Clues in Petitions: Did Your Ancestors Petition the Government?

Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary writes about our ancestors’ petitions to the government, an often-overlooked source of family history information. From the establishment of companies, to divorces, to relief from tobacco weighing, the right to petition the government “for... (Read More)

Valentine’s Day History Facts & My Sweet Genealogy Karma

Introduction: In this article, Scott Phillips turns to old newspapers to research the history of St. Valentine’s Day—and shares a personal Valentine’s Day story. Scott is a genealogical historian and owner of Onward To Our Past® genealogy services. Nothing much beats holidays as a way to get everyone talking about family, memories, stories, and... (Read More)

Understanding Terms Found in Historical Newspapers

Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary explains some of the unusual or archaic terms often found in historical newspapers, and provides examples from period newspapers. When I first started searching historical newspapers to help with my family history research, certain... (Read More)

The Importance of Old Newspaper Advertisements to Genealogy

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena writes about the value of a resource in newspapers that is often overlooked by genealogists: the classified ads. “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine. Ovaltine? A crummy commercial.”—Ralphie Parker from the movie A... (Read More)

1800s Newspaper Ad: Reward for Army Deserters

Fort Johnson in South Carolina was no different from Army bases across the country. From time to time soldiers deserted, as these men did on 3 January 1810. Captain A.B. Armistead wanted them back—and so he ran a newspaper ad offering “ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD for six Deserters, who deserted from this post on... (Read More)

Tarbell Sisters’ Civil War Feud Finally Ended—in 1922!

While many genealogical records can provide names and dates for your family tree, newspapers give you something more: actual stories about your ancestors’ lives, so that you can get to know them as real people and learn about the times in which they lived. Here’s an example of a newspaper preserving a remarkable family... (Read More)