Historic Illinois Cemetery Project Is Documenting the Dead

Like many historic cemeteries, the Herrin City Cemetery in Herrin, Illinois, is trying to document all of the persons buried in the cemetery. See: http://bit.ly/1I1HJdT So far their efforts have uncovered “89 previously unknown burial sites.” Good work! Are you working on a cemetery project this summer? If you are, here’s a cemetery research... (Read More)

Dating Old Family Photographs with Civil War Revenue Stamps

Introduction: In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak shows how to determine the date of undated, Civil War-era family photographs using revenue stamps affixed to the back of the picture. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. Do you have Civil War-era photographs of your ancestors that are undated? As this... (Read More)

Remembering Lincoln

Time doesn’t dim the memory of his passing. The New York Herald ran a special issue on the assassination of President Lincoln. Click Here to Read the entire newspaper: NY Herald 15 April 1865. GenealogyBank is packed with newspapers – 4,300 of them from 1690 to today. Use it to find your ancestors and... (Read More)

City Directories

Thousands of city directories are going online. City directories are a basic tool for genealogists. City directories are like an annual census of the cities and towns across America. Now – thousands of them are being digitized and put online. Read about the history of city directories here: Williams, A.V. Growth and Development of... (Read More)

Obituaries – From Annual Reports – Congress has chartered many national associations – among them the American Instructors of the Deaf.

Congress has chartered many national associations – among them the American Instructors of the Deaf. Their annual reports routinely included details about the schools for the deaf and their faculty. GenealogyBank has the back file of these reports.Here are the obituaries that appeared in the 1908 report.Deem, Charles S. (1861-1908). Jackson, Mississippi. p. 218... (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)

Linda Fay Kaufman, genealogist, 1940-2009

Remembering one of our own: Linda Fay Kaufman, genealogist, 1940-2009 Enthusiastic genealogist Linda Fay Kaufman (1940-2009) has passed away. She put her family history research online and actively corresponded with genealogists across the country. A search of the genealogy lists shows her posts as recently as the last few months. Star Tribune: Newspaper of... (Read More)