Oct 2
All the time spent doing the research, gathering vital records and creating as complete as possible your family tree, has it ever crossed your mind that you would have liked to meet one or two of your ancestors? Yes, some of our ancestors, great aunts, grandparents you may have known, even as a child, however there well be many others that you have...
Sep 28
There are new and modern methods, using your DNA, to determine your earliest heritage background. However, there are also theories of other methods to help determine your genetic make-up. It is as simple as looking at your feet and toes. In case you never noticed, people do have different structure especially when it comes to their toes. Yes, th...
Sep 24
Prior to the emancipation of the American slaves in 1863, those African-Americans held in bondage had usually just one or two given names. One given name the child's family selected and kept secret and one the child was known by given by the slave owner. If a surname was needed, the slave owner's family name might be used. Once the slaves were free...
Sep 22
Businesses, homes, people and life did not start in the Central Florida (Orlando) area when Disney World opened up in October 1, 1971 as many people believe. The region actually has a long history dating back to 1880s. The University of Central Florida Library, The Orange County Regional History Center, and The Orange County Library System have...
Sep 20
Who Knew? Our ancestors, especially those before the dawn of the 20th century had a different method of getting their needed rest. A night would have been 12 hours long, and began with a sleep of three to four hours, wakefulness of one to three hours, then sleep again until morning. Everyone did a two-sleep cycle. There are references in vintage...
Sep 18
Within a family there can be some unusual and even amazingĀ keepsakes or handwritten memorabilia. Of course you scan the item and / or take photographs to help preserve what the family heirloom looked like for future generations. Many of these treasured items are displayed in cabinets and bookcases. Some have to be so protected, they need to be wr...
Sep 16
As big as the State of Texas is about how much is in the collections amassed for the online Portal of Texas History. If you have any ancestors who were ever in Texas over the decades this would be a site to investigate. The various collections come from genealogical societies, historical archives, libraries, numerous counties, private collections a...
Sep 14
With the entire northern length of the United States bordered with the Commonwealth nation of Canada, it is very possible a few ancestors were born, lived or died there. In fact an aspect most people don't realize is that many young men during World War I who were not accepted in the military in their native United States (health or occupational re...
Sep 12
You may have a long line of ancestors who were born, marriage and lived during some part of the 19th century (1800s). There is a web site, "Making of America" that concentrates on just that time frame. With some 10,000 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints, all in a digital format. Much of the material is from the University ...
Sep 10
Newspapers are one of the most valuable resources for family historians. The online site titled; Elephind allows you to search over 50 million items from 1,145 newspaper titles. The researcher canĀ search across many newspaper collections simultaneously rather than having to visit each collection separately. Many of the smaller newspaper collection...