Military cemeteries traditionally have a uniform look: clean, unadorned, orderly. The appearance of the military crosses was immortalized in the lines of the poem “In Flanders Fields,” written by Canadian John McCrae during WWI on 3 May 1915: In Flanders fields the poppies grow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place;... (Read More)
During this October week in American history three giants—one quite literally—died who had a big impact on America: Robert E. Lee, American soldier and Confederate general, died at 63 on 12 October 1870 John Denver (Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.), American singer-songwriter, died at 53 on 12 October 1997 Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player, died... (Read More)
No, I don’t mean Robin Hood’s love interest from the 16th century. I’m referring to my cousin Marion Morgan Kemp (1862-1963) who owned villas in France, New York and Rome. Years ago I contacted the authorities in Osmoy, France, where she died and received a copy of her death certificate. Since Marion lived most... (Read More)
A growing number of states in the U.S. are putting their vital records online, making it easier for genealogists to obtain these records. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is a prime example of how these state projects are revolutionizing family history research in the 21st Century. West Virginia has put up... (Read More)
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary shows some of the unique historical maps that can be found in old newspapers, and proposes a fun “gencaching” game to find more of these maps. Some of the greatest tools of genealogical research... (Read More)
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)
I was alerted to John Fuller’s passing by DearMYRTLE. Others in the genealogy community have sent me items to include in writing about him. His complete obituary will be posted later this weekend. John Fuller was well known in the genealogy community for his landmark website – Genealogy Resources on the Internet – that... (Read More)
Genealogists in 16 States pass away. AK, CA, DE, FL, ID, IL, KS, LA, MA, MO, OH, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI. Bedgood, Pierrine Charlotte Claudine Cabral. (1938-2009) Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) – May 13, 2009 Cheng, Nelson Yum-Ping. (1920-2009) St. Petersburg Times (FL) – May 14, 2009 Cox, Donald H. (1946-2009) Lima News... (Read More)