Believe me, every researcher has said this at some time. An ancestor can’t be found in a census, government record, or the name doesn’t appear anywhere in the country he claims as a homeland. There are all kinds of reasons that someone can’t be found. Spelling variations are a major[Read More…]
Tag: genealogy
Newspapers are alive and well!
This one included. Everyone loves to see their name in the paper, except in the OBITUARY COLUMN! What is the old saying? “I get the morning paper and read the obituaries first to see if I am there. If I’m not, it’s a good start to the day.” We are[Read More…]
Not all sources are online
I know that comes as a be surprise to you. As matter of fact, the majority is not. Here is where I push writing or better yet visiting the county where your ancestors spent a few generations. Most of the colorful things about your family may be already available in[Read More…]
Plymouth didn’t have an immigration station in 1620
Centralized Federal immigration records began about 1880 in response to increasing numbers of people who arrived sick, with no means of support or someone to sponsor them. In 1891 provisions were added to sort people entering by land through Mexico and Canada. In the late 1800’s forty percent of people[Read More…]
You may not have a Mayflower ancestor, but chances are, your ancestors stepped off a boat to get here
Which leads into a very popular subject, “How do I find my family in Ellis Island records? I heard they changed their names there!” A popular misconception is that all immigrants sailed by the Statue of Liberty to get to America. The second misconception is that Port Authorities anglicized names[Read More…]
“My ancestor was a Pilgrim on the Mayflower!”
Sounds impressive to the grandkids once a year at Thanksgiving. The truth is that over 30 million Americans are descendants of Mayflower families. As for prestige, the Mayflower was a tiny wooden cargo ship. The cargo on this run was a bunch of Pilgrims. Of that thirty million, only 23,000[Read More…]
My stork got lost!
Or, what do you mean I was adopted? The family tree gets complicated when we start talking about infant adoptions or single parent situations with the father’s name not talked about by the family. Today parents are more open with their adopted children. In the past however, adults were often[Read More…]
I have inherited my mother’s Viking knees!
No, we didn’t just open a trunk and find a surprise from Mother. It’s just an expression used by Scandinavians to complain about joint pain, which seems to be a gene passed on through generations. Sometimes genes carry the predisposition to certain ailments and diseases. The Russian Royals are an[Read More…]
“Great Grandma claimed we had an Indian princess in our family tree!”
Of course, that legend always comes with the Indian princess falling madly in love with a handsome frontiersman. Today’s DNA testing can give some weight to those stories passed down in the family. If I confused you enough last week with a discussion of DNA, let me just add to[Read More…]
DNA, in Ed’s Dictionary, stands for Don’t know Ancestors
Ok, maybe Webster doesn’t agree with me. On the other hand, Daniel Webster in 1806 didn’t know what DNA was either. Today the common tests used in genealogy are available by mail order. These tests don’t unravel your whole DNA, just the segments pointing to ethnicity or parentage. Don’t strain[Read More…]
What a sticky web we weave
A small ancestor tree of three or four generations involves only 30 people. Easy to keep in a scrapbook. If your goal in WEEK ONE was to collect ancestors back to colonial times, you will need a more organized approach. 300 names soon become a tangled blur. A FAMILY TREE[Read More…]
Would you like dates or coconuts on your tree?
It is a matter of personal preference. Do you want to store your family tree high up in the Cloud or do you want more control by only having it on your computer? Do you want to keep your tree available on your computer only or do you want the world[Read More…]
