Thank you GenealogyBank!

We get letters all the time from ecstatic genealogists who broke through their brick walls in GenealogyBank. Grateful letters that say – “Wow – I finally found him” in GenealogyBank … thank you, thank you. Tonight I received a “Wow – I finally found him” note from Jane Giavelli Lauhon. She wrote: Thank you... (Read More)

Wild Bill Obama

May 27th was Wild Bill Hickok’s day – I wrote about how easy it is to find newspaper articles about him in GenealogyBank. Wild Bill Hickok is in the news again – when Barack Obama mentioned his family tradition that he was a distant cousin to Wild Bill – James Butler Hickok (1837-1876).  ... (Read More)

Swan’s Island Library burns to the ground

Today’s Bangor (Maine) Daily News has the stunning news that the Swan’s Island Library in Maine has burned to the ground. (Photo: Donna Wiegle – Bangor Daily News 25 July 2008) The library was hit by lighting, caught fire and burned. Click here to read the complete story. The library held over 10,000 books... (Read More)

Genealogy Librarian – Edith Nettleton – turns 100!

Tuesday July 22nd was Edith Nettleton’s 100th birthday! Celebrate with her and send a birthday card to: Edith B. Nettleton c/o Guilford Free Library 67 Park Street Guilford, CT 06437 Rachael Scarborough King, New Haven (CT) Register reporter wrote about Genealogy Librarian Edith Nettleton turning 100. Click here to read the entire article. Here... (Read More)

Tim Russert, 1950 – 2008

On Father’s Day weekend it gives us pause to learn of the passing of Tim Russert. Deeply involved with his family as well as his life’s work he wrote about fathers and about his heritage. His easy manor and gift for telling stories always made us wonder – is there more that we can... (Read More)

Jim Thorpe – Born May 28, 1888

We all heard the stories of Jim Thorpe – the world’s greatest athlete – while we were growing up.   The newspapers & movies regularly carried stories about him and he was even featured on a box of Wheaties. (photo – NC Museum of History).   He loved to compete. He enjoyed the battle... (Read More)

It’s Wild Bill Hickok’s Day ….

Wild Bill Hickok – James Butler Hickok – was born on May 27, 1837 in Troy Grove, Illinois. Famous in movies, films and hundreds of newspaper articles – he is central to the legends of the Old West. Newspapers serialized his story and pictured him fighting bears, outlaws and Confederate agents. Images by Van... (Read More)