I had been researching my family’s roots for ten years when I decided to create a photo essay on my hometown of Kearny, New Jersey. My first introduction to the town’s history came during its centennial year when the town historian entered my fourth grade classroom. I was mesmerized by what the woman told us.
Even with the ever-changing political landscape, your Slovak roots are still more easily discovered when you start with U.S. sources.
Nearly 620,000 Slovaks immigrated to the United States during the period of mass migration (1880—1914). While many Slovak immigrants returned to the old country after saving enough money to purchase land there, some 500,000 settled permanently in the New World.
My husband and I have a number of family heritage items stored in our house.
Is a visit to RootsWeb a part of your research routine? With all that it has to offer, you’ll want to return again and again.
Millions of family history enthusiasts around the world use RootsWeb.com to expand their research, share their accomplishments, and request help from fellow researchers. And no wonder.
How often have we been surprised to find a relative in a completely unexpected place? Why were we so surprised? Where were we expecting to find him or her, and how did that expectation stand in the way of opening our minds to other possibilities?
Judy Ward’s interest in her family history began when a friend from work told her about the collections of records that are available online. Genealogy-minded family members shared interesting family facts and stories with Judy, and many of her cousins shared their own well-researched pedigrees with her.
Every family historian who has experienced the thrill of discovery—whether it’s a signature on a legal document, an unknown second spouse of an ancestor, or a letter or photograph—knows how strong the desire is to share that discovery with others. And who better to share it with than his or her own family?
As I read the wonderful author contributions in this magazine, I was reminded of the richness and diversity of the historical materials that are increasingly available for us to mine for family history.
Not all links are equal—and not all links will take you where they promise. Here are some pitfalls to watch for.
I have clicked on thousands of genealogy links in my time online. I’m not talking about webpages; I’m talking about links to webpages. Links should not be confused with the webpages themselves. Links are the transport mechanism—webpages are the destination.
Like piecing together a puzzle, creating a family history timeline can help you see the bigger picture.
Because family historians strive to understand their ancestors and their lives beyond the dates we note on a pedigree chart, a timeline can be used to place our ancestors’ lives in historical perspective.