ancestors

  • Ancestral Illnesses and Causes

    Dec 29

    As you put in an ancestor's birth-marriage and death dates, you might wonder how come many of our ancestors only lived into their 50s or 60s. Many younger females ancestors appeared to died in their 20s or 30s. There are some logical answers. Living Conditions: People in many areas lived in crowded conditions, with little or no sanitation, no c...

    More

  • Holiday Interviewing of Relatives

    Dec 27

    Don't miss the opportunity during the holidays to pull aside one or two relatives at a time to begin asking questions about them or ancestors on the family tree. You might only meet with your aunt once or twice a year, use the time when you are together. Some ideas to help with your interviewing: Have a prepared list of questions. Be very spec...

    More

  • Christmas Day Dinner – Traditional

    Dec 25

    Here are some of the Christmas Day meals prepared at different times in America. This might be that type of special holiday meals you grandparents enjoyed. 1900 Christmas Dinner might have: Clam or Oyster Soup, Celery, Baked Fish, Hollandaise Sauce, Roast Turkey, Oyster Dressing, Celery or Oyster Sauce, Roast Duck, Onion Sauce, Baked Potatoes, S...

    More

  • Changing – Items Fading into History

    Dec 23

    Not just the many everyday items used by our parents or grandparents (60 to 100 years ago), but even for anyone over the ages of 45-50, many of our daily household items are disappearing. Not until you take the time to stop and recall what was common place and now no longer used, do you better understand the same situation faced by your ancestors...

    More

  • Christmas Tree Lights – 1880 – 1882 – 1917

    Dec 22

    Something we take for granted in our decorating is the traditional brightly colored or clear lights on the Christmas Tree. Of course, you know originally the tree was decorated with candles - quite a fire hazard. Plus because of the use of candles, a tree would be lit only just before Christmas and for a short time. It was Thomas Edison, the inve...

    More

  • Genealogy Hound

    Dec 21

    It is always great to locate an online site with a collection of genealogical resources. One to look at is 'Genealogy Hound.' It has family biographies, surnames, county maps, plus a growing collection of photos and postcards. It is easy to search, using the search box. Explore using a surname or a hometown or home county name. Use also the tab ...

    More

  • Executions 1608-2002

    Dec 19

    Yes, they have existed in America from the early 1600s. Some of the most famous were the hangings for those being declared witches in Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1690s. However, witchcraft hangings in some of the other colonies, such as Connecticut in the 1640s to 1660s totaled seven of males and females. Any in the 1600s or 1700s would have ...

    More

  • English Christmas Cards

    Dec 17

    The very first Christmas card was commissioned by a United Kingdom government worker, Sir Henry Cole (1808-1882), in 1843 when he was too busy to write to his friends himself. Printed in black and white, they were originally colored by hand. The art design was done by John C. Horsley. These became the first commercial Christmas cards. Only a ha...

    More

  • Those Maiden Names of Our Female Ancestors

    Dec 15

    If you can not locate the family birth name (maiden name) of some of your ancestors, there are some reasons why and some ideas to find it. With the US Federal census which started in 1790, it was only the head of household, a male, whose name was listed. No females or even other family members' names were used. That practice continued for the 18...

    More

  • Old New York City in Photos

    Dec 13

    This is a very unusual map done by 'Old NYC' site for the NY Public Library. Here is a map, laying out the city streets and locations. All over are red dots, indicating where there are vintage photos of that exact location. Actually there are some 80,000 photos, covering between 1870s-1970s. Use your mouse to move about on the map to find a spec...

    More