Category Archives: Family-stories

Something to love in Civil War pensions

First page from David Franklin's 1863 letter to his sister, from his Civil War pension file, application #236373.

Following up on my post last month regarding Revolutionary War pensions that can have troves of information, I remembered another subsection within..

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A garden of red, white, and blue

Photo by Walt Doyle

On this Memorial Day Weekend every city, town, and village in America will have its commemoration. At NEHGS and AmericanAncestors.org, we are continually inspired by the annual Memorial Day installation that takes place on the nearby Boston..

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Public genealogists

The Fairbanks House in 2012.

I was recently a guest lecturer for a graduate museum studies class as part of the American Indian Studies program at Minnesota State University, Mankato. When I agreed to speak to the class I assumed I would be focusing on my academic..

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Surname maps for genealogical research

German surname images courtesy of Verwandt.de. Click on the images to expand them.

My nineteenth century immigrant ancestors have caused me a lot of headaches. With the exception of my Muir ancestor, Robert, who listed his specific birthplace, my immigrant ancestors..

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Multimedia sources for family research

Seabiscuit with Red Pollard, from the private collection of Col. Michael Howard, U.S. Marines (ret.). Courtesy Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation

When the movie Seabiscuit (2003)was released in theaters, my family and I decided to throw our own version of a Hollywood..

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Early New England Families Study Project update

Five new sketches have been posted to the Early New England Families Study Project database on AmericanAncestors.org: Daniel Morse, John Morse, Joseph Morse, Rev. John Sherman,and Samuel Sherman.

There are now 61 published sketches:

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Accidental geography

The Mercantile Exchange Bank (1902). Courtesy State Archives of Florida

During my recent sabbatical, I made a visit to Jacksonville, Florida, to see one of my great-grandfather’s earliest commissions, the 1902 Mercantile Exchange Bank (today the Old Florida National..

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"If the shoe fits"

The Sarney Shoe Repairing Factory in Newport, Rhode Island.

David Allen Lambert’s April post on livelihoods inspired me to consider my own “family’s business.” In looking at my ancestry, one occupation pops up again and again and again: shoemaker. From Great..

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Irish Petty Sessions Court Registers

Michael Burke, charged with wandering pig, 1861, as found on findmypast.co.uk.

The Petty Sessions Court Registers are an invaluable source for Irish ancestral research. These court records are chock-full of fantastic information, and can offer a depiction of your..

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Cousins and their connections

Click on image to expand it.

My father and his brother were the principal heirs of their father’s second cousin (and friend) Emily Bennett. As a result, a box of her papers ended up in my parents’ attic. The contents of the box included this undated and unattributed..

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