I recently read an article which told the story of how a woman had waited, in fact fought, for her husband’s death certificate for three months and had still not received it. The lack of a death certificate means that she has been; unable to initiate probate of her husband’s estate, had the joint bank accounts she held with her husband frozen by her bank, and been unable to get refunds for vacations they had booked together. “It was an absolute nightmare” she said in the article. “You can’t do anything without a death certificate; it’s the first thing everyone asks to see. When it’s your spouse, all financial matters are connected to getting a death certificate”. You can read the Full Article Here.

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My cousin and I were browsing through a collection of old family photos when we came across a picture of some people on a beach. “Wow, who’s the babe in the bikini he asked”? I had no idea where finding the answer to that question would lead me at the time, but it was a good and interesting question, the answer to which I decided to actively pursue. It was my first foray into genealogical research, though I didn’t consider it as such as the time; I was just trying to find out who that babe was – for my cousin’s sake, not my own! What I also discovered was that the fashions that people are wearing in old photographs can reveal important genealogical information that can lead us further along in our quest to find lost ancestors.

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