What if you got to thinking about the nun who taught you 11th-grade biology and pointed you in your career direction thirty years ago. Or you were in a serious car accident while attending law school and never properly thanked the gentle sister who nursed you back to health. You never knew your great-great-aunt Silvia,[…]Read more
The term “Acadian” refers to the early French settlers of Canada whose descendants were expelled by the British between 1755 and 1758. Most Acadians re-settled elsewhere on the continent, including New England and, notably, Louisiana. Others departed for France, Quebec (New France), and the Caribbean. In the 1780s, Britain allowed Acadians to return to Nova[…]Read more
Over the next few weeks and months we will be highlighting different aspects of the groundbreaking book, Ancestoring: Understanding Records, Family and Ourselves, by Darcie Hind Posz, Certified Genealogist and Fellow, American Society of Genealogists. As Darcie emphasizes in Part One of her book, “Understanding Records, it is important not only to find a record[…]Read more
Most families know precious little about the women on their family trees who joined religious life. Historians, too, have largely overlooked the estimated 350,000 Catholic women religious (nuns and sisters) in the United States between 1790 and 1990. This, despite their enormous collective contributions to the nation’s humanitarian, educational, and social services infrastructure. Instead, the[…]Read more
In the March 18, 2026, posting on “Empty Branches on the Family Tree,” prolific blogger Linda Stufflebean had some extremely positive things to say about the new book, ANCESTORING: Understanding Records, Family, and Ourselves, by Darcie Hind Posz,. Ms. Stufflebean observed that the new book “is sure to become a classic” because it will teach[…]Read more
In Part Three of her new book, Ancestoring: Understanding Records, Family, and Ourselves, author Darcie Hind Posz cautions us, “When we try to remember, there is a bubble of heartbreaking nostalgia wrapping and protecting impressions that were tempered by the mood at the time. If we were happy, the memory is good. If we were[…]Read more
British genealogist Jane Roberts writes the blog, Past to Present Genealogy. Ms. Roberts devoted her posting of January 23, 2025, to a lengthy review of Roberta Estes’ book, The Complete Guide to Family TreeDNA. CLICK HERE to read the full review. One aspect of the review that readers will appreciate is her discussion of the[…]Read more
Genealogical.com is proud to announce the publication of The Book of Merit: Honorary Badges of Distinction, compiled and annotated by Kenneth Wayne Virgil. On August 7, 1782, General George Washington authorized the Badge of Honorary Distinction to acknowledge enlisted soldiers who had completed three or more years of service in the Patriot Cause. Unlike the[…]Read more
Are you wondering, “Whatever happened to Great-Aunt Caroline after she became a Maryknoll Sister?” Maybe you want to track down the beloved Sister Josephine who taught you algebra in the 8th grade. Or you’d like to know where the inhabitants of a local nunnery went after they sold their property in your neighborhood. No matter[…]Read more
FamilySearch’s new Full-Text Search feature allows users to search for names and other words found in its records. Author Dana Ann Palmer knew the Full-Text Seach was in the wings, and she was able to incorporate a 30-page, detailed, and illustrated chapter all about it (Chapter 4) in her sensational guidebook, the Ultimate Guide to[…]Read more
