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Massachusetts Grants Absolution To Its Last Witch
Aug 16
Courthouse News Service reported (on July 28, 2022), that after 329 years - and thanks to an eighth-grade civics class - a Salem-era woman has been officially exonerated of devil worship. The last remaining Massachusetts resident legally classified as a witch has been given a reprieve as part of a budget bill signed Thursday by Governor Charli...
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Caring for Vintage Jewelry
Aug 15
You consider yourself very lucky if you have some heirloom, vintage jewelry handed down over the generations. Even one piece is precious. But any vintage jewelry must be cared for. If a piece has amassed soil or dirt on it, try the following. Soiled items you can use a mixture of baking soda and water, gently scrubbing with a toothbrush, but ne...
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What Earlier Teenagers had to Deal With
Aug 13
Your ancestors as teenagers in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s had to deal with situations that teenagers in the 2020s would never have to deal with. Here is a look at some such events. See if you remember any or your ancestors faced. Sitting through TV commercial breaks -- change the channel or view commercial-free programs. Reading dozens of bo...
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Unusual Happenings in Early American Colonies
Aug 11
There are many backstories as to why some things happened and what life for the early American Colonists was like. Starting with the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachuettes. It was the summer of 1620 were moved to Massachusetts because they ran out of beer. It began on August 5th, 1620, when they departed Plymouth, England, for a journey across the...
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Study On Side Effects of Parkinson’s Medication
Aug 11
23andMe posted information on a new genetic study that may help those looking for ways to avert some of the troubling side effects of a common medication used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s is sometimes treated with medication that increases dopamine activity in the brain. In some patients, that triggers impulsivity, such as ...
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Children’s Sewing Machines
Aug 9
The early smaller sewing machines developed for the homemakers were Chain Stitch Machines originally marketed as both lightweight portable devices and then later as toy machines for little girls to use. The latter half of the 19th century saw many machine designs being sold. The patents filed by James Gibbs in 1857 and 1858 were critical in the de...
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Managing Multiple Sets of Parents
Aug 9
Families come in all shapes and sizes. MyHeritage users can now specify up to three sets of parents for any individual in the online family tree: biological, adoptive, and foster. For example, if an individual was adopted and his or her biological parents are known, both relationships can now be accommodated in the family tree in a few simple ...
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Code Talkers of World War One
Aug 7
During World War Two (early 1940s), an important group who assisted in defeating Germany and Japan was the Navajo Indians who served as code talkers. What most people do not know there were Native Indians – used as code breakers during World War One (1917-1919). These Native Americans - Choctaw Indians many of them came from Texas and Oklahom...
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Geneanet Family Trees Index Available To Ancestry Customers
Aug 7
At Ancestry, we are committed to constantly growing and connecting our global community and enabling more people to easily discover, craft, and connect around their family story. Following Ancestry’s acquisition last year of leading French genealogy company Geneanet, we are now able to bring over a billion new records to our Ancestry comm...
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Men’s Straw Hats of the 1920s
Aug 5
Men of all ages loved the new fashion trend of wearing a straw hat in the early 1920s. By 1922 it was a full-blown revival style. Straw hats were fashionable and comfortable to wear during the summer months because they would shade you from the sun but after the 15th of September, it was essentially an unwritten fashion mandate to switch to hea...
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Christening Ships
Aug 3
A long-time practice is the christening of new ships using a bottle of champagne smashed at the bow sending the ship into the water. Ususally, the person breaking the bottle at the ship's bow also announces the ship's name. Going back to ancient history, there were tons of rituals and ceremonies that varied in their specifics, but they all had ...
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1800s Photos – No Smiles
Aug 1
So many of your early family portraits, no one is smiling. There are several reasons. Back in the 1800s, wide-mouthed, toothy grins were considered inappropriate for a portrait. People in normal life still smiled and laughed but not for a portrait, including a painting. Here is a quote by Mark Twain about smiling for a photo. “A photograph...
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Slang Phrases Your Ancestors Used in the 1950s
Jul 31
The decade of the 1950s saw many changes and good times had by young people. Your relatives and ancestors who grew up during the decade would have grown up with some of these popular slang words and phrases of 1950s. Include some in your family history. A new word became popular, it was “Unidentified Flying Object” or UFO. Rockets and space...
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Inventions that Date Back to 1770-1790s
Jul 29
Many items we take for granted today and for many decades as used by our ancestors originally were invented in the late 1700s (American Revolutionary era). Here are a few. The beginnings of the Telegraph started with the optical telegraph operated visually via a set a relay stations and signals, viewed with a telescope. The semaphore telegraph ...
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FindMyPast UK Has Pennsylvania Collections
Jul 28
FindMyPast UK offers nearly half a million new records to explore that are connected to Pennsylvania’s past. This collection is for people in the UK who have traced an ancestor leaving for the US, but hit a dead end, It is also for people in the UK who know of their heritage in the New World but are struggling to continue the journey. Pen...
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