Blog Content
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October is German-American Heritage Month
Oct 18
October is German-American Heritage Month. The reason is that October 6th is German-American Heritage Day. On that date in 1683, thirteen German families from Krefeld, near the Rhine, landed in Philadelphia. Those families established Germantown, Pennsylvania, the first German settlement in the original thirteen colonies. The families were Germ...
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100th Anniversary of the End of ‘Great War’
Oct 17
It was the 11th hour, the 11th day in the 11th month that the armistice was signed, 100 years ago, so ending 'The Great War' – the war to end all wars (1914-1918). Americans had been involved since April 1917 but Europeans and British Commonwealth nations (such as Australia and Canada) had been in this war since 1914. A good project for thi...
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The Differences Between Native Ancestry and Tribal Citizenship
Oct 16
It is entirely possible that a person's DNA test results show that the person has some Native American ancestry. That information is not equivalent to having tribal citizenship. Senator Elizabeth Warren (Democrat – Massachusetts) released information about her heritage. Part of the information involves the results of a DNA analysis that she su...
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Researching Beyond the Direct Family Lineage
Oct 15
You might be the family historian but have only concentrated on your direct family lineage –parents-grandparents-great grandparents, etc. That is very important to gather the direct lineage, however, one area that could assist that search is to look at the collateral family lines (the aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts-uncles, etc. They are your...
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School Life
Oct 13
As you add details about relatives in your family, one often overlook resources about students, their teachers and school activities are the local hometown newspapers. Most medium to small towns always included information about events in the local school, especially during major events, such as the start of the school year, football games, parades...
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Label Those Photos
Oct 11
You are the keeper of the family treasure of vintage photos, so now what. The most important is to get them labeled with who or what is in the photos, a location and a time period. Working with older relatives who might know the names and places in a photograph is your best start. You can scan a digital copy or photocopy several as a hard copy to m...
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23andMe Provides Information About Breast Cancer Genes
Oct 11
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Certain types of breast cancer can run in families. 23andMe offers the first and only FDA-authorized, direct-to-consumer BRCA genetic health risk report. This test focuses on three specific variants of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. 23andMe offers a genetic test for three variants of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gen...
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Halloween Photos
Oct 9
Parties at Halloween (October 31st) have not always been solely for children. In fact, it is only mostly a children's holiday since after World War Two (late 1940s) into the 1980s. Many of those children events were in the form of Halloween carnivals put on by schools. Prior to that time and beginning in the 1980s, adults have made Halloween celebr...
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Mayo Clinic and Helix Released Mayo Clinic GeneGuide
Oct 9
Mayo Clinic and Helix announced that they have together released a new DNA product called Mayo Clinic GeneGuide. It provides healthy individuals with genetic testing and insights with a focus on education. The product is backed by Mayo medical science and expertise. Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, educatio...
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October – Family Hometown
Oct 7
During the month of October (with Family History Month), a little different idea to add to your family history is to do research relating to the family hometown or home county. This could involve two or more locations but start with one and be complete as possible. Using the Internet is a great start to learn more about the town. Include with yo...
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What to Do If You Uncover a Deep Family Secret
Oct 5
As you go in depth on your family tree, there will be all types of names and things that your ancestor had and did. Some of their accomplishments can make your heart 'glad' at what they did, but you just might also find some deep dark individual or family secret, something concealed from most family members. If that happens, check your information...
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Fight Over Cemetery Access Heard by U.S. Supreme Court
Oct 4
Not all cemeteries are located on public property that is maintained by a staff. In the past, it was not unheard of for families to bury their deceased loved ones on their property. Years later, someone may purchase the property who is unrelated to the original family. This is where things get tricky – and end up in court. Mary Knick owns prop...
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Colonial Early Church Records
Oct 3
If you have found that some of your early ancestors in America lived in Massachusetts Colony and were of a specific church (Puritan, Congregational, and Christian denominations) you are in special luck. Now available online from the Congregational Library and Archives are the church records from many early individual churches in Massachusetts. Thes...
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Ways to Celebrate National Family History Month
Oct 2
In the United States, National Family History Month is celebrated in October. In 2001, Congress passed a resolution that was introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (Republican – Utah). The resolution was to officially create Family History Month. Here are some ideas for celebrating Family History Month: Visit the Library Your local library may ...
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Family Gifts
Oct 1
The first of October and it is a great time to come up with some interesting family photo collections you can share with family members as a very special holiday gift. Making something as simple as a very personalized calendar featuring vintage photos of family members past and present for when their birthday or wedding anniversary falls on a date...
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The study of birth, marriage and death records to discover family relatives. more »
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