Genealogy Search Tips for Ancestors’ Names: Less Is More

Beginning genealogists sometimes write us and say: “I put in the correct information for my search—full name including middle name, birth date, last known place of residence, etc.—everything I know about my ancestor, and yet I found no matching records. I did this search for a few other ancestors after I was told that... (Read More)

Thomas Hill—American Revolutionary War Minuteman Hero Gone

“Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year.” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow In searching through early 19th Century newspapers, time and again we find historical obituaries about the passing of “Revolutionary Heroes,” as America’s newspapers recorded the honored service of those who fought to secure this country’s freedom from England.... (Read More)

32 Million immigrants will see their record status changed to permanent in Wednesday Signing Ceremony

Signing Ceremony Permits 32 Million Alien Files to Become Permanent Records at the National Archives – A Genealogy Goldmine.   Adrienne Thomas, Acting Archivist of the United States and Gregory Smith, Associate Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will hold a joint signing ceremony between the National Archives and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration... (Read More)

Funeral Sermons – a core genealogical resource

GenealogyBank.com has over 7,000 funeral sermons – full text digital copies and excerpts. These are a core source for genealogists searching for the details of their ancestor’s lives in Colonial America and the early Federalist period. (Photo, Ian Britton. FreeFoto.com). It was common in Colonial America to have a funeral sermon printed and distributed... (Read More)

Disciples of Christ Historical Society sustains severe water damage

DeciplesWorld is reporting that “the Nashville-based Disciples of Christ Historical Society suffered severe water damage the last weekend of April when what the organization believes was a faulty valve in the heating and air-conditioning system allowed gallons of water to pour from top to bottom of the half-century-old Thomas W. Phillips Memorial Archives that... (Read More)

Index to Early Philadelphia Obituaries – Public Ledger 1836

These early Philadelphia (PA) deaths were recorded in the Public Ledger, an early Philadelphia newspaper. Click on the links in the index citations to read each person’s obituary.Public Ledger. 25 Mar 1836Eure, Jonas. (-1836)Hendel, William B. (-1836) McClaskey, James. (1775-1836)Talcott, Samuel Austin (1789-1836)Taynton, Luther. (1791-1836)Townsend, Edwin. (1832-1836)Townsend, Maria. (1833-1836)Public Ledger. 26 Mar 1836Wooldridge, Jane.... (Read More)