Discovering Thanksgiving Family History in Newspaper Articles

From the earliest days of the nation our presidents and governors have proclaimed annual days of “publick Thanksgiving and Prayer” in gratitude for their families, lives and success in the New World.Then as now we pause as families gather to give thanks.Lucky for us many of these holiday family gatherings were recorded in newspapers,... (Read More)

A Good Woman Can Be Hard to Find…

When researching your family history, it can be very difficult to find information about women in the early 19th Century—finding genealogical resources that actually give women’s names and family details is challenging. It was common in the 19th Century for newspapers and government records to be brief and give only the basic information about... (Read More)

Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar …

“Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar, all who love obits stand up and holler!” That is probably not the way you heard that cheer – but genealogists sure do love obituaries.I came across this obituary for Louise Cloutier (1789-1889). It was published in the 13 November 1889 issue of the Daily Inter-Ocean... (Read More)

Funeral Sermons – a core genealogical resource

GenealogyBank.com has over 7,000 funeral sermons – full text digital copies and excerpts. These are a core source for genealogists searching for the details of their ancestor’s lives in Colonial America and the early Federalist period. (Photo, Ian Britton. FreeFoto.com). It was common in Colonial America to have a funeral sermon printed and distributed... (Read More)

Genealogist, Mary Sue Green Smith (1933-2009)

Prominent Nashville, TN genealogist, Mary Sue Green Smith (1933-2009) has passed away. She was President of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society. She published eight books between 1994 and 2006; mostly reference works to be used in tracing one’s roots in Nashville. She indexed tens of thousands of pre-Civil War civil court records, which added... (Read More)

Linda Fay Kaufman, genealogist, 1940-2009

Remembering one of our own: Linda Fay Kaufman, genealogist, 1940-2009 Enthusiastic genealogist Linda Fay Kaufman (1940-2009) has passed away. She put her family history research online and actively corresponded with genealogists across the country. A search of the genealogy lists shows her posts as recently as the last few months. Star Tribune: Newspaper of... (Read More)

A Good Woman Can be Hard to Find…

It can be very difficult to find women in the early 19th Century – finding sources that actually give their names and genealogical details. It was common in the 19th century for genealogical sources to be brief and give only the basic information about a household in the census – or an entry in... (Read More)

Jacquelyn Ladd Ricker – 1935-2008

Long time office manager of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists has passed away. A prolific genealogist and writer – she was a long time presence in Connecticut genealogical circles. She is best known for her republication of the Barbour Index to Connecticut Vital Records which was issued as a CD-ROM under the title: The... (Read More)