Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary presents the fascinating story of Hammet Achmet, who grew up a slave in George Washington’s household, served as a drummer in the Revolutionary War, then became a freedman and drum maker. Piecing together the... (Read More)
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena searches old newspapers to learn about the history of Christmas cards, illustrating her article with vintage Christmas cards from her own collection. What’s your favorite part of the holiday season? The decorations? The... (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 search techniques she uses when researching GenealogyBank’s newspapers collection—to help our readers do more efficient searches and save them time with their family history research. Every American family has a... (Read More)
What happened to the Hanssons of Kent, Washington? Did you know John and Olea Hansson? They were both born around 1885-1900 and in 1948 they lived at 516 3rd Avenue South, Kent, Washington. One of our GenealogyBank members living in Norway is trying to see what became of the Hanssons. Olea Hansson is related... (Read More)
When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person on an Alabama bus 58 years ago, her act of defiance against racist laws sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and accelerated the Civil Rights Movement, forever changing America. In a ceremony Wednesday in Washington, D.C., which was attended by dozens of... (Read More)
Georgia Family History Expo – Duluth, Georgia 2011 Over 400 genealogists gathered in Duluth, Georgia, for the annual Family History Expo held at the Gwinnett Center on Nov. 11-12, 2011. Now in its second year, this conference has the size and feel of a national conference. There were over 60 informative family history sessions... (Read More)
George Washington gave his farewell address September 17, 1796. Think of it. He had led the nation in war and unified us as a new and separate country. He had served as President since April 30, 1789 and now he was leaving office. He was the image of stability, security, a father... (Read More)
Washington, DC was captured and burned August 24-25th, 1814. Illustration: National Archives Identifier 531090 With British troops overwhelming the city “…a retreat was ordered, when the President, who had been on horseback, with the army the whole day, reared from the mortifying scene, and left the city on horseback accompanied by Gen. Mason and... (Read More)
Get the most out of GenealogyBank! (Illustration – US Soldiers’ Home – Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division – Digital ID: npcc 18971) GenealogyBank has more than 250,000 historical documents and reports – like the Annual Reports of the War Department. The War Department, like all US Government Agencies issues an annual... (Read More)