Blog Content
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Men’s Changing Facial Hair Since 1800s
Nov 7
Over the recent centuries, the style and amount or lack of facial hair on men have changed greatly. Just look at family photos of male ancestors. I just located one of my great grandfathers in the 1870s and he had quite a full beard and another photo in 1890 a very trimmed beard. Besides beards, men's styles had elaborate sideburns and mustaches. ...
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Life of House Servants Years Ago
Nov 5
For those who could afford it, many family households had one or more house servants to do the daily chores. It offered many men and women an opportunity to make a living and sometimes even a place to live. This was more common in the 1800s and into the early 1900s. The larger a home’s staff in numbers, the more prestigious it was for the fam...
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Roller Skates
Nov 3
The ever-popular roller skates for youngsters and adults had to start slowly to be what they became later. Roller skates were first invented in 1735 by a Belgian man named John Joseph Merlin. He famously introduced his wheeled shoes at a London party, and the skates had no brakes, he then crashed into a mirror. In 1819, a man named Monsieur Petitb...
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Candy Corn
Nov 1
A special autumn treat for years has been 'candy corn'. Yet, how did this favorite for generations get started? It dates back to the 1880s, so your great, great grandparents. It began with George Renninger, who worked at the Wunderlee Candy Company, who invented it. The Wunderlee company started manufacturing the candy. Bu 1898 candy corn was p...
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Tin Can Camps
Oct 31
After the 'Great War' aka World War One, and the Spanish Flu, Americans, including your ancestors, were ready for a change. One of the big items many Americans did was purchase an automobile. In 1921 there were 10 million autos on the road. Individuals and families now enjoyed traveling, going hundreds of miles away from home – they became Ameri...
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Snack Foods From 1910s – 1970s
Oct 29
Everyone has their favorite snacks, even your great grandparents had their favorites. These indulgences are a special treat, something to eat before the bigger daily meal, or a quick pick-me-up. Having snacks has not changed, just which snacks are the most favored at a certain era. Still, a favorite is Oreo Cookies, which came on the market in ...
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Where Did Halloween Come From?
Oct 28
Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). According to History.com, the Celts lived in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France about 2,000 years ago. Samhain was considered the start of a new year. Samhain marked the end of the summer and the harvest and the beginning...
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Ancestors’ Halloween Traditions
Oct 27
In European counties, the traditions of All Saints Day on Nov. 1st and the tradition of dressing as devils, saints and angels to honor the dead on Nov. 2nd, goes back for decades. In American, Halloween traditions didn't begin until the second half of the 19th century, and the spooky affair went on to become synonymous with parties, parades, treat...
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NBC Announced Return of “Roots Less Traveled”
Oct 26
NBC and Litton Entertainment announced that “The More You Know,” NBC’s Daytime Emmy award-winning-three-hour Saturday morning programming block, returned for its sixth season on October 2, 2021. With that comes the return of “Roots Less Traveled”, hosted by Faruq Tauheed. Each week, in partnership with Ancestry, the series feature...
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What Cost One Dollar in 1900?
Oct 25
The turn of the 20th century – 1900 – in America, one can be quite surprised what cost $1.00 (one dollar). This would be what your grandparents or great grandparents paid then, but the big difference - $1.00 was a fair amount to pay for anything, especially for a working family. First, consider that $1 back in 1900 was equal to about $30 today...
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Kool-Aid
Oct 23
Everyone remembers Kool-Aid, and may still drink it today. It was one of the first drinks that were successfully marketed to kids. Not unlike the grilled cheese sandwich, Kool-Aid went on to appeal not only to children but also adults. It began with a grocer’s son, Edwin Perkins, who became intrigued by the efficiency and many flavors of Jell...
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Surviving during the Civil War
Oct 21
Our ancestors – not just the ones in the military – but those at home – North or South side, had to survive those four years of war at home (1861-1865). It was not easy, some areas suffered more than others. Here are some of the problems during wartime and how our ancestors tried to make the best of what was happening. With the needs of t...
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California Expands Consumer Protections for Genetic Testing
Oct 21
23andMe knows you care about privacy, and they have been working hard to deliver other promises of transparency and choice, even beyond your experience at 23andMe. 23andMe is excited to share that California recently enacted a new law to protect consumers’ genetic data privacy. 23andMe has worked hard with the Coalition for Genetic Data P...
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President Lincoln and others Hair Picture
Oct 19
There is a very unusual art piece held in the Onondaga Historical Associate (OHA) in Syracuse, New York – one very few people know about. Its name alone is strange “The Hairy Eagle”. As was once popular in the late 1800s, it is artwork made of human hair. Not just anyone's hair but that of President Abraham Lincoln, wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, ...
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New Relationship Diagram on MyHeritage
Oct 19
MyHeritage has Introduced a New Relationship Diagram. When you add people to your family tree, their relationships to you are calculated automatically. The relationship is then shown anywhere on the MyHeritage site where the names of your site members and people in your tree appear. In the past, you would see the relationship listed for tha...
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