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Granny's Genealogy
Fellows Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 87 page 383
I am posting information gleaned from land records in the areas where our family’s ancestors resided. You can read more about this project in the overview. You may also check my deed record listing, which I will update frequently, but probably not every day. This group pertain to Papa’s Fellows...
Fellows Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 86 page 212
I am posting information gleaned from land records in the areas where our family’s ancestors resided. You can read more about this project in the overview. You may also check my deed record listing, which I will update frequently, but probably not every day. This group pertain to Papa’s Fellows...
Fearless Females: Blogging Prompt for March 11
Lisa Alzo, the Accidental Genealogist, has posted some marvelous blogging prompts for Woman’s History Month. The March 11 prompt: Did you have any female ancestors who died young or from tragic or unexpected circumstances? Describe and how did this affect the family? I have previously posted information about my great-grandmother,...
Fellows Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 63 page 22
I am posting information gleaned from land records in the areas where our family’s ancestors resided. You can read more about this project in the overview. You may also check my deed record listing, which I will update frequently, but probably not every day. This group pertain to Papa’s Fellows...
Fellows Family Land Records, Wexford County, Michigan Liber 54 page 359
I am posting information gleaned from land records in the areas where our family’s ancestors resided. You can read more about this project in the overview. You may also check my deed record listing, which I will update frequently, but probably not every day. This group pertain to Papa’s Fellows...
Fearless Females: Blogging Prompt for March 6
Lisa Alzo, the Accidental Genealogist, has posted some marvelous blogging prompts for Women’s History Month. For March sixth, I see: Describe an heirloom you may have inherited from a female ancestor (wedding ring or other jewelry, china, clothing, etc.) If you don’t have any, then write about a...
The Genetic Genealogist
Personal Genomics and Genetic Genealogy Tidbits
Daniel MacArthur at Genetic Future writes “Willful ignorance is not an effective argument against personal genomics,” which is a criticism of an embarrassingly bad op-ed by Camilla Long in the Times (U.K.) entitled “When DNA means do not ask.” In the article Long mentions several types of genetic testing...
Faces of America and Genetic Genealogy Testing
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings (“I’m Puzzled by DNA Claims on ‘Faces of America’”) writes about the fourth and last episode of “Faces of America,” a PBS documentary series investigating the ancestry of several famous people in America. This fourth episode included several different types of genetic genealogy to examine the...
Kevin Davies, Ph.D., currently the Editor-in-Chief of Bio-IT World, recently wrote an article about Pathway Genomics in which he reviewed the company’s Health Test product (see “Pathway and Me: Consumer Genomics Firm Delivers First Results”): “Earlier this year, I submitted a saliva sample to Pathway to get a feel for how...
Thank You: The Genetic Genealogist Named Among Family Tree Magazine’s 40 Best Genealogy Blogs
Late last fall, Family Tree Magazine requested nominations for the best genealogy blogs, and then opened voting for the nominated list. Yesterday, they announced the winners of the voting. Diane Haddad wrote about the announcement on the Genealogy Insider blog, and Maureen Taylor wrote the article that will appear in...
Announcing the GET Conference 2010
Daniel Vorhaus of the Genomics Law Report is also a member of the steering committee of the GET (“Genomes, Environments, Traits) Conference 2010. This unique conference, to be held on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 will gather together some of the biggest names in personal genomics, as well as most...
Announcing Family Finder - An Autosomal Test From Family Tree DNA
In a move that puts it in more direct competition with personal genomics companies such as 23andMe and deCODEme, the genetic genealogy testing company Family Tree DNA announced today that it will offer a large-scale autosomal test for genealogical purposes. The test, which will be available to the public in...
In My Life
Fearless Females: March 6 - Heirloom
Whether or not the grandchildren were allowed to roam around in my grandmother's bedroom, it is one of my many memories of time spent at Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Bergeron's. We never called my grandma by her first name, Mildred, and to me she was always Gram.Her bedroom was on...
Fearless Females: Going To The Chapel
Day #4 of Fearless Females, thanks to Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog, asks the following: Do you have marriage records for your grandparents or great-grandparents? Write a post about where they were married and when. Any family stories about the wedding day? Post a photo too if you...
Fearless Females: Nancy Ann Stone Space
Today's blogging prompt to celebrate Women's History Month is: Do you share a first name with one of your female ancestors? Perhaps you were named for your great-grandmother, or your name follows a particular naming pattern. If not, then list the most unique or unusual female first name you’ve come...
Wordless Wednesday: Snowstorm Snowy Owl
Every now and again, the photography gods smile on you - this was one of those times. While out birding in Michigan's Upper Peninsula with my husband Al and son Chris, we were engulfed in a lake effect snow storm complete with 30 mph winds adding to the challenges of photographing...
Fearless Females: Sarah Etta Space McCord
Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist has created a series of daily blogging prompts in honor of Women's History Month, which kicked off yesterday, March 1st.Today's blogging prompt: Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select...
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: If You Won ...
Tonight's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun finds me in front of a fire in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, contemplating the question ...1) If you won the grand prize in the Ancestry.com Ultimate Family History Journey Sweepstakes of $20,000 for genealogy travel to places of your choice, where would you go, and what...
From Axer to Ziegler
Our house from across the street ~ want to buy it?? Jim trying to open Linda F’s gate ~ we finally went around to the garage where we had the garage door opener 1 PM in the afternoon ~ impress you?? Outdoor dining anyone? Not today. . . . . . . and...
Mother’s 90th Birthday Celebration, part two
With cards and supplies for Mother’s party shipped to California, it was time for us to follow them! We left Philly mid-morning on Sunday and arrived around 6PM in Ontario, California to a greeting via the pilot “welcoming Blaine’s father back home!” Yup, our son was on duty at the...
Mother’s 90th Birthday Celebration, part one
As many of you know, I tackled the challenge of planning a 90th Birthday Party for Mother, rather hesitantly. Mother lives in California; I live in Pennsylvania. How on earth could I possibly do this? I procrastinated, I hemmed and hawed around and I had no idea what I was...
Why I’ve Been a Fan of the Yankees
in 1955 the New York Yankees took a six week tour playing exhibition games in Hawaii, Guam and Japan. Any of my readers remember that? or ever heard of it? I have never forgotten it. I was 12 years old and lived on Guam. We looked forward to this game...
The word “Family” can be either all encompassing as in all your relatives that share the same surname and same set of ancestors, or it can mean the family unit which nurtured you, the people you shared a home with. I was born and raised overseas. My father was a Civil...
Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way . . .
The word “WILL,” as defined by Dictionary.com As a verb: to give or dispose of (property) by a will or testament, bequeath or devise. to influence by exerting power to wish, desire or like and as a noun: the act or process of using or asserting one’s choice; volition a legal declaration of a person’s wishes as...
WorldVitalRecords Blog
Women’s History Month Database: The Woman’s Standard
The Woman’s Standard is a United States (Des Moines, Iowa) suffragist newspaper. Founded in 1886 by Martha Callanan, The Woman’s Standard was a publication of the Iowa State Women’s Suffrage Association. While there are names throughout the newspaper of women (and men) who wrote in and reported about equality and...
By Gena Philibert Ortega Most everyone has those family stories that may not be backed up with written documentation, but the story is strongly believed all the same. Maybe your grandma told you that her grandfather rode with Jesse James. Maybe you have a Lee surname and you have...
WorldVitalRecords Database in Review: Digested Summary of Private Claims
Digested Summary of Private Claims Digested Summary of Private Claims. (1853-1882). Historically almost half of the laws passed by Congress have been private acts applying to a single person or a specified group of people from entrepreneurs to destitute soldiers and widows. Beginning with 10 claims in 1789 the petitions...
Happy Valentine’s Day from WorldVitalRecords
Happy Valentine’s Day! Looking for your ancestor’s marriage record? Try searching on WorldVitalRecords by Record Type. Go to the WorldVitalRecords homepage, www.worldvitalrecords.com, and click on the Record Types link, located in the blue toolbar. Then choose the link Birth, Marriage and Death Records. You can then...
How to Contact Living Relatives
By Gena Philibert Ortega Researching the dead can be easy. Contacting the living can be a whole different ball game. When you find a new cousin, except for genealogist cousins, the most important thing to remember is that not everyone is thrilled about family history. In fact some people could care...
WVR Database in Review: The Ottawa City Directory 1909
The Ottawa City Directory 1909 A very complete and useful directory of Ottawa and Hull for 1909, including the (then) outlying districts of Ottawa: Billings Bridge, Eastview (Old Cummings Bridge, Janeville & Clarkstown), Mechanicsville and Rockliffe Park. The directory gives an alphabetical list of all business firms and private citizens; a...
Crowe's Nest by Elizabeth Powell Crowe
2010 NGS Family History Conference – Early Bird Registration Ends 8 March This year the annual NGS Family History Conference will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, 28 April─1 May 2010. Whether your family helped settle the nation, migrated across the country, stayed in the same place, or recently arrived...
Brief blog–working on 9th Edition
The graveyards are full of indispensable men. - Charles de Gaulle Especially if you’re a genealogist — Libbi Crowe The above quote by Charles de Gaulle made me think: for a genealogist, the graveyards are full of the indisensable, because they are our ancestors, and without them, we wouldn’t be here. I’m...
A government genealogy service lets family history leap off the page - latimes.com
A government genealogy service lets family history leap off the page - latimes.comYes, it’s little known. But it’s covered in my upcoming 9th Edition!!...
Indexing Update: 1910 US Census initiative begins; 8 international projects added As the 1920 U.S. Census project wraps up and the final states are published, FamilySearch has now opened up indexing for the 1910 U.S. Census! Patrons can freely search the indexes for the 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1920...
Genealogy Challenge #1: Santa Rosa County Library System Genealogy Offerings
Santa Rosa County Library SystemAmerica’s GenealogyBank (Library Resource)Quickly find your ancestors in over four centuries of rare documents and records. Search thousands of historical newspapers, books, pamphlets and genealogies. Plus, selected material from the American State Papers and U.S. Serial Set, the complete Social Security Death Index and more than...
The Genealogy Gems Podcast iPhone / iTouch app! Stream the show, get exclusive new Bonus Content and more. Get your app now! It also has extra features such as .pdf files with background information. For only $2.99! ...
Genealogy News Center
Campanile, Frank, 1940, Selective Service Registration Certificate
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Walz, Frank, 1946, Golden Wedding Souvenir
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Borgstrom, Lulu, 1925, Rebekah Lodge Certificate
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Tomney, Anna, 1913, Cradle Roll Birthday Greeting
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Heinly, Ida, 1900, Certificate of Confirmation
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Hill, David, Undated, Trade Card
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The Virtual Dime Museum
I was reading some issues of the Brooklyn Eagle from October 1891 and came across a story about a young man named John McGowan who set a fire, "undoubtedly of incendiary origin," on the staircase at 2 Phillips Alley, a three-story frame house which was home to 20 people. [Phillips Alley...
Today we're going to take a detour from lost New York. We'll return to it later this week, when I am going to tell you about a tiny lane in Brooklyn that was - in one instance, literally - a hotbed of criminal activity in the late 19th century. Anyway,...
John "Lord" Clendening was a wealthy New Yorker who made his fortune importing Irish textiles after the Revolution, at the end of the 18th century. He built this lovely mansion, complete with widow's walk and waving American flag, around 1811.* It stood at what is now the southwest corner of...
Chevaliers Take Note: Gone To Europe
Do you know what the Victorian slang term "Chevaliers d'Industrie" means? I didn't, when I came across the following anecdote from the New York Times in 1854 (which we'll get to in a minute). But Andrew Steinmetz, writing in 1870 in The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims, tells us that...
If you were doing laundry in the 1860s, this was exactly the thing you needed: the Universal Clothes Wringer, to get the excess water out of washed clothing. It was endorsed by no less a person than the famous minister Henry Ward Beecher, who was quoted as saying, in an...
Did Hazard's Pearl Oil really have pearls in it? This was the question on my mind when I first saw this 1868 patent medicine label in the Library of Congress collection several months ago. C.G.C. Hazard was a Brooklyn druggist whose store was at Myrtle Avenue and Oxford Street, and he...
TransylvanianDutch
Amanuensis Monday: Poland, Mineral Wells Texas, and St. Louis
Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met...
Weekly Genealogy Picks -- March 7 to March 13from genealogy blogs, newspaper articles and elsewhereAncestry.com is sending out Behind the Scenes explanations of the research that goes into each episode of Who Do You Think You Are to several bloggers. The Behind the Scenes for Emmitt Smith's episode is...
Slave Records and Genealogy Research
There’s a new Carnival on the Geneablogger block. It’s one to which I likely wouldn't have contributed until just a month ago.It’s the Carnival of African American Genealogy, and the theme for the first edition is: Restore My Name: Slave Records and Genealogy Research.Five questions are asked, from which...
Footnote.com Press Release - Free Access to Census Documents for Limited Time
I received the below in my emailLindon, UT - March 11, 2010 – In order to encourage more people to find their ancestors and connect with family, Footnote.com, the web’s premier interactive history site, is opening all of their U.S. census documents for free to the...
Wordless Wednesday: Get Well Soon Card - 1920s/30s
(position cursor over image for more information, and click on image to enlarge)...
Amanuensis Monday: Interview with Sissie Feinstein - December 1987
Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met...
Janet the researcher
Emily Pugh Iles (Carnival of Genealogy - A Tribute to Women)
Emily (Pugh) Iles, my great-grandmother, has always fascinated me. I have shared my search to learn about her life in many of my lectures. Using her as my example, I illustrate the importance of searching as many sources as possible to round out the picture of a person and to...
Smile for the Camera - Give Their Face a Place
Ivy was my dad's second oldest sister. I think my father had a special affection for her as they were both short. She always had a twinkle in her eye. She almost made her 102nd birthday. We didn't see her often as she did not live in our area. She had 8...
Wordless Wednesday - enjoying yummy strudel
My mother and I eating strudel in St. Anton, Austria in 1994. © 2010 Janet Iles...
To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Bruce Grey Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, the Branch is planning a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah for a research week. You do not have to be a member of the Branch to join us. On March 27, at 12:30 p.m., those...
Wordless Wednesday - My mom at Linderhof Castle
My mom - at Linderhof Castle gardens in 1994. © 2010 Janet Iles...
Seventy years ago today, our local AM radio station came on the air. It was during the Second World War and now local people would be able to receive the local, national and international news on their radios. A brief history of the station is currently on their site On...
Genealogy Reviews Online
Guess it's a Good Time to Begin Genealogy
For the first time in a long time I had nothing to do yesterday. The torrential down poor canceled all of my son's soccer activities this weekend so I decided to do a little ancestor searching. Didn't know where to......
Antonio Fragale, Sarafina Aggazio (younger sister of Antonio Agazio) and Family....
Just finished watching a great video on Italian genealogy produced by the Family History Library. I have to say this is one of the best primers on Italian research I've ever seen. It contains many of examples of Italian civil......
I need to participate in Saturday Night Genealogy Fun more often. I believe because of my post, and a link to a past piece I wrote, Lorine McGinnis Schulze from Olive Tree Genealogy found my grandfather (Antonio Agazio) in the......
This is my first time participating in Saturday Night Genealogy Fun. I initially hesitated because I've been writing too much about "The Show" (sometimes a bit negatively), but I like the topic and thought I'd give it a try. I......
Who Do You Think You Are? Unbelievable, Crazy!
I just finished watching Who Do You Think You Are? this morning. I wasn't going to write about the show, but then thought "what the heck"...I might as well be the only one who has a dissenting opinion. I'm probably......
Beloved Eleanor
A quick post to thank John for two awards for this blog. They are always much appreciated. If you are on my blogroll, then of course you deserve to take the awards too. I also like the way that John traces the origins of the awards. Thanks again for the Sunshine and...
Postcard Collection: Ladies or Valentines Edition
Some more of my collection: First is a vintage Valentine’s card franked February 14th, 1901 and is my only American postcard. The lucky lady is Miss Rubie Bray of Bethlehem, PA. The second pretty Sarah card has not been franked, but was sent to Miss Sarah Hawkin by her friend Bertha. I...
Portrait of Edward I With a Touch of Regency
Longtime readers may remember I bought an original watercolour of Eleanor some years ago. I’ve just come across a comission the same artist has completed of her husband Edward I! I do like it – just wish it wasn’t modelled on the Braveheart image of him. Obviously it was a comission...
Hands up who’s seen this new programme presented by David Dimbleby? I watched it on BBC1 last Sunday, second episode tonight. You can also catch it on the iPlayer… I really enjoyed it – not so much the speeding through history, and starting with the Romans – which always annoys me...
What a Difference a Few Years Make
Just a quick one. I’ve been going through some old sites and services that I joined when I first started blogging. I might delete a few more of them yet, but whilst weeding one I noticed just how many blogs that I added between mostly 2007/2008 had disappeared. I’m not just...
For some reason at the beginning of this week, for at least three nights in a row I dreamt about Venice. Why? I just don’t know. I haven’t watched, read, looked at or otherwise done anything remotely involving Venice. Yet, here we are. I should explain my relationship with Venice, such...
Smoky Mountain Family Historian
I was cataloging some old books that belong in a special collection at our library. To assist with inventory I wanted to make sure that all the books were added to the proper record in the online catalog. These were books that I had been told were duplicates...
The State Library of North Carolina and State Archives have been busy adding records to North Carolina Family Records Online. They have added 249 new records this week, bringing the total number of records in the project to 731....
Heritage Quest Training for Tennessee Residents
If you are a resident of Tennessee, you may be interested in webinars on the use of Heritage Quest being offered by the Tennessee Electronic Library on March 16 and March 18, 2010. Beginner and advanced workshops are being offered. You must register in advance....
All of U.S. History Will Be Taught in NC High Schools
I'm really glad to see that the state of North Carolina changed its mind because of folks who complained. All of U.S. history will be taught in North Carolina high schools, not just 1877 to the present....
Apparently there is a proposal in North Carolina to cut pre-1877 United States history from the high school curriculum. As a genealogist, I find this distubring....
2010 FGS Conference Registration is Open
Registration for the 2010 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, scheduled for 18-21 August 2010 in beautiful Knoxville, Tennessee, is now open. This year’s conference theme is “Rediscovering America’s First Frontier,” and is co-hosted by the East Tennessee Historical Society and the Kentucky Historical Society. The conference...
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
(+) How to Remotely Control a Distant Computer
...or perhaps a computer that is not so distant The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. Remote control software for desktop and laptop computers has been available for years. All systems administrators of large data centers are familiar with these programs, as are...
Who Do You Think You Are? with Emmitt Smith
The second episode of Who Do You Think You Are? (U.S. edition) was broadcast on Friday night and again was a fascinating episode. This week's episode featured Emmitt Smith, former National Football League star. While it was broadcast on television, I watched it the following day on my computer by...
Let's make haggis! April 6 will be the national holiday for all Scottish Americans. More than eleven million Americans claim Scottish and Scotch-Irish roots, making them the eighth largest ethnic group in the United States. From the framers of the Declaration of Independence to the first man on the moon,...
Family History Library Classes Now Available on Internet
The following announcement was written by FamilySearch: Free Classes Make Genealogy Expertise Accessible Anywhere SALT LAKE CITY–It is rare that Marcia Covington can make the trip from her home in State College, Pennsylvania, to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Now, however, people like Covington can take...
Newspapers Must Be Kept Alive as Print Editions
Printed newspapers are dying left and right, being replaced by online news and broadcast news. Yet there are reasons to keep print media alive. You may be happy getting your news online, but for some citizens the loss of the printed page will have a profoundly life-altering impact. The Onion...
Footnote.com Opens All of their U.S. Census Documents for Free to the Public
This is big news! The following announcement was written by Footnote.com: FOOTNOTE.COM LETS PEOPLE CREATE AMERICA’S FAMILY TREE THROUGH THE ONLY INTERACTIVE U.S. CENSUS -Finding Ancestors and distant relatives can be as easy as clicking a single button- Lindon, UT - March 11, 2010 – In order to encourage more...
What's Past is Prologue
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day this week, I have chosen to highlight an Irish surname. The only problem with that is that I personally have no Irish ancestry. But my niece does from her mother’s paternal side! Surname - MCGEEHAN Meaning/Origin – The name MCGEEHAN is an anglicized form of...
This month’s Carnival of Genealogy celebrates women’s history month with a chance to pay a special tribute to a woman on our family tree – and her timeline in history. This is the story of my great-grandmother, Maria Echerer Bergmeister. Timeline for Maria Echerer Bergmeister 1875 February 27 – Maria Echerer ...
Why Photographs Should Come with ID Tags
Genealogists frequently stress the importance of labeling photographs so that future generations know who’s who. This is true even for our own photographs that we take today. But while we may forget who are friends were twenty years later, would we forget a relative? I can now tell you that...
“There’s nothing that makes you so aware of the improvisation of human existence as a song unfinished. Or an old address book.” ~ Carson McCullers If you use the term “address book” today, people immediately think of that “thing” in their email program that stores email addresses. Or maybe they think...
“Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” ~ Robert Frost If you had the opportunity to walk to and from school as a child, chances are you remember that walk quite well. My house was located rather close to the church...
Surname Saturday: WOJCIECHOWSKI
Surname - WOJCIECHOWSKI Meaning/Origin – The name WOJCIECHOWSKI (hear it pronounced in Polish) is derived from the Polish first name Wojciech, which in turn comes from the root woj-, meaning “battle”, and ciech, meaning “joy”. (Source: Polish Surnames: Origins and Meanings, Second Edition by William F. Hoffman) Countries of Origin – The...