Aug 7
You are busy collection and researching the vital records on your ancestors, did you ever spot some notation or phrase that made you break out into full blown laughter?? So where might you find such humor? Start by really examining what was written in an ancestor's Will. Many times the decease had the last word, by placing some unusual or strange ...
Jul 17
The big 'Lone Star' state of Texas has had many people come through, visit and live over the decades ... perhaps even some of your relatives. If they lived in any of the bordering states / territories such as Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kansas, Arkansas or New Mexico, they may have gone to Texas to be married. Available on FamilySearch.org is a free d...
Jun 25
It can be fascinating to look back and attempt to see what occupations our ancestors performed. In the various census records you do see 'laborer' quite frequently -- which could be a variety of jobs. Another common listing is a farm worker since most people in the 18th and 19th centuries and earlier lived on a farm. However, even into the early 2...
Jun 22
The four southern Appalachian states are Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, due to the fact the Appalachian Mountains encompass part of the state. If you have any ancestors from these states and specifically from the Appalachian region, you will find the online site titled 'Appalachian Mountain Families' a most informative data...
May 29
The use of city directories is invaluable for all family history researchers. They offer a moment in time of the businesses, careers, shops, professionals in any given community. Besides a person's name and address will be their occupation. If they paid for an advertisement in the city directory, even better, since it offers even more details. E...
Apr 14
With this marking the 150th anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865 at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D. C., it is an excellent time to reflect on if you had an ancestor somewhere - somehow that has any connection to a major historical event. If you had an ancestor living in or around Washington, D. C...
Mar 13
Most family researchers are happy if they can locate ancestors back 100 - 150 years. That is an accomplishment verifying actual relatives who were 2 to 4 generations back. There are others doing their family tree that can take the lineage back even further-- even to 17th through 14th century. Now available through the United Kingdom Natio...
Mar 3
There are not just vintage documents, photos and records on genealogical databases, but many sites carry recent records on living individuals considered 'public records'. The online site of 'Persopo' has a variety of available public records. Now what is available will vary from state to state. Informational records can come from towns, cities,...
Jul 19
Was the state of Alabama a place of residence for any of your ancestors, then you will want to check out the Alabama Dept. of Archives and History Digital Collections. Of special interest is the Alabama Photographs and Pictures Collection. This large image collection has over 15,000 pictures, illustrations and photographs relating to Alabama ove...
Jun 15
What better method to remember all the Dads (grandfathers, great grandfathers, gr gr grandfathers etc.) on Father's Day than to preserve those treasured photos, many of which they may have taken over the decades. A recent online site titled "Forgotten Photographs Project" tries to help preserve and share long lost photos. You know at antique shows...