About this entry
You’re currently reading “Wordless Wednesday: Meet Edward and Jane,” an entry on Bodhipaksa's blog, bodhi tree swaying
Published: Dec 02 2008
Tags and categories
Tags: Adoption/Family, genealogy, Tragham/Tragheim, Wordless Wednesday
Category: Adoption/Family
I’m fascinated by your research. How cool it is to dig into family history as deeply as you have.
I look forward to more…I’m sure you’ll be more than happy to keep us posted, right?
Hi Carmi,
Cool, indeed. Also very time-consuming. And starting to get expensive! But today I talked to a relative in Edinburgh who is part of a branch of the family we knew existed but had lost touch with. She’s my second cousin, once removed. That is very, very gratifying!
I’ll certainly keep you posted. Apart from anything else I want to put posts up here that attract the attention of other people researching my family’s history.
How cool! I started a genealogy of our families but did not get very far… it’s difficult when all the pertinent info. is in another country.
Come see what Santa is arriving in this year…in this year… *snicker snicker*
Happy WW!
Hi MZ!
It depends on the country. I’m in the US researching family in Scotland and England. Scotland has almost everything prior to 100 years ago scanned, in a database, and searchable online. It’s amazing. I can search, see a summary of results, and then pay a small fee for a scan or a big fee to have a hard copy mailed to me. England is more backward and all you can see is a really crappy summary and then pay a big fee to get a hard copy.
Ancestry.com has a lot of US information, although it’s a ridiculous $29.95 a month. They do a free two-week trial, though, so you can do what I did and not sleep for 14 days straight while you download every half-way pertinent record.
How fascinating! I’ve never really dug too far beyond information I’ve obtained from family. How exciting to uncover such mysteries. Great photo.
don’t you find when doing research, that the more you find out, the more you realize you don’t know.
I worked our tree for several years and then quit in frustrations. There just wasn’t enough information to fill me.
Amazing! It doesn’t even look like a photo. What a great entry.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melissalynn12/1199941488/in/set-72157604974156109/
Great photo, and a really interesting story. Jewish roots can appear in all sorts of interesting places (this coming from someone who is Jewish and South Asian).
Great picture, Bodhi!!! I love vintage WW posts, I have done a few myself.
Thanks for coming to see my post here! Feel free to participate of my little Christmas giveaway as well!
Great photo. This is such a wonderful picture. You’re fortunate to have access to this piece of family history.
Happy WW, and thanks for sharing.
Love those old family photo’s and heritage information. Great post.
Wow. History fascinates me. Thank you for sharing this!
I reckon there’s a possibility that my family that fled Germany in the 1830’s might have been Jewish, but I doubt we’ll ever be able to prove it.
First . . . Happy WW!
Second, my Dad, Grandpa, and I are really into genealogy. I loved this blog. I recently blogged some of my family history too. I love old pictures like this too.
Love old photos, especially when someone remembers the story behind them. Thanks for sharing this.
Brilliant! What a treasure for you.
Great picture and awesome history!
Old photos are absolutely fascinating…they are full of unanswered questions, especially if the people are unknown. Great that you are checking out your Genealogy. Lovely choice for WW.
Hi Pamela,
That’s absolutely true. The few scraps of information I can find out about my ancestors come nowhere close to being lives. The more I find out about them the more I want to know what they were really like. I plan to interview and record some of the older family members to make sure their recollections are preserved.
I don’t think i invited you to my contests
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Acutally, It looks like I didn’t comment last time I came by. That picture looks like some pictures my grandmother has