[Author's note: This blog post originally appeared in Vita Brevis on 19 December 2014.]

Consider sending a holiday letter out via email to your relatives. Then print a copy for posterity. – David Allen Lambert

Genealogists and historians of Massachusetts are indebted to the works of nineteenth-century antiquarians: that is, compilers or collectors of historical..

[Editor's note: This blog post originally appeared in Vita Brevis on 12 November 2014.]

While writing my blog focusing on archaic medical terms a few months ago, I began thinking about other aspects of everyday life that appeared in records used by genealogists. One..

The name Martha Babcock Greene Amory might not immediately resonate, but the lives of her immediate forebears are well-known to us today. She was born in Boston 15 November 1812, the daughter of Gardiner Greene and his third wife, Elizabeth Clarke Copley. Mrs. Greene..

[Editor's note: This post originally appeared in Vita Brevis on 7 October 2014.]

Last week, I was happily recalling my 2012 trip to Finland, specifically a visit to my ancestral village, Teuva. I had the great good luck to meet cousins there and see the land that my..

Spring is pothole repair time in New England, and as I write this on April 4 southern New England is receiving up to 8 inches of snow with flash freezing predicted overnight, so there will be plenty of work this spring.

A pothole that has been bugging me this winter is..

You’ve probably heard the story: “My ancestor’s name was changed at Ellis Island!” But you also probably know that this is a myth; immigration officials at Ellis Island did not randomly alter incoming passengers’ names. However,..

[Editor’s note: Alicia’s probate series began here.]

Guardianships

Guardians were appointed for children under the age of 21 and for adults who were not able to handle their own affairs. Children over age 14 could choose their guardians. The surviving parent would..

A practice I had utilized in a prior post, regarding New York state deaths appearing in Connecticut sources, has turned up in a new context. In the prior case, someone from Connecticut..

Not long ago, I was searching for a record of an 1830s marriage between two prominent Scottish families. I was certain I would have an easy time locating this particular record, having identified the parish and county in which the..