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FamilySearch Helps Identify Graves in Historic Cemetery
Nov 17
A historic cemetery located in Houston's Fifth Ward was in need of a cleanup. In 1995, a non-profit group called Project RESPECT began working on it. On October 17, 2020, several young service missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with their families and leaders, participated in an the ongoing cleanup of th...
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Using Different Aprons
Nov 15
You might not have thought of it but your female ancestors actually may have needed several different types of aprons. Different household duties meant different aprons. If she was doing laundry then fixing dinner, a different apron was needed. Those living and working on a farm would need different ones when working with livestock (chicken...
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Personal Hygiene of Your Ancestors in 1800s
Nov 13
Today you take for granted the conveniences in an indoor bathroom with its shower, tub, toilet, sink and even a few other items. In the 1800s, an outside toilet or what was called a privy was the standard. Wealthy homeowners from 1880s onward would have indoor plumbing. For toilet paper, that was not invented until 1891, so your ancestors...
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The 23andMe Ancestry Algorithm Got an Update
Nov 12
23andMe announced (in Autumn of 2020), that they are making another upgrade to their Ancestry Composition. The upgrade to the analytics will improve the accuracy, as well as reduce the amount of “unassigned” and non-specific ancestry assignments. Some 23andMe users may see some pretty big shifts in their results. For example, many sho...
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Your Parents & Birth of the Cocktail Party of the 1950s
Nov 11
It was very popular in the 1950s and into the 1960s to host cocktail parties in a home or other location. A good way to relax and socialize. Yet the concept started in America back in 1917 when Clara Walsh of St. Louis, Missouri hosted an unusual party titled 'Baby Party'. Here adults were encouraged to drink liquor from baby bottles. Ther...
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Ancestry Updated its Family History App
Nov 10
Ancestry has added exciting updates to its Family History Mobile app. Those updates features improved accessibility, mobile search, and discover tab. This announcement is the beginning of a series of mobile advances to give you the best possible family history mobile experience. Here are some of the new features: Discover Tab: The new fe...
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Silver Spoons, Important in the Family
Nov 9
Our ancestors have used spoons in one shape or form for hundreds of years with different styles found across history and the globe. The use of knives at the table came later as did using a fork, come in the early 1800s. Most people had spoons made of wood, or animal horns or bone. In the 1600s the use of metal spoons especially made of sil...
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Marks on Faces of Vintage Photos
Nov 7
As you go through family photo albums of any time period there could be something that really catches your eye. There could be a face of an individual, so marked out using a pen that you can not recognize who it is. Even worst is if the person's photo head is actually cut out of the entire photo. These were very common practices done ...
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Very Early Inventions Still Used Today
Nov 5
For our ancestors, whether they immigrated in the 1700s, 1800s or 1900s, they did see America as a land of possibilities. Not just in better working opportunities but also in the chance to create or invent something to make life easier for everyone. Many other inventions came from European nations and developed further in America. After t...
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MyHeritage Released New Norwegian Record Collection
Nov 5
MyHeritage announced the addition of a new Norwegian historical record collection – Norway Church Records, 1815-1938. The records in this collection were digitized in collaboration with the National Archives of Norway (Akivverket), and consist of 42.2 million indexed record and high quality scans of the original documents. The records inc...
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Kitchen Essentials in the 1940s
Nov 3
Something that is often forgotten about in the 21st century is what gadgets were important in any kitchen for the housewife in the 1940s. These would be some important tools to help prepare any meal, many similar to what was used in the 1930s and 1920s, but a few newer had come by the 1940s. These were part of your grandmother's environment,...
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Voting During a Pandemic – Then and Now
Nov 3
Today, Americans who are eligible to vote in the elections are struggling to do so while the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing. About one hundred years ago, your ancestors were experiencing very similar difficulties with voting due to the influenza pandemic. Ballotpedia has details about the 1918 midterm elections. Voter turnout was low due to...
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Nickel Coke-Cola
Nov 1
You will for sure want to include in the family history memories about the nickel Coke-Cola. It is one of those standards that every America and other around the globe know and have tasted. It is one item everyone remembers but they may have forgotten it remained the same price for decades – one nickel (just 5 cents). It beg...
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Hart Island in Bronx, NY
Oct 31
You never know when you may come across a name or a location and really not know much about it. Hart Island on the westernmost edge of Long Island Sound in the Bronx region of New York City is such an example. This place is seen by many as a very spooky place. It was charted by British naval cartographers who named it Heart Island in 1...
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Election Cake
Oct 30
There was a long-time tradition in America, a special treat served to those who voted on Election Day. However, its beginnings was actually during the time there were British colonies and when young men were drafted in the early to mid-1700s to served in the British Army. In a local community, those men drafted were given a special cake name...
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