Three Things to Know Before Joining a Lineage Society

By Ericka Grizzard Lineage societies such as Daughters/Sons of the American Revolution, The General Society of Mayflower Descendants, and many others serve as notable distinctions and sources of tremendous pride – the certified stamp on your family’s presence at certain points on the timeline of history. Today’s societies, while rooted in specific heritage, are largely…

So-called Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes: The 1880 DDD Census Schedule for Genealogy

By Laura Pinhey On the 1880 Federal Census record for my three-times great-grandfather there is a mark in the “Insane” column of the “Health” section. When I first saw the mark, I assumed it was a stray or a flaw in the microfilm. It seemed impossible to me that the census taker could have deliberately…

Asylum cemetery

Asylum Cemeteries

By Laura Pinhey Earlier this month I wrote on this blog about the U.S. Federal Census Schedule of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes, also known as the DDD. The DDD schedule supplemented the 1880 Federal Census with information about prisoners, orphans, physically ill or injured persons, disabled persons, homeless children, indigent persons, and the mentally…