I've always been curious about the origins of the Yearke family; the name itself is quite unusual, and we've always subscribed to the truism that anyone with this name is a relative. Growing up, I never knew too much about our family, for various reasons. The Yearke family is not very large, and a good portion had moved out of the area by the time I was old enough to wonder about family history. Also, my Grandmother was not particularly close to anyone on that side of the family, nor was she to very many people on her side, the Dosters. My Grandfather had died when I was one year old, so I never got to ask him any questions about our family. I obviously didn't get to know him, either, but I am fortunate that my Dad has been able to tell me a lot about who he was and what he did.
On the other hand, I had heard many wonderful stories about "Ma" and "Pa" Harlach, my Great-Grandma Manquen, and many of the people on my Mom's side of the family. Her father's family, the Grubers, were not much talked about, as most of them had died back in the early part of the 20th century. However, the tales of 38 Sprenger easily fill the story quota for several families, and make up for this somewhat.
As I got older, I got more curious at to our origins and how the different people I had heard about were related. Finally, I decided to do something about it.
I started researching my ancestry in 1992, and did quite a bit over the following two years. The timing was fortunate, as my grandmother's siblings were all still alive, and I was able to get them together and ask them questions about the Harlachs and Manquens.
I also found a source of information that I hadn't seen mentioned in too many places: marriage records. I would sometimes take afternoons off from work and drive down to Erie County Hall, where they have City of Buffalo marriage records from the 1800's to about 1935 in a room in the basement. This room was open to the public at that time, and I am hoping that it still is.
Unfortunately, the demands of work and a growing family limited my time, so I shelved the hobby, along with some others (which I also hope to get going again soon).
In the spring and summer of 2003, I re-familiarized myself with my old notes, and started to pick up where I had left off. I have now realized that names and dates are not the only things that are important. There are people who should not be forgotten, and I am hoping to create a legacy for them by keeping memories of them alive for my children and any other relatives who might be interested. I hope to create biography pages for some of these outstanding individuals over the coming months and years, and I hope that others in my extended family find them interesting and enjoyable.
I consider myself to be, at best, a novice genealogist. I do not know if the methods I've used to date are good, practical, or efficient. However, they've worked so far, and I've been able to obtain lots of valuable information. I suppose at some point I should read a book on orthodox methods for conducting genealogical research, but for now I'm having fun doing what I'm doing.
Return to My Main Genealogy Page