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
Category: Genealogy Tips
The Researcher’s Guide to Civil War Records
The other day I spoke with a family member about one of her ancestors. She had just learned that a 19th-century forebear had fought for the Confederacy but was later arrested for desertion. She was hoping to learn more about him from Civil War records, but she wasn’t sure of her next step. Since she[…]Read more
When We Discover Unsavory Ancestors
For this issue of “Genealogy Pointers,” we are continuing to share excerpts from J. Michael Cleverley’s new book, Family Stories . . . and How I Found Mine. One of the Cleverley ancestors was Sir Henry Greene, who served in the court of England’s 14th-century king, Richard II. In the first part of the excerpt,[…]Read more
Reaching Genealogical Conclusions: Hypothesis, Theory & Proof By Elizabeth Shown Mills
The following essay concerning the nature of genealogical proof was excerpted by Elizabeth Shown Mills from her book, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. 3rd ed. Rev. (2017), p. 17. In it, Mrs. Mills explains the difference between genealogical proof, theory, and hypothesis and offers a cautionary point lesson that any researcher[…]Read more
Citing Derivatives & Imaged Sources: The Basics, by Elizabeth Shown Mills
The following essay was excerpted from Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, 3rd ed. Rev. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2017), p. 47, by the author, expressly for “Genealogy Pointers.” “The range of materials and media in use today defies standardization. When we examine a publication to define the elements that need recording,[…]Read more
Royal Descent of the Fisher Family of 17th-Century Virginia
In the July 28 issue of “Genealogy Pointers,” we referenced the work of the late Dr. David Faris, Plantagenet Ancestry of Seventeenth-Century Colonists. This important book traces the descent from England’s kings Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III of British emigrants who arrived in the North American colonies before 1701, and who[…]Read more
“Assessing Genealogical Information,” By Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG
The following article was excerpted by Elizabeth Shown Mills, editor, from Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018), pp. 265–92. Genealogists think about the information they find and what it might say or imply about the past. They assess both information and the sources that contain the information. These assessments usually[…]Read more
55 Remarkable Descents, Kinships, or Near Kin-to-Near Kin Genealogical Connections Outlined and Charted in The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies – By Gary Boyd Roberts
We’ve written on several occasions about Gary Boyd Roberts amazing two volume work, The Royal Descents 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States (RD 900). This collection of royal lines possessed by North Americans represents Mr. Roberts’ magnum opus, and it is truly the product of a lifetime of study in[…]Read more
Genealogy | Did you Know That . . .
The first significant Swedish migration to North America occurred between 1638 and 1655, or Nils William Olsson’s Swedish Passenger Arrivals in New York, 1820-1850 includes over 4,000 biographies of pioneering Swedish immigrants, or the Swedish Church Law of 1686 mandated that household examination records be updated every year? The oldest documented Jewish community in the[…]Read more
Little Known Events from our Revolutionary War
Did you know that African slaves’ knowledge of the power of smallpox vaccine helped to save many of Washington’s soldiers at Valley Forge? Or that a woman’s name appears on the first printing of the Declaration of Independence to bear the names of all the signatories? If not, you may want to pickup a copy[…]Read more
The Plantagenet Ancestry of Seventeenth-Century Colonists, by David Faris
One of the stellar works in our collection of royal and noble ancestry books is the 1996 publication, Plantagenet Ancestry of Seventeenth-Century Colonists, by David Faris. As the subtitle explains, this work traces the descent from England’s kings Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III of British emigrants who arrived in the North[…]Read more
Family Stories . . . and How I Found Mine: Family History is a Personal Journey
The following excerpt from our new book, Family Stories . . . and How I Found Mine, by J. Michael Cleverley is from the author’s prologue. In these few paragraphs, Mr. Cleverley captures the essence of what it means for someone to undertake a family history. In a word, it’s a transformative experience because of[…]Read more