Wow! 4-Page Obituary for William Bullock Clark

I was looking for the obituary of William Bullock Clark (1860-1917), a geology professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Looking in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives, I quickly found multiple obituaries for him. For example, there is this obituary from the Sun (Baltimore, Maryland). Great obituary. It includes the basic genealogical facts: his... (Read More)

The WWI Soldier Girl: Hazel Blauser Carter

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this blog article, Gena searches old newspapers to uncover the story of Hazel Carter, who disguised herself as a man in order to follow her husband into battle in WWI – and almost made it. During the American... (Read More)

Linus Lounsbury, Revolutionary War Veteran

I found this obituary for Linus Lounsbury, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, by searching in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives. He died on 15 July 1836. He was a pensioner. He was in the Siege of Fort Johns in Newfoundland, Canada – 17 September 1775 to 3 November 1775, and was in the... (Read More)

Dad’s Hole in One Story Featured in the Newspaper

Going through Dad’s old papers I found that he had shot a hole-in-one playing golf. In fact he had certificates for four of them. How he liked to golf. I wondered if these perfect shots were written up in the newspapers – yes, they were. In the Dallas Morning News, golfer Doris Gray was... (Read More)

Six Facts About Harry Houdini’s Wife, Bess Houdini

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this blog article, Gena searches old newspapers to discover interesting stories about the life of Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, a.k.a. Mrs. Houdini – the wife of the famous magician. Even if you have no interest in magic, chances are... (Read More)

Easter Sunrise Services: A Brief History

Easter sunrise services have been held for centuries. According to Wikipedia, the earliest recorded sunrise service was held in 1732 in Germany. Easter sunrise services – often coupled with an early morning breakfast – have also been an American tradition since the 1700s. The Moravian Church Easter sunrise service, held annually since 1772 in... (Read More)