Genealogy Case Study: Researching Isaac Fernald

I recently was researching a man from Oregon named Isaac Fernald (1814-1871), and found information related to him in a variety of places online. Isaac’s Death Reported in the News I began my search with GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives, and I found Fernald’s obituary in his home town newspaper: the Portland Daily Press. I... (Read More)

DNA Needed to Solve One of the Oldest Missing Persons Cases

Introduction: Duncan Kuehn is a professional genealogist with over eight years of client experience. She has worked on several well-known projects, such as “Who Do You Think You Are?” and researching President Barack Obama’s ancestry. In this guest blog post, Duncan describes how DNA research may help solve a missing person case from 1926.... (Read More)

Been on a Cemetery Tour Lately?

Genealogists and the curious have been touring cemeteries since time immemorial. Here is a newspaper article about a 1913 tour of Portland’s pioneers buried in the Lone Fir Cemetery in Oregon. That cemetery is still actively offering tours today: see Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery – 2012 Calendar of Events. Be sure to check... (Read More)

Researching Genealogy with Military Records and Lists in Newspapers

Researching Genealogy with Military Records and Lists in NewspapersFrom the Revolutionary War to Pearl Harbor to Iraq, newspapers are a valuable resource for researching your military ancestry and learning about the history of war in the United States. Newspapers have been a dependable source of information that Americans have relied upon throughout this nation’s... (Read More)

Genealogy Boot Camp – Quick Tips

Genealogy Boot Camp Here are a few tips that every genealogist should know.Using an online index Researchers using an online index sometimes try to tell the computer everything they know about their deceased ancestor.Assuming that the computer will sort through all of the facts and narrow down the hits to just their ancestor –... (Read More)