Wow – I love GenealogyBank.

We routinely hear from genealogists telling about their success – “Wow, look what I found!” We really love to hear those stories and today it is my turn. Last week I was stunned to find that one of my cousins had posted early photographs of our family online. There they were – the actual... (Read More)

Woman struck blind on seeing her son …

Obituaries can give us the details of our ancestor’s lives that we just don’t find anywhere else. Today I found this obituary in GenealogyBank for Judith Tormey (1800-1898) who died in Newark, NJ. Baltimore Sun 4 July 1898 This obituary article gives us lots of details and clues to fill in the family tree.... (Read More)

A Good Woman Can be Hard to Find…

It can be very difficult to find women in the early 19th Century – finding sources that actually give their names and genealogical details. It was common in the 19th century for genealogical sources to be brief and give only the basic information about a household in the census – or an entry in... (Read More)

Allen County Library (IN) receives $10 Million Gift

The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Library (Ft. Wyane, IN) has received a $10 million gift from the Edward D. and Ione Auer Foundation. The funds will be given to the library as $1 million payments each year over 10 years. The announcement is in the Ft Wayne News Sentinnel 1 August 2008... (Read More)

Swan’s Island Library burns to the ground

Today’s Bangor (Maine) Daily News has the stunning news that the Swan’s Island Library in Maine has burned to the ground. (Photo: Donna Wiegle – Bangor Daily News 25 July 2008) The library was hit by lighting, caught fire and burned. Click here to read the complete story. The library held over 10,000 books... (Read More)

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... (Read More)

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... (Read More)