Dating Old Family Photographs with Civil War Revenue Stamps

Introduction: In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak shows how to determine the date of undated, Civil War-era family photographs using revenue stamps affixed to the back of the picture. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. Do you have Civil War-era photographs of your ancestors that are undated? As this... (Read More)

Find Old Photos & Illustrations in GenealogyBank

Finding an old photograph or illustration of your ancestors, their house, or something else associated with their lives and times can be a highlight of your genealogy research. It is exciting to see the faces and places that are a part of your family’s history. Have you noticed that many historical newspaper articles are... (Read More)

How to Date Family Photos with Vintage Fashion Ads in Newspapers

Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary shows how the fashion pages in old newspapers can help you date family photographs based on the clothes your ancestors are wearing, especially ladies’ hats. If you’re having difficulty dating family photographs, you could... (Read More)

Remembering September 11th

We can never forget. Discover the story of September 11th as it happened with news coverage detailing the stories and facts of the tragic events. Find 9/11 articles with factual information, photos, survivor stories and obituaries of the victims that died that day, at GenealogyBank. GenealogyBank has a deep digital newspaper archive going back... (Read More)

Searching Family History: Old School Records in the Newspaper

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post timed with kids going back to school, Gena shows how valuable school records—in archives and in newspaper articles—can be in tracing your family history. Once again it’s that time of the year when children’s... (Read More)

Earthquake! Newspapers Record Destruction in California History

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena shows how historical newspapers provide excellent coverage of disasters such as earthquakes, including detailed casualty lists helpful to genealogists. Living in California as I do, earthquakes are a fact of life. Because of... (Read More)

Three Steps to Help You Get Your Genealogy in Gear

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena provides three ideas to help genealogists break through the “brick wall” they sometimes run into while searching their family history. Do you feel stuck? All genealogists come to a point where they just... (Read More)