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How to Find Georgia Marriage Records
It is easy to find copies of your Georgia ancestors’ marriage certificates and records using two basic online genealogy tools: GenealogyBank.com and FamilySearch.org. If your ancestors lived in...
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What Counties & Towns in Ireland Did Our Ancestors Come From?
Genealogists know the frustration of tracking down your Irish immigrant ancestor’s birth, marriage or death certificate, hoping that it will be the document that finally tells you where in Ireland your...
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Have You Participated in a DNA Study for Ancestry Research?
Have you tried a genetic DNA study as an approach to learning more about your family history? If so, have you made family connections that you wouldn’t have found otherwise? It is essential that you...
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N.H.’s Old Man of the Mountain Collapsed 10 Years Ago Today
The “Old Man of the Mountain” was a granite rock formation in the White Mountains of New Hampshire that looked like the rugged profile of a man’s face. First discovered in 1805, the 40-foot-high face...
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Where Was Ohio’s First Capital?
Chillicothe, Ohio, was the state’s first capital—from 1803-1810—and then it became Ohio’s third capital from1812-1816. GenealogyBank has that early period of “The Buckeye State’s” history covered with...
View ArticleThere Are Some Obituaries Everyone Needs to Read
I. D. Lilly, a retired trucker and promoter of the largest family reunion ever held, died in March of this year. He was an active participant in the famous West Virginia family’s gatherings, and served...
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Historian Leads Walter Pierce Park (DC) Cemetery Restoration
Hat’s off to Mary Belcher. A group she organized has been diligently restoring and documenting upwards of 10,000 persons who were buried in the Adams Morgan section of Walter Pierce Park in the...
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Finding My Relative’s Story: The Search for Madge E. Richmond
The other day I asked myself: what can I realistically find about my relatives in GenealogyBank? How many details about my family can I discover? So I decided to find out by searching GenealogyBank’s...
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Finding Ancestors’ Names Can Be Child’s Play: Paper Doll Comics
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena addresses the problem that it’s often hard to find information about...
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Investigating the Murder Mystery of Louise Bailey with Newspapers
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena searches old newspapers to investigate the murder mystery of Louise...
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How Is Your Local Genealogical Society Doing?
Credit: RootsTech The Reading Eagle (Reading, Pennsylvania) ran an interesting article about the dropping membership of the Berks County Genealogical Society. According to the article this local...
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Find the Oldest People to Ever Live, as Reported in Newspapers
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary looks through newspaper articles to find stories about the...
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Old Tombstones Recently Unearthed from Forgotten Illinois Cemetery
Genealogists are always digging. So are backhoe operators. It was a good thing that the Fosterburg Water District was digging for a waterline in Prairietown, Illinois, because while digging they found...
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FamilySearch Family Tree Adds Important New ‘Attach Record’ Feature
FamilySearch.org has released a new “Search & Attach Record” feature this week that lets you easily search and attach genealogy records to each person on your family tree. For example, let’s look...
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Top Genealogy Websites, Pt. 1: Google
I have been working on my family history for 50 years now. So much has changed—family researchers today have a much different task then we had decades ago. Looking at the online genealogy tools...
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History of Trains & Railroads: Locomotives, Steam Engines & More
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary searches old newspapers for articles and ads about trains and...
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Top Genealogy Websites, Pt. 3: Burial & Cemetery Records
Continuing our series on the top genealogy websites that will save you time and get you 24/7 access to the data you need and will rely on in your family history research, our next category is the best...
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How to Spot and Avoid 9 Common Genealogy Mistakes & Errors
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary discusses 9 common mistakes made when doing family history...
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New Mexico Governor Wants More Federal Cemeteries
New Mexico Governor Susan Martinez is pushing to increase the number of federal military cemeteries in her state from two to ten. Photo: Fort Bayard, New Mexico National Cemetery. Credit: Wikipedia....
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Top Genealogy Websites, Pt. 4: BillionGraves Smartphone App for Finding Graves
I recently wrote the article Top Genealogy Websites, Pt. 3: Burial & Cemetery Records, which included a discussion of BillionGraves.com. This handy website provides an app that can be used to find...
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Top Genealogy Websites, Pt. 5: State Vital Records in the U.S.
A growing number of states in the U.S. are putting their vital records online, making it easier for genealogists to obtain these records. Credit: West Virginia Division of Culture and History The West...
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Tips to Get the Most Out of Your GenealogyBank Subscription
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post Gena provides some search tips, and shows some resources available on the...
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Top Genealogy Websites, Pt. 6: Search Cemeteries Online
A few weeks ago I wrote about online cemetery records (See: Top Genealogy Websites, Pt. 3: Burial & Cemetery Records). In that article I wrote about the U.S. Veterans Administration’s Nationwide...
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Watch Our Genealogy Tutorial Videos on YouTube
Did you know that we have a YouTube channel where you can watch hours of video that will help you do better genealogy research? Many of these in-depth genealogy videos are recordings of previous online...
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Cole Porter, Bing Crosby & Leonard Bernstein: News & Obituaries
During this October week in American history three musical geniuses died who had a big impact on music—both in America and around the world: Cole (Albert) Porter, American composer, died at 73 on 15...
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How Old Newspapers Can Help You Search U.S. Census Records
Like detectives, we approach family history by gathering all of the clues and making a case for who our relatives were: their names, when and where they were born, pushing through all of the activities...
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The Disappearance—and Mysterious Reappearance—of Matthew Brayton
Here’s a 19th century mystery concerning a certain Matthew Brayton, who disappeared as a small boy, was held an Indian captive for 34 years, then one day reappeared. But, was it really him? Evening...
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Do You Know Where in Ireland Your Ancestors Came From?
Finding the town or county where your family came from in the “Old Country” can be difficult. That’s where Irish American newspapers can really help you locate your ancestor’s place of birth when...
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Understanding Terms Found in Historical Newspapers
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary explains some of the unusual or archaic terms often found in...
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Tarbell Sisters’ Civil War Feud Finally Ended—in 1922!
While many genealogical records can provide names and dates for your family tree, newspapers give you something more: actual stories about your ancestors’ lives, so that you can get to know them as...
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Newspaper Genealogy Research: Finding the Hames Family Stories
So few family stories are passed down and preserved by folks today. People are busy earning a living and dealing with the demands of 21st century lives. In addition, many families now find themselves...
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New Year’s Genealogy Resolutions for Genealogists in 2013
It’s the start of a new year, a time when many people think about making some changes. Here are four suggestions I have; I hope that genealogists take to heart these New Year’s resolutions for 2013....
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Genealogy Records You Can Find In Newspaper Archives Infographic
Is the Infographic image above too small? See the larger version. Newspapers offer a variety of genealogy records that you can use to trace back your family tree. Learn about the types of genealogy...
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Ancestry Believe It or Not: Genealogy Scams, Fakes & Forgers
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary writes about genealogical fakes and frauds, and cautions...
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How to Find Your Ancestor’s Divorce Records in the Newspaper
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena describes how old newspaper articles about your ancestor’s divorce...
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Women during World War II: Knitting & Sewing on the Home Front
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena writes about the knitting, sewing and quilting efforts of women on...
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The Polygamist’s Wife: The Story of My Favorite Ancestor Mary Ann
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena writes about her favorite ancestor Mary Ann, a Mormon who married a...
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Has Anyone Ever Used These ‘Farm Work’ Records from Portland?
A 1918 Oregon newspaper has an interesting article about an effort in Portland, Oregon, to enlist farm worker volunteers to help save that year’s crops, due to the labor shortage caused by WWI....
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Colonial Fire Tally: Genealogy Records Saved, Wines & Liquors Lost
On 13 December 1747 a “most terrible Fire” broke out in Boston, MA. It was just after six o’clock in the morning when the “Watch” spotted the flames at the Court House. The building was a total loss:...
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Been on a Cemetery Tour Lately?
Genealogists and the curious have been touring cemeteries since time immemorial. Here is a newspaper article about a 1913 tour of Portland’s pioneers buried in the Lone Fir Cemetery in Oregon. That...
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Genealogy Search Tips for Ancestors’ Names: Less Is More
Beginning genealogists sometimes write us and say: “I put in the correct information for my search—full name including middle name, birth date, last known place of residence, etc.—everything I know...
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GenealogyBank’s “Guide to Searching for Your Ancestors” Infographic
GenealogyBank has a fresh new look with enhanced search features to help you find information about your ancestors faster. We created this GenealogyBank “Guide to Searching for Your Ancestors”...
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Use the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) to Document Your Relatives
Keep your research simple. Knowing the first step to take when doing your family history searches can save you time and effort. Here’s one good genealogy search tip to keep in mind: target your...
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How to Search Probate Records in GenealogyBank’s Newspaper Archives
State laws required that a legal notice of a probate action be posted in local newspapers. This was the state’s method to get the word out to all interested parties that an estate was going to be...
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‘Mayflower’ Genealogy Research Tip: Cast a Wide Net for Your Ancestor
With Thanksgiving just six days away, I thought I would search for any articles in GenealogyBank’s archives that mentioned Dr. Samuel Fuller—who was one of my Mayflower ancestors. I searched putting...
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Ephemera: A Surprisingly Fertile Genealogical Resource
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena writes about an unusual—but a personal favorite—source of family...
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Researching State Archives for Genealogy Records
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary talks about how valuable state archives can be for your family...
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Newspaper Recipe Contests: Was Your Ancestor a Contest Winner?
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena shows how recipe contests that ran in local newspapers can turn out...
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Genealogy Advice from Charles K. Bolton: Go Beyond Names & Dates
More than one hundred years ago the renowned Boston Athenaeum librarian and author Charles Knowles Bolton (1867-1950) counseled genealogists to document their family histories by putting the...
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Gin Marriages, Gretna Greens & Your Ancestor’s Marriage Records
Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post, Gena explains why gin marriage laws and Gretna Greens may have something...
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