This is a continuation of my previous two posts about my ancestor, Hannah Lathrop Keith. She lived for a short time and did not show up by name in census records or vital records. I had a few family sources about her, but I wanted to see what else I could find online. My firstContinue reading “Getting to Know Hannah Lathrop Keith: Contacting Archives”
Category Archives: Stories
Getting to Know Hannah Lathrop Keith: Online Sources
This is a continuation of my previous post about my ancestor, Hannah Lathrop Keith. She lived for a short time and did not show up by name in census records or vital records. I had a few family sources about her, but I wanted to see what else I could find online.
Getting to Know Hannah Lathrop Keith: Family Sources
How do you find more information on your ancestors, besides just names and dates? Here’s how I did this with one of my ancestors, Hannah Lathrop Keith, using family sources.
Five Famous Historical Mysteries Solved With Genetic Genealogy
Lately, solved genetic genealogy mysteries appear in the news very often. This made it easy to miss some of the biggest historical discoveries of genealogical DNA research in the past few years. An increasing number of breakthroughs owe quite a bit to DNA testing and genetic genealogy techniques. Check out our list below for fiveContinue reading “Five Famous Historical Mysteries Solved With Genetic Genealogy”
Interpreting Your Ancestor’s Civil War Pension File: The Pension Certificate
We’ve talked generally about the laws behind Civil War Pension records, and outlined how to order copies of them. Once you receive your ancestor’s pension file, a new challenge arises. Many at this point find themselves sitting before a large, intimidating stack of papers all shuffled together, unorganized and difficult to decipher. The next fewContinue reading “Interpreting Your Ancestor’s Civil War Pension File: The Pension Certificate”
Spooky Genealogy Stories: My Ancestors Were Ghostbusters
Two of my great, great uncles, Marion Oma Gano Tucker and Riley “Bud” Mayo, were ghostbusters in Texas and Oklahoma during the great depression. According to stories passed down by the family, times were tough, so for work they traveled from town to town and asked locals if there were any haunted houses or buildingsContinue reading “Spooky Genealogy Stories: My Ancestors Were Ghostbusters”
German Immigration: Charles Kolb of Württemberg
Featured image: Portrait of Charles Gottlieb Kolb, who immigrated to America in 1854. My wife is a direct descendant of Charles Gottlieb Kolb. Charles immigrated from Germany to the United States in 1854 and settled in Ida County, Iowa. This man has many descendants in Iowa. Two certified Century Farms are still owned by hisContinue reading “German Immigration: Charles Kolb of Württemberg”
British Newspaper Research: A Family Scandal
Findmypast continues to scan, transcribe, and upload to its searchable databases the newspaper collection of the British Library, an incredible project. Already, this database is invaluable to those researching ancestors who lived on the island of Great Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries. My own ancestor, William Clark, immigrated from England as recently as 1873.Continue reading “British Newspaper Research: A Family Scandal”
Finding Nana’s Mother: A DNA Story
The following is shared by a client whom we helped with finding biological family using DNA: Learning Nana’s Story I only have the faintest of memories of what it was like for my Nana to live close by before she moved out of state. My memories of her stem from our trips to see herContinue reading “Finding Nana’s Mother: A DNA Story”
Mental Illness Genealogy: Steadman Gray
Awareness of mental illness has increased dramatically over the years, but how did our ancestors deal with it? This post outlines the kinds of records available for researching mental illness in your family history through telling the mental illness genealogy story of my ancestor, Steadman Gray. Steadman was committed on the testimony of his wifeContinue reading “Mental Illness Genealogy: Steadman Gray”