How to Search for an Ancestor Whose Last Name Is a Common Word

We often get this question: What do I do when the surname I’m searching for generates thousands of hits because it is a common word (like Brown, Green or Coffee)? Yes, searching for information on ancestors with ambiguous surnames can be a problem. GenealogyBank often recommends searching using only the surname as the best... (Read More)

The Social Columns: Mrs. Smith Is Visiting Her Parents in New Mexico

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena shows how much valuable family history information can be found in newspapers’ social columns. Newspapers report important events and breaking news on the local, national and international level. They document accidents, crimes, politics,... (Read More)

Remembering September 11th

We can never forget. Discover the story of September 11th as it happened with news coverage detailing the stories and facts of the tragic events. Find 9/11 articles with factual information, photos, survivor stories and obituaries of the victims that died that day, at GenealogyBank. GenealogyBank has a deep digital newspaper archive going back... (Read More)

She’s Been Workin’ on the Railroad! Researching Railway Records

Introduction: Scott Phillips is a genealogical historian and owner of Onward To Our Past® genealogy services. In this guest blog post, Scott discovers his centenarian cousin once worked for the U.S. Railway Mail Service—and delves into some railroad history. As a genealogical historian, one of the aspects of family history I love the most... (Read More)

Searching Family History: Old School Records in the Newspaper

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post timed with kids going back to school, Gena shows how valuable school records—in archives and in newspaper articles—can be in tracing your family history. Once again it’s that time of the year when children’s... (Read More)