By Patricia Law Hatcher In the April 7 issue of “Genealogy Pointers,” we introduced the first of the various systems by which land was transferred by one of the colonial monarchs to individuals, The New England Model. As Patricia Law Hatcher explains in her definitive study of U.S. land records, first transfer varied both geographically[…]Read more
With the conquest of the Americas, all land was originally held by a monarch—whether English, French, or Spanish. At this point, the process of transitioning land ownership to individuals is referred to as “first transfer.” As Patricia Law Hatcher explains in her definitive study of U.S. land records, first transfer varied both geographically and chronologically[…]Read more
Just about anyone who takes genealogy seriously is destined to face the challenge of reading original (or microfilm copies of) records written in an unfamiliar cursive style. If your research takes you back to at least the 19th century, you’ll encounter census records, wills, deeds, and multifarious other records that you’ll strain to decipher. Records[…]Read more
When we think of a critical desk reference for colonial New England genealogy, the first source that comes to mind (or should come to mind) is James Savage’s Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England. Savage’s work is so important because it purports to identify every New England settler who arrived before 1692[…]Read more
The following article is excerpted from the Introduction to Ellen and David Berry’s book, Our Quaker Ancestors. For more information about that publication, please CLICK HERE. The Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, has a rich storehouse of records kept from its beginning in the mid-1600s to the present. There are vast differences among Quaker[…]Read more
Topping this week’s list of newly available titles is the 2nd edition of the Ernest Thode’s popular research aid, Genealogy at a Glance: German Genealogy Research. Whereas the original edition of “German Genealogy Research” was issued in 2011, the 2nd edition incorporates all the major changes in German genealogy over the past decade, including all[…]Read more
The poem (below) comes to us from one of our Scottish authors who got it from a friend in New Zealand. Like the virus, these things travel quickly around the planet. It is based on the work of Robert Burns. We hope the Scots dialect was not too challenging. If anyone knows the author, please[…]Read more
The January 28th issue of the most popular genealogy newsletter on the Internet, Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter gave a vigorous thumbs up to Jack Crowder’s collection of “did you know about” happenings from America’s War for Independence. The review, written by Bobbi King, is reprinted in its entirety here: Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, January 28,[…]Read more
While so many of us are in our homes looking for ways to make good use of this troubling time, Genealogical.com is making an unprecedented offer. You can access our entire e-book collection with a one-time, special three-month subscription. Subscribe today and acquire a 750-book collection of the best publications in genealogy, and, at the[…]Read more
The following article describes the criteria and important sources for obtaining membership in the distinguished Virginia lineage organization, the Jamestowne Society. The article is also valuable for identifying sources related to 17th-century Virginia research in general. It originally appeared in the Jamestowne Society Magazine, Vol. 44, No. 1. Spring 2020, p. 13, and is reproduced[…]Read more
