Photo: Meetinghouse, New Gloucester, Maine. Credit: Gerda Peterich; Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

1790 Arson in New Gloucester, Maine

By Thomas Jay Kemp on January 2, 2018

An article by Thomas Jay Kemp about his ancestor William Widgery, whose house in New Gloucester, Maine, was burned by arsonists in 1790... (Read More)

Genealogy Resolutions: What Will You Do in 2018?

By Gena Philibert-Ortega on December 29, 2017

In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega shares some of the New Year’s genealogy resolutions she and her friends on Facebook have for 2018... (Read More)

Her Story Really Touched Me: Shaker Marie Frances Burgess

By Thomas Jay Kemp on December 28, 2017

An article by Thomas Jay Kemp about Marie Frances Burgess (1920-2001), one of the world’s last remaining Shakers, from a Shaker village in Maine... (Read More)

Photo: a roast turkey surrounded by Christmas log cake, gravy, sparkling juice, and vegetables. Credit: Chensiyuan; Wikimedia Commons.

Our Ancestors’ Christmas Menus

By Gena Philibert-Ortega on December 22, 2017

In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega searches old newspapers to learn what our ancestors served for Christmas dinner... (Read More)

Photo: Earth rising above the moon’s surface, taken by Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders on 24 December 1968. Credit: NASA; Wikimedia Commons.

‘Apollo 8’: The First Manned Mission to the Moon

By Tony Pettinato on December 21, 2017

An article about Apollo 8, which blasted off on 21 December 1968 and successfully became humankind’s first manned mission to the moon... (Read More)

Photo: Santa Claus in a Christmas parade, Toronto, Canada, 18 November 2007. Credit: Glogger; Wikimedia Commons.

Hometown Tradition: The Christmas Parade

By Gena Philibert-Ortega on December 21, 2017

In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about a tradition that has been happening in hometowns for a long time: the annual Christmas parade... (Read More)

Photo: a Christmas pudding being flamed after brandy has been poured over it. Credit: Matt Riggott; Wikimedia Commons.

Old Time Christmas Drink & Sweets Recipes

By Mary Harrell-Sesniak on December 20, 2017

In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak searches old newspapers to find our ancestors’ Christmas recipes... (Read More)

Illustration: Ebenezer Scrooge visited by Marley's ghost. Color illustration from “A Christmas Carol in Prose; Being a Ghost Story of Christmas,” by Charles Dickens, with illustrations by John Leech, 1843. Credit: British Library; Wikimedia Commons.

Charles Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ Helps Reinvent Christmas

By Tony Pettinato on December 19, 2017

An article about Charles Dickens and his enduring Christmas classic, “A Christmas Carol in Prose; Being a Ghost Story of Christmas.”.. (Read More)

Photo: candle on a Christmas tree. Credit: Malene Thyssen; Wikimedia Commons.

The Background of ‘The Christmas Song’

By Gena Philibert-Ortega on December 19, 2017

In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about “The Christmas Song,” the enduring holiday classic written by Mel Torme and Bob Wells in 1945... (Read More)