Denise R. Larson’s popular book, Companions of Champlain: Founding Families of Quebec, 1608-1635, is a skillful blend of genealogy and history. The narrative first half of the book describes the governmental, mercantile, and navigational background to Champlain’s arrival at Tadoussac in June 1608. Most of the balance of the book traces the descendancies of Champlain’s crew[…]Read more
You know you should do it. The relatives are nagging you to do it. You’ve probably attended a class or workshop on how to do it. You may have even bought or read other books telling you that you should do it and how you should do it. Write the family history? Sure. Sounds like[…]Read more
Genealogy Pointers: When did you first get interested in African American genealogy? Why? Paul Heinegg: I was working in Saudi Arabia in 1985, living in a community in the middle of the desert (much like a military compound) with about 200 other U.S. families when a co-worker came back from vacation and told me how[…]Read more
Readers familiar with Gary Boyd Roberts’ scholarship know that between 2004 and 2010, Mr. Roberts wrote smaller, earlier editions of his now magnum opus, The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States (2018). The earliest edition of the work covered the royal descents of 500 immigrants. Mr. Roberts[…]Read more
Check out our latest three releases: White Slave Children in Colonial America: Supplement to the TrilogyBy Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D. Richard Hayes Phillips is the author of a landmark trilogy of history books documenting the forced servitude of more than 5,000 white children in colonial Maryland and Virginia, beginning in about 1659. (Without Indentures: Index[…]Read more
“The Name’s the Same” Rule: Identifying people is a significant challenge for historical writers—particularly people who played minor roles in an event or lived low-key lives. When we encounter records that bear the right name, in the right place and time, it is tempting to assume the record applies to our person of interest. The[…]Read more
Leroy Martinez’ book, From Across the Spanish Empire: Spanish Soldiers Who Helped Win the American Revolutionary War, 1776-1783, provides the first comprehensive list of Spanish soldiers who served in North America during the U.S. War for Independence. Separate chapters list those who served in Arizona, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas. In most cases Mr.[…]Read more
Part One of this interview appeared in previous issue of Genealogy Pointers. It explores how the author first became interested in African American genealogy and his methodology. Part Two focuses on the major findings of Mr. Heinegg’s new 6th edition and the sources consulted, many of which are now available online. Genealogy Pointers: You have[…]Read more
The late Virginia Lee Hutcheson Davis was one of our leading authorities on the earliest inhabitants of Jamestown and the entire Tidewater region of Virginia. Her most famous book on this area of research was the diminutive volume, Jamestowne Ancestors, 1607-1699, a list of approximately 1,200 persons who are known to have landed or resided[…]Read more
The new 6th Edition of Free African Americans of North Carolina, Virginia & South Carolina from the Colonial Period to About 1820, by Paul Heinegg, contains genealogies of 650 families, 38 more families than found in the 5th Edition. Moreover, Mr. Heinegg has traced most of the families as far as possible from what is[…]Read more
