history
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World Events & Your Ancestors
Sep 11
Today's date; Sept 11th - a day that everyone who was living anywhere in the world knows and remembers where they were - it is '9/11' and the attack on several NYC buildings, in Washington, DC, and airplanes. It made and continues to make a major impact on those directly or indirectly affected by those attacks. This is so true for any of your ance...
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Images of America
Sep 5
Knowing more about your specific family and its heritage also means learning more about the family hometown. Using postcards, local libraries, museums can prove to be excellent resources in discovering about the place your ancestors call home. There is also a long-standing published series of books by Arcadia Publishing which might just have that ...
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Mount Vernon “Lives Bound Together” Exhibition
Oct 26
The “Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington's Mount Vernon” exhibition explores the personal stories of the people enslaved at Mount Vernon, while providing insight into George Washington's opposition to slavery. The exhibition is held in the Donald W. Reynolds Museum at George Washington's Mount Vernon. The “Lives Bound Togeth...
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What Your Ancestor’s Summer Picnics Were Like
Jul 14
Picnics today can be as simple as driving your family to the local park to eat sandwiches and drink sodas while sitting on a picnic blanket. Or, you might use the grill at the park to cook hot dogs while you are there. Have you ever wondered what your ancestor's summer picnics were like? Victorians enjoyed having picnics. The popularity of picni...
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Decode Civil War Military Telegrams
Jun 29
Yes, what an opportunity! The project is by the National Archives, Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens; the Papers of Abraham Lincoln at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; North Carolina State University to digitize and transcribe the Union Army telegrams from The Thomas T. Eckert Papers. Such an undertaking...
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You Hate History?
Jun 27
You never liked history, so why would you care about your family history? Some of your reasons could be that you don't have the time to do research or that it's too expensive. Well, one way to see if you might be interested is by joining Ancestry.com. Use their two-week free trial. A monthly subscription would be about $20 for a U.S. Records only ...
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Let Vintage Guidebooks Steer You
Jun 25
Here is an idea of an often overlooked location to find information on an ancestor. Many hometowns since the 1920s, especially if they had some special attractions such as seashore resorts, fishing villages, hiking trails, nature parks, lake terrains, grand mountains, former mining towns, historical landmarks, etc. have produced over the years loca...
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Tuberculosis Shaped Victorian Fashion
Jun 22
Tuberculosis is a serious disease. Today, it can be partly prevented by vaccine. Those who catch the disease can be treated by a medical professional (who will most likely prescribe antibiotics that will kill the bacterial disease.) It may sound strange, but tuberculosis actually shaped Victorian fashion. Tuberculosis used to be called "consumpt...
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Utah Newspapers
Jun 9
Having newspapers that cover hometown news, events, families and individuals is a treasure chest for information. The University of Utah has placed online a long list of local newspapers; titled the 'Utah Digital Newspapers' from across Utah covering many different time frames. They have them from all the state's counties with some dating back to ...
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What Does “Daughtered Out” Mean?
May 24
The phrase “daughtered out” is an interesting one because it combines concepts from genealogy and from sociology. The concept doesn't have as big an impact today as it once did, mostly due to changes in how society views the importance of women. What does “daughtered out” mean? It means “to expire due to having only females surviving t...