It was a happy day in 1914 when Clevelanders learned that a cache of old city photos had been found. A photograph, after all, is worth a thousand words—and these old Cleveland, Ohio, photographs told quite a story about the city’s development. This massive collection of more than 5,000 negatives had been taken over... (Read More)
Introduction: In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about how difficult it can be finding information about an ancestor who was committed to an asylum (i.e., state hospital)—and how using old newspapers can help. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” When I look at the latter years of... (Read More)
The “Old Man of the Mountain” was a granite rock formation in the White Mountains of New Hampshire that looked like the rugged profile of a man’s face. First discovered in 1805, the 40-foot-high face had been N.H.’s state emblem since 1945. But centuries of freezing and thawing eventually did the Old Man in.... (Read More)
Scott Phillips writes about his many surprises when he researched a remarkable member of his extended family: the brilliant scientist Cledo Brunetti... (Read More)
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary provides another fun quiz to test your knowledge of terms used in old newspapers to describe our ancestors’ diseases and medical conditions—and then provides illustrated definitions of those terms. Here is the 18th century... (Read More)
Did you ever wonder why your ancestors had the first names they did? Were they old names used over generations in the family, or does your family history have some names that seemingly were random with no obvious family connection? It might be that your family chose a name because it was the name... (Read More)
Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about a resource beloved by genealogists: the local library—and how thousands were built thanks to Andrew Carnegie... (Read More)
Have you tried a genetic DNA study as an approach to learning more about your family history? If so, have you made family connections that you wouldn’t have found otherwise? It is essential that you participate in a DNA study as soon as possible. Doing so will save time, and give you a clearer... (Read More)
In this article, Scott Phillips writes about researching a branch of his family tree and discovering a Confederate captain from the Civil War... (Read More)
