Feb 15
We all love when we find that an ancestor served in the American Civil War (1861-1865). Of course sometimes we are not even aware we have such an ancestor. So now FamilySearch.org has online a collection from the census taken of just veterans in 1890. Now not all veterans from the Civil War were still alive in 1890, many killed in the war. How...
Dec 8
A vast assortment of databases are available online for anyone doing research in New Jersey. It was done by the State of New Jersey Archives and is quite complete. Some of the categories include: Indexes of marriage fromĀ 1666-1799 and May 1848 through May 31, 1878 in New Jersey with about 320,000 records; Death and burial records cover from Jun...
Nov 19
On a Thursday, Nov. 19, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln helped dedicate the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg, PA to the thousands of soldiers (Union and Confederate) who had died in battle there just a few months earlier, July 1-3, 1863. What would become his most famous speech before a crowd of men, women and children estimated at 15,000 ...
Nov 10
No better time with Veteran's Day, November 11th to compile a list of all ancestors who served in the military. It need not be during any specific war time, many individuals served from a couple years to multiple years during non-war periods. Once you identify an ancestor, find the regiment they served with and that can lead to you additional infor...
Oct 12
The US Army Heritage & Education Center (USAHEC) has online a very unique collection of Civil War soldiers, regiments, in digital format. Since the goal of the USAHEC is to preserve the contribution of soldiers in America back to colonial times they made sure the Civil War collection was as complete as possible. There are new images added to t...
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 2
With the 150th anniversary of the United States Civil War, researchers may have uncovered some names of ancestors who fought in the war. Even within families sides were taken, some members joining the Union side and others the Confederacy. It can be difficult locating information about Confederate soldiers. The free FamilySearch database, done b...
Aug 11
No better way to understand and appreciate the times our ancestors lived then through photos. The saying 'the picture is worth 1,000 words' is true. Whether it was during a historic events such as the Civil War or the Great Depression, images can speak volumes of what life might have been like for a great grandfather. The web site, 'Documentari...
Aug 5
At the Penn State University Library they have placed online a massive American Civil War (1860-1865) collection of documents, photos, recollections, veteran pensions, diaries, list of deserters, biographies of residents of PA involved with the Civil War, maps, info relating to neighboring states, newspapers of the era, soldier database, letters, ...
Jul 12
With the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War and renewed interest in our ancestors who either fought or were affected by this destructive war, it is a good opportunity to learn as much as possible relating to this time period. One aspect you may or will come across is the terminology used by people 150 years ago. You may have letters from a...