All Blog Posts (2,506)

My ancestral search

My ancestral search hit the proverbial brick wall with my Great Great Grandfather, William A. J. Snow born about 1813 presumably in Georgia. The first documentation found was his marriage to Nancy Riley on 3 April 1836 in Henry County, Georgia. Nothing has been found prior to this document.

He appeared in the 1840 Gwinett County, Georgia Census record showing a household with one male between 20 and 30 years (himself), one female 15-20 years old (Nancy), one male and one female under… Continue

Added by John Anthony Snow on July 17, 2009 at 6:22pm — No Comments

More Levy's than Cohen's on GenPals Cemetery Project

A quick review of the numbers and names on GenPals Cemetery Project.

Since we launched the site with 500 entries back in Nov 2007 it has grown and grown!

There are now over 8,000 individuals listed, so we thought it would be interesting to look at the top ten family names:

1. Levy

2. Cohen

3. Jacobs

4. Harris

5. Davis

6. Nathan

7. Solomon

8. Hart

9. Isaacs

10. Moses

NB. Because we list women… Continue

Added by Cemetery Scribes Project on July 17, 2009 at 3:26pm — No Comments

Sheri Goes To Samford - Sophomore Year - The End

After dealing with a little bit of life that got in the way, I finished the series of my experience at the Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Head on over to my blog, The Educated Genealogist at www.sherifenley.blogspot.com

Added by Sheri Fenley on July 17, 2009 at 3:19pm — No Comments

Hopefully it will help

Just recently I signed up for this very site and then come to find out, my father has a list of many names and email address from his side of the family that will make researching and getting connected with family even easier. I didn't even have to be on the site; just talking about it to come across a geneology opportunity. Hopefully this list will open doors to discovering and reconnection with loved ones.

Added by Heidi Marie Clark on July 17, 2009 at 2:07pm — 1 Comment

Genealogy Wise: My New Home

When you first get the keys to a new home you are overcome with cognitive dissonance. The uncomfortable tension of feeling elated that you have purchased a house, but overcome with fear regarding the enormity of the responsibility. On a smaller scale, signing up for a new social networking site can have the same feelings of cognitive dissonance. A new member is excited about the possibilities of meeting new people, networking and learning with and from other members, and excited to share their… Continue

Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 17, 2009 at 1:59pm — 3 Comments

In memory...

In memory and in honor of the ancestors who have gone before me - the ones who died before their time.

Infant Hulbert - son of my 4th great-grandfather. Never knew about you until I happened across your stone in the cemetery. Died at only 1 day old.

Ferona Margaret Hulbert - daughter of my 3rd great-grandfather. I have a picture of you as an infant, and you only lived to the age of 3, probably the only picture taken of you.

Florida Kerr Hulbert - 1st wife of my… Continue

Added by Candy Hulbert Ditkowski on July 17, 2009 at 11:19am — 1 Comment

A Few Suggestions for GenealogyWise

Here are some suggestions based on my few days on GW. Feel free to sling dirt at me! ;-)

1. The front page search function is great, but the results are a bit hard to dig through. It would be nice if the results were neatly tabulated as Members, Groups, Comments, Forum Posts, Blog Posts, etc.

2. The entire site should be indexable by Google web crawlers. Not sure if this is currently happening. I realize the site has not been around long, so Google might not have fully… Continue

Added by Stephen Garnett Cox on July 17, 2009 at 10:35am — 2 Comments

Genealogywise Contest

Pleased to see the contest withdrawn. It did not seem that enough thought or planning had been done before announcing it. One can't change rules after announcing a contest and maintain legitimacy. Best just to forego it.

Added by Dixie Dellinger on July 17, 2009 at 10:22am — No Comments

Jeter = Geda in 1870 census

Here's the 1870 census. It states that they all were from Virginia.

Also, the info is all over the place.

1. Phonetic spelling of the surname (here, it is spelled 'GEDA')

2. The son James is the actual property owner

3. The brother Jerry (Jeremiah) is not 63 yrs old ( he's more like 19)

James would be approx 2-3yrs in 1850 and 12-13 in 1860.

There are quite a few slave owning Jeters throughout VA - with slaves… Continue

Added by George Geder on July 17, 2009 at 10:03am — No Comments

Norwegian Sommerschield Immigrants to US

Greetings,

I'm hoping to find relatives of my mother's side of the family. My grandfather and grandmother were immigrants of during the second great immigration stream to the US. My grandparents came here in the early 1900s. I found grandfather Otto Sommerschield and his bride Matilda Martha Syvertson on ship's passenger lists. I will have to dig up those records again. I know there are relatives in Ohio, and I beleive some in Montana. I'll post so photorgraphs.

My grandparents… Continue

Added by Janet B. Tucker on July 17, 2009 at 8:30am — No Comments

Wow! what a group of people (and my latest FHL update)

I just got the most amazing comment on one of my groups here - I lamented the fact that I couldn't find some ancestors (Housler & Erskine) in Muskegon Co., MI. I have had several people give me suggestions, most of which I have already done, but some of which were new ideas I am pursuing. Then today, I got a wonderful surprise - a corespondent sent me a link to the death certificate of Daniel Hostler that I have been looking for for years!!! I now have a maiden name for Daniel's mother, as… Continue

Added by Merryann Palmer on July 16, 2009 at 10:12pm — No Comments

What I Wish Someone had Told My Southern Ancestors

This blog post is entirely my opinion, and I mean no disrespect to southerners. I love the south, and the people who make it a great place. I have spent all my adult life here in the south, but I come from a long line of yankees, and all of my research until recently has been in the north (mostly Ohio). Records have been plentiful, and easy to access, and I didn't realize how fortunate I was! I am now working on my husband's and my daughter-in-law's southern genealogies, and it is a totally… Continue

Added by Dawn Evans Stringer on July 16, 2009 at 9:56pm — 6 Comments

Lynchings

Hi all,
I ran across this list a couple of years ago, but it looks like it may have been updated since then. I remember dreading reading the names, but it was a "must do" because it's quite possible that one of my missing ancestors could have been found on this list. I'd consider this a recommended resource for anyone searching for an elusive AAA (African American Ancestor).
http://ccharity.com/lynching/index.php?table_name=lynched&function=search&records_per_page=20

Added by Renate Sanders on July 16, 2009 at 7:00pm — 1 Comment

Concept Charts; using bubbl.us - free brainstorming site.

I've never actually used bubbl.us; it's a free online web tool for brainstorming. I think it's a really great site, though, and I had it bookmarked. From the book I'm reading 'Research Your Family History: Genealogy for the first time.' By Laura Best, on page 34, she provides a 'Concept Chart' which is basically a brainstorming sheet for an ancestor. I did a brief google search but couldn't find any Concept Charts online, but I wanted to point… Continue

Added by Marilin Meghan Dunsmore on July 16, 2009 at 6:37pm — 3 Comments

Abe Vigoda: Jewish Mafia Boss

Abe Vigoda (who is, as of today, alive) got his big break in Hollywood playing Italian mobster Sal Tessio in The Godfather. So he must have Italian heritage, right?

Abraham Charles Vigoda was born 24 Feb. 1921 in New York City, the son of Samuel and Lena (Moses) Vigoda. His father was born in Ostrołęka or Łomża or (I believe) Przasnysz, Poland (then Russia) (his… Continue

Added by Chris Dunham on July 16, 2009 at 6:26pm — 2 Comments

24 hours left on the Generation Maps Social Networking Contest.

Reposted from http://www.thechartchick.com

Well, it has been an interesting week in the Genealogy Social Networking Scene.

As you know, we have been running a contest. 1 $25 gift certificate for a person drawn from our Facebook group, and 1 $25 gift certificate drawn from our Genealogywise group. And tomorrow at 5pm we'll draw a winner from the people who have joined both groups for a $100 gift certificate.

GenealogyWise has been an interesting experiment. It is… Continue

Added by Janet Hovorka on July 16, 2009 at 4:57pm — No Comments

Roots Magic 4th edition

I just got my software and got it loaded. Then I put a PAF on it and it's so easy to use. I want documentation when possible and the PAF has some errors. I can quickly delete the errors and post documentation if I find none. I like it.

Added by Clovis Marie Byars Herring on July 16, 2009 at 4:05pm — No Comments

Burr Oak Cemetery, post 2

As the investigation furthers into the Burr Oak Cemetery the police have stated that many people gave the local authorities (Alsip Police) tips on the problems at the cemetery in 2005. Electricians and others reported seeing bones, coffins and broken stones in piles. Why is it that the local authorities did not look into this.

It seems not only do we need to investigate the goings on at the cemetery, but we also need to be looking into the local authorities as well. This is… Continue

Added by Terri O'Connell on July 16, 2009 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Changing the rules: Genealogywise.com

From Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog

GenealogyWise.com has changed the rules on its "contest," and may do so again, according to this early morning message from the company.

The rules are somewhat better and not focused on the goal of "grabbing" (quantification) as many members and posting as much as possible. The objective has changed to something more… Continue

Added by Schelly Talalay Dardashti on July 16, 2009 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Land Deeds as often overlooked sources

I have only been doing genealogy research for about a year and a half. But i also spend 20 hours or more a week on my research. I have become obsessed with genealogy like so many others who get the bug. I am constantly reading books, blogs, forums, etc to increase my knowledge. And one area of sources that i find is often overlooked or under appreciated is the land deed.

I have made several trips from Atlanta, GA to Johnstown, PA to get my hands on lots of documents and among some of… Continue

Added by Kevin Mayfield on July 16, 2009 at 2:38pm — 1 Comment