From the mid-18th to the mid-19th centuries, millions of Americans (both native- born and immigrant) abandoned the Tidewater region of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia for greener pastures. Since their predecessors had already claimed the best lands of the alluvial Tidewater, these families had little choice but to start their farms on the upland soil of[…]Read more
All censuses taken since 1790 are tabulated and organized by the counties within each state or territory. By federal precedence, the county is the basic unit of jurisdiction for census demographics. Alaska is the only state without counties; therefore, judicial districts are used as jurisdictions for the censuses taken there. In Louisiana, the term “parish”[…]Read more
One of the difficulties researchers with Welsh ancestry face is pinpointing the location of ancestors possessing surnames. Authorities John and Sheila Rowlands have taken some of the difficulty out of this process in the updated version of their book, The Surnames of Wales, by showing the greatest areas of concentration where such surnames do and[…]Read more
From time to time we have printed excerpts from the 4th Edition of The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, by Val Greenwood, to illustrate the wisdom and value of the guidance it provides researchers. Here are some recommendations Mr. Greenwood conveys about the importance of wills and probate records in genealogical research, with references to[…]Read more
We recently asked Sunny Jane Morton, co-author of How to Find Your Family History in U.S. Church Records: A Genealogist’s Guide, to put together a short list of important or surprising features of American church records prior to 1900. Whether you are looking for a specific denomination, or want to test your knowledge of church records[…]Read more
For the past month or so, we have been spreading the word about an extraordinary new reference work for Connecticut researchers, Finding Early Connecticut Vital Records: The Barbour Index and Beyond. This is one of those books that one cannot praise too highly, for it is nothing less than a comprehensive bibliography of Connecticut birth,[…]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
“Genealogy Pointers” continues with its practice of excerpting sections from Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Progen PPS), edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills. Today we have lifted the beginning pages of Chapter 12, “Reasoning from Evidence,” which was prepared by Dr. Thomas W. Jones. We are sure you will agree that even in these scant[…]Read more
In addition to the royal descents of immigrants to the American colonies, Quebec, or the United States, The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States traces the lineages, through such immigrants, of many modern royal figures. The late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and the current Queen are[…]Read more
Chapter Two of Morton and Henderson’s How to Find Your Family History in Church Records answers the question, “How can I use church records if I don’t know my ancestor’s denomination?” Given the wealth of information awaiting genealogists who delve into church records, this issue is fundamental to people who have hit a brick wall[…]Read more
Designed to cover the basic elements of Kentucky genealogical research in just four pages, this addition to our Genealogy at a Glance series gives you as much useful information in the space allotted as you’ll ever need. Specially laminated for heavy use, it provides an overview of the facts required to begin and proceed successfully[…]Read more
Writing in the Introduction to her new volume, Finding Early Connecticut Vital Records: The Barbour Index and Beyond, author Linda MacLachlan explains the scope of her ten-year study thusly: “This book goes beyond the Barbour Index by adding six more towns to create a bibliography for all 149 Connecticut towns incorporated by 1850. It also[…]Read more
