Blog Content
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Port of Boston
Aug 23
Not all immigrants into America came through the New York City ports. Philadelphia, PA and Baltimore, MD had been traditional ports of entry for decades, especially in the 1700s and into the 1800s. In the south, the port of New Orleans was another popular entrance for those wanting to settle in the south or to go west. Yet, your ancestors may ha...
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New Sources for Prison Records
Aug 21
Are you among the genealogists who are shocked to discover that one of your ancestors was a criminal? There was a time when people would keep that a secret, for fear of having their ancestor's misdeeds reflect poorly upon them. Today, the “black sheep” of the family can potentially be the source of some very interesting family history! F...
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To Use or Not to Use
Aug 21
You found on the Internet or in a book; photos, written material, a family tree, illustrations, etc. that fit with your family lineage. The question arises, are you free to use that material? It is all covered by copyright laws. From the U.S. Copyright Office: "The term of copyright for a particular work depends on several factors, including wh...
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Viewing Voter Registration Forms
Aug 19
A most interesting resource that you might want to consider is checking in the hometown or county of your ancestors and see if you can locate their original voter registration. Many of these vintage records have been made digital or microfilmed and could be in the city and / county government voter offices or in their archives. They could be in the...
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DIY Digitizing Your Family Tree
Aug 18
Have you made copies of your genealogy research, old family photos, and copies of vital records of your ancestors yet? What's holding you back? One fire, or natural disaster, could wipe out all those precious pieces of paper. Genealogists should take the time to make digital copies of important documents and photos. Not only does that provide you w...
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Chicago Tribune Online 1847-1991
Aug 17
The Chicago area with a long history, if you had any relatives in or around this city by Lake Michigan, you have to investigate what may have written about the person, a business, a neighborhood or just the times in Chicago. Besides news articles there are photos, comics, obituaries, classified and display advertising. The Chicago Tribune has pl...
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Nazi Poster Baby
Aug 15
You never know what might turn up in your family history. For one woman, the fascinating turn of events was not about a grandmother or great aunt, but rather her own childhood. Jacob and Pauline Levinsons (originally from Latvia) of Berlin, Germany on May 17, 1934 were proud parents of a baby daughter, named Hessy. At age six months that had the b...
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Tips for Making Genealogy More Frugal
Aug 14
One thing that all genealogists learn early on is that not everything that has to do with genealogy is free. It costs money to get copies of vital records, to access some online genealogy resources, and to be a part of a genealogy or family history club or organization. Wouldn't it be great to find a way to cut down the amount you spend on genealog...
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Paleography
Aug 13
'Paleography' or Palaeography'. It refers to understanding and interpreting handwriting. Usually it is a skill applied to reading medieval writings (1200 to 1600s). Since you might not have ancestral handwritten documents quite that old, even more recent writings over the last 250 years can be difficult to read. If you have such document, use some...
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Ways to Inspire Others to Learn their Family History
Aug 12
People who are not genealogists aren't always very interested in learning about their family history. Many see the research required as a tedious, time consuming, task. It looks a lot more like “homework” than like something that would be fun. Fortunately, there are ways to inspire people to learn their family history. The trick is to spark the...
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Illinois Newspapers online
Aug 11
The University of Illinois has placed some 45 different newspapers in the state of Illinois in a digital format and made it available online. It is equal to some 1,105,004 pages with 6,975,155 articles. It is free to search. Besides the public newspapers there are special newspapers such as trade papers for the entertainment business covering fr...
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Family Desserts
Aug 9
Nothing brings back fond memories like your favorite desserts. Some are classics like chocolate cake or apple pie, however your family may have some family favorites that are special just to your family. Different desserts can be created and handled down through the generations. They can also be more a cultural favorite. Maybe it is only on specia...
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Canadian Photos – 19th Century to end of 20th
Aug 7
Related FamilyTree.com genealogy blogs: Nationalization Index for Canada Library & Archives of Canada /> The Toronto, Canada Public Library has placed one million Canadian photos online as a digital archive. To the right side is the list of seven different categories of photos. They go from people, places in Toronto, buildings, farms, ...
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Family History is More than Names and Dates
Aug 6
What do you know about your ancestors? Many genealogists can rattle off a series of facts like full names, birth dates and death dates. All of those pieces of information are important to know, especially if you are still in the process of searching for vital records. However, if you really want to have your ancestors “come to life”, you nee...
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Passenger Lists – Philadelphia, PA
Aug 5
Related links on FamilyTree.com genealogy blogs: Ships Carrying Immigrants Japanese Immigration Castle Garden Not all our ancestors arrived in America in New York City. There have been numerous ports of entry along the eastern coast, southern and western portions. On FamilySearch.org, there are the arriving passenger lists for Philadelphia, P...
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