. Happy Election Day!
I say "happy" because I for one am really tired of all the political propaganda and the nonstop coverage on the news.
The last 2 days were NDDs, meaning "No Drive Days." The less I drive overall, the more money I'll save on my car insurance with RightTrack. As of today, I'm going to save 23% on my car insurance.
I must admit to sometimes creating reasons to drive here or drive there as a kind of entertainment or just to get out of the house, I guess. It's usually to buy groceries, get gas or something like that.
I made use of one of those postcards you get in the mail from Staples with a ridiculously good offer. Save $10 on a purchase of at least $10 (or more). So if you bought a $10 item, you could get it for free. I love this kind of offer and remember last year the coupon expired before I got to use it. So I did make a stop at Staples and cruised the whole store. In the end, I bought a large 2017 desktop calendar (I've used one for years) and the smallest notepad I could find. Most things were overpriced, but both these items together cost $11 and I wound up paying $1.
I've run into yet another "unsolved mystery" in my family tree research. I found a World War II draft registration card for my great grandfather that indicates his birthplace as "Kormasz Czecho-Slovakia."
I could not find Kormasz listed as a village, town or region anywhere in that country. Yet federal censuses confirm that my grandmother's parents were born in Czechoslovakia. I even reached out to several people who might know, including an American photographer living in Czech Republic and the Czech tourism bureau. Several people have told me the name sounds more Polish, Slovenian or Hungarian than Czech, yet still, a Google search brings up hardly anything. I found a young woman on Facebook with the same last name; she's from Poland. I messaged her this morning in the hopes she'll know.
My research into the Irish line in my family went relatively more smoothly because they all seemed to stay put in one place, both the village and the country! My grandmother's family was from a hamlet so small, it didn't even have roads. It was just a cluster of 90 families living at a certain intersection. Yes, the 1901 and 1911 Irish censuses contain some great info, including the exact number of families living in Derrytrasna, Northern Ireland. I did learn what materials the dwelling was made of, how many windows it had and how many outbuildings there were on the property. My great great grandfather had a "cowshed" and stable with a 2-room dwelling (for 5 people) and 2 windows.
Today, Derrytrasna is a semi-rural village within a larger town. There is just a single road called Derrytrasna Lane which probably indicates where the original settlement was. I found someone on You Tube who lives there and has a drone and filmed the whole area, which is very close to the shores of Lough Neagh, a huge lake. The whole area is all residential with a few more densely populated developments but mostly large open fields and attractive homes. No signs of the 2-room homes or even any idea of where they stood. I would probably have to find some historical maps to determine the layout of the original hamlet. It's all fascinating to me.
I got word yesterday that the bloodwork came back and showed I tested "negative" for Lyme disease and the other tick-borne illnesses. Which leads me to wonder why the near-daily headaches. Sure, I am a little anxious about getting a job, but I don't think I am stressed to the level of getting headaches over it.
I'm still waiting to hear whether I got the freelance writing position at the educational website. I saw another remote freelance position writing resumes and cover letters, but the pay was very low.
Don't forget to vote...
November 8th, 2016 at 01:37 pm
November 8th, 2016 at 06:29 pm 1478629770
November 8th, 2016 at 06:46 pm 1478630800
November 9th, 2016 at 01:10 am 1478653839
I voted last week via an absentee ballot.
I too love those Staples coupons. I am fortunate to be a Rewards member so I get that coupon every week in my e-mail. Although I think it has more to do with my former employment.
November 9th, 2016 at 12:50 pm 1478695838
November 12th, 2016 at 09:34 pm 1478986467
I voted right after work -had about a 20 minute wait or so.
November 12th, 2016 at 09:38 pm 1478986729
December 14th, 2017 at 05:25 am 1513229105
I have an odd question for you if you still check this. Did you ever find anything on Kormasz? My grandfather's WWII draft also says Kormasz, Czechoslovakia and I've not found a thing! Only dead ends.
Thank you
December 14th, 2017 at 12:35 pm 1513254958
December 14th, 2017 at 02:08 pm 1513260521
January 5th, 2018 at 12:52 am 1515113554
I'm not sure if this is directly relevant to your ancestor, but I wanted to tell you want I found just in case. One of the documents for my ancestor had the spelling Kormasz, Czechoslovakia. I found another document that spelt it Kormas, Czechoslovakia, which is old spelling for the current town name Hromoš. I believe this is where my ancestor was born now
Hope this helps a little!
January 5th, 2018 at 12:53 am 1515113607
January 5th, 2018 at 12:55 am 1515113726
January 5th, 2018 at 01:21 am 1515115262
I have taken a little break from the family tree stuff, not because I'm not interested, but just becus I'm back to working f/t and I don't have a lot of free time. But this is great information.
Thank you!!! Maybe this weekend I can do some research into Hromos. Thanks again!!
January 5th, 2018 at 01:22 am 1515115349