Genealogy audiences on three continents have dubbed Elizabeth Shown Mills “The SuperGenie,” “The Pied Piper of Family History,” “The Mother of Modern Genealogy,” and “the genealogist who has had the greatest impact on American genealogy in the post-ROOTS era.” For over 30 years, Mrs. Mills has pushed the cutting edge of research methodology, standards, and quality,[…]Read more
When Americans recall the Irish Potato Famine, they immediately think of the hundreds of thousands who emigrated to the U.S. between 1846 and 1851. But during that famine and at other times, Irish emigrants ventured to many other parts of the world, notably the British Isles, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, elsewhere in Europe, and Latin[…]Read more
In recent years Americans have come to understand the plight of 19th– and early 20th-century “orphan train riders.” If you’ve read Christina Baker Kline’s best-selling novel, among others, you know that these children were transported by rail from the Eastern United States (especially New York) for adoption/apprenticeship by families in the Midwest. Kline’s novel captures[…]Read more
By Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG Excerpted from Laura Murphy DeGrazia, “Problem Analyses & Research Plans,” Elizabeth Shown Mills, ed., Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018), 295–316. Publisher’s Note: Last week we ran an excerpt from Laura Murphy DeGrazia’s chapter, “Problem Analyses & Research Plans,” published in Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice &[…]Read more
The historical roots of what it means to be Scots Irish go back to the 17th century. During that epoch, substantial numbers of Scottish (as well as English) families removed to the northern part of Ireland during the so-called Plantation of Ulster. Between 1717 and 1776, 250,000 Scots-Irish immigrants (also known as Scotch-Irish or Ulster[…]Read more
Do you know that most civil records for Mexico prior to 1821 are found in Spain? Hispanic naming traditions make it easier to trace female ancestors than in many other cultures—do you know why? If you have Mexican ancestry but cannot read original documents in Spanish, do you know where to find a tutorial for[…]Read more
Excerpted from Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace,3d ed. rev. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2017), pp. 18–19, §1.5. “Modern family history (aka genealogy) draws heavily from law in its handling of evidence. However, family-history standards require a higher level of proof than does most litigation. The justice system demands that a date[…]Read more
By Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG Excerpted from: Laura Murphy DeGrazia, “Problem Analyses & Research Plans,” Elizabeth Shown Mills, ed., Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards(Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018), 295–316. “Effective problem analysis requires a thorough understanding of three key issues. First, we must know the available sources for that problem—their accessibility, arrangement, content, and varying[…]Read more
In the following excerpt from her acclaimed book, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. 3rd Edition Revised, Elizabeth Shown Mills explains that the terms proof, source, and evidence have different and distinct meanings. Moreover, a proof argument in genealogy must consist of a number of demonstrable components. Whether we are reading Ms.[…]Read more
Originally published in 1977, Finding Our Fathers: A Guidebook to Jewish Genealogy, by Dan Rottenberg, was a groundbreaking publication. Although we reprinted it in 1995 with a new Preface, Finding Our Fathers was an ambitious product of the pre-Internet era. While Jewish researchers have far greater access to Jewish sources than Mr. Rottenberg did in[…]Read more
By Judy Jacobson Finally! A history book written expressly for family sleuths–History for Genealogists, Using Chronological Time Lines to find and Understand Your Ancestors. With this book, accomplished author Judy Jacobson returns with a vast array of historical time lines that are guaranteed to inform your family history. Consider the following illustrations: If you have[…]Read more
Students of New England genealogy recognize Charles E. Banks (1854-1931) as one of the patriarchs of genealogical scholarship. During his lifetime, he was widely acknowledged to be one of the leading authorities on northern New England families. His two-volume “History of York, Maine” (a third volume was in preparation at the time of his death)[…]Read more
