Ever wondered why so many of those calculated years of birth from censuses are so consistently wrong by a year or so? For example, you know your great-grandfather, George, was born in May 1895 but Ancestry, FamilySearch and the others say it was 1896 because he was age 44 in the 1940 US census. The …
A Little More Accuracy? Estimating the Year of Birth Read More »
Thank you to Michael Elwood Pollock for this guest post. You can read more about Michael in his bio at the end of this post or on his website, Anquestory. I recently attended with my fiancee the funeral of a young man who not only died too young, but to whom my fiancee had been …
In the previous article, I have written detailed the important aspects of the “New Light” movements to the pioneers and preachers who migrated with the never ending desire to move to a better location for their families, beliefs and develop a sense of unfettered community among the Presbyterian and Baptists. The Methodist was among this …
The Methodist – The Great Awakening: Ministers and Migrations Part 2 Read More »
Thank you to Bob Vornlocker for this guest post. A recent German Genealogy Group experience with creating an on-line index for the records of Most Holy Trinity Church in New York, in its early days a German parish, has prompted me to write this update to an article originally published by the GGG and Dick Eastman, …
March is Women’s History Month. Last month, I talked about finding ancestors and family stories in military pension files. What I didn’t mention is that pension files are a great place to find our female ancestors. I did tell that I didn’t know who my great, great grandmother was until I obtained my great, great …
Finding Your Female Ancestors Through Pension Files Read More »
Thoughts of a Family Bible usually portray an image of a large heavy leather-covered book. They were sold in stores, available from mail order catalogs and offered by door-to-door salesmen. Even non-religious families may have owned a family Bible. The major selling factor was the “Records” or “Register” section, usually located in the center or …
The Importance of Family Bibles in Genealogy Research Read More »
David McCulloch, who won Pulitzer Prizes for his books on Harry Truman and John Adams, knows how to write a good life story. Says McCulloch, “I believe very strongly that the essence of writing is to know your subject…to get beneath the surface.” As you create your personal or family history book that’s advice you …
Getting Beneath the Surface of Your Family History Read More »
My last post described how a family’s name changed upon their arrival in the US. It elicited a comment (for which thanks) that the name HOUSE pronounced by a Dorset person could easily sound like HOWES to American ears. I promised to respond in my next post. So here goes! One family’s experience The word …
Growing up in a small town in the 1950’s, the generation gap meant that old folks didn’t understand teenagers. When I became seriously involved in genealogy research, I realized that some researchers also misunderstand the ‘Genealogy Generation Gap’. I asked a genealogical society group this question. “How many years are in a generation?” Answers ranged from 20, …
The Pedigree or Ancestral Chart is a summary of your family at a glance. It contains basic information about each maternal and paternal generation of your family. Whether you are just beginning your family history or reviewing your research, your pedigree chart is the guide to your family tree. For beginners, it is helpful to …