hometown
-
Research with YouTube
Feb 15
Here is an idea most people don't think of to locate little-known information about a family ancestor or hometown. Using the online YouTube you might discover a series of photos or better yet a video placed on YouTube that you didn't know existed. It could be the historical district of a hometown, it might have about certain businesses and their o...
-
Refrain from These Slip-Ups
Feb 1
As you just start or continue on your family history research you want to be aware of any possible mistakes or slip-ups in your search. The following are a few thoughts on what to avoid doing. Number one is never accept 100% someone elses family research. They may have everything sourced but you need to recheck every aspect your with what you do k...
-
National Registry of Historic Places
Jan 31
This National Registry was created in 1966 to keep a permanent record of information and available photos of some of the nation's most prized historic locations. In 2016 there were 931 such locations in the national registry. Now you might think these would only be the most famous places such as Mount Vernon, etc. The answer is NO. Instead, this N...
-
Baffling Ancestors – Some Hints
Jan 15
Everyone has more than one elusive ancestor in their direct lineage or extended family line. It can be quite baffling for a family researcher to find our details on that person. Here are a few hints and suggestions to help in the process. If you have found their death date and a possible location, search for a Will on file. Those legal documents ...
-
Check Hometown Street Names
Jan 2
Very much an overlooked source is a family surname that is used in a family's hometown for naming of a street, a park, a building, a bridge, a school, a river, or lake. There had to be a reason why a specific place, structure, natural item has your family name. True, it may have been named for a person NOT related to your family. However, a good...
-
A Little Productive Time Pays Dividends
Dec 31
For the new year here are ideas to increase your knowledge of your ancestors. How about setting aside a short period of time once a week, every other weekend or even once a month to do some research on your family tree? Here are a few approaches: Create a 'To-Do List' - start with just a few of the resources (census, state archives, military reco...
-
City Directories for NY and on eBay
Oct 29
The use of city directories is very important resources when compiling information on ancestors. Besides names, home addresses, business addresses and names, other family members in the household may be listed, such as a wife. Many business ads are in a directory - one could be for an ancestor. One of the best locations for secure a variety of ava...
-
Family History Ideas
Oct 25
You spend time gathering, collecting and verifying your family history ... so what is the next step. Of course, you never really 'finish' research on your ancestors, there is always something new to discover. However, if you want some ideas for greater enjoyment and to share what you have found, here are a few. First, one of the main items you ha...
-
Book about Stuart, FL and Vintage Photos
Sep 25
Family photos are such a treasure for the relatives to share. However, there are others in a hometown that would love to look over vintage photos of citizens, places and events where their ancestors also lived. For a year, I went to the descendants of pioneer families in Stuart, Florida (just north of West Palm Beach) to gather and scan their coll...
-
Those Searching Surnames
Jun 17
One of the family history items you spend a good deal of time is the family name (surname). It is surprising how many people over the decades have the same surname, even those unusual ones. Many of those people may be direct lineage, others extended family branches and a few not related at all. One of our family names was 'Musselman' and the famil...