Jan 8
There can be numerous unknown events our ancestors were part of that can only be learned with a little additional research. One fact is that many Americans wanted to fight in Europe beginning in 1914 during the Great War (World War One) because that was their native homeland. Only problem was that the United States did not enter the war until Apr...
Dec 12
When an epidemic of an infectious disease kills thousands of humans across vast regions it is referred to as a ‘pandemic’. It is far less common in the world in the 21st century, however throughout history in every location in the world our ancestors could find themselves in the midst of a pandemic. By understanding some of these regional and...
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...
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...
Sep 13
Many cultural and ethnic groups make up the United States and none is stronger than those with ancestors originally from Italy. Besides the numerous regional, state and local Italian societies and clubs across the country there is an organization called the Italian Genealogical Group whose purpose is to promote the Italian heritage and genealogy....
Sep 11
The following is an extra long blog for this 10th anniversary of Sept. 11th, but relates how genealogy can help heal even the deepest wounds. Above is a photo of Ralph Kershaw. Disbelief, just utter and total disbelief, was our reaction at what we were watching on the television that fateful September 11th morning. The national news was repor...
Aug 24
So you were not paying attention during high school American history class and now you are not sure of the events during the American Revolutionary War or the Pilgrims of the New England colonies. Yet, these are the great and more important elements that directed affected not only America as a young nation, but most assuredly our ancestors. For ...
Aug 22
If you are just beginning or have been doing family history research for awhile, it is always beneficial to check out some of the basic online genealogical sites. A good overall general site is Access Genealogy. It has been and remains a free resource online for genealogical data. The original backbone to the site over ten years ago was inform...
Aug 12
The major mid-west city of St. Louis, Missouri along the mighty Mississippi River has long been an important community in the development of America. It has served as the home to countless native citizens and new immigrants to the country over the decades. It has the nickname of ‘Mound City’ and ‘The Gateway to the West’. The famous ‘Ga...
Aug 10
The use of the general Internet search engines is invaluable, especially Google. There seems to be nothing it can not locate, if it is on the World Wide Web. Google Books is a wonderful addition, quickly locating a certain name, place or historical event in a digital book copy within moments and on the exact page. Of course using a search engi...