I have written a genealogical biography of Nils Trulsen Bru (1776-1823), my 3^rd Great Grandfather, who lived and died in Norway. It has been interesting to learn the customs of that time. Our ancestors did not enjoy the benefits of Social Security or well-funded..

The Isle of Iona, looking upon highland cows, ruins of an old structure, and the mountains of the Isle of Mull across the bay.

I recently came across an older—but nonetheless fascinating—article about German surnames that paired nicely with my past article on Tools for German Origins. The article, Jürgen Eichhoff's "Types of German Surname Changes in America," was originally published in The..

In the course of their research, genealogists often need to identify an ancestor’s origins before they arrived in the United States. There are many types of records that can be used for this research, with varying degrees of usefulness. Naturalization records are an..

I recently solved a long-standing family mystery after discovering a new DNA match to other descendants of my..

This year, January 22 marked the beginning of the Lunar New Year, a holiday that is celebrated by millions of people from many Asian cultures around the world. The lunar calendar is based on the moon’s twelve phases, so the starting date..

When I was watching the recent World Cup, and the various countries playing, I found myself considering genealogical connections I have found within the..

When Scott Steward told me about his forthcoming departure from NEHGS, he asked if I could send him one more Vita Brevis post “for the road.” The posts I have written have largely been when I need a mental break from whatever genealogy I am working on or go down a..

“The thing that interests me most about family history is the gap between the things we think we know about our families and the realities.” – Jeremy Hardy[1]

Remember that children’s game of Telephone (or Gossip) in which a message is passed on in a whisper to each of..

A few weeks ago, after presenting a talk (“Adventures in DNA”) at the Shrewsbury (Vermont) Community Meeting House for the Ann Story Chapter of the Vermont DAR, I stopped in the..