Gershom Beach Dead at 77 – the Forgotten Paul Revere

Gershom Beach, a blacksmith in Rutland, Vermont, was 77 when he passed away on 2 September 1805, according to his obituary. Born 24 September 1728 in Cheshire, Connecticut, Gershom Beach was credited as being one of the original settlers of Rutland, Vermont. Beach is most noted for his Paul Revere-style message delivery for Colonel... (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)

Funeral Sermons – a core genealogical resource

GenealogyBank.com has over 7,000 funeral sermons – full text digital copies and excerpts. These are a core source for genealogists searching for the details of their ancestor’s lives in Colonial America and the early Federalist period. (Photo, Ian Britton. FreeFoto.com). It was common in Colonial America to have a funeral sermon printed and distributed... (Read More)

Remembering Carole Callard …

I paused this week to remember Carole Callard – she was a terrific genealogist, teacher, librarian and friend. Carole passed away 3 years ago this week. Her obituary appeared in several newspapers including the Lansing State Journal (MI) – December 12, 2005 Carole Crawford Callard Lansing, MI Age 64, died December 10, 2005; born... (Read More)

Allen County Library (IN) receives $10 Million Gift

The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Library (Ft. Wyane, IN) has received a $10 million gift from the Edward D. and Ione Auer Foundation. The funds will be given to the library as $1 million payments each year over 10 years. The announcement is in the Ft Wayne News Sentinnel 1 August 2008... (Read More)