Christmas in March

I received a package in the mail last week. It contained two notebooks full of Lenertz genealogy information. I cannot even describe how much this bolsters my Lenertz research. Mine is a small branch, with a very uncommon name, removed from the rest of the group when my ancestor went to Oklahoma. To have these details, two notebooks full...it's better than presents.

But wait, it gets better. My great-great grandfather had 9 siblings. There was one elusive sister about which I knew next to nothing. She was in a couple of censuses as a child and then she was gone. These notebooks came from someone married to a descendant of that mystery sister. She's not a mystery anymore! She went on to get married and have many children.

And...it gets even better! These notebooks include articles and obituaries of Lenertz ancestors from Minnesota newspapers. They are about my great-great grandfather's siblings and offspring. There are even some newspaper photos.

Thanks to the generosity of Dan in Minnesota, the pieces of my Lenertz puzzle are starting to fit together and reveal the picture of a family history about which I used to know nothing.