Have You Seen This Intricate Patchwork Heirloom Quilt?

In 1881 New Hampshire held its 26th Annual State Fair in Laconia, New Hampshire. The fair had not been held in Laconia since 1852. The New Hampshire Patriot and State Gazette devoted an entire page to reporting the handicrafts, food, animals and other award-winning items that were proudly displayed during this three-day event. According... (Read More)

Sukey, I Never Knew You

This obituary caught my eye for several reasons. First is the header, with its poem and graphic. “The Knell.” Not “Deaths” or “Died” – which are very common headers for obituary notices even today – but instead “The Knell,” as in death knell. Crisp. An excellent choice of words that immediately tells us this... (Read More)

Wow! 4-Page Obituary for William Bullock Clark

I was looking for the obituary of William Bullock Clark (1860-1917), a geology professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Looking in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives, I quickly found multiple obituaries for him. For example, there is this obituary from the Sun (Baltimore, Maryland). Great obituary. It includes the basic genealogical facts: his... (Read More)

The WWI Soldier Girl: Hazel Blauser Carter

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this blog article, Gena searches old newspapers to uncover the story of Hazel Carter, who disguised herself as a man in order to follow her husband into battle in WWI – and almost made it. During the American... (Read More)

Linus Lounsbury, Revolutionary War Veteran

I found this obituary for Linus Lounsbury, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, by searching in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives. He died on 15 July 1836. He was a pensioner. He was in the Siege of Fort Johns in Newfoundland, Canada – 17 September 1775 to 3 November 1775, and was in the... (Read More)

Dad’s Hole in One Story Featured in the Newspaper

Going through Dad’s old papers I found that he had shot a hole-in-one playing golf. In fact he had certificates for four of them. How he liked to golf. I wondered if these perfect shots were written up in the newspapers – yes, they were. In the Dallas Morning News, golfer Doris Gray was... (Read More)