How far back do you have to go to connect your branches to the rest of the world’s? Says science writer Steve Olson, only about 3,000 years.
Olson, author of Mapping Human History, began his quest to find the most recent common ancestor after hearing about Mitochondrial Eve—a female believed to have lived 150,000 years ago, who can be found in every family tree.
Let me show you slides from my vacation. Did you just groan? It’s a universal reaction to home movies and slide shows, especially when yours is not the family on display. Thanks to Microsoft PowerPoint, that ubiquitous reaction has migrated to the office and classroom as slide presentations are used to sell, educate, or simply bore us with things we really don’t care about.
There has always been an air of mystery in my family surrounding the life and death of my great-uncle Phillip James. The second of three brothers who immigrated from war-torn Macedonia to New Albany, Mississippi, around 1910, Phillip was the most personable and fun-loving of the three.
Most of us started our family research looking for our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on. We may have occasionally branched out to include one of their siblings when that sibling was our own aunt or uncle, particularly if we already knew or had heard stories about that person. But, eventually, the tendency to concentrate only on our narrow, direct line returned.
Gary Mokotoff doesn’t take paying clients. As an author, editor, lecturer, and leading figure in the field of Jewish American genealogy, Gary has spent years immersed in the discovery of his own family history and prefers to encourage others to do the same. But occasionally, a request for assistance comes along pertaining to the Holocaust.
In my ongoing trolling for my Rawlins roots, I came across a description of the Rawlins “temperament” from a 19th century historian. After a brief list of laudable qualities, he adds this tidbit: “If noted for any peculiarities worthy of mention they are, reticence . . .
My grandmother Francesca Calandra arrived at Ellis Island on 16 April 1912 from Palermo, Italy, and eventually settled in St. Louis. Like many Italian immigrants, Francesca brought with her traditions—including food. And, most importantly, a recipe that has evolved into a special holiday dish my family calls spedini.
What do you do when you find this image of a tombstone among Uncle John’s papers—but you’ve never heard of Sarah or anyone named Herendeen? You have one clue: the writing on the back of the photo stating Oak Grove Cemetery, Sullivan, Moultrie County, Illinois. So now what?
Step 1: Census Enumerations
Sarah died in 1907, so step one is to search for her in the 1900 U.S.
Ever wondered why certain family members died so young or why several members of a family disappeared without explanation at about the same time? The simple answer may be disease—until recently, epidemics, including the following, swept across the country, generation after generation, taking young and old alike.
As I tackle orphan heirloom rescues, I often wonder how items stray from family hands in the first place. This request, received from Verma Goodwin of California, had the answer built in:
My grandmother, Lutitia Ann Dean (McKelvey, Ledbetter, Vaughan, Thompson), was married four times. Her third husband, James W.