A few years ago I did an ancestry binder for an in-law branch of the family which shall remain nameless. I discovered the story of a genuine black sheep—George Washington Coomes, who was shot to death on September 5, 1896. George was born in McLean County, Kentucky, on January 16, 1861. He married Cordelia Martin …
Have you heard about the Genealogy Do-Over from Geneabloggers creator Thomas MacEntee? It’s creating quite a lot of buzz in the family history world right now, and for good reason. As the name implies, the Do-Over challenges genealogists to go back and completely redo and rethink their research in an effort to improve it. Sound crazy? It is, and …
Last Day to View the Free Genealogy Do-Over Webinar Read More »
Everyone thinks they want me to find a few—but perhaps that’s one of those things that sounds better in theory than it turns out to be in practice.
Most family historians are familiar with the idea of transcribing records. We do this as part of our own family research when we document a new source in our tree or carefully record the text of a family record for posterity. Many of us have also spent time transcribing for repositories, such as FamilySearch, who have managed to …
The Smithsonian Needs Your Help Transcribing Records Read More »
Known as the “Gun that Won the West,” the Winchester Model 1873 was a very popular rifle in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. More than 720,610 were manufactured between 1873 and 1916, selling for about $50 when they first came out. The guns reduced in price to $25 in 1882 making them increasingly accessible. But why was one …
132-Year-Old Winchester Rifle Found Leaning Against a Tree in Nevada Read More »
My Uncle Bob was a champion plowman, back when that kind of thing was a big deal here in the Midwest. I don’t want his story to be forgotten. How many young men of his generation ended up meeting four presidents, and competing in Europe (twice!) solely because of a remarkable ability to plow a …
The genealogy research site Fold3 is currently offering a whopping 40% off their annual membership fees to celebrate their 8th anniversary. That brings the price of a 1 year membership down to $47.95 from the normal $79.95 fee. This price is good through Jan 31st. A subscription to Fold3’s military records and other resources can be …
We came across many fascinating historic photographs this week that were shared by the genealogy and history sites we follow. We thought we’d pass on a few of those that really caught our attention. We hope you find them as moving as we did. Click on each image to view its source and read the story behind it. Ella Help This …
Fascinating Historic Photos That Caught Our Attention This Week Read More »
This giveaway has ended. Thank you to everyone who entered, and to Findmypast.com for donating the generous prize. The winner, drawn randomly from all comments, is Barbara L. Congrats!! Barbara, you will be contacted by email very soon with instructions for obtaining your subscription! We’re excited to announce that Family History Daily has teamed up with the …
Last Chance to Enter to Win a 12 Month World Subscription to FindMyPast.com!! Read More »
I wish I had a Civil War veteran in my family tree!… But my ancestors came from Sweden and Germany quite a few years after the Civil War ended. My husband is more fortunate in that regard–I’ve found two of his direct ancestors who fought for the Union. But one of my clients turned out …