Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

George Washington Proclaimed a Day of Thanksgiving 26 November 1789

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Today’s Wall Street Journal (21 November 2012) has an op-ed editorial by Melanie Kirkpatrick: Thanksgiving, 1789 about the nation’s first Thanksgiving proclamation.

It was also President Washington’s first proclamation—he had been sworn in as the nation’s first president just a few months earlier, on 30 April 1789. Washington’s proclamation making Thanksgiving an officially recognized American holiday was printed in newspapers around the country including the New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire) 22 October 1789, page 1. Read the entire proclamation here.

It’s as timely today as it was then.

GenealogyBank wishes you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving.

A General Thanksgiving, New Hampshire Gazette newspaper article 22 October 1789

New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 22 October 1789, page 1

On Thanksgiving Day, Tom Turkey Is a Member of Everyone’s Family

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Introduction: Scott Phillips is a genealogical historian and owner of Onward To Our Past® genealogy services. In this guest blog post, Scott begins his Thanksgiving celebration early by searching on “Tom Turkey” and looking through some of the more than 12,000 historical newspaper articles his search returned.

Happy Thanksgiving 2012! I will freely and readily admit that Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday. I particularly love that it is noncommercial and focused on family, thanks, and food. What an awesome combination, especially for us genealogy and family history fans.

I was looking up a family member just the other day when thoughts of my upcoming Thanksgiving Day menu crept into my head. Since we have 20 family members coming from across the U.S. to share the holiday with us, I have been thinking a lot about Thanksgiving lately. Because I cook our turkeys outdoors on our barbeque grills, the name of “Tom Turkey” popped into my mind. Struck by this inspiration, I decided to do a search for this temporary family member in GenealogyBank’s online historical newspaper archives. Wow: I was treated to over 12,000 hits, and in I dove!

The first article I opened offered advice that farmers should “Keep One Tom Turkey for Every Six Hens.” Now, even my love of Thanksgiving isn’t going to lead me to open a turkey farm in my backyard, so while I’ll keep that advice in mind, I also decided to keep on reading.

Keep One Tom Turkey for Every Six Hens, Jackson Citizen Patriot newspaper article 1 February 1922

Jackson Citizen Patriot (Jackson, Michigan), 1 February 1922, page 7

Next I came across something quite useful, an article entitled “Return Engagements for Mr. Tom Turkey.” Naturally it was a delicious-looking set of recipes and ideas for leftover turkey, and I copied them down and am going to try one of them out this year. That is, if there actually are any leftovers on Friday after our Thanksgiving feast!

Return Engagements for Mr. Tom Turkey, Dallas Morning News newspaper article 29 November 1953

Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), 29 November 1953, page 6

Then I discovered a very enjoyable old newspaper article entitled “Thanksgiving Advice.” It suggested that I should look for a “young Tom Turkey,” that I should skip the “5 cents a pound” premium price for a “Little Rhody turkey” from Rhode Island, and instead go for birds from Vermont or maybe Michigan. Plus the article told me that I need to look for “small red pumpkins” for the best pumpkin pie for our Thanksgiving dessert.

Thanksgiving Advice, Times-Picayune newspaper article 25 November 1906

Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), 25 November 1906, page 6

Soon my heart softened as I read a wonderful story entitled “Tom Powers and the Turkey.” I encourage you to read it—it’s a truly delightful story about the spirit of Thanksgiving. I still smile as I think back on it.

Tom Powers and the Turkey, Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper article 22 November 1891

Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 22 November 1891, page 14

I could have gone on and on, but I have some tough decisions to make about whether or not to add the gizzards into the turkey stuffing. Plus I have to decide where best to place the tape recorder so that I can capture our Thanksgiving blessings around the table for future generations.
Happy Thanksgiving 2012 to everyone and have a delightful day with Tom Turkey in your family!

‘Mayflower’ Genealogy Research Tip: Cast a Wide Net for Your Ancestor

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With Thanksgiving just six days away, I thought I would search for any articles in GenealogyBank’s archives that mentioned Dr. Samuel Fuller—who was one of my Mayflower ancestors.

I searched putting the terms “Mayflower Samuel Fuller” in the “Include Keywords” search box. Bang—GenealogyBank returned over 1,800 records.

That’s great; I can spend a long Thanksgiving weekend documenting more ancestors in our family tree.

GenealogyBank search results for the terms “Mayflower Samuel Fuller”

GenealogyBank search results for the terms “Mayflower Samuel Fuller”

Looking at the search results in GenealogyBank’s online newspaper archives, I can quickly see that the articles are exactly what I was hoping to find so that I can dig deeper into my Mayflower roots.

GenealogyBank newspaper search results for the terms “Mayflower Samuel Fuller”

GenealogyBank newspaper search results for the terms “Mayflower Samuel Fuller”

Looking at some of the article snippet views I see an obituary notice of Mrs. Harriet M. Clapp, a Fuller descendant; an article about the Mayflower signers; an article from a genealogy column that appeared in the Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio); and an article about the cradle used by Dr. Samuel Fuller’s children.

These are clearly some solid articles I can use for my Mayflower genealogy research. I will want to take the time to sift through and study each one, noting and following each clue to trace my Mayflower ancestry.

Looking at my initial overview of the Mayflower search results, they also include 48 obituaries from our Recent Obituaries collection. After clicking on those results, I see that these 48 hits are also going to be useful in helping me learn more about my Mayflower ancestors.

GenealogyBank recent obituary search results for the terms “Mayflower Samuel Fuller”

GenealogyBank recent obituary search results for the terms “Mayflower Samuel Fuller”

It is common for individuals to be enthusiastic about their family history—so much so that they often refer to it even in their obituary.

Great. This gives me even more articles to read through and add more relatives to my family tree.

I expect that researching my Mayflower lines using this wide approach will net me over 1,000 very useful and targeted articles, letting me add hundreds of new relatives to my family tree.

It’s going to be a busy Thanksgiving!

From old passenger lists to recent obituaries, you can find records to discover more about your early American roots in GenealogyBank’s online archives.

You Want to Be Prepared as Thanksgiving Approaches

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Now that it is November, the holidays will be here before you know it.

You want to prepare now.

That’s what Rose Briggs did. Her hard work set the tone for how Thanksgiving has been celebrated since 1921.

Rose’s Thanksgiving preparation is just one of the many great stories in GenealogyBank’s online newspaper archives.

collage of a newspaper photograph of Rose Briggs and an article about a 1776 Thanksgiving proclamation

Collage of a newspaper photograph of Rose Briggs and an article about a 1776 Thanksgiving proclamation

Rose Thornton Briggs (1893-1981) was always prepared for every Thanksgiving. She made the costumes and saw to the details of the annual “Pilgrim March” which was held on “every Friday in August” starting in 1921. In 1941 she added the tradition of also marching on Thanksgiving Day. Up through 1971 she participated in every one of those marches.

The Pilgrim March consists of 52 marchers, all in costume—each one representing a different Mayflower passenger that survived that first winter. All of the costumes were designed by Miss Briggs. She researched and prepared the costumes, working to make them as historically accurate as possible.

GenealogyBank’s newspaper archives let you read about the accomplishments of this energetic woman, who made a lasting contribution and changed the way Thanksgiving is celebrated annually in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The following newspaper article was published in the Boston Herald a decade before Rose Briggs passed away.

Rose Briggs, 78, Keeps Settlers' Heritage Alive, Boston Herald newspaper article 25 November 1971

Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), 25 November 1971, page 60

This Thanksgiving, let’s remember to also give thanks for Rose Thornton Briggs’ vision, creativity and hard work.

You can find other great Thanksgiving stories in GenealogyBank’s online newspapers.

For example, a “Thanksgiving proclamation” was published in the New-England Chronicle just months after the Declaration of Independence was issued and while the country was at war with England.

Proclamation for a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer, New-England Chronicle newspaper article 28 November 1776

New-England Chronicle (Boston, Massachusetts), 28 November 1776, page 2

The proclamation ended with the stirring words:

God Save the United States of America! New-England Chronicle newspaper article 28 November 1776

New-England Chronicle (Boston, Massachusetts), 28 November 1776, page 2

Researching Genealogy with Military Records and Lists in Newspapers

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Researching Genealogy with Military Records and Lists in Newspapers
From 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 history.

U.S. War History in Newspapers
This was vividly demonstrated after Dec. 7, 1941, when Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor launched the U.S. into World War II. The next day Congress declared war on Japan—and Americans were riveted by the bold headlines and news stories splashed across the front pages of the nation’s newspapers.

Omaha World Journal (Omaha, Nebraska), 8 December 1941, page 1.
Newspapers tell us what happened every day of our ancestors’ lives.
From the Revolutionary War to the wars in the Middle East, newspapers let us read about our ancestors’ participation in the nation’s conflicts—and what the country as a whole went through. We volunteered, we were enlisted in the U.S. military through the draft—and when we didn’t register for the draft, the government issued “slacker lists” to encourage full participation in the war.

U.S. Military Draft Lists
Military draft lists were published in newspapers, like this one printed in the 26 July 1917 issue of the Perry Republican (Perry, Oklahoma), page 1. It is a census of the men living in Noble County, Oklahoma, in 1917—a valuable genealogical resource to help with your family history research.
Similar lists were the “slacker lists” or “draft dodger lists”: listings of those persons that tried to evade the draft. After World War I the United States War Department issued lists of those men that did not register with the military draft. These lists were widely published in newspapers across the country, like this example from the Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), 25 May 1921, page 1.
From the declaration of war through obituaries published decades after the conflict ended, newspapers have been a dependable source of information about our ancestors and their participation in the United States Armed Forces. Newspapers reported on the battles and covered the stories of the war every step along the way. Family historians can gather facts for their family trees and put them in the context of the war as it happened.
U.S. Military Casualty Lists
Another valuable resource for family historians are the war casualty lists many newspapers published. In this example, published in the Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia), 6 August 1918, page 1, the newspaper published the full casualty list and spiked out the Georgia men that died in a prominent boxed note that appeared on page one.
Most U.S. citizens do not remain in the military as a lifelong career. However, their military service was almost always mentioned in their obituary notice—as in this example, published in the Barre Gazette (Barre, Massachusetts), 31 July 1840, page 2, of the late Isaac Van Wart (1751-1840) of Tarrytown (Westchester County) and Pittstown (Rensselaer County), New York. Obituaries, birth announcements and marriage notices are some of the excellent resources newspapers provide family historians. During times of war, draft, slacker, and casualty lists are another helpful genealogical resource. In addition to information about your individual ancestors, newspapers provide the stories about what the entire United States was going through, to help you put your ancestors’ experiences in context and thereby come to understand them a little more. Digital newspaper archives online have become the core tool for modern genealogy, helping genealogists and family history researchers discover more about their family’s military past than ever before possible. Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 7 April 1917, page 1.

Springfield, Massachusetts, Newspapers for Your Family History Research

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GenealogyBank’s huge newspaper archives of over 5,700 titles has plenty of newspapers for the Springfield, Massachusetts, area, with coverage spanning the years 1782 to Today. This valuable genealogical resource has thousands of news stories, obituaries, and birth and marriage notices to help you with your family history research.Our collection has 13 newspapers for Springfield, MA; 12 of them are historical newspapers that have been completely digitized, meaning you have access to every news story and obituary as well as all the comics, letters to the editor, advertisements, etc. The 13th newspaper, the Republican, has digitized copies of all that newspaper’s obituaries from 1988 to Today.

You can search both the historical Springfield, Mass., obituaries and newspapers (date range: 1782 to 1989) and the Republican’s obituaries (date range: 1988 to Today) easily online at our genealogy website.
Here is a complete title list for GenealogyBank’s Springfield, Mass., newspaper archives, with the starting and ending date for each newspaper’s coverage. Each title is an active link that will take you directly to that newspaper’s search form.

Let’s look closely at the extent of the news coverage that we get with the Springfield Daily Union. Here are the marriages and deaths reported in the 16 March 1864 issue, on page 3.

Tracing Famous ‘Mayflower’ Passenger Peregrine White’s Family Tree

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Newspapers tell the story of the everyday lives of our ancestors. GenealogyBank is the best genealogy resource for online newspapers available anywhere, with a massive collection of content spanning nearly 400 years of American history.

The historical newspaper article in the upper right is an obituary of Peregrine White, “the First Englishman born in New England”—he was born on board the Mayflower in Cape Cod Harbor in November 1620! Peregrine White’s obituary appeared in the Boston News-Letter (Boston, Massachusetts), 24 July-31 July 1704, page 2. The newspaper article below it is about a family reunion including four generations of Peregrine White’s descendants who gathered in McMinnville, Oregon. This family reunion newspaper article was published in the Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), 30 May 1915, Section 3, page 9.
Peregrine White’s descendants were understandably proud to have such a famous ancestor, a Mayflower ship passenger, in their family tree. This past summer, when Mary Alice (Haskell) Morey (1928-2011) died, her obituary prominently mentioned that she was a direct descendant of Peregrine White.Her obituary was printed by the Natick Bulletin & TAB (Natick, Massachusetts), 22 July 2011, page 18. Read her complete obituary in GenealogyBank.

With over 250,000 newspaper articles at GenealogyBank related to the Mayflower you can learn so much more about Peregrine White and his descendants, as well as discover who the other Pilgrims were that arrived in America as passengers on the famous ship. Research Mayflower ship passenger lists and explore our Pilgrim ancestors’ lives with newspaper articles about Plymouth Colony. Maybe you have ancestors who arrived on the Mayflower too?

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all genealogists around the world!

GenealogyBank adds 271 newspapers since Thanksgiving

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GenealogyBank adds 48 more newspapers.
Wow! That makes 271 newspapers added since Thanksgiving.

It’s a great day for genealogy!

And …. the month is still not over…. we have even more newspapers that we will be announcing in the days ahead.

Smyrna-Clayton Sun-Times (Smyrna, DE) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Sussex Countian (Georgetown, DE) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Boca Beacon, The (Boca Grande, FL) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Chiefland Citizen (Chiefland, FL) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Clayton News Daily (Jonesboro, GA) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Henry Daily Herald (McDonough, GA) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Tifton Gazette (Tifton, GA) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Hamburg Reporter (Hamburg, IA) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Osceola Sentinel-Tribune (Osceola, IA) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Macomb Eagle (Macomb, IL) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Marion Daily Republican, The (Marion, IL) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Sauk Valley Newspapers (Dixon, IL) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Boonville Standard & Newburgh-Chandler Register (Boonville, Newburgh, IN) Death Notices: 10/14/2009 – Current
Girard City Press, The (Girard, KS) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
St. Tammany News (Covington, LA) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Taunton Daily Gazette (Taunton, MA) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Franklin Times, The (Lousiburg, NC) Death Notices: 10/03/2009 – Current
Fuquay-Varina Independent (Fuquay-Varina, NC) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Garner News (Garner, NC) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Laurinburg Exchange, The (Laurinburg, NC) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Mt. Airy News, The (Mt. Airy, NC) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Pender Post, The (Burgaw, NC) Death Notices: 10/08/2009 – Current
Robesonian, The (Lumberton, NC) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Stokes News, The (Walnut Cove, NC) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Custer County Chief (Broken Bow, NE) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
AIM Jefferson (Rockaway, NJ) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
AIM Sussex County (Newton, NJ) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
AIM West Milford (West Milford, NJ) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Edgewater View (Edgewater, NJ) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Ramsey Suburban News (Ramsey, NJ) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Today’s Sunbeam (Salem, NJ) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Evening Sun, The (Norwich, NY) Death Notices: 10/03/2009 – Current
Evening Telegram, The (Herkimer, NY) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Evening Times, The (Little Falls, NY) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Evening Tribune, The (Hornell, NY) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Leader, The (Corning, NY) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Wellsville Daily Reporter (Wellsville, NY) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Community Common, The (Portsmouth, OH) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Vinton County Courier (McArthur, OH) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Ada Evening News, The (Ada, OK) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Edmond Sun, The (Edmond, OK) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Shawnee News-Star, The (Shawnee, OK) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Allied News (Grove City, PA) Death Notices: 10/04/2009 – Current
Chestnut Hill Local (Philadelphia, PA) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current
Hamburg Area Item, The (Hamburg, PA) Death Notices: 10/14/2009 – Current
Kane Republican, The (Kane, PA) Death Notices: 10/07/2009 – Current
Meadville Tribune, The (Meadville, PA) Death Notices: 10/02/2009 – Current