19th century
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Some Favorite Foods in the 1800s
Apr 15
To know everything about your ancestors, one major area is about the type of foods they may have enjoyed. Many of such meals are still enjoyed today having been handled down through the generations. However, there are a few, less consumed now-a-days. To start, 'Pressed Duck' was a favorite in the 1800s. The butchered duck would be semi-roasted in ...
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British Convicts In American Colonies
Apr 3
The British were noted for transported prisoners out of England to be made to work at their numerous colonies. From 1615 to 1870, more than 200,000 criminals were conditionally pardoned, exiled, and transported to penal colonies. Before 1775, more than 50,000 prisoners were sent to America—primarily to Virginia and Maryland. With the American R...
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Chicago & Cook County, Illinois Death Records 1878-1994
Mar 25
FamilySearch.org has indexed an additional 3.7 million Cook County, Illinois death records. These records date from 1878 to 1939 and 1955 to 1994 (although the records are missing for the city of Chicago death records for the years 1910 to 1915). This collection can be searched by first name, last name, gender and race. Access is free. Mos...
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19th Century Names on Ships’ List
Mar 13
If you have managed to get a rough idea of when you ancestors arrived in America, you just might be able to view the passenger list, handwritten by ship officials, with that ancestor listed. It can reveal some interesting information, especially the spelling of the ancestor's name. True, there can still be errors in the spelling but seeing ...
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Middle Names
Mar 5
You might not be able to find your ancestor's middle name because they never had one. Recall the first US President, George Washington - he had no middle name. It was not common practice in the 1700s and into the 1800s for the use of middle names. Then there was President Harry S. Truman. He had only a middle initial which did not stand for a mid...
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Biographical Books aka ‘Mug Books’
Mar 1
Written stories of family events, yes, many were written by family members on their own family years ago. These can provide such insight to individuals in a family at certain periods of time. Of course, there are not such biographical family books or what were once termed 'mug books' for every family. Many such books were created in the late 1800s,...
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Mourning Jewelry and Others
Feb 17
In the last half of the 19th century, our ancestors then practiced a popular method of remembering the departed relatives and in a way forever keeping them with the living. It was the custom for decades to have some form of mourning jewelry or art form. In the 21st century it might be a bit morbid, but for our ancestors it was very important to the...
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English Victorian Criminals
Feb 5
Available now on Ancestry.UK is the UK Police Gazette with articles about British wanted criminals, crimes committed, criminals who had been apprehended, and missing persons. The dates range from 1807 to 1902 and 1921 to 1927 (but not every year in that range is available). The Ancestry - UK version is a fee based subscription. If you have this d...
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Maps-Atlases of New York City
Jan 31
The use of maps, long before GPS, has been a very helpful tool, not just to find places, but for someone doing genealogy to better understand the areas their ancestors lived. True, you can visit an old family neighborhood today, but that general store or the three neighbor houses across from that of your grandparents might not be there anymore. H...
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Collections from New York City Library
Jan 27
The New York Public Library has a vast array of collections, now made digital. The categories range from NY World's Fair 1939-40; photos of the city 1931-1942; atlases of NYC; street views of New York; a collection of the front of doors in the city; NY World’s Fair of 1964; construction of the subway; art photos from the NY Museum; the East Riv...