ancestors

  • Children’s Little Golden Books

    Nov 19

    You may have read these classical children's books, or your parents and even grandparents. They proved to be just the right length of words and content to keep a young child – age 3-7 interested. The Little Golden Books were easy to spot with their shiny spines of gold. These books were first published in 1942 by Western Publishing. There wer...

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  • Dominoes

    Nov 15

    The popular game of Dominoes originated in China in the 1300s. They allow for a variety of games while testing skill and patience. The markings on dominoes are called pips – these originally represented the results of throwing two six-sided dice. However, in the United States today, European dominos are usually played with. These differ from the...

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  • Children as Warriors

    Nov 13

    Many youngsters in their childhood have pretended to be warriors, hunters, soldiers, cowboys, etc. Yet, in reality, there were many children who really did serve in the military in some form. Here are some cases, they might be similar to one of your ancestors. In the sailing vessels of long ago, space below deck was limited. So in a battle with...

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  • 1920s – New and Exciting

    Nov 11

    As you work on your family tree, remember it is NOT just about collecting names, dates and places – it is also your ancestors' stories – their life. True that can be difficult if there is no one who knew your ancestors, or any written records or newspaper articles. However, if you do know the decade they lived as young adults, raising a family...

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  • Men’s Changing Facial Hair Since 1800s

    Nov 7

    Over the recent centuries, the style and amount or lack of facial hair on men have changed greatly. Just look at family photos of male ancestors. I just located one of my great grandfathers in the 1870s and he had quite a full beard and another photo in 1890 a very trimmed beard. Besides beards, men's styles had elaborate sideburns and mustaches. ...

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  • Life of House Servants Years Ago

    Nov 5

    For those who could afford it, many family households had one or more house servants to do the daily chores. It offered many men and women an opportunity to make a living and sometimes even a place to live. This was more common in the 1800s and into the early 1900s. The larger a home’s staff in numbers, the more prestigious it was for the fam...

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  • Roller Skates

    Nov 3

    The ever-popular roller skates for youngsters and adults had to start slowly to be what they became later. Roller skates were first invented in 1735 by a Belgian man named John Joseph Merlin. He famously introduced his wheeled shoes at a London party, and the skates had no brakes, he then crashed into a mirror. In 1819, a man named Monsieur Petitb...

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  • Candy Corn

    Nov 1

    A special autumn treat for years has been 'candy corn'. Yet, how did this favorite for generations get started? It dates back to the 1880s, so your great, great grandparents. It began with George Renninger, who worked at the Wunderlee Candy Company, who invented it. The Wunderlee company started manufacturing the candy. Bu 1898 candy corn was p...

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  • Tin Can Camps

    Oct 31

    After the 'Great War' aka World War One, and the Spanish Flu, Americans, including your ancestors, were ready for a change. One of the big items many Americans did was purchase an automobile. In 1921 there were 10 million autos on the road. Individuals and families now enjoyed traveling, going hundreds of miles away from home – they became Ameri...

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  • Snack Foods From 1910s – 1970s

    Oct 29

    Everyone has their favorite snacks, even your great grandparents had their favorites. These indulgences are a special treat, something to eat before the bigger daily meal, or a quick pick-me-up. Having snacks has not changed, just which snacks are the most favored at a certain era. Still, a favorite is Oreo Cookies, which came on the market in ...

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