Him Mark Lai – 麥禮謙 (1925-2009)

Him Mark Lai – 麥禮謙 (1925-2009), noted Chinese-American genealogist and local historian has passed away. San Francisco Chronicle (CA) – May 29, 2009. Edition: 5 star Page: B5(c) San Francisco Chronicle 2009. Reprinted here with permission. by Carl Nolte. Him Mark Lai, a noted historian of the Chinese American experience, died at his San... (Read More)

Wow – we found him!

Yesterday the GenealogyBank Blog wrote about using the old documents in the “Serial Set” that are in GenealogyBank.com. It has been very popular. Today I received this note from a genealogist about what she found on her Revolutionary War ancestor – Captain William York. Tom – We used this set (Serial Set) to prove... (Read More)

Portland, Oregon Street Names

Ever wonder who the streets in your town were named for? The Oregonian (Portland, OR) newspaper ran a regular series giving the history of the names of the streets in Portland, Oregon. Read these street histories in GenealogyBank.com Tip: Find these articles quickly by going to the special site we’ve created for searching just... (Read More)

Funeral Sermons – a core genealogical resource

GenealogyBank.com has over 7,000 funeral sermons – full text digital copies and excerpts. These are a core source for genealogists searching for the details of their ancestor’s lives in Colonial America and the early Federalist period. (Photo, Ian Britton. FreeFoto.com). It was common in Colonial America to have a funeral sermon printed and distributed... (Read More)

So, this couple just had a baby ….

I met a couple with a new baby boy. They decided to name him for his mother’s brother –   They call him: Uncle.   Smitty – a rimshot.   Not only does GenealogyBank.com have over 130 million obituaries and death records it has tens of millions of birth announcements as well.   (Columbus... (Read More)

So, did you hear the one about the girl and the snake?

Newspapers are packed with the stories documenting our ancestors. Thankful Taylor of Murfreesboro, TN had quite a story to tell her grandchildren. Her story appeared in the Inter-Ocean (13 July 1874) and the Indianapolis Sentinel (10 July 1874). Here is just the first few paragraphs from the Inter-Ocean (13 July 1874). Click on the... (Read More)