ancestry

  • Why My Ancestors Still Immigrated Even After 1912

    May 15

    I have long thought about how very brave and determined our ancestors were to continue crossing the Atlantic in the months and years immediately after the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912.  When I had acquired the ship manifests on several of my father’s family and when they came to resettle from Lancashire County, England to Essex Count...

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  • Mother’s Day Tribute

    May 13

    Sunday, May 10th is celebrated in the United States as Mother’s Day.  It has gotten a bit too commercialized here since it was started as an official national holiday back in 1914 under the direction of President Woodward Wilson. The concept for this special day was begun by Anna Jarvis to honor her mother and other mothers across the countr...

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  • A Blend of Facebook & FamilySearch Sites

    May 5

    Social networking using a computer, tablet, iphone, etc. is the fastest method to connect with people from around the globe.  If you want to link up with people in an ancestral home country, the FamilySearch has made it very easy for you to do so. When doing family history research, you look for surnames, but you also check in depth where a relat...

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  • Old Maps of the World

    Apr 21

    As you have collected information on your ancestors, the places (towns, cities, counties, provinces, states and countries) they have lived in over the decades it can become a bit confusing, less of course your have a degree in geography.  Most people are usually unfamiliar with most locations outside of any places they have lived in themselves.  ...

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  • The Titanic’s Fateful Night

    Apr 14

      On April 14, 1912, about 11:40 pm the unsinkable Titanic struck an iceberg and by 2:20 am of the early Monday morning, April 15th, the great luxury ship on its maiden voyage did sink into the icy cold waters of the Atlantic. There were 1,576 people from all walks of life who died that night.  Only 710 survivors made it alive to New York ...

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  • Got That Irish Feeling?

    Mar 16

    Many people will find at least some trace of Irish ancestry and it especially shows with the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration set for March 17th. The wearing of green (an American tradition), drinking beer, watching parades, carrying shamrocks, enjoying Irish folk music and eating corned beef cabbage are traditional.  The month of March was ...

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  • No 1890 US Federal Census – Now What?

    Mar 6

    There was a U. S. Federal census taken across the country in 1890.  Unfortunately, in January 1921, most of the stored records for the 1890 census were severely damaged in a fire at the Commerce Department Building in Washington, D. C.  A few portions of a hand-full of Federal censuses representing a few states survived the fire. The census befor...

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  • Using State Censuses

    Mar 4

    You may only know about the U. S. Federal censuses which have been taken every ten years since 1790 which are a wonderful source of information in tracking and learning about your ancestors. What you need to investigate is the data available in the numerous states censuses. The beauty of using a census done in an individual state, at a certain t...

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  • Millburn, Ill & Surrounding Areas with Digital Resources

    Mar 2

    Go north of Chicago, Illinois, close to the shores of Lake Michigan and in Lake County is the town of Millburn. There the Historic Milburn Community Association has developed a collection of databases relating to numerous aspects of the people, occupations, land, churches and homes of Millburn.  Their Online Historical Archives is filled with all ...

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  • Leap Year Day and Your Relatives

    Feb 29

    Here is that special day once every four years where an extra day is added to the calendar to keep in line with seasons and astronomical events - calendars because the earth does not orbit around the sun in precisely 365 days.  Since one can not add a ¼ of a day, the four quarters will make one day, so one extra day every four years is the soluti...

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