Aug 15
Oh, how you wish sometimes you had some photo of an ancestor. You have gathered information about their life, but have no idea what they look like. Did they have a round face, were they tall, have blue eyes and is it possible you look like them? There are a few sources to turn to that might help provide some general physical cha...
Jul 10
So much unknown and yet there is a great deal a family historian can piece together about their ancestors. After gathering vital records, documents, journals; a researcher really needs to take some time to see if any patterns of behavior emerge and if such actions can be directly traced to a historical event. Examples of how historical events c...
Mar 4
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known as Philly has a long history dating back to the colonial period. So there well can be many of your ancestors who lived and worked in and around the city of Philadelphia. It was also a major entrance for immigrates first arriving in America. The Philadelphia City Archive has one of the country's largest municipal...
Feb 14
If there is: Fabris, Panetta, Gardella, Zavaglia, Campioni, Matteri, Tarullo, or a thousand other various Italian surnames somewhere on your family tree, you will want to review the Italian Surnames Database. Here in alphabetical order are thousands of Italian family names from various provinces and regions across Italy. What is even better are t...
Oct 28
Not all immigrates to the shores of America passed by the famed Statue of Liberty in New York, mostly because it did not even exist in the harbor until it was officially dedicated on Thursday, October 28, 1886 when the last rivet was fitted by U. S. President Grover Cleveland during a special ceremony. This 151-foot statue of lady liberty with her ...
Sep 30
Many immigrates from countless nations have come to the American shores to start a new life over the centuries. Usually people think of the immigrants coming from Europe, but Asian nations have many of their former citizens coming to the United States for a fresh start. One such group are the Japanese who starting arriving to America in the 1880s....
Sep 29
I'm remembering and marking the 100th anniversary of when by paternal great grandparents came to the shores of America. In spite of being married they actually came at two different dates. My gr grandfather, George William Kershaw, arrived to the Port of Boston on August 14, 1912. He had lived his whole life, born in Hulme, Chorlton, Manchester, L...
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...
Apr 18
The recent coverage of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic with books, magazine articles, news reports, documentaries and movies has reminded everyone how certain historical events can play such important defining moment in nearly everyone’s lives. Certainly those survivors of the Titanic, the descendants of those who did n...
Mar 30
Yes, Google is not the only search engine on the Internet, but it is one highly used and recommended by everyone. As with any search engine, the top items high up on a search will be those people or events related to celebrities, sports events, scandals or even where the closest place to order a pizza is found. Regrettably, archival records on our ...