GenealogyBank adds even more newspapers

Hot off the press!

I just received word that GenealogyBank began adding an additional 67 historical newspapers today.

(Image from Library of Congress - American Memory Project)

That jumps the total with yesterday's announcement to 107 titles added this weekend!!

These titles will finish loading later this week.

These additional historical newspapers are from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas and cover the dates 1855 to 1977.

That's just too many titles for me to list here - but I will put the complete list on GenealogyBank Monday morning. Click here to see the 40 titles I announced yesterday.

It's a great day for Genealogy ....

...and a great day for GenealogyBank too.

All of GenealogyBank may be searched for free.

In the free search you will see a preview snippet of the article showing the name of your ancestor that you are searching for.

These snippets let you confirm which articles and records GenealogyBank has on your ancestors before you join. Your membership helps us to make even more records available.

Your membership in GenealogyBank entitles you to read the complete text of over 230 million articles and records - search for more than 1 billion of your relatives.

Sign up now and ask your friends to join with us in bringing more records online - It's only $9.95 - click here.

www.GenealogyBank.com adding more historical newspapers - Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Oregon, Pennsylvania - over 20 States

GenealogyBank is adding even more newspapers - 40 titles from 20 States!

Millions of articles are going live on the site beginning today through next week.

Here is a list of just some of the content that has been added.

(Image from Library of Congress - American Memory Project)

All of GenealogyBank may be searched for free.

In the free search you will see a preview snippet of the article showing the name of your ancestor that you are searching for. These snippets let you confirm which articles and records GenealogyBank has on your ancestors before you join.

Your membership helps us to make even more records available.

Your membership in GenealogyBank entitles you to read the complete text of over 230 million articles and records - search for more than 1 billion of your relatives.

Sign up now and ask your friends to join with us in bringing more records online - It's only $9.95 - click here.

This list includes the newspapers that we are adding to GenealogyBank beginning today.

Next week I will post the names of even more newspapers that we are adding.

It is a great day for genealogy!

Alabama
Montgomery. Montgomery Advertiser. 7/1/1916 to 8/31/1916

Arizona
Tucson. Tucson Daily Citizen. 5/1/1909 to 8/31/1909

California
Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz Sentinel. 2/9/2008 to Current
Santa Monica. Santa Monica Daily Press. 3/29/2005 to Current

Colorado
Colorado Springs. Gazette-Telegraph. 1/4/1873 to 10/31/1913
Denver. Denver Republican. 4/20/1906 to 4/20/1906

Connecticut
Bridgeport. Connecticut Courier. 3/8/1814 to 6/14/1826
Hartford. Religious Inquirer. 11/10/1821 to 11/07/1835
New Haven. Daily Herald. 6/4/1836 to 12/26/1836
New London. Republican Advocate. 1/2/1822 to 12/10/1828
Norwich. Canal of Intelligence. 8/22/1827 to 10/28/1829
Norwich. Norwich Aurora. 5/15/1839 to 3/10/1876
Torrington. Register Citizen. 10/25/2007 to Current

Washington, DC. Metropolitan. 8/20/1825-12/18/1835

Georgia
Conyers. Rockdale Citizen. 11/24/2007 to Current
Cumming. Forsyth County News. 2/16/2006 to Current

Hawaii
Honolulu. Pacific Commercial Advertiser. 6/2/1859 to 6/28/1873

Idaho
Coeur d'Alene. Coeur d'Alene Press. 10/1/2003 to Current

Illinois
Chicago. Chicago Times. 11/2/1854 to 7/3/1888
Nauvoo. Nauvoo Expositor. 6/7/1844 to 6/7/1844

Kansas
Shawnee. Siwinowe Kesibwi. 1/11/1811 to 1/11/1811

Louisiana
New Orleans. Jeffersonian. 5/30/1842 to 5/30/1842

Massachusetts
Boston. Boston Evening Transcript. 7/2/1855 to 12/31/1855
Boston. Daily Atlas. 1/1/1848 to 6/30/1848
Boston. Saturday Evening Gazette. 9/20/1856 to 3/26/1859
Springfield. Springfield Republican. 1/1/1877 to 2/29/1908

Missouri
Kansas City. Unfettered Letters. 9/29/2005 to Current

Montana
Anaconda. Anaconda Standard. 7/1/1920 to 8/31/1920

New York
New York City. Irish World. 1/11/1890 to 5/30/1903
New York City. New York Evangelist. 6/16/1870 to 7/26/1877
New York City. New York Ledger. 1/3/1863 to 12/26/1863
New York City. Spectator. 5/13/1831 to 4/30/1834
Syracuse. Northern Christian Advocate. 7/4/1900 to 5/28/1908

Oregon
Portland. Oregonian. 4/17/1921 to 12/9/1922

Pennsylvania
Philadelphia. Philadelphia Inquirer. 6/2/1834 to 10/31/1860

Vermont
St. Albans. St. Albans Daily Messenger. 7/2/1888 to 12/30/1922

Wisconsin
Milwaukee. Milwaukee Journal of Commerce. 3/15/1871 to 12/22/1880
Milwaukee. Wisconsin Free Democrat. 9/9/1845 to 12/26/1855
Monroe. Jeffersonian Democrat. 8/14/1856 to 3/26/1857

On, Wisconsin! - Statehood May 29, 1848

Here's to Wisconsin!

It became a state on this day in 1848.

On, Wisconsin is the state song. (The image is from the Library of Congress, American Memory Project.)

GenealogyBank has millions of records for Wisconsin - even newspapers that were published before it became a state.

Here is the list:

Capital Times, The (Madison, WI). 3/20/1989-Current
Cedarburg News Graphic (WI). 6/25/2001-Current

Central Wisconsin Sunday (Wisconsin Rapids, WI). 5/4/2003-Current
Daily News, The (West Bend, WI). 7/12/2000-Current

Daily Telegram, The (Superior, WI). 5/19/2006-Current
Daily Tribune, The (Wisconsin Rapids, WI). 1/28/2003-Current
Green Bay Press-Gazette (WI). 1/1/1999-Current
Herald Times Reporter, The (Manitowoc, WI). 6/8/2004-Current
Jeffersonian Democrat (Monroe, WI). 8/14/1856 - 3/26/1857
Marshfield News-Herald (WI). 2/1/2003-Current
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI). 1/22/1990-Current
Milwaukee Journal of Commerce (Milwaukee, WI). 3/15/1871 - 12/22/1880
Milwaukee Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI)

Variant titles: Daily Republican Sentinel; Daily Sentinel & Gazette; Milwaukee Daily Sentinel. 6/27/1837 - 6/13/1866
Oshkosh Northwestern (WI). 8/31/1999-Current
Post-Crescent, The (Appleton, WI). 11/18/2001-Current
Reporter, The (Fond du Lac, WI). 4/25/2002-Current
Sheboygan Press, The (WI). 1/28/2004 to Current, selected coverage from 2/22/1999-12/31/2003
Stevens Point Journal (WI). 2/3/2003-Current
Waukesha Freeman (WI). 6/12/2000-Current, currency varies
Wausau Daily Herald (WI). 8/27/1999-Current
Weekly Wisconsin Patriot (Madison, WI)

Variant title: Wisconsin Weekly Patriot. 7/8/1854 - 12/26/1863
Wisconsin Chief (Fort Atkinson, WI). 5/3/1853 - 9/29/1866
Wisconsin Daily Patriot (Madison, WI). 9/2/1863 - 3/15/1864
Wisconsin Democrat (Madison, WI). 10/18/1842 - 5/8/1852
Wisconsin Free Democrat (Milwaukee, WI). 9/9/1845 - 11/28/1860
Wisconsin Patriot (Madison, WI). 10/22/1864 - 10/22/1864
Wisconsin Populist (Madison, WI)

Variant title: The Dane County Populist . 9/10/1892 - 11/8/1892
Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI). 3/10/1857 - 12/27/1889
Wisconsin State Journal (WI). 3/19/1989-Current
Wiskonsan Enquirer (Madison, WI)

Variant title: Wisconsin Enquirer. 11/8/1838 - 3/27/1841

Jim Thorpe - Born May 28, 1888

We all heard the stories of Jim Thorpe - the world's greatest athlete - while we were growing up.

The newspapers & movies regularly carried stories about him and he was even featured on a box of Wheaties. (photo - NC Museum of History).

He loved to compete. He enjoyed the battle itself and the drive to win.

Today is his day - he was born on May 28, 1888.

I found a great quote in the Dallas Morning News 1 Jan 1953 - that captured his love of the game. It was given in an interview just two months before he died at age 64.

The newspapers are packed with articles about him. He was a hero to young and old alike. The town of Mauch Chunk, PA even changed its name to Jim Thorpe, PA (see Dallas Morning News 23 July 1954) ... and I am still eating Wheaties.

GenealogyBank has more than 230 million records of more than One Billion people - some of them were well known heroes and some were our often less well known ancestors. But their stories are there to be read - recorded in more than 3,400 historical newspapers - from the 1600s to today.

Give it a try right now. What will you find on your family?

It's Wild Bill Hickok's Day ....

Wild Bill Hickok - James Butler Hickok - was born on May 27, 1837 in Troy Grove, Illinois.

Famous in movies, films and hundreds of newspaper articles - he is central to the legends of the Old West.

Newspapers serialized his story and pictured him fighting bears, outlaws and Confederate agents. Images by Van Ben.

Newspapers reported the high moments and the low ones - like the time he mistakenly killed a friend - Special Deputy Marshall Mike Williams.
(Aberdeen (SD) American - 10 Jan 1908).


They called him a hero and a coward (Columbus Daily Enquirer - 11 May 1899).


But the real coward was his killer Jack McCall who shot him - in the back - in 1876.

He was shot in the back and killed by Jack McCall in 1876 in Deadwood, SD.

Image by Van Ben Dallas Morning News 27 May 1928.

GenealogyBank has over 3,400 newspapers packed with historical articles about the Old West right up to today. Give it a try right now.

Our Honored Dead ...

When Abraham Lincoln gave his stirring remarks at Gettysburg in 1863 word spread quickly across the nation.

The San Francisco (CA) Daily Evening Bulletin of 18 Dec 1863 captured the impact of Lincoln's words that still move us today.

Newspapers report what happens every day giving each of us the emotion, context and impact of the news as it happens.

GenealogyBank with more than 3,400 newspapers over four centuries gives us the news as it happened.







Gripping accounts of the attack at Lexington & Concord appeared within days giving us the emotion and details of that day.
(NH Gazette & Historical Chronicle. 21 April 1775).









As we look back and remember our "honored dead" it is a good time to pause and reread Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

Four score and seven years ago

our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation,

conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition

that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether

that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.

We are met on a great battle-field of that war.

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field,

as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives

that that nation might live.

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense,

we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—

we can not hallow—this ground.

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here,

have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here,

but it can never forget what they did here.

It is for us the living, rather,

to be dedicated here to the unfinished work

which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

It is rather for us to be

here dedicated to the great task remaining before us
—that from these honored dead

we take increased devotion to that cause

for which they gave the last full measure of devotion

—that we here highly resolve

that these dead shall not have died in vain

—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom

—and that government of the people,

by the people,

for the people,

shall not perish from the earth.

This familiar version cited from Wikipedia

Now compare that with the version published in the San Francisco (CA) Daily Evening Bulletin of 18 Dec 1863

There were in fact multiple versions of the Gettysburg Address that were written down by reporters, others at the event and Lincoln himself.

See a discussion of this on the Library of Congress website loc.gov including a copy of the only known photo of Lincoln taken that day.

More Birth, Marriage & Death Records Go Online

We reported earlier that FamilySearchLabs has put up the Philadelphia Death Certificates from 1803 to 1915.

Volunteers working at FamilySearchLabs are digitizing microfilm and original vital records and putting them online. (Photo, courtesy: Newsroom.lds.org)

Today I see that they have added records for:

MICHIGAN

Michigan Birth Records 1867-1902 - Complete - includes digital images of the original documents

Michigan Death Records 1867 to 1897 - Complete - includes digital images of the original documents

WEST VIRGINIA

West Virginia Births 1853-1930 - 36% complete - includes digital images of the original documents

West Virginia Marriages 1853-1970 - 36% complete - includes digital images of the original documents

West Virginia Deaths 1853-1970 - 50% complete - includes digital images of the original documents

GERMANY and MEXICO

In addition to that FamilySearchLabs has put up German & Mexican baptismal & marriage registers for 1700-1900. These two resources are text only and give the citation for the original document but not the digital page images.

This is great news!

FamilySearchLabs is keeping up a brisk pace of uploading genealogical records and images.

GenealogyBank adds 4 million articles and records each month. To see what has been added this month click here.

GenealogyBank now has over 227 million records and documents - that's over 1 billion names. Give it a try now - search and see what GenealogyBank has on your ancestors.

On the Road Again - Delaware Genealogical Society

I am on the road again.

Last night I had the opportunity to speak to the Delaware Genealogical Society about GenealogyBank.

Hat's off to the Society and particularly to DGS President Phoebe Doherty, her husband Tom and to the incoming DGS President Fran Allmond and her husband Charles for their invitation and hospitality. The Union City Grille was a great place to eat.

What a terrific group. The hall was packed and they asked lot's of questions ranging from the coverage of Delaware newspapers in GenealogyBank and a non-stop presentation of the variety of examples found in historical newspapers.

Examples like: birth announcements; homesteaders; genealogies; death records & obituaries; mothers; fathers; military records; Hispanic newspapers; tips for finding people with common names and people who changed their names!

Newspapers are a terrific resource. They give us these details and more.

GenealogyBank has more than 1 billion names - and we're adding more than 4 million articles every month.

Give it a try right now - only $9.95.

Homestead Act - May 20, 1862 - Daniel Freeman 1st Homesteader

Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862. It would take effect on January 1, 1863. The first homesteader to take "the required oath and [be] given the documents which made him possessor of 160 acres of land" was Daniel Freeman (1826-1908).

Daniel Freeman was born April 26, 1826 in Lewisburg, Preble County, Ohio. The son of Samuel and Phebe (Willis) Freeman.

This image of Daniel Freeman is from the Omaha (NE) Sunday World Herald 26 June 1899.

According to that newspaper he and his family moved from Ohio to Illinois when he was 9 years old. In time he enlisted in "Company H of the Seventeenth Illinois Volunteers" and was stationed in Nebraska.

Freeman "had been ordered to return to St. Louis" and would not be in town when the land record office would open on January 2nd but the Recorder of Deeds James Bedford agreed to accommodate Freeman's situation and made an exception and administered the oath at midnight the morning of January 1st so that he could leave to report in St. Louis.

Freeman wouldn't return to build on his land until 1865. He literally married the "girl next door" - Agnes Suiter (1843-1931) - and they built their lives together there in Brownsville, Nebraska.

The Kansas City (MO) Times 26 May 1920 carried an image of the old homestead.

What a great day for genealogists. GenealogyBank is packed with newspaper articles and historical documents - over 227 Million of them that document and give the details of our ancestor's lives.

It's great to have the details and the actual images of our ancestors and their homes. Who knew it would be this easy to find them after all these years.

Give it a try for 30 days for $9.95.

Birth Announcements - newspapers are packed with them

Newspapers have been announcing births since the 1700s.

It is common to see birth notices in newspapers all across the country, like this one for triplets born to "Mrs. Rust of Wolfeboro, NH" in 1796. It appeared in the Massachusetts Mercury 14 Oct 1796.

You'll find millions of births recorded in newspapers on GenealogyBank from the colonial period right up to recent times.

Newspapers often had regular columns for all area births. Sometimes these were listed by the name of the hospital. These notices often give the names of the child, parents and even grandparents.

Some are written in a fun, familiar style - as this one from the Dallas Morning News 1 June 1967 - "She' here..." and went on to give the details of their new daughter.

This 1918 birth notice from the Belleville (IL) Democrat 8 March 1918, gave three generations of genealogical information including the name of the grandmother, the mother's maiden name and the name of the parents - but not the name of the baby!

Other newspapers simply gave the essential facts of their area births. Like these births from the San Francisco (CA) Daily Evening Bulletin 12 August 1856.

But no matter how much detail the newspaper included, genealogists will find GenealogyBank a practical tool for uncovering the birth notices for their relatives.

Since the name of the child is not always given, search for them by the name of the parents or simply the surname. You may limit your search by date or place to see if the birth of the children you are looking for was published in the newspaper.

For a complete list of the newspaper titles and dates of coverage click here.

Newspapers are a great source for finding the historical records that document our family tree.

Tracking down Family Bibles ....

Family Bibles have been treasured by families for generations, but finding them today can be difficult.

It was common for families to have a family Bible - a large bound book that was prominently displayed in the family parlor - "...a large octavo volume, with a more or less ornate binding, with blank pages inserted on which to record births, marriages and deaths, and sometimes the near-slaying of Isaac, Moses in the bulrushes, the infernal regions and other interesting dramatic and historic incidents narrated in the [Bible]". (Boston Journal 13 May 1908).

(Image from Antique Holy Bible Item #330235937204 - Ebay.com)

I spotted quite a few newspaper articles that cited the old family Bibles and who their current owners were.

For example - Henry Peters of Trenton, NJ used his family Bible to prove that he was "sixteen years old and two months older than that" so that he could get in to the show at the Trent theater. (Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram. Nov 4, 1909).

An article in the Columbus (GA) Enquirer (2 Sep 1898) tells us that "Mrs. Billard, the daughter of the late Rev. Edward Oldrin, who lives on Bank Street [Stamford, CT]" ... and that she got it "by inheritance from her father. ... The book is in the original binding and well preserved, the Old Testament part having been printed in 1597 and the New Testament in 1596. The covers are of wood."

This is an important point. Always check the dates that each of the Testaments was printed. Printers often printed them separately and then joined them together when they published the Bible. This is a way to date a family Bible.

"Inscribed on the yellow fly-leat are the words: Edward Oulldron owns this book and after his death to his son Edward Oulldron, given by his grandfather - 1651." Elsewhere it states "Edward Oldrin's [note the change in spelling] book, given by his father on is deathbed in the 1827, July 28, to be kept in the family."

Mrs. Jennie Fairbanks Milligan of Springfield, Ohio brought the family Bible when she was called to testify in a case trying to break the will of the late Delavan Smith of Lake Forest, IL. (Dallas Morning News. 1 October 1921).

John M. Butler of Ocean Grove, NJ found out by double checking his family Bible that he was 101 and not 100 years old when he went to celebrate his birthday. He said it was a "pretty tough job trying to keep track of so many birthdays." He said with a smile ... "I must have lived two years in Brooklyn [NY, the] one year that I was there. That's the only way I can account for the discrepancy." (Evening Times - Pawtucket, RI - 17 jan 1901).

But you won't find the Belin family Bible. It seems that in November 1908, Joseph Belin of Wilkes-Barre, PA "came home intoxicated and threatened [his mother] and then burned the family Bible." There were 7 prisoners in court that day for "being drunk". Six of them were fined $1.00 but Joseph Belin was fined $5.00. (Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times Leader - 18 Nov 1908).

Historical newspapers are packed with family history information. Research more than 3,400 newspapers and document your heritage on GenealogyBank.

Give it a try right now.

Frank Baum 1856-1919 - Going Beyond the Obits

Lyman Frank Baum, the author of the many books about the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was born today - May 15, 1856 - in Chittenango, Madison County, New York.

When he died obituaries appeared in newspapers around the country like this obituary that appeared in the Duluth (MN) News Tribune (8 May 1919).

It was written from the perspective of his sister-in-law Helen Leslie Gage (1845-1933) who lived at the time in Duluth.

Over the years there were many articles about L. Frank Baum in the newspapers.

Less well known is that late in his life he began to serialize his books and short stories in newspapers across the country under the title the Wonderful Stories of Oz.

Here is an ad for this series that appeared in the Salt Lake (UT) Telegram (7 January 1919).

Remember that GenealogyBank goes beyond the obituaries and gives you the complete issues of the historical newspapers. That means you may search every article and every advertisement that appeared in the paper. A real gold mine of information about our ancestors.

Give it a try right now and see what you can find about your ancestors. Click here.

Virginia is 401 years old today!

Happy Birthday to Virginia!
The first colonists arrived in Jamestown, Virginia on May 14, 1607 and with ups and downs the Commonwealth has prospered ever since.

GenealogyBank.com is packed with early Americana - including millions of Virginia items go back to the 1700s.

Newspapers
GenealogyBank has more than 100 Virginia newspapers – containing more than 2.3 Million articles. There are multiple titles going back to the 1700s and early 1800s.
Click here for a complete list

Also – GenealogyBank has more than 4 Million Virginia obituaries and death records in the America's Obituaries and Social Security Death Index (SSDI) sections.

Other Virginia Resources in GenealogyBank

Search for Virginia documents in:
American State Papers and US Serial Set in the Historical Documents section.
There are thousands of Virginia documents in the Historical Books section that are unique to GenealogyBank.

For example – here is a petition to Congress signed by the local Virginia residents south of the James River that were seeking improved conditions on the Turnpike to Richmond.


Here is an example of an early Virginia funeral sermon – for Mrs. Ann Boyd who died 1819.



Terrific sources.

Beyond GenealogyBank - here are other useful sites for Virginia research
Virginia Census Records
1850, 1880, 1900 – Free Online - FamilySearchLabs

Virginia Digital Books Online
American Memory Project
Documenting the American South
Google Books
Making of America

Library of Virgina - Virginia Land Records

Virginia Genealogical Society
Be sure to see the back issues of their newsletter that you can download and read online

Virginia Historical Society
Current issue of Virginia Magazine of History & Biography
Be sure to see their online research guides

Virginia Vital Records
See the collection at the Library of Virginia
Virginia Department of Vital Records

1860 Census & Civil War Pension Index - Going Online

FamilySearchLabs.org has begun putting the 1860 Federal Census and the Civil War Pension Index Cards online.

The 1860 Federal Census includes all new indexing and new digital images of the census pages. The FHL-Labs site is just beginning to put the 1860 census online - and has loaded the first 5% of the census. They are putting the index up for free but the census page images may only be viewed with a separate subscription to Footnote.com

The Civil War Pension Index Cards are 90% complete. According to the site, "each card gives the soldier's name, unit, the application number, the certificate number and the state from which the soldier served." This index is free on the FHL-Labs site.

FamilySearchLabs.org has changed their site so you no longer have to register to login.

You can find additional Civil War pension information in GenealogyBank. Look at the US Serial Set in the Historical Documents section. See also the example I posted earlier about the Civil War pension of Henry B. Platter and his widow Rachel (Bittinger) Platter.

Private William Christman - first burial in Arlington Cemetery May 13, 1864

The first burial on the grounds of what would become Arlington National Cemetery was on May 13, 1864.

Private William Christman was buried in the rose garden in front of General Robert E. Lee's home in Arlington, Virginia. He was serving with Company G, 67th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Click here to see his headstone.

In May 1863 Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton ordered the creation of the "Freedman's Village for the protection of the Black man and his family, upon the Arlington estate, belonging to the Rebel General Lee." The Liberator, 15 July 1864.

June 15, 1864 Secretary Stanton ordered that the grounds around the Lee home be used as a military cemetery - which would soon be known around the world as Arlington National Cemetery.

The newspapers of the day loved it that the Lee home and grounds were used to house and give the freedmen a new start and a military cemetery to honor the nation's war dead.

"How appropriate that Lee's lands should be dedicated to two such noble purposes - the free living Black man whom Lee would enslave and the bodies of the dead soldiers who Lee has killed in a wicked cause. Let this record stand to the everlasting credit of Secretary Stanton."
The Liberator, 15 July 1864.

In GenealogyBank you may read many more articles about the creation of Arlington National Cemetery and the Freedman's Village. Look for them in the Historical Newspapers and in the Historical Documents which includes the US Serial Set - where there are also numerous government reports detailing the progress of both operations.

Freedman's Village - Robert E. Lee Estate in Arlington

There are a lot of anniversaries in May.

In May 1863 the government organized the Freedman's Village on the grounds of General Robert E. Lee's home in Arlington, Virginia.

It had "fourteen dwellings, and a church a hospital and a home of the aged and infirm, with streets regularly laid out and named, and a park planted in the centre." The grounds were laid out and the village was built under the direction of Brigadier General Montgomery C. Meigs, he was named the Quartermaster of the Army in May 1861.

The Village quickly took shape and within a year had more than 3,000 residents, former slaves and their families.

By Decemeber 1865 there were 53 schools, 112 teachers and 5,618 students located at the Freedman's Village and on government lands in Alexandria, Georgetown and Maryland.

In 1888 the Freedman's Village was closed. Read more about the Freedman's Village in GenealogyBank. Look for artilces in the Historical Newspapers and for the many government reports that detailed the progress and ultimate closing in the US Serial Set found in the Historical Documents section.

Tomorrow I will blog about the other May anniversary.

Clementine Breaux - 110 yrs. old - 1,000+ Descendants

Happy Mother's Day!

Clementine (Robicheaux) Breaux, the widow of Paul Breaux, must have set a record.

As of March 19, 1915 - she was still going strong at age 110 - the mother of 13 children and the matriarch of more than 1,000 descendants born in her lifetime. She lived in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana and her family lived there in Thibodaux and "scattered over the entire state" of Louisiana.

Even though she was 110 years old according to the article in the Duluth (MN) News Tribune (19 March 1915) she was still active. Her eyesight was still good enough "to permit the threading of a needle" and she enjoyed "getting out in the yard and feeding the chickens and poultry."

You learn the most amazing things about your family in these old newspapers.

GenealogyBank has over 3,400 newspapers from across the country. Give it a try right now.

So - here's to our mothers everywhere, of all generations.

Happy Mother's Day!

NGS Newsmagazine - Latest Issue

The April-June 2008 issue of the NGS Newsmagazine (National Genealogical Society) just arrived in the mail.

Articles:
Alpert, Janet A. President's Message. pp. 2-3
Kerstens, Elizabeth Kelly. Editor's Corner. pp. 4-5
Freilich, Kay Haviland & Ann Carter Fleming. Research in the States Series Expands. pp. 10-11.
Jennings, Arlene V. Reconstructing family history from museum visits. pp. 18-22.
Mieszala, Debbie. Courage on the Seas: Records of the United States Life-Saving Service. pp. 23-27, 51.
Smith, Gary M. & Diana Crisman Smith. Reaching Genealogists through Words (ISFHWE, Genealogical Speakers Guild). pp. 28-31.
Hovorka, Janet. Care and Repair of Photographs. pp. 33-37.
Gray, Gordon. What is APG? pp. 38-41.
Pierce, Alycon Trubey. Adding final pension payment voucher records to the researcher's toolbox. pp. 42-48.
Smith, Gary M. & Diana Crisman Smith. Research dilemmas of broken homes. pp. 49-51.
Swanson, Andree Brower. Not so plain Jane (Jane Crawford). pp. 52-54.
Schneck, Barbara. Review of Family Tree Maker 2008. pp. 55-58.
Smith, Drew. Papa's got a brand new genealogy bag. pp. 59-61.
Hinds, Harold E., Jr. A paradigm shift? Biology vs. lineage. pp. 62-63.

Philadelphia – Death Records Online

Genealogists researching Philadelphia just got even more help in finding their ancestors.


FamilySearchLabs has just added digital copies of Philadelphia (PA) death certificates from 1803-1915.

The Philadelphia Inquirer 1860-1922 along with over 280 Philadelphia and Pennsylvania newspapers from the colonial period right up to today are already online at GenealogyBank


So - what will you find in these records?

One gives the basic facts and the other tells us the rest of the story.

The coroner’s return has the grim story: Edward Hendrickson, age 11, killed on 20 April 1905 at the B&O Railroad tracks “while trespassing." A sterile almost harsh report.

But there is more to the story. The Philadelphia Inquirer (21 April 1905) called him a “little hero” – who had “sacrificed” himself to save his younger brother Gilbert, age 8.

Edward and Gilbert were walking along the B&O Railroad tracks when he saw that Gilbert had stepped onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train. The paper reported that Edward “jumped toward him, pushing him down a small embankment” saving Gilbert’s life, but the train took his.

Yes – the coroner’s report gave us the core facts but aren’t we glad to have the newspaper account to give us the full story.

Having Philadelphia’s newspapers and death records online makes it easy for genealogists to get the complete stories in our family tree.

This new FHL resource includes Philadelphia Death Certificates, hospital returns, undertaker certificates and similar death records from 1803 to 1915. It may be searched for free.

Typical entries include the person’s name, date of death/burial; place of death/burial; names of the parents; attending physician; undertaker; age of the deceased; occupation of the deceased; race; former residence; and cause of death.

The FamilySearchLabs site is easy to use.

Go to FamilySearchLabs.org
Under: Current Projects – Click on Record Search
Sign-in
Under: Search an Indexed Collection – click on:
Pennyslvania Philadelphia City Death Certificates 1803-1915

A simple search box appears.
You may search by first or last name; names of the parents; name of the spouse or location.
The FHL index let’s you search on any one or these entire search options.

To search the nearly 280+ Philadelphia and other Pennsylvania newspapers go to GenealogyBank and begin searching.

Join us to celebrate Halvor Moorshead's retirement

Halvor Moorshead after a lifetime of publishing in the genealogy industry is retiring.

Join us in person, by e-mail or blog to honor Halvor Moorshead on his retirement.

Dinner 7 pm Thursday, 15 May 2008 at the Hyatt Regency's Crown Center Peppercorn restaurant. On a budget? No problem, we're ordering from the menu. RSVP to the event coordinators Tom Kemp or Pat Richley by Sunday 5pm.

Sign the Guest Book: Stop by the GenealogyBank booth during the NGS conference and write your best wishes to Halvor.

Can't Be There in Person? Leave your remarks at http://HonoringHalvor.blogspot.com~ or ~Send your comments to the event coordinators Tom Kemp or Pat Richley and we'll include it in the book.

JOIN in the camaraderie and THANK HALVOR for his service to the genealogy community.

Everyone agrees that Halvor Moorshead lives a powerful life and has had amassive influence in the genealogy community through his three hugely popular magazines Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy & History Magazine; and equally well-received book titles including 500 Brickwall Solutions, More Brickwall Solutions, Dating Old Photographs and More Dating Old Photographs. His newest magazine project focuses on beginning research and is titled Discovering Family History. Halvor has been publishing since 1973,with 19 magazines titles to his credit.

Event Coordinators:Tom Kemp Thomas.J.Kemp@gmail.com
Pat Richley Myrt@DearMYRTLE.com

1st genealogy published in America – 7 May 1724

The first genealogy published in America appeared in a newspaper 284 years ago - today – May 7, 1724.

It appeared in the American Weekly Mercury. It was a genealogy of King Philip V of Spain. Genealogy articles routinely appeared in colonial newspapers.

The first genealogy published in book form was in 1771 – the Stebbins Genealogy and by 1876 and the nation’s first centennial there were less than 1,000 genealogies published.

With a push from President Ulysses S. Grant the idea really took off. It was 132 years ago on May 25th that he issued a "Proclamation" to the American people asking them to remember their history, write it down and distribute it widely.

He wrote that he wanted to see "a complete record" of our history … be kept and placed in each county and in the Library of Congress”. If the Internet were available then I am sure he would have suggested that they be put online too.

According to the 16 Mar 1912 issue of the San Jose Mercury “Genealogy Study Rapidly Growing. In Recent Years Americans Have Been Making Great Study of the Family Tree”. By the year 1920 there were 2,000 published genealogies and by 1972 there were 50,000 family histories in print.

With the publication of Roots in 1976 genealogy really took off.

By the late 90s the Internet was becoming a common tool for genealogists. By 1998 there were over 90,000 published genealogies. Today, just ten years later that number has jumped to over 150,000 published genealogies.

GenealogyBank was launched in 2005 and is also growing at a rapid pace. Now we are adding over 4 million items per month.

This month we added 4.3 million records; included 78 newspapers from 23 States. Click here for the complete list.

Amazing.

What a great day for genealogy!