In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak shows how small references and brief mentions in obituaries can provide clues to help your family history research... (Read More)
Are you a descendant of Mayflower passenger Degory Priest? If you are, then please tell us your line. According to Wikipedia, Degory Priest: was a hat maker from London who married Sarah, sister of Pilgrim Isaac Allerton in Leiden. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact in November 1620 and died less than... (Read More)
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this blog article, Mary searches old newspapers to learn more about pirates – their legends, and their true stories. As long as there have been newspapers, there have been stories published about pirates. You can certainly find lots of... (Read More)
Our nation has long been grateful to our veterans, starting with the American Revolutionary War. When Amos Barnes died in 1840 newspapers remembered him – giving the details of his life, his family and his service to the nation in a detailed obituary. He died 6 December 1840 in Conway, New Hampshire He had... (Read More)
Introduction: Duncan Kuehn is a professional genealogist with over nine years of client experience. She has worked on several well-known projects, such as “Who Do You Think You Are?” In this blog post, Duncan provides search tips to help research your ancestors who lived in cities and large towns. Lots of people are and... (Read More)
What do the obituaries of Daniel Coit Gilman (1831-1908) of Norwich, Connecticut; Richard Y. Cook (1845-1917) of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania; and James J. Lovitt (1838-1892) have in common? Answer: they all described their immigrant ancestors. It is common for an obituary to name the spouse, children, parents and siblings of the deceased – but to... (Read More)
Searching through GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives recently, I found this old newspaper announcement for Margaret (Rogers) Smith’s 81st birthday. Margaret Anne (Rogers) Smith (1857-1943) didn’t come to America on the Mayflower ship – but according to this newspaper article her ancestor Thomas Rogers (c. 1572-Winter 1620/21) did. Ding! Hey – I am also descended... (Read More)
This is a typical newspaper obituary. It gives the usual genealogical information, including her name (Ella M. Crofoot), age, & date and place of birth. I could easily transcribe this information and move onto the next obituary search to find information on more relatives in my family tree– but that would be a mistake.... (Read More)
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We'll bring you the best search tips, exclusive offers and
other helpful information to discover your family story.