5 Things Obituaries Could Reveal About Your Ancestry
5 Things Obituaries Could Reveal About Your Ancestry—A genealogy goldmine. Obituaries going back centuries can reveal intimate details about your ancestors!
Kids Taking the Battlefield: Did Your Underage Ancestors Serve in the Civil War?
About 700,000 children under 18 fought in the Civil War: 20% of all soldiers. Though difficult to specify, an estimated 100,000 soldiers were under 15. Did your great-great-grandfather enlist in the Civil War? Did a great-great-great-granduncle run away and join the American Revolutionary War in 1775? Some American children even fought in WWI and WWII. There are ways to find out if your ancestors fought in the U.S. Military or during the Civil War even if underage.
Mental Health | Stories | Tips
Mental Illness: A Crucial Part of Everybody’s Ancestry Journey
I have found clues that my ancestors might have suffered from mental illnesses. Take this newspaper clipping, for example. Mental illness almost certainly affected your ancestors. But they might be hard to detect. People did not know how to identify mental illnesses until recently. So, records are not always accurate. Mental illness almost certainly affected your ancestors. But they might be hard to detect. Why is the history of mental illness such an important topic? Why should we pay special attention to mental illness in genealogy research?
An Ancestral Hunt: “Raised by Her Grandmother”
“Angelita was raised by her grandmother, Genara Lujan, in Jaconita, NM.” This sentence kicked off a two-hour genealogical hunt to find Angelita’s parents. She was my close friend’s great-grandmother. Angelita’s obituary only mentioned her grandmother, but no parents.
The Grocery Fortune My Family Had No Idea We Missed Out On
If you have ever been to New England, specifically Maine, you probably saw at least one Hannaford Brothers grocery store. Until today, I had no idea that my family narrowly missed out on being Hannaford. What did your relatives witness? Did they compete with any brands that you see or use daily? Chances are, they might have.
One Way You Could Find Out If Your Ancestors Had Dogs 100 Years Ago
Among my favorite discoveries is one of the simplest. Finding out in the newspaper that my great-great-grandfather, Jacob Westermeyer, had a dog in 1908 when he was just 19! Did your ancestors have dogs? Here’s a way you could find out!
What Ancestral Discoveries in Your Family Tree Are Hiding In Plain Sight?
Maybe your ancestors walked down Main Street in your town a hundred years ago when it was a dirt road. A house they built from scratch could still stand. Did your ancestors leave a legacy in your area that you might not know yet?
Ancestry Mecca: Go Visit NEHGS!
You could be 10, 43, or 85. You could be a beginner or an expert. But if you love genealogy, you need to visit the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS). You will love it. My dad took me to NEHGS for the first time when I was 10. The only thing I could have been an expert at back then was watching SpongeBob.
Did Your Ancestors Help Build The Titanic?
Picture a 40,000 ton boat — 8,000 adult elephants — sliding down this ramp into the harbor in 1919. Looks pretty sturdy, right? Did your ancestors help build the Titanic?
A 14 Generation Family Tree Mural In My Dorm at Duke
I got back to Duke a week before everybody else. Staring at my blank, white wall, with time to spare, I had an idea: I should draw my family tree on it. It took four full days — working through nights and the quiet days — but it came together! Eleven feet long and four feet tall.