Blog Content
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Ouija Board
May 23
With America entering 'The Great War' (WW One) in April 1917 and then by early 1918 and again late 1918 – many Americans dying due to fighting overseas or due to the Spanish Flu pandemic. Besides the loss of countless individuals, most were in their 20s to age 40 (military and flu victims). Left behind were many parents, children, and spou...
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School Lunches
May 21
National School Lunch Act was signed in 1946, the country’s first school food programs began decades earlier, in the immigrant tenements of turn-of-the-century cities. In these early lunchrooms, diversity ruled. However, not just in large cities but in smaller towns of the 1920s also began added serving lunch daily for students. From 18...
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Military Cemeteries Have New Rules Due to COVID-19
May 21
On Memorial Day, it is traditional for many families to visit the graves of family members who were in the military. In the days since the COVID-19 pandemic started, military cemeteries have instituted new rules that are designed to keep visitors healthy and safe. It is wise to check the rules before you visit, as the rules are subject to chan...
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Not Using Married Lady’s Given Names
May 19
It can be hard enough trying to research the female ancestors on the family tree, especially in the 1800s into the first half of the 20th century. It was a practice that once a woman married, from then on especially in any newspaper articles or journals / reports by organizations, she was referred to as: 'Mrs. Henry Wilson'. It was not acce...
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Genomics England will Sequence Human Genomes in Fight Against Coronavirus
May 19
Genomics England wants to find out how a person's genetic makeup could influence how they react to COVID-19. To find out, they (and their partners) will sequence the genomes of thousands of patients severely ill with coronavirus. A major new human whole genome sequencing study will take place across the NHS, involving up to 20,000 people ...
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Multiple Appearances
May 17
As one views countless times the vintage photographs taken of our ancestors to be very formal and straight-laced. However, in reality, there were some humorous and additional candid photos taken. Numerous fun photos were done when the fair or carnival set up in town for a week or more. Yet many were also done in professional photographic studio...
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Poems & Sayings – Ancestors
May 15
Dear Ancestor Your tombstone stands among the rest; neglected and alone The name and date are chiseled out on polished, marbled stone It reaches out to all who care It is too late to mourn You did not know that I exist You died and I was born. Yet each of us are cells of you in flesh, in blood, in bone. Our blo...
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MyHeritage Updated their Theory of Family Relativity
May 14
MyHeritage added their Theory of Family Relativity to their service in February of 2019. Recently, the company announced that they have run updates and refreshed the data that their Theory of Family Relativity uses. This could mean that users who were not getting any updates from that feature may start getting them now. What is the Theory o...
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The Youth of 1907
May 13
Young people in their mid to late teens have always enjoyed hanging out with their friends. Teenagers of the 21st century may believe that they invented the concept of peers enjoying each other's company but instead, it dates back to a time in memorial. Illustrated in the photo of 1907 in Manchester, Maryland was a large group of boys and girls,...
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23andMe Published a New BRCA Study
May 12
23andMe announced that their new BRCA study was published in Scientific Reports and is titled “Identifying Ashkenazi Jewish BRCA1/2 founder variants in individuals who do not self-report Jewish ancestry”. 23andMe says that this study could help inform the on-going discussion around broader access to BRCA genetic testing. The study is co...
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A Photo Can ‘Speak’ Volumes
May 11
During the time frame just before the outbreak of the Great War (World War I), every lady wanted to dress properly, no matter what her station in life allowed her husband to afford. So was the case for Leila Rue Heinke, born 1890 in Indiana. She had married in 1906 to a young fellow she grew up with, Harry S. Heinke. Her husband was a salesman...
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Citizen Archivist
May 9
Many of you now have a very different lifestyle, 'stay at home'. Some now have their regular work office, not miles away but rather in their own home and maybe permanently. There are our high school and college students taking online classes but still at home. So the 'Citizen Archivist' of the National Archives can be a wonderful way to giv...
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Your Great Grandparent Experienced This in 1918! – PT 2
May 7
Just like today, one defining fact of quarantine life was the patchwork of local laws under which people lived. In Chicago, if you coughed or sneezed, patrolling police officers would ensure you were holding a handkerchief. The city also banned smoking on public transport for the first time, reasoning that smokers would be more likely to cough...
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NGS Family History Conference will be Virtual
May 7
National Genealogical Society (NGS) has announced that their 2020 Family History Conference will be virtual. The conference will start live on May 20, 2020 at 11 a.m., and will continue with on-demand lectures that will open July 1, 2020. NGS explains the decision to go virtual this way: “Due to the continued spread of COVID-19 across the...
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Your Great Grandparent Experienced This in 1918! – PT 1
May 5
During this COVID-19 crisis of 2020, everyone has unusual experiences whether related to employment, getting supplies, not seeing and hugging family members, etc. However, do look back to 1918 with the Spanish Flu worldwide and see how different and what is the same from 100 years later. It would be good to include similar experiences of yo...
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