Growing up in Waterville, Maine, with a large French-Canadian family, I was always interested in history—particularly the history of my family and hometown. Both my parents grew up in Waterville, their forebears having moved there from Canada and..

The past year saw the American Presidency surpass 225 years as an establishment of government and state. Presidents of the United States number among the most recognizable, beloved, and..

Regina Shober Gray (1818–1885) spent the last forty years of her life in Boston, but she remained strongly connected to her native Philadelphia – and to her..

When my daughter was born, we chose the name Emma for her. Like many first-time parents, we considered and discarded many names. But we kept circling back to Emma because it’s a family name, and it follows an interesting pattern:

..

In yesterday's post, I wrote about preparing to interview family members as part of an oral history.

Conducting the Interviews

When selecting family members to interview for your oral history, it is always best to begin with family..

“Imagine listening to an elderly relative tell of her journey to America as an immigrant, her arrival at Ellis Island, and her first job in a clothing factory. Or imagine another family member..

Do you have a common last name whose origin you have always wondered about, such as Lewis, Adams, or Bass? Did you ever wonder if you were related to a famous person with the same surname? A helpful research tip to figure this out is to search for information regarding..

As I read along in the Gray diary, I am finding certain recurring themes. One, every New Year’s Day, is concern over the arrival (or delay) of “the Philadelphia box,” containing presents for the Gray children in Boston from Mrs. Gray’s..

Friday marks the seventieth anniversary of the death of my mother’s brother in “Operation Argonaut” during the last year of World War II. If you remember your Greek mythology, the Argonauts were the band of heroes who accompanied Jason in his quest to find the Golden..

My great-grandmother was one of a large family, and when her mother died in 1924 the family house was evidently broken up, its contents divided..