A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y

I am often asked: Do you have Canadian newspapers in GenealogyBank? Well, no we don’t – but that’s not the question you want to ask. GenealogyBank has over 3,800 newspapers – all of them published in the United States – but it has several million articles, records and documents on Canadians. Tip: I have... (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)

Woman struck blind on seeing her son …

Obituaries can give us the details of our ancestor’s lives that we just don’t find anywhere else. Today I found this obituary in GenealogyBank for Judith Tormey (1800-1898) who died in Newark, NJ. Baltimore Sun 4 July 1898 This obituary article gives us lots of details and clues to fill in the family tree.... (Read More)

Patsy Leaves Family History TV Show over Gangland Grandpa

Uncovering our family history can reveal saints and sinners as we dig through old newspapers. Genealogists using GenealogyBank become used to finding a scoundrel here and there on the branches of the family tree. But British actress – Patsy Kensit was not prepared for what she discovered while filming a TV show for the... (Read More)

Wild Bill Obama

May 27th was Wild Bill Hickok’s day – I wrote about how easy it is to find newspaper articles about him in GenealogyBank. Wild Bill Hickok is in the news again – when Barack Obama mentioned his family tradition that he was a distant cousin to Wild Bill – James Butler Hickok (1837-1876).  ... (Read More)

It’s a great day for genealogy!

It’s a great day for genealogy! And, it’s a particularly good day for me too!Today marks exactly 43 years since I started working in genealogy. Wow, it’s been fun. It was 26 July 1965 – in Stamford, CT – George B. Everton, Sr. (1904-1996) and his wife Ellen (Nielsen) Everton (1902-1987) were conducting a... (Read More)

Birth Announcements – newspapers are packed with them

Newspapers have been announcing births since the 1700s. It is common to see birth notices in newspapers all across the country, like this one for triplets born to “Mrs. Rust of Wolfeboro, NH” in 1796. It appeared in the Massachusetts Mercury 14 Oct 1796. You’ll find millions of births recorded in newspapers on GenealogyBank... (Read More)

1st genealogy published in America – 7 May 1724

The first genealogy published in America appeared in a newspaper 284 years ago – today – May 7, 1724.   It appeared in the American Weekly Mercury. It was a genealogy of King Philip V of Spain. Genealogy articles routinely appeared in colonial newspapers. The first genealogy published in book form was in 1771... (Read More)