A day at sea, bck to Amsterdam, then home

The next day was a sea day. We docked at Amsterdam the following morning. After dropping our luggage off at the hotel, we took the train to Zaanse Schans, a recreated Dutch Village. This stop was recommended by our taxi driver. We ducked into several shops and souvenir stands. The village also had a farm [goats, sheep, cows, chickens, etc.] There was a feed station [50 cents for a couple of handfuls.] I suddenly had the attention of about five little goats who eagerly accepted the feed. We took the train back to Amsterdam, rested up and had dinner.

Miriam and I had an extra day in Amsterdam. We took advantage of the hotel breakfast buffet and walked around town for awhile before settling in to rest up for an early flight.

We got up at 3:45 AM to catch a flight to Zurich and a 4 hour layover. We pretty well covered the shops before flying out to D.C. Thunderstorms in DC delayed our arrival about 2 hours. Flights were delayed and cancelled as the day progressed. Our 4:45 flight finally left at 8:30 for Indy.

Roughly 24 hours after getting up in Amsterdam we arrived home.

Overall it was a great trip!

Copenhagen: the Final Port!

Copenhagen was our last tour port. The tour took us through Copenhagen to North Zeeland. This was a neat tour. Fredericksborg Palace, our first stop, was the queen's official residence. Kronborg Castle was our 2nd stop. Kronborg, built in the late 1500s, was the home to Shakespeare's Hamlet. We had lunch at one of the onsite cafes.

 Next was Fredericksborg Castle. This was the largest Renaissance castle in Scandinavia. The Castle is home to the Palace Church and a natural history museum.

On the way back, we tour a lot of Danish countryside and a few small towns. We stopped in Copenhagen to see the Little Mermaid Statue before returning to the ship.

Helsinki and Stockholm

Helsinki, Finland: We toured Old Town Helsinki in the morning. Narrow winding streets and ancient buildings made up the town. After boarding the tour bus we headed for the town of Porvoo. Porvoo is the second oldest town in Finland. We learned about the Moomins, white, cow-like cartoon characters developed by Tove Jansson. [Check them out. There's an entire family with all sorts of adventures.] We stopped for coffee and desert [or tea and desert] at a local restaurant. Our server had been an exchange student in Michigan!

Stockholm, Sweden: The first part of the tour was spent at the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a warship designed by the King of Sweden back in the 17th century. The king was not an engineer, he designed a magnificent, but top-heavy ship. When it was tested for ballast, the Vasa nearly capsized! On its maiden voyage, 10 August 1628, the ship was launched and sank 30 minutes later. The vessel was eventually salvaged and is now on display in its own museum. Minimal repair work had to be done on the Vasa. One of the first things that hit me was, What a great Bob Newhart routine!

"Hi King? This is the captain of the Vasa. We seem to have a little problem..."

Stigtuna is the oldest town in Sweden. We visited St. Mary's church, built in the 1200s. The ruins of St. Olaf's church date back to the 1100s. We stopped at Fant Brun for lunch. It was a quaint little open-air café just off the street.

After five port days, the exhausted cruisers enjoyed a day at sea.

Tallin and St. Petersburg

Cruise Day 4 was at sea.

Cruise Day 5: The brutal five day stretch begin! We had five straight days of tours. Needless to say, most of us were worn down by the end.

Tallinn, Estonia: We toured Old Town Estonia and its century old buildings. It was a beautiful old city.

Cruise Days 6 & 7: St. Petersburg, Russia: This involved two 6 hour tours of the city. St. Petersburg was home to the Romanov family that ruled Russia until the Communists gained control in 1917. The Romanovs had many beautiful churches and palaces built. Unfortunately, many of them were nearly identical in style and décor. The rigorous demands of walking and standing for long stretches wore on all tour members. St. Petersburg was a fascinating, but exhausting two day adventure.

Amsterdam and Antwerp and Skagen

Part of the fun of this trip was knowing I would be visiting counties that my ancestors called home. The Netherlands were home to the Pralls, Swarts, Titsoorts, Christoffels, Lies and a handful of others hailed from the Netherlands. St. John/Sension/Santken, Dally, DuBois, Billiou and others called Belgium [Flanders and Wallonia].

The first day in Amsterdam was spent wandering around town and taking a canal boat cruise. The architecture, dating back beyond the 1600s in many cases, was incredible.

Day 2 began with a train trip to Antwerp. We walked through the town viewing equally impressive buildings, before returning to Amsterdam. We hooked up with Miriam's sister and brother-in-law to wander through Amsterdam's short red-light district, grab dinner and get ready for the cruise.

We spent Cruise Days 1 &2 boarding the Brilliance of the Seas and at sea bound for Denmark.

Cruise Day 3: Skagen, Denmark. We walked through the town and visited a few shops. I bought a neat t-shirt with a Viking and his dog on a boat and a small Viking boat with Viking. Miriam found a Lego set of the Lego House in Denmark. Skagen was one of my favorite stops. Plenty of photos were taken and post cards purchased.

Oh, by the way, we spent the 4th of July at sea with tributes to Independence Day onboard. That included 4th of July Trivia. We won! That included having to correct a multiple choice question that had three wrong answers!

Cruising in the Baltic!

Returned yesterday from a Royal Caribbean cruise to the Baltic. I was able to visit a few ancestral countries, although not necessarily home towns.

The cruise launched from Amsterdam [Netherlands]. We arrived two days early and spent Day 1 walking around the city. On Day 2, we took a train to Antwerp, Belgium.. Our ports of call were (1) Skagen [pronounced Skane], Denmark, (2) Tallinn, Estonia, (3) St. Petersburg, Russia, (4) Helsinki, Finland, (5) Stockholm, Sweden, (6) Copenhagen, Denmark and back to Amsterdam. The flight home was through Zurich, Switzerland. So, that's a total of eight countries visited for a few hours at least.

Favorite stops and least favorite stops coming up tomorrow!

Gen 5: Rhodes - Cunningham

Captain Zachariah Rhodes [1784-1815]: Zachariah was born in Rhode Island into a seafaring family. Prior to 1810, he relocated to Baltimore, MD and was based in Fell's Point. He married Harriet Cunningham in 1810. Their only child, Ann Bathia, was born in 1812. On 14 August 1815, Zachariah's sloop, Hannah, left Baltimore for Puerto Rico, with brother Perry serving a first mate. The ship was lost at sea.

Harriet Cunningham [bef 1790-c1818]: Harriet was one of seven children. Her five sisters married men involved in the seafaring industry in some manner. Her brother was a sea captain. Harriet was widowed in 1815. She died three years later. Daughter Ann was raised by Harriet's sister, Bathia Porter.

Gen 5: Prall - Rittenhouse

Cornelius Prall, Jr. [1768-1834]:  Born in Amwell Twp., Hunterdon Co., NJ, Cornelius grew up there, but lived in various townships in the county. He married Elizabeth Rittenhouse, the daughter of a local innkeeper. The couple had 11 children. They moved frequently over the years. The Pralls finally settled in Harford Co., MD about 1820. Elizabeth died there in 1826, Cornelius married Bathia Cunningham Porter the following year. Her niece, Ann Rhodes married Cornelius' son Isaac in 1828. By 1830, the family had moved to York Co., PA, where Cornelius died in a railroad accident in 1834.

Elizabeth Rittenhouse [1771-1826]: Elizabeth was born in Hunterdon Co., NJ. She married Cornelius Prall in 1791. The couple raised 11 children, born in five different locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The family settled in Harford Co., MD in 1820. Elizabeth died there in 1826.

Gen 4: Simmons - Crousore

John T. Simmons [1828-1909]: John was born in Warren Co., OH, but moved to Indiana at age 17 [c1845]. He farmed and worked at a sawmill. John married Edith Crousore in 1849. They lived near her parents outside Sharpsville. John's wife died in 1877. He survived her by 32 years. John died in August 1909. His youngest son, John W. died a little over a mother later in the Philippines.


Edith Crousore [1829-1877]: Edith was born in Rush Co., IN in 1829. Her family settled in Howard and Tipton Counties about 1845. She married John Simmons in 1849 and they had 10 children. Edith died at age 47 in 1877.

Gen 4: Crail - O'Neil

Aaron Crail [1839-1868]: Aaron was born in Marion Co., OH, but raised in Indiana. Aaron and his two elder brothers married in Marion Co., IN during the 1850s. Aaron and Catherine O'Neil married on 8 June 1857. The couple had a son and twin daughters before the outbreak of the Civil War. Two more sons were born before Aaron and elder brother John enlisted with the 124th Indiana Infantry Regiment. The 124th saw action at Kennesaw Mountain.. Aaron fell ill during torrential rains that fell during that action and contracted  "lung fever." After a few days in a field hospital, Aaron rejoined his unit near Decatur, GA, but was found unfit for duty. He spent the next several months in military hospitals between Georgia and Ohio and was discharged at Camp Dennison, OH. Aaron returned to Indiana and farmed in southern Hamilton Co. Another son joined the family in 1866. Aaron's illness worsened and he died from consumption on 28 March 1868. He was buried in Eller Cemetery.

Catherine O'Neil [1833/4-1934]: Catherine was the last of the family to arrive in America. She was born in County Cork, Ireland in December of 1833 or 34. According to the family, British soldiers foraging for food and conscripting young men for the army, confronted and killed her father and Catherine's brothers were conscripted into the army. Her sister had died a short time earlier and her mother died shortly after the incident. Catherine left Ireland to seek employment in England, where she worked as a domestic servant. At the age of 18, Catherine sailed from Liverpool for New York. She made her way to Indianapolis, where she taught local farmers to read, including future husband, Aaron Crail. After Aaron died in 1868, Catherine was left with six young children. The family would move to the towns of Noblesville and Peru, where son James found work as a blacksmith. Catherine would spend her years living with son James, daughter Martha and brother-in-law, John. Grandchildren recall her as a tiny woman with the personality of actress Maureen O'Hara. She wore a black cotton dress with a white lace apron and white dust cap. Her grandchildren also recall celebrating her 100th birthday in 1933. She died the following summer. Catherine's death certificate adds to the mystery. 15 December 1833 is given as her date of birth, but she is listed as having died at 99 years 7 months and 14 days on 29 July 1934. That would have made her 100 plus. Catherine was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. She outlived 4 of her 6 children.

Gen 4: Wagner - Laubscher

John Wagner [????-1851-55]: John's birth and death are steeped in mystery at this point. He was born in Baden, probably between 1800 and 1810. He arrived in Philadelphia prior to 1841. He married Catherine Laubscher on 21 July of that year at the German Reformed Church. By 1845, the Wagners and son Henry were in Madison Co., MO. John was probably involved in the lead mining operations in that region. Son William was born in 1845 and daughter Louisa was born in 1849. John left his wife and children in the care of brother-in-law, George Laubscher and ventured to Lafayette Co., WI, probably to investigate land and lead mining opportunities there. The Wagners were in Lafayette Co. in 1851 and acquired land in cooperation with George. By 1855, Catherine was listed as head of household with three children. John apparently died during those four years.

Catherine Laubscher [1808-c1882]: Like her husband, Catharina Laubscher was a native of Baden, specifically Weingarten, Karlsruh. She probably arrived in Pennsylvania with younger brothers, Carl [Charles], Georg [George] and Ludwig [Louis]. Catharine married John Wagner in 1841. The family then lived in Missouri and Wisconsin. Catharine was widowed by 1855. Catherine lived out her life in Lafayette Co., WI. The last record of her was the 1880 census. A deposition from 1892 stated that Catharine had died "ten or more years ago" and John "many years ago." That would place Catharine's death between 1880 and 1882.

Gen 4: McHugh - Hickey

John McHugh [1807-1887]: John was born in County Donegal, Ireland. He came to America with his elder brother Daniel and his family about 1832. The McHughs first settled in Schuylkill Co., PA to work the coal mines near Mahanoy City. John married a Pennsylvania native,Sarah Hickey in 1836. Both McHugh families were on the move in the 1840s. They settled near Galena, IL by mid-decade. Lead mining was the draw this time. John and Daniel were also masons. By 1850, the brothers had moved across the state line into Lafayette Co., WI. John died on his farm near Gratiot in 1887.

Sarah Hickey [1814-1901]: Sarah was born in Lancaster Co., PA. The identity of her parents has yet to be determined, but they are believed to be of Irish stock. Sarah gave birth to five sons and a daughter. Sarah died in 1901, at the age of 87. Following her death, John's estate was settled in 1904. John had left $15000 in real estate and $500 in personal estate. John and Sarah were laid to rest in St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery in Gratiot.