Family Search Uncovers Circus Elephant Story

Introduction: Scott Phillips is a genealogical historian and owner of Onward To Our Past® genealogy services. In this guest blog post, Scott speaks of his love of genealogy, and shares some of the family history discoveries he’s made—including the tale of an ancestor, a zookeeper, who was nearly trampled to death by Minnie, the... (Read More)

Got Genealogy Questions?

Do you have a genealogy question? Have you hit a brick wall in your genealogy research? Need help? Write our free “Ask the Genealogist” service and let’s see what we can find out for you about your family history. And, hey—would you help us out and “Like” us on Facebook, and ask your friends... (Read More)

Family Prison Reunion—Study Uncovers Jukes’ Crime History

With Mother’s Day just past and Father’s Day approaching, genealogists would love to have a complete family history—to find and document all the members of their family. And—as the following family story illustrates–so would the police! Richard Dugdale (1841-1883) was studying prisoners for the Prison Association of New York. In reviewing the prison inmates... (Read More)

Genealogy Research Tip: Dig Deep into Records to Uncover Clues

Genealogy Research Tip: Don’t judge a book by its cover. Carefully read every genealogy record of your ancestor’s life—you never know what you will find. I recently made some surprising discoveries about the Morse family after digging deep into genealogy records online. I found the obituary of Daniel Morse, published in the Cherry Valley... (Read More)