By Jamie Drake As American genealogists, family historians, and other history minded individuals, we often find ourselves drawn to the U.S. Census Records. They provide an amazing amount of information, but there is one field we often overlook. Occupation. At first glance, everyone looks to be a farmer, or if they are a woman, they…
By Anne Sherman Most people will know King Henry VIII had six wives, and some will know that in order to have his marriage to his first wife Catherine of Aragon annulled, so he could marry Anne Boleyn, he took the drastic step of splitting from the Catholic Church and became the Head of the…
By Julia Joy Dumas Family history research is one of the most fulfilling hobbies because it is a personal journey through the past. It’s often difficult to become passionate about the history of strangers; but, when it comes to your relatives, interest often peaks quickly. Personally, I never enjoyed history until I was able to…
By Jayne McGarvey Christmas is a great time for gathering the family all in one place, and an obvious opportunity for any family historian to glean some information, but it can also be an opportunity to give back and bring the past to life so whether you are planning ahead for Christmas with a careful…
By Rachel Silverman Author’s Note: This series focuses on Jewish genealogy in Eastern Europe and North America, and is intended to offer advice for researching families of Ashkenazi heritage. The information provided will not necessarily apply to Sephardi or Mizrahi genealogy. If you’ve read my blog post about the finer points of wildcard searching, then…
By Marge Bitetti The month of December is the time of year for holly, mistletoe, dreidels and other seasonal items of cheer and good will. The season also gets packed with lists of endless things to do. The holidays also by the very nature of the season cause people to pause and reflect on the…
By Jeanne Rollberg Are you interested in staying up all night and researching your ancestors at an archives to break down some brick walls? In West Virginia, “Hoot-Owl Night” allows genealogy night owls to work in the archives from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. on April 7-8, 2017. Last year, the State Archives of North Carolina…
By Jeanne Rollberg The current film “Jackie” depicts the American former first lady, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, as saying, “Objects and artifacts last longer than people.” She might have been reflecting on that particularly because the film shows the aftermath of the death of assassinated President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Objects, artifacts, newspapers, collections and…
By Anne Sherman Newspapers: These can be a great source of information about your ancestors, ranging from the birth, marriage and death notices, details of court cases, advertisements for their business, advertising for domestic staff, auctioning farm land or house contents, group or society memberships and reports of good deeds or crimes including victims, witnesses…
By Rachel Silverman When we hear “GPS,” we tend to think of the Global Positioning System: a worldwide navigation system made possible by a network of satellites which orbit the Earth. GPS helps mapping websites create driving routes and allows our cell phones to know where we are on the planet at all times. In…