Genealogy Puzzle: What Do These 3 Obituaries Have in Common?

What do the obituaries of Daniel Coit Gilman (1831-1908) of Norwich, Connecticut; Richard Y. Cook (1845-1917) of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania; and James J. Lovitt (1838-1892) have in common? Answer: they all described their immigrant ancestors. It is common for an obituary to name the spouse, children, parents and siblings of the deceased – but to... (Read More)

Ghost Stories & Séances: History and True Life Paranormal Events

Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this blog article, Mary searches old newspapers for stories about ghosts, séances and psychics – and tells two related stories from her own family’s history. Starting in the Victorian Era, séances, psychics and spiritualists seemed to be everywhere, as... (Read More)

A Peek into Yesteryear: Using Scrapbooks for Genealogy Research

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena describes how scrapbooks can be a surprising and valuable resource for your family history research. Did you ever keep a scrapbook? I’m not referring to the modern-day scrapbooks that are essentially decorated photograph... (Read More)

Happy National Doughnut Day!

My days of eating doughnuts are long gone – but it was 70 years ago that the first Friday in June was designated National Doughnut Day! Captain Hanson Gregory (1831-) of Camden, Maine gets the credit for inventing the modern doughnut – or at least the hole. He was a ship’s cook at age... (Read More)