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A Look at Details in 1950s Census
Jul 7
Yes, it is great the US Federal Census is now available. Especially now we can find family and friends we knew or are still living. Yet there is one special item on that 1950 census you should not overlook. During that year's census taking, the enumerators were told to make notes of unusual entries or irregular situations. So what were some of ...
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Soldiers’ Life during American Revolutionary War
Jul 5
If on your family tree you were able to trace the lineage of an ancestor who lived during the start of the American Revolutionary War – 1776 to its conclusion of 1783, here is some information of life during those times would have been like – especially those who served in the milita. Some who served already had experience prior to 1776 wit...
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Some Crazy Ladies’ Clothing Styles
Jul 3
Bloomer Suits - named after the women's rights activist Amelia Bloomer, emerged during the 1850s, as a more comfortable alternative to other trendy fashion items of the era. They featured baggy trousers worn under a knee-length skirt with a vest. While bloomer suits weren't necessarily bad for women’s health, they could’ve had a negative impac...
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Kitchen Sink by a Window
Jun 27
Think about it, don't most home kitchens have the sink right by an outside window? How did that happen? Well, kitchen sinks have traditionally been placed under the window is obviously, that is an outside wall. Using as short a waste pipe as possible from the sink to the drains is not only the most effective but also the cheapest solution. Also...
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Slang of the 1930s
Jun 25
If you or your ancestors grew up in the 1930s – the era of the Great Depression, some of the following slang words will be well known. The word 'Bingo' was introducted in the mid-1930s. The game of Bingo was invented in 1929, but Bingo halls didn’t become popular until the 1930s after the Great Depression hit. The word Crooner refers to ...
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The Fun Hula Hoop
Jun 23
The Wham-O company did invent the hula hoop, but they adapted it from a manner of play popular on another continent. Hoops twirled around the waist by swiveling the hips and were popular toys for centuries in other locations and cultures. In Native American rituals, they were used for symbolic purposes to tell a story. In Europe, their use was doc...
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Ice Cream
Jun 21
The consumption of ice cream in America dates back to the mid-1700s. The first official account of ice cream in the New World comes from a letter written in 1744 by a guest of Maryland Governor William Bladen. The first advertisement for ice cream in this country appeared in the New York Gazette on May 12, 1777, when confectioner Philip Lenzi anno...
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23andMe Updated Report for People with Asian Ancestry
Jun 21
23andMe updated its report on an inherited condition characterized by mild to profound hearing loss. The update to 23andMe’s Nonsyndomic Hearing Loss and Deafness, DFNB1 (GJB1-Related) Carrier Status Report adds six variants that improve the coverage of the test for people with East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian ancestry. “We ...
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Roller-Rinks Over the Decades
Jun 19
This popular indoor activity started in the 1880s. People had fun skating on wooden floors and meeting up with friends. Buildings or skating rinks were found in small towns, and large cities, a great place to enjoy one's self. Roller skating became an appropriate activity for men and women to do together, allowing young Victorian couples to meet w...
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Slang Words Your Ancestors Used in 1920s
Jun 17
Slang words have always been popular throughout the decades. It is great to see what some of those slang or special phrases existed used by your ancestors. Note many of the terms are still used today. Here are some for the 1920 – the Roaring Twenties: Plastered – being drunk or totally intoxicated Baloney – first used in the Saturda...
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Beyond 2022 Creates a Virtual Record of Ireland
Jun 16
Beyond 2022 is an all-island and international collaborative research project working to create a virtual reconstruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland, which was destroyed in the opening engagement of the Civil War on June 30th, 1922. The ‘Record Treasury’ at the Public Record Office of Ireland stored seven centuries of Irish reco...
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Gone – NYC Phone Booths
Jun 15
Payphones – those public phones once found on every corner and store in any town or city. It was inventor William Gray and developer George A. Long who were both responsible for the very first payphone installation at a Hartford, Connecticut bank in 1889. This great new convenience would increase to 81,000 payphones across the United States by 1...
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The Lavender Scare May Have Affected Your Relatives
Jun 14
The National Archives posted an article titled “These People Are Frightened to Death”. It was written by Judith Adkins in 2016. The article is about the Lavender Scare that caused harm to people who who were “in the closet” in the 1940s. Some of your relatives or ancestors may have been negatively affected by this. Here are some exc...
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Entertaining Military Troops
Jun 13
Just about all of us have a family member who served in some form during World War 2 (1941-1945). One item many of our ancestors remember was when entertainment came to where they were stationed to help brighten their day. It did help bolster their morale while so far from home. It was during World War 2 that the Federal government and other or...
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Inventions that Benefited Your Ancestors in the 1930s
Jun 11
Yes, the 1930s were defined because the United States and the world had to deal with the Great Depression of the 1930s. Life was hard for many but there were many events and items that existed in the 1930s that gave pleasure to your ancestors. Include some in your family history. During the 1930s, it was an era of inventions and innovation. Thi...
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