Unusual Obituaries: Sir Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell

Speaking of unusual obituaries. See this one from GenealogyBank – published in today’s (3 April 2009) Boston Globe. Sir Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell, son of the late Sir George Sitwell (author of The History of the Fork and inventor of a revolver for shooting wasps).Boston Globe, (MA) – April 3, 2009Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell; restored hall... (Read More)

Wow – I love GenealogyBank.

We routinely hear from genealogists telling about their success – “Wow, look what I found!” We really love to hear those stories and today it is my turn. Last week I was stunned to find that one of my cousins had posted early photographs of our family online. There they were – the actual... (Read More)

GenealogyBank celebrates 2nd Anniversary

GenealogyBank is celebrating its second year of service to genealogists! Join with us and celebrate! We’ll be “Two” on October 18th. How time flies. It has been a wonderful two years! We have loved receiving your fan mail and sharing in your success stories. We’re happy for your amazing finds and knowing the special... (Read More)

Woman struck blind on seeing her son …

Obituaries can give us the details of our ancestor’s lives that we just don’t find anywhere else. Today I found this obituary in GenealogyBank for Judith Tormey (1800-1898) who died in Newark, NJ. Baltimore Sun 4 July 1898 This obituary article gives us lots of details and clues to fill in the family tree.... (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)

Frank Baum 1856-1919 – Going Beyond the Obits

Lyman Frank Baum, the author of the many books about the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was born today – May 15, 1856 – in Chittenango, Madison County, New York.     When he died obituaries appeared in newspapers around the country like this obituary that appeared in the Duluth (MN) News Tribune (8 May... (Read More)

Finding People with Common Names

Finding people with unusual names can be very difficult but it is easy to find them on GenealogyBank. Today I was looking for Henry B. Platter and his good wife, Rachel (Bittinger) Platter. The Bittingers are my cousins and many of them are from Garrett County, Maryland. Now, Platter is an unusual name. It... (Read More)