Vita Brevis

Many years ago, as a graduate student in English, I discovered, to my surprise, how fascinating it was to read the sermons of early Puritan American ministers as works of literature. I’ve since come to appreciate that in..

In settling the North American continent, the British established their first permanent colony in Virginia. Since then, its population has seen many migrations within and through the colony and then state. Its northern neighbors,..

A leaf hint on Ancestry can often lead one to additional records of the person you are researching. Other times, it might lead to interesting “near” matches, while occasionally it may lead you down an entertaining, but wild goose chase..

[Editor’s note: We mourn with the nation the passing of the distinguished journalist, historian, and bestselling author Cokie Roberts. We fondly recall her presence with us in 2016 as we honored her with the NEHGS Lifetime Achievement Award in History and Biography at..

One of my family lines that I love exploring is the Siegel family. My great grandmother Matilda Siegal was born in Focsani, Romania. She came to the United States as a little girl of 10 years of age in 1905. She lived with her older brother Isidore and then moved in..

The last of grandmother’s first cousins, Alma Rhodes of Westerly, Rhode Island, died on 4 August 2019 at the age of 96. She belonged to that increasingly rare group of individuals..

Many researchers find the Mid-Atlantic region intimidating. However, with so many of our ancestors passing through at some point, it really is worth going through the effort to find resources. The Mid-Atlantic region..

On a hot morning in July, Thomas Lester, the archivist at the Archdiocese of Boston, and I walked to Chinatown to meet Joe Bagley, the Boston city archaeologist. We wanted to talk to Joe about his..

At the North Carolinian Piedmont, in the cemeteries of Davidson County, sunlight breaks through perforated soapstone, creating a lattice-like design in the shadows cast by the many tombstones. These grave markers are probably the earliest “pierced” gravestones in..

We are heading into a beautiful season for visiting the three northern New England states. Should your research take you to New Hampshire, Vermont, or Maine, you may really enjoy stopping by their state historical..