This photograph was taken in March 1881 of a train passing through snow-covered Minnesota in the worst snow season ever recorded there. The snow season started with a storm in October 1880 and it just kept on snowing until March of 1881. It was one of the Midwest’s worst-ever snow seasons, with multiple blizzards... (Read More)
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post—just in time for Halloween celebrations tonight—Gena searches old newspapers to look at the history of Halloween costumes. What was Halloween like when you were a child? What Halloween costumes did you wear when you... (Read More)
Clearly DNA testing is revolutionizing 21st Century family history research. DNA Testing Helps Orphan Find His Family There are heartwarming stories about successful DNA tests—like that of 80-year-old Patrick J. Holland, who was raised in an orphanage and through DNA testing finally found his family. Here is the full report on this touching family... (Read More)
During this October week in American history three pioneering activists died who had a big impact on American society: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American women’s rights activist, died at 86 on 26 October 1902 Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson, American baseball player and civil rights activist, died at 53 on 24 October 1972 Rosa Louise McCauley... (Read More)
An article by Thomas Jay Kemp about researching old newspapers and the Internet to find more details of your family history... (Read More)
Like detectives, we approach family history by gathering all of the clues and making a case for who our relatives were: their names, when and where they were born, pushing through all of the activities of their lives until their deaths. Pulling all of the facts and clues together helps us rediscover who each... (Read More)
During this October week in American history three musical geniuses died who had a big impact on music—both in America and around the world: Cole (Albert) Porter, American composer, died at 73 on 15 October 1964 Bing Crosby (Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby, Jr.), American singer and actor, died at 74 on 14 October 1977... (Read More)
In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega explores a family history resource in old newspapers that may surprise you: missing husband ads... (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 examine food columns that may have provided the recipes our ancestors used—and shows how those food columns that featured recipe contests may contain names and addresses helpful to our... (Read More)
