The world first learned of the Titanic disaster through survivor stories published in newspapers. Read some of these incredible Titanic stories... (Read More)
Every year I like to re-read Val D. Greenwood’s “Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy” (for a copy call: 1-866-641-3297). It is a good review of core genealogical records. With that in mind, let’s review the core value of newspapers: obituaries. Obituaries are a key genealogical resource, providing a wealth of detail about the specific... (Read More)
It is generally rare for families to change the spelling of their names (although some immigrant families did so in an attempt to make their names sound more familiar to American ears, so be aware of this possibility). When doing your family history research, however, you may encounter variations on the spelling of your... (Read More)
With GenealogyBank adding more records at the rate of 10 documents a second, we hear from genealogists every day sharing their excitement about their family history discoveries. Here is a genealogy research success story we received today from GenealogyBank member Michele Lewis. Michele wrote us: Here is a newspaper success story for you. My... (Read More)
The old Colonial newspapers let us look back and see our country’s news as it happened. We get to see the early American history as it unfolded in our ancestors’ day. Imagine the utter shock in 1799 upon hearing the grim news that General George Washington was dead—America’s military leader during the Revolutionary War... (Read More)
This week marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles John Huffam Dickens, the famous English novelist who created such memorable characters as David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Ebenezer Scrooge, and Tiny Tim. Born on Feb. 7, 1812, Charles Dickens remains one of the most popular and beloved writers in the world—in fact, his... (Read More)
Wow—over 4,000 genealogists attended this year’s RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City last week. This must-attend conference was a nonstop opportunity to learn about the latest genealogy technology and to talk shop with like-minded genealogists from around the country. I have been attending genealogy conferences for nearly 50 years and RootsTech 2012 was the... (Read More)
Online genealogy research is endlessly fascinating—you never know what you will find. I was doing some family history research in GenealogyBank’s newspaper archive when this double obituary caught my eye. Baltimore Patriot (Baltimore, Maryland), 25 July 1834, page 3. Just a short, simple notice, 4½ lines long—and yet what a sad story it tells.... (Read More)
A Louisiana newspaper in 1853 said of family historians that “their memory is a forest planted with genealogical trees.” How true that is! Daily Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), 25 October 1853, page 5. After years of family history research many genealogists have had all types of “Eureka!” moments and breakthroughs, when they found a... (Read More)
Get Helpful, Usable Tips for Your Genealogy Research.
Get Helpful, Usable Tips for Your Genealogy Research.