Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena searches through historical newspaper archives and finds old menus—and shows how these provide social history that helps us better understand our ancestors’ times. When was the last time you ate out? How often... (Read More)
It’s nice to think that everyone is related—but as genealogists we have known that would be difficult to prove. Now science is proving that theory is correct. A new DNA study shows that everyone alive on the earth today shares common ancestors only 1,000 to 2,000 years ago. What? “Group Hug!” Wow—what is this... (Read More)
If you committed murder in 1755 you were dealt with severely. However, the punishment for the crime was not always the same for a man as it was for a woman. In this article from an old 1700s newspaper, we learn that a man and a woman servant were found guilty of the murder... (Read More)
Scott Phillips explains how he adds the “5 Ws” (Who, What, When, Where & Why) of newspaper journalism to enliven his family history research... (Read More)
Chillicothe, Ohio, was the state’s first capital—from 1803-1810—and then it became Ohio’s third capital from1812-1816. GenealogyBank has that early period of “The Buckeye State’s” history covered with four Chillicothe newspapers from 1801 to 1839. Wait— Chillicothe was Ohio’s first and third capital? Why did the capital of Ohio change so much? In the 1800s... (Read More)
Introduction: In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about how difficult it can be finding information about an ancestor who was committed to an asylum (i.e., state hospital)—and how using old newspapers can help. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” When I look at the latter years of... (Read More)
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary provides another fun quiz to test your knowledge of terms used in old newspapers to describe our ancestors’ diseases and medical conditions—and then provides illustrated definitions of those terms. Here is the 18th century... (Read More)
Did you ever wonder why your ancestors had the first names they did? Were they old names used over generations in the family, or does your family history have some names that seemingly were random with no obvious family connection? It might be that your family chose a name because it was the name... (Read More)
Have you tried a genetic DNA study as an approach to learning more about your family history? If so, have you made family connections that you wouldn’t have found otherwise? It is essential that you participate in a DNA study as soon as possible. Doing so will save time, and give you a clearer... (Read More)
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Get Helpful, Usable Tips for Your Genealogy Research.