Jefferson’s Dilemma: The Louisiana Purchase
By Tony Pettinato on April 30, 2019
An article about the Louisiana Purchase on 30 April 1803, in which France sold a vast territory to the U.S. that doubled America’s size... (Read More)
Tag: New Orleans
Remembering James Dean, Woody Guthrie & Janis Joplin with Newspapers
By Scott Phillips on October 2, 2013
Scott Phillips looks up news stories in old newspapers to learn more about these three famous entertainers who died this week in American history... (Read More)
My Ancestor’s Menu: Researching Food History in Newspapers
By Gena Philibert-Ortega on June 5, 2013
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)
Genealogy Tip: Research Every Clue in Newspapers, Including the Social Columns
By Thomas Jay Kemp on January 18, 2013
When using newspapers to find family history information, look at the entire paper—don’t stop with just the obvious articles such as obituaries and marriage notices. Look at all of the articles. Genealogy is everywhere in a newspaper: even in the social columns, as in the following example. Briefs, Locals, Chatter—social columns have different headings... (Read More)
Ancestry Believe It or Not: Genealogy Scams, Fakes & Forgers
By Mary Harrell-Sesniak on December 19, 2012
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary writes about genealogical fakes and frauds, and cautions readers to be careful in documenting their family history. You can’t always believe what you read—or can you? Genealogy, when done right, is a pursuit requiring... (Read More)
Newspaper Recipe Contests: Was Your Ancestor a Contest Winner?
By Gena Philibert-Ortega on November 28, 2012
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena shows how recipe contests that ran in local newspapers can turn out to be a surprisingly good source of genealogy information about your female ancestors. Have you ever won a contest sponsored by... (Read More)
Genealogist Shares Her Genealogy Research Success Story!
By Thomas Jay Kemp on February 28, 2012
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)
How Did You Get Started as a Genealogist? Share Your Story with Us!
By Thomas Jay Kemp on December 12, 2011
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)
A Good Woman Can Be Hard to Find…
By Thomas Jay Kemp on November 10, 2011
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)
