Since 2007, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace has been the “Bible” for history researchers—offering not only citation models but also guidance in the analysis and use of sources. Over the next several blog posts, we present excerpts from Chapters 1 and 2 of EE’s new fourth edition: Fundamentals of Research &[…]Read more
We’ve spent much of the last twelve months promoting Roberta Estes’ book, The Complete Guide to Family TreeDNA, and the response from genealogists here and abroad has been terrific. Given that emphasis, we may have unintentionally hidden her 2021 publication, DNA for Native American Genealogy under a bushel. Fortunately, reviews of the latter continue to[…]Read more
As Dr. David Dobson has noted in the Introduction to his new book, Scottish Baronial Families, 1250-1750, medieval Scottish kings established administrative units overseen by barons to assure that the King’s laws were enforced, taxes were collected, and, when necessary, knights and other warriors were available to defend the kingdom. By the late seventeenth century[…]Read more
The late Leonard H. Smith, Jr., and his wife Norma H. Smith were great students of New England and Nova Scotia ancestry. Together they compiled numerous works on these two subjects; however, probably their greatest genealogical contribution is their two-volume work, Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867. The Smiths’ interest was spawned by Mr. Smith’s parents’[…]Read more
If you have been following the news of late, you know that we just marked the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution. The famous “shot heard round the world” refers to the un-named British soldier or Massachusetts militiaman who first opened fire at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. Although[…]Read more
Virginia’s Northern Neck is comprised of the present-day counties of Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland. (The oldest records for Richmond County date from its origin as part of Old Rappahannock County.) The foremost authority on Northern Neck genealogy is Robert K. Headley, Jr. Mr. Headley, who has immersed himself in its records for most of[…]Read more
Starting in 2004, Genealogical Publishing Company undertook several projects leading to the publication of definitive titles pertaining to the genealogy of Virginia’s founding families. We completed these projects just in time for the May 11-13, 2007, celebration of the settlement at Jamestown, America’s first permanent English-speaking colony. The titles to which we refer are the[…]Read more
Chapter Two of Drew Smith’s wonderful guidebook, Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy, is about relationships: Father and Mother, Siblings, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins, Greats and Grands, Double Cousins, the Removes, and more. Smith discusses the origins of the terms we use to express relationships, and then he goes on[…]Read more
The award-winning Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920, by William Thorndale and William Dollarhide, published in 1987, is the preeminent tool for assuring researchers that they are searching the census in the correct county. The maps in the Map Guide show both contemporary boundaries and decennial federal census boundaries on the same map.[…]Read more
Smithtown, New York, situated about 50 miles east of New York City in Suffolk County, was founded by Richard Smith and his family in 1665. The famous 1698 census enumerations for Smithtown have not survived; however, Kory Meyerink, author of New York in 1698: A Comprehensive List of Residents Based on Census, Tax, and Other[…]Read more
