Descendant of Texas Declaration of Independence Signer Dies

Martha F. Fenstermaker (1943-2014) recently passed away, and in her published obituary it mentioned that she was “a direct descendant of Samuel Augustus Maverick, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.” Her obituary also states she was a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Her ancestor’s last name “Maverick” is... (Read More)

Are You Celebrating Mother-in-Law Day?

Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this blog post, Mary searches old newspapers to learn more about a special day coming up this Sunday: Mother-in-Law Day. They say that there is a holiday for everything—so it should come as no surprise that Mother-in-Law Day is... (Read More)

Find Pictures of Your Ancestors’ Home in Old Newspapers

Do you have old family traditions, places and/or heirlooms? Like Abe Lincoln, did your family live in a log cabin? Do you have a picture of it? If you are related to Robert Dalton of Palo Pinto County, Texas, then GenealogyBank’s newspaper collection has a photograph of their old log cabin (built in the... (Read More)

Baylor University Anthropologists Use DNA to ID Missing Ancestors

Hat’s off to Baylor University anthropologists who are undertaking an unusual project: identifying unknown persons buried along the Texas border. Using their forensic and DNA skills, the Baylor anthropologists are determining everything they can about each corpse they recover. The information generated by this effort is going into the Missing Migrant DNA Database to... (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)