We spend hours, days, weeks, months, and years accumulating our genealogical data. It would be a shame to see all of that hard work wiped out by a single computer or other hardware failure. I back up my research data regularly, and not just in one place! As easily as a main computer could crash, so could an external hard drive fail, so I use an online storage facility to save my work as well. I am still using an …
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The thing I like most about genealogy is that there is always something new to learn. Researching our ancestors puts us in touch with so many historical events and information we would probably not otherwise know. Something very interesting that I discovered recently was how orphans were placed on trains running out of New York City, and transferred to different areas around the country where they were put on display to prospective parents. Many were blessed with a wonderful new …
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How many of us think about fraternal organizations or benefit societies as a source of genealogical information? I’m not talking about college fraternities, but brotherhoods such as the Odd Fellows, Masons, Elks, and the Knights of Pythias. These groups were flourishing at the beginning of the 20th century, in fact about 85% of American males belonged to such a society at that time. These organizations often had an ethnic composition, so members had culture, language, and memories of their homeland …
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I’m not sure if you know who Charlemagne is, I vaguely remember him being some French King I learned about in history class. That was a long time ago however, so I had to do a bit of research to rekindle my memories of why he was important enough to teach me about! Turns out he was the King of France, the King of Italy, and the first Holy Roman Emperor. It is particularly interesting that Charlemagne was known as …
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I recently came across this article published by National Geographic that I thought was important to share, especially with those of Native American Ancestry. The article discussed the possibility that “Five hundred years beforeColumbus sailed the ocean blue, a Native American woman may have voyaged toEurope with Vikings.” Of course if a Native American woman was captured and taken away as a trophy, there is a good possibility that a child was born at some later date. This theory is …
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Millions of Americans have been involved in the construction and operation of the massive rail system that transverses the country; from the time construction began in the early nineteenth century to present day. The period from 1900-1945 was known as “The Golden Age of Railroads”, and during that time railroads were the premier mode of long-distance transportation. By the early 20th century, it is said that 5% of all Americans were employed by the railway industry in some capacity. It …
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The Library of Congress maintains one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of national and foreign genealogical and local historical publications. Although the primary purpose of the Library of Congress is to serve Congress and help them to execute their Congressional responsibilities, the library also has many resources for researchers, both on-site and online. The Library of Congress contains over 141 million items in its collections, including over 21 million catalogued books in its classification system, and over 100 million …
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Researching any family history is a challenge. There are so many variables involved in genealogical research that it can be overwhelming at times, especially for beginners. Researching a specific ethnicity can be even more of a challenge, as resources may be limited or even in a different language from your own. There are some basic things you can do though, to make tracing your family lineage much easier, even fun. Though inevitably you will have to knuckle down to some …
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