19th century

  • Neighborhood Maps

    Jun 9

    The opportunity has now increased to view some of the vintage neighborhood maps done over the early years of the 20th century by the Sanford Fire Insurance Company. Placed online by the Library of Congress are about 25,000 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps representing over 3000 city sets online. Each month additional maps will be added until 2020 bring ...

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  • Settlers in South Australia

    May 31

    The early pioneers to the southern portion of Australia could have been some of your family tree if you had ancestors from Australia. Finding portrait of many of those early pioneers are now online and available. Beginning in December 1871 and into 1873, a photographer, Henry Jones, assembled those pioneers and doing their formal portrait. For the...

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  • Texas Photos

    May 27

    William Deming Hornaday over his years of the late 1800s into the 20th century he collected about 5,818 photographs, photographic postcards, photo engravings and negatives. They covered sites across Texas, particularly Brownsville, El Paso, San Antonio, and the Rio Grande Valley but also photos of places outside the United States. It is housed no...

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  • Civil War Pension Files and Letters

    May 11

    Two very important documents, if you have any for an ancestor during the American Civil War, would be their military pension file and any letters they wrote back home. The following is a good example of both in helping to tell the final days of one American, Wesley Wagoner in 1863. The 76th Pennsylvania infantry regiment along with four companie...

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  • North Carolina Newspapers

    Apr 29

    Newspapers of any time period can be so helpful in doing your family research. For example, I just came across an article from July 1930 in Texas for a friend that proved that her mother and aunt did go out to California after winning a beauty contest in Florida for a movie screen test. They had stopped to visit a family friend in Texas and because...

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  • National Death Registers

    Apr 11

    In the 19th century censuses, there were mortality schedules during 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 U.S. censuses. Here individuals were asked questions regarding those in the family who died in the twelve months prior to the enumeration. This database is an index to several of these schedules. The schedule lists the deceased name, sex, age, color, whet...

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  • FamilySearch–Germany

    Mar 7

    The online, free site of FamilySearch.com has a large database of records from Germany. If you have identified ancestors coming from Germany especially between the early 1800s into the early 20th century, you may be in luck in locating additional information. Some of the types of databases on Germany and its residents include: births-marriages and...

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  • Vintage Photos of Places & People

    Feb 23

    From the Library of Congress, US National Archives and state archives, a map of the United States, outlining each state is accessible online to locate vintage photos from that state. The years begin in 1837, then to the mid-1840s, 1850s and beyond. Not every year is represented but as you move more towards the late 1800s and into the 1900s the numb...

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  • Eastman Photo Collection

    Jan 23

    Everyone is familiar with Eastman when it comes to film and photos. To preserve such a legacy, there is the George Eastman Museum. It was George, a pioneer of popular photography and a leader in the development of motion picture film, who saw the need to preserve everyday and the unusual events on film. The Museum has a vast array of photos. One o...

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  • The Crinolinemania Craze

    Jan 7

    Yes, there were many crazes (fads) even in the 19th century, termed the Victorian Era. It was Queen Victoria of England, who took the throne in 1837, ushering in the Victorian period. Crinolines (lighter hoop skirts) were patented in the late 1850s, and quickly gained widespread popularity. The Victorian Era ended in 1901, at which point the thro...

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