Newspapers are crucial to documenting your family history

Genealogists rely on multiple sources to document a family tree. One source does not give all of the facts – so researchers must look at multiple family history records to gather the details for each family. For example – James Edwin Ayres (1817-1893) and his wife Ann (Ford) Ayres (1817-1901) are listed in the... (Read More)

Tell us your success story.

We hear from GenealogyBank researchers all the time about their success in finding their family in historical newspapers and documents. Do you have an interesting story to tell?Would you be willing to be interviewed about it?If so, please contact me directly at: TKemp@NewsBank.com We want to hear from you. Here is what others have... (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)

Fred Q. Bowman (1916-2009) Genealogist, Author

Fred Q. Bowman (1916-2009) Frederick Quimby Bowman, 93, passed away in Albany, NY earlier this week. Well known genealogist and author – Fred was a relied upon source of early New York vital records. He was a genealogist who made a lasting difference. Obituary: Times Union (Albany, NY) – November 9, 2009 He is... (Read More)

Wow – we found him!

Yesterday the GenealogyBank Blog wrote about using the old documents in the “Serial Set” that are in GenealogyBank.com. It has been very popular. Today I received this note from a genealogist about what she found on her Revolutionary War ancestor – Captain William York. Tom – We used this set (Serial Set) to prove... (Read More)