History of the Plymouth Rock Landmark

Plymouth Rock, a large boulder on the edge of Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, is traditionally identified as the place where the Pilgrims first stepped ashore from the Mayflower in 1620 to found Plymouth Colony. Plymouth Rock has been visited, celebrated, and written about for centuries. In 1835 Alexis de Tocqueville, a French author traveling throughout the... (Read More)

How to Find Descendants of Mayflower Pilgrims in Recent Obits

Genealogists love their ancestors—as well as the fact that important family history connections are often mentioned in recent obituaries. Have you ever noticed how common it is for these recent obituaries to describe the name of their ancestor who came over on the Mayflower ship or fought in the American Revolutionary War? Use those... (Read More)

Tips & Tricks to Search Online Newspapers at GenealogyBank

Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary shows some of the search techniques she uses when researching GenealogyBank’s newspapers collection—to help our readers do more efficient searches and save them time with their family history research. Every American family has a... (Read More)

‘Mayflower’ Genealogy Research Tip: Cast a Wide Net for Your Ancestor

With Thanksgiving just six days away, I thought I would search for any articles in GenealogyBank’s archives that mentioned Dr. Samuel Fuller—who was one of my Mayflower ancestors. I searched putting the terms “Mayflower Samuel Fuller” in the “Include Keywords” search box. Bang—GenealogyBank returned over 1,800 records. That’s great; I can spend a long... (Read More)

You Want to Be Prepared as Thanksgiving Approaches

Now that it is November, the holidays will be here before you know it. You want to prepare now. That’s what Rose Briggs did. Her hard work set the tone for how Thanksgiving has been celebrated since 1921. Rose’s Thanksgiving preparation is just one of the many great stories in GenealogyBank’s online newspaper archives.... (Read More)

Researching Genealogy with Military Records and Lists in Newspapers

Researching Genealogy with Military Records and Lists in NewspapersFrom the Revolutionary War to Pearl Harbor to Iraq, newspapers are a valuable resource for researching your military ancestry and learning about the history of war in the United States. Newspapers have been a dependable source of information that Americans have relied upon throughout this nation’s... (Read More)

Congratulations to my cousin Sarah Heath Palin!

Genealogists will love the fact that the new Republican choice for Vice President – Sarah Heath Palin is a descendant of multiple Mayflower passengers: John Tilley, John Howland, Stephen Hopkins, Elder William Brewster, Richard Warren and other well known New England families. I am also descended from those Mayflower passengers …. so we’re cousins.... (Read More)