Light a Candle for Thanksgiving

Plymouth, England, and Plymouth, Massachusetts, are already beginning celebrations (which will culminate in 2020) for the 400th anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower, with special events on both sides of the Atlantic. “As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled has shown unto many” –Plymouth Colony Governor William... (Read More)

History of the Plymouth Rock Landmark

Plymouth Rock, a large boulder on the edge of Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, is traditionally identified as the place where the Pilgrims first stepped ashore from the Mayflower in 1620 to found Plymouth Colony. Plymouth Rock has been visited, celebrated, and written about for centuries. In 1835 Alexis de Tocqueville, a French author traveling throughout the... (Read More)

You Want to Be Prepared as Thanksgiving Approaches

Now that it is November, the holidays will be here before you know it. You want to prepare now. That’s what Rose Briggs did. Her hard work set the tone for how Thanksgiving has been celebrated since 1921. Rose’s Thanksgiving preparation is just one of the many great stories in GenealogyBank’s online newspaper archives.... (Read More)

Researching Genealogy with Military Records and Lists in Newspapers

  Researching Genealogy with Military Records and Lists in Newspapers From the Revolutionary War to Pearl Harbor to Iraq, newspapers are a valuable resource for researching your military ancestry and learning about the history of war in the United States. Newspapers have been a dependable source of information that Americans have relied upon throughout... (Read More)

Passenger Lists

GenealogyBank is growing – it now has nearly 300 million items. This morning I found this passenger list – published as a souvenir handbill that was likely given to the passengers on the steamship Silesia when it left on Tuesday November 30, 1869 bound for Plymouth, Cherbourg, London and Hamburg. In addition to the... (Read More)

Genealogist Obituaries – genealogists in 11 states pass away

Genealogists in 11 states pass away. CT, MA, MI, MN, NH, OK, PA, TN, UT, WA, WV Bell, Frederick R. (1945-2009) Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA) – May 6, 2009 Brown, Robert Arthur. (1927-2009) Knoxville News Sentinel (TN) – May 6, 2009 Carrington, Hiram D., Jr. (1930-2009) Republican-American (Waterbury, CT) – May 5, 2009 Church, James.... (Read More)

Old Man of the Mountain – RIP 3 May 2003

It was six years ago that the Old Man of the Mountain fell. His passing is as deeply felt today as when I heard the shocking news in 2003. It came across as a cable news bulletin. Hikers had heard the awful rumble in the early hours while it was still dark and when... (Read More)