Blog Content
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Divorce in Sioux Falls
Feb 3
There was a place named the “The Cataract House Hotel” between 1884 to 1908, located in the frontier town of Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, South Dakota, which became a haven for women—and some men—escaping bad marriages. It was built in 1871, a luxury hotel with 14 beds and two parlors. It was enlarged twice by 1884. Unfortunately, ...
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Ideal Towns of the 1930s
Feb 1
Most of you while doing family history research have been able to trace relatives back to the 1920s and 1930s. Those were two very different, unusual and somewhat difficult decades, back to back. With the stock market crash of October 1929, the good times, jobs, money, products, entertainment, etc. of the 1920s all came to an end. To ...
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The Start of the Word “OK”
Jan 31
Who hasn't used the word 'OK' more than once a day? It is one of those common expressions used over the generations, including your ancestors. It can also be spelled 'Okay' but pronounced the same. It began when a popular activity in the 1830s that of telling jokes among young people in America, but using an acronym so the person hearing ...
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Early Versions of More Modern Items
Jan 29
Your ancestors may have had the opportunity to use some items after they were first invented. But many of those items today can look and operate quite differently. Here area few examples and the changes over the decades. A common medical item is syringes which held a hypodermic needle used to inject medicine into a patient. When they wer...
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Paper Dresses of the 1960s
Jan 27
This was a popular fad of the 1960s, one you, your mother, your aunt or even grandmother may have been a part of. It was a short-lived trend in fashion to serve the masses clothing for a fraction of the price of even the cheapest fabric dress. They were iconic fashion elements of the era. Being disposable and very fragile, decades later ver...
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Ancestry will Discontinue AncestryHealth
Jan 26
For more than 30 years, Ancestry has provided a platform for people to discover, preserve and share the most important information about themselves and their families. As we enter 2021, more people around the world are embracing Family History to bring their families closer together and build more meaningful connections. In 2021, Ancestry...
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1930s Roosevelt Outhouses
Jan 25
Outhouses, facilities not in a family home, but rather a separate small structure behind the house, where a person could go to the 'bathroom'. Such wooden structures started over 500 years ago. It was discovered during the Great Depression, many Americans had no outhouse or only ones in very poor condition and really unsafe. It had been fou...
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What was Rationed During World War 2 ?
Jan 23
After the year 2020 and all the problems everyone across the globe faced, we think we have seen it all. No toilet paper available, rationing of some foods and paper supplies, etc existed. However, your grandparents and great grandparents did suffer for several years many hardships during World War 2 years of the early 1940s. Everything from ...
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Forgotten Prohibition Terms
Jan 21
The era of Prohibition in the United States began in 1920 and when to 1934) was a strange and hard time for Americans. Some people wanted the stopping of alcoholic beverages and others still wanted liquor so illegal manufacturing and sale of alcohol became a new occupation for many people in the 1920s. All of your ancestors of that time peri...
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Find A Grave Updated Photo Requests
Jan 21
Find A Grave is an excellent resource where people can look for burial and other final disposition information for their family, friends and famous people. People from all over the world work together, share information, and build an online, virtual cemetery experience. Many of the graves that appear on Find A Grave include a photo of the g...
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What was Done to Hang Out Laundry
Jan 20
Yes, laundry hung out to dry, before modern clothes dryer, always seemed like a laborious, or at least annoying, chore. Work began with the clothes sorted, then washed, hung to dry, folded and put away. Just the washing process was very pains-taking. The first electric washing machine wasn’t invented until 1908, and the first automatic wash...
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Cost of Goods and Services Years Ago
Jan 19
Many decades between 1860s and early 1990s but even more so is the price for items your ancestors had to pay for things they needed. Here are a few examples of price differences, even figuring in inflation. At the dry cleaners in the 1930s, to have a coat and pair of slacks cleaned and 2 pockets repaired cost $1.00 in Florida. Today tha...
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Geni Posted a 2020 Year in Review
Jan 19
Geni is a genealogy company that is based in Los Angeles, California. They wrote a blog post titled: “Farewell to 2020” in which they say goodbye to, and reflect on, the year 2020. Geni solves the problem of genealogy by inviting the world to build the definitive online family tree. You can use the basic free service at Geni.com to add ...
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The Victorian Use of Velvet
Jan 17
The Victorian Era, is that, a time frame approximately during the reign of Britain's Queen Victoria which was 1837-1901. Many of our ancestors lived during that period whether in Great Britain, Canada or America. Many popular styles of clothing, furniture, homes, etc., existed during those decades. Those who have studied that era say ...
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Your Ancestors during the Worst Years in American History
Jan 15
Here is a listing of major crises and events that occurred during the lifetimes of your ancestors. It would be important for future generations to know which of just these top events affected your ancestors. This list represents just some of the top worst events in American history. Each would be easy enough to do further research on to add...
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