William Walcutt was there—a stalwart throughout the American Revolutionary War. He enlisted at Valley Forge 7 May 1778 “while yet a youth.” He was only 17 years old, having turned 17 just a month and a half earlier. When he died at the age of 73, his one-paragraph obituary detailed his military service during... (Read More)
Recently, I checked in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives for a few of my Sawyer relatives in Grafton County, New Hampshire—and didn’t find them. Bummer. When I search in GenealogyBank and do not find my target relatives, I make a quick note to try again in a few weeks to see if I can find... (Read More)
Newspapers have been publishing obituaries for hundreds of years, making it easy for bereaved family and friends to learn the details of the life of the deceased as well as the funeral arrangements. GenealogyBank has put this information from the past 300 years online, allowing genealogists to find their relatives within a few clicks.... (Read More)
Last year I wrote about my relative Elizabeth (Meader) Hanson (1684-1737) who, along with her children, was kidnapped by Abenaki Indians on 7 September 1724 and taken to the Indians’ village along the St. Francis River in Canada. They were held there for over two years. (See: Find & Preserve Your Family’s Stories.) Powerful.... (Read More)
Most genealogists use newspaper birth notices, marriage announcements, and obituaries in their family history research—but there are many other good sources of family information in newspapers, such as tax lists. For example, the town of Tamworth, New Hampshire, took out this ad in the Sun (Dover, New Hampshire), an area newspaper, in 1816. It... (Read More)
Census and other government records can give us dates and facts about our ancestors, but where do you turn to find their personal stories, an account of something fantastic, exciting or odd that they experienced? If you are lucky, you may possess your ancestors’ journals or family letters. Even if you don’t have these,... (Read More)
GenealogyBank has really been great for finding the personal stories of each family member. I have been systematically going through the old newspapers looking for my Revolutionary War ancestors, and the other day I decided to look for my more recent ancestors and cousins. A quick search found this article. The historical newspaper article... (Read More)
One of my family traditions tells us that George Washington made his headquarters, from 4 July to 19 August 1781, at the home of my 5th Great-Grandfather, Joseph Appleby (1732-1792) in Greenburgh, New York, in the Dobbs Ferry section of town, during the American Revolutionary War. Joseph Appleby served as a 2nd lieutenant in... (Read More)
Be sure to check passenger lists that were routinely printed in newspapers—they have critical genealogical information about your immigrant ancestors that you need for your family history research. Look at this typical example, published in the Irish Nation newspaper in New York City. This passenger list reports on the Irish passengers who arrived in New York... (Read More)
Get Helpful, Usable Tips for Your Genealogy Research.
Get Helpful, Usable Tips for Your Genealogy Research.