http://www.ancestrymagazine.com Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:33:02 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Counterfactuals are the study of “what-ifs” in history. Though there is some debate to the real value of counterfactual history, one acknowledged purpose is to evaluate the real significance of people or events in history. We are interested in knowing the significance of historical events in your family history, and so ... http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2008/07/features/counterfactual-family-history-2/ Quick, how well do you know your Spanish-American War history? A tiny clue within a clue within a clue (and a naval battle) hides an answer to this photographic mystery. A matryoshka doll is a brightly painted wooden figurine that can be taken apart to reveal successively smaller dolls nesting inside ... http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2008/07/features/details-details-details/ Money on your mind? You’re not the only one. When you’re looking for an old will or clues to a financially solvent family tree, be sure to check Ancestry.com. You’ll find a list of them at the Court, Land, Wills, and Financial Records tab. Or go to the Ancestry Database ... http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2008/07/features/money/ Forget those winning European lottery announcements that keep filling up your inbox and the dreams of a jumbo prize check coming to your door. You could be next in line to score a real prize—and you might not even know it. So who would know? An heir tracer—a genealogist assigned to ... http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2008/07/features/are-you-an-heir/ I was parked in front of the TV a few nights ago when I received an unexpected phone call from Bob Velke, owner of Wholly Genes. He had a puzzle he suspected (correctly, as it turns out) I wouldn’t be able to resist. After we spoke, he summarized it in ... http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2008/07/on-the-web/where-is-the-honor-guard/ From the time I filled out my first family tree for a homework assignment in second grade, I knew two things: I was Norwegian, and I liked learning about my family. Fortunately, one of my grandmother’s aunts—Aunt Bertye—was still with us and never ran out of family history to share. ... http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2008/07/breakthrough/mystery-photo-reveals-final-reunion/ My great-great-grandfather has a medium mouth. At least, that’s what some Joe Schmoe wrote on his passport application in 1892. Actually, that Joe Schmoe’s name is Horatio Pickett, and he also said my grandfather had a large nose. His description for my great-great-grandfather’s face? Common. C’mon, Horatio. Now you’re just asking for it. I ... http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2008/07/how-tos/big-noses-and-common-faces-us-passports/ I have never liked the term “shirttail relative.” However unintentionally, it consigns some very interesting people to afterthought status. How many opportunities for information and illumination are lost to this dismissive epithet and its laundry overtones? You never know when a “shirttail” will turn out to be someone quite significant—someone ... http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2008/07/features/with-both-feet-on-the-ground/ Do you laugh when you see yourself in an old photograph and wonder, “How could I have worn that?” Looking back, it is surprising to see how much clothes have changed in our lifetimes. But the same thing happened in the times of our ancestors. To understand the seemingly ridiculous extremes ... http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2008/07/features/when-old-becomes-vintage/ No wonder Aunt Snake didn’t know what to call her big sister. Our grandfather “Pappy” was notorious for labeling family members with a nickname. Some were cute and funny and some, well, were neither. Sometime before 1986, my cousin David (a.k.a. Goliath) and I had the opportunity to sit down with Pappy ... http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2008/07/bare-bones/whatza-squidge-who-is-marjorie-and-what-about-phyllis/