You get into family history to learn more about the people who made you who you are. Putting names on a pedigree chart and reviewing census records are just part of the process. Telling the story of your ancestors is another.Forms, like a marriage license or a birth certificate, paint a basic structure —who, what, where, and when.
I sat down one afternoon poring over my list of standard, generic questions, trying to determine why they didn’t seem to be accomplishing my present research goal of finding out more about the Loveday family.
Mom knew I loved a mystery. Attached to her e-mail was a missive from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon. “JGSO received this message from Stuart Harris,” it read. “If you have any information, please contact Mr. Harris directly.”“I have a rather odd question,” began Stuart’s memo. “My parents purchased a home in northwest Portland in 1969.
WalMart changed the South. We still talk slow. We still like loud cars and dogs. But small towns all over the South have seen dozens of family businesses shuttered.Since 1980, more town squares are empty. Meanwhile, out on the edge of town sits a super center—one that uses technology to quickly and affordably get us the products we once bought from those family businesses.
From the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Pacific Ocean has drawn Americans to it with an inescapable pull. Our ancestors walked and rode, measured and staked, dug and looted, and burned and planted all the way from Maine to California in their quest to find fortunes, make homes, and explore proverbial greener pastures. Fortunately for us, they documented their treks, too.James A.
A Utah interviewee discusses riding with Buffalo Bill. Former slaves living in Indiana discuss the Underground Railroad. Jazz musicians paint a picture of depression-era Chicago. Tens of thousands of pages documenting real lives—all courtesy of a program intended to get people back to work and sponsored by the federal government.
What’s the best way to learn more about genealogical resources wh ile also keeping abreast of new methods, techniques, records, indexes, and other aids? Plain and simple—education.
I’d like to think that if I had been born a family historian, I would have been smart enough to ask some basic questions of my older relatives before it was too late. But my fascination with family history didn’t start until my four daughters went to school and I finally found time to fill in their baby books—the kind with a four-generation family tree.
Currently, 5 million Americans say they’re “of Swedish descent.” Other estimates say there are more than 11 million Americans who can claim a Swedish ancestry. But even with the large number of Americans who hold ties to Sweden, and the fact that Swedish records have historically been well-maintained, Americans wanting to connect with their Swedish ancestry still face obstacles.
The date was 1607, about the same time the London Company was sending ships to Jamestown. The Plymouth Company sent settlers to Sagadahoc on the Kennebec River in the cold environs of present-day Maine. The Sagadahoc settlement failed, largely due to lack of leadership, although the general perception was that settlers left because the climate was too harsh.