Heritage

  • Pandemics and Your Ancestors-Part 2 – 20th Century

    Dec 14

    By the early 1900s there was a sharp decline in diphtheria and influenza.  With use of vaccination, smallpox was much less a threat. Areas were being cleaned up. The medicine sciences were learning the causes and treatments for some diseases. Yet, there would still be some major pandemics.  In Hawaii and then San Francisco the citizens suffered a...

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  • Blending Family History with the Holiday Gifts

    Dec 8

      Here are some suggested ideas to blend family history with some holiday gifts and cards:   Rather than placing a written name tag on gifts instead us an old photo of that person, especially as a child to identify who is getting the gift.  It might just keep everyone guessing. Place on cardstock and print the images out.  It s...

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  • VMI – Databases With Possible Ancestors

    Dec 6

    The most fascinating aspect of looking for information on your ancestors is that you never know where the next great resource will come from.  One very nice online site; VMI - Virginia Military Institute, has a great archive about the VMI alumni.  It is very possible you may have never considered the possibility that an ancestor attended the Virg...

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  • Heritage Advent Calendars

    Dec 5

    The Christmas tree is the focal point of most Christian holiday decorations in the home. It is usually decorated with a lot of love, and care, and varies in shape and size. Maybe you have a huge one, or maybe you have a little one, but this Christmas tradition is definitely one to cherish.   When my husband and I first got married, w...

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  • Italian Club Offers Assistance

    Dec 4

    It is essential to learn your family ethnic background when doing your family tree.  There are numerous organizations and clubs who solely focus and assist individuals of a particulate ethnic group. One of the major organizations in the United States is ‘POINT’ which stands for ‘Pursuing Our Italian Names Together.’  Their goal is to help...

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  • Scenes of Old New York City

    Nov 26

    Finding any old photographs is of great assistance to historians and those researching their family background. With so many people having lived at one time or another in the many boroughs of New York, the online collection of vintage photos offers a wonderful treasure chest to explore. The site, Photographic Views of New York City, 1870s - 1970...

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  • A ‘Blacksheep’ Pilgrim or the First American Individualist?

    Nov 24

    People generally have the notion that the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony in the 1620s were a very docile, proper group of people, just seeking a new homeland to worship as they saw fit.  Yet, that original group of 102 passengers on the tiny Mayflower ship of 1620 was quite diverse. The following is about one family who stood out from the rest at...

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  • How to Search for Pilgrim Ancestors

    Nov 22

    You would think the place to start researching for any ancestral Pilgrims would be with each of the surviving Pilgrims and work toward the present time.  Only that is the very hard way since there can be so many descendants. If a Pilgrim couple had nine children and each of those children had five or more children the numbers very quickly add up. ...

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  • “The Descendants” – the Movie

    Nov 13

    At first glance you might think such a movie title is just perfect for anyone interested in family history.  Even though it is set in contemporary times it does offer some similar complex events faced by many of our ancestors or ourselves in parallel situations. True, this is a Hollywood movie starring George Clooney, but it is a family story o...

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  • An Archive of Historic Photos of California

    Nov 6

    If you have any ancestors who lived along the central California coast from the mid-1800s to the end of the 20th century, you will want to check out a massive collection of photos placed online by California Views.  Most of the images in their archives are from the central coastal region, especially in the Monterey district.  However, they have a...

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