Oct 10
FamilySearch.org enhanced their site this year so individuals could submit their family photos. Within five months there were one million photos available for viewing along with family stories. All of the images and stories can be shared and stored for decades to come. To get started create a free account with your names and basic informati...
Oct 2
All the time spent doing the research, gathering vital records and creating as complete as possible your family tree, has it ever crossed your mind that you would have liked to meet one or two of your ancestors? Yes, some of our ancestors, great aunts, grandparents you may have known, even as a child, however there well be many others that you have...
Sep 26
The Mennonite Church has a very long history in the United States. This Christian group today numbers 1.7 million across the globe. One aspect over the years they have been known for is seeking peace and social justice for everyone. They have been in times of war known as 'conscientious objectors' in their belief of non-violence. Yet, if you hav...
Aug 31
Having online databases has made some aspect of family history research much easier. It is still good to have the actual copy of vital records by requesting from the state or county for a birth, marriage or death records. The California Birth Index has made it easy for a research to even know if a birth record exists for a relative. The Califor...
Aug 27
Today marks our 30th wedding anniversary, Greg & Alice. I wanted to make sure we reached that anniversary because in having done the family genealogy, most of our ancestors did not make their 30th anniversary. It is a bit surprising to see a certain pattern while examining your family tree. Beginning with our parents; neither reached their ...
Aug 23
To truly get an idea of how life was for some of our ancestors you have to know what life was like and what was done and expected of people, the accepted culture of a certain time. This is especially true for the treatment and expectation of females. Ladies owning property and voting in elections is a fairly newer concept. Our female ancestors wer...
Aug 2
It was Friday, August 2, 1776 the famous Declaration of Independence was actually signed, as many historians believe. The delegates actually unanimously approved of declaring independence on July 2nd and the wording and writing of the document was finished on Thursday, July 4th. The signing of the document by 56 delegates at the Second Continental...
Jul 26
This summer how about trying something a little different to involve more family members in knowing, appreciating and learning about their ancestors. Of course attending or sponsoring a family reunion is the best method. Bring together cousins, aunts, grandparents to share stories and especially heirlooms, artifacts and photos can spark many pe...
Jul 24
Nothing can tell you more about a hometown, a region, its people or an event than the local newspapers. There is a great online site with a large collection of transcribed news articles from County Cork (located in the southeast corner) in Ireland. Not every year, or month is done but overall a nice variety of articles. The earliest is dated 17...
Jul 16
If you had an ancestor who was a member of the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of the State of Michigan during the 1930s, you are in luck. There is now available online the volumes from the Masonic lodges have a “In Memoriam” section which identifies all of the known members of the Michigan masonic community that had died in the pre...