My brother recently uncovered the will for my ancestor, William Calvin Ray in Murray County, Georgia. In it he mentions “my yellow boy slave Allen.” this is my first encounter with a slave owner ancestor. I have a lot of ancestors in the South, so I figured a slave owner would turn up, but thisContinue reading “Discovering Allen and my Slave Owner Ancestor”
Author Archives: Mary Koeven
3 Tips for Merging Duplicates on FamilySearch
My original intention for this blog was to publish to a general amateur genealogist audience, but I realize that many individuals in my audience are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so I will on occasion do a post mainly for that portion of my audience. That being said, this informationContinue reading “3 Tips for Merging Duplicates on FamilySearch”
Can You Trace Your Family Tree Back to Adam and Eve?
Featured Image: Adam and Eve, by Lucas Cranach the Elder. “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions.” – 1 Timothy 1:4 Can you trace your family tree back to Adam and Eve? This question comes up all the time when people talk to me about genealogy. As a professional researcher, whenContinue reading “Can You Trace Your Family Tree Back to Adam and Eve?”
Michigan Research: Detroit Existed in 1784
Featured image: The City of Detroit (from Canada Shore), 1872, by A. C. Warren. Wikimedia Commons. I have been trying to do more research in the Midwestern United States, to build up hours of experience so I can take the ICAPGen accreditation test. One of the Midwestern states I have had very little experience with isContinue reading “Michigan Research: Detroit Existed in 1784”
Why You Should Share Your Family History Online
Martha Bryan was the one ancestor my grandmother could never find. Her great-grandmother on her direct maternal line, and she only knew her married name. After my grandmother passed away and I caught the family history bug at around twelve years old, I was determined to break down the brick walls she had left behind.Continue reading “Why You Should Share Your Family History Online”
Finding Families in Testate and Intestate Probate Records
It can be easy to find ancestors in the United States from 1850 on because of the availability of Census Records on the internet. However, before 1850, only the heads of households were listed on the census. This makes it difficult to find all the members of a family and trace your family back for multipleContinue reading “Finding Families in Testate and Intestate Probate Records”
5 Things You Should Not Do with Old Family Artifacts
Here are two pictures of family artifacts. Both are marriage certificates of my ancestors on different sides of my family. The first document is older than the second by about 50 years, and it certainly shows its age. You can see it has creases from being folded and water marks from being exposed toContinue reading “5 Things You Should Not Do with Old Family Artifacts”
Little Jonnie Lathrop, or, Child Deaths in Great Plains Genealogy
This is my great-great-grandmother, Caroline Jane (Webber) Gile. I love this picture. Usually in pictures this old the people don’t really smile. Old photos of babies usually have them by themselves or in mother’s lap. Half the time baby is blurred out because she is moving too much for the camera to focus. But inContinue reading “Little Jonnie Lathrop, or, Child Deaths in Great Plains Genealogy”
The Handwritten Past
My Grandpa lives in a little brick house in a small town in Kansas. Just outside of town is the land where his grandfather first built a Kansas homestead. Grandpa has driven us grandkids around on those dirt roads in Kansas and showed us that old homestead. On that homestead lay the ruins of theContinue reading “The Handwritten Past”