By Jill Moore Have you utilized muster rolls in your Revolutionary War research before? Volunteer genealogists for the Friends of the Fishkill Supply Depot have been scouring muster rolls to aid their quest in identifying the unknown number of soldiers who are buried on the grounds of what once was a major supply hub for…
By Marge Bitetti Locating family roots in California can be complex due to the blending of so many different ethnic cultures. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times noted that in the city of Los Angeles alone there are close to 200 different languages or derivatives of languages spoken. California’s current population is almost…
By Jeanne Rollberg In 2016, we have many creative ways to keep images and voices of loved ones alive through social media, YouTube, blogs and many other options. In our ancestors’ eras, the primary way communities were held together and learned about each other was through daily and weekly newspapers. These historic newspapers hold the key…
By Jill Moore When I lived in Ohio, I spent many crisp autumn afternoons at the Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, walking the peaceful grounds and snapping some of the most beautiful and haunting cemetery pictures I have ever taken. These cherished photographs became even more meaningful when my genealogy work revealed that so many…
By Jayne McGarvey Finding our ancestors in a census or three can yield a huge amount of very useful information and a bunch of worthwhile clues to follow. But expanding our searches to include the neighbours can also, with a bit of patience and strategic investigation, reveal even more clues about our own ancestors. If…
By Jayne McGarvey Do you remember those old research notes you took way back in the year dot when you first began researching your family history? Those very early notes, the ones you jotted down in a hurry while visiting relatives or in the early stages of your research when your family tree was in…
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 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 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…