The new three-volume, Second Edition of The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States is remarkable in a number of respects. As we have noted previously, Mr. Roberts has added twenty-three new immigrants to the opus, revised the lines of twelve others, and made improvements to about half[…]Read more
As the genealogist of a Scottish clan organization, I have for many years been frustrated by the notion of a “family coat of arms” and even more frustrated by the sale of such contrivances at Scottish and Celtic games and festivals where the organizers should know better. I strongly believe that you should be knowledgeable[…]Read more
Editor’s Note: Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck’s groundbreaking book, Revolutionary War Pensions Awarded by State Governments 1775-1874, the General and Federal Governments Prior to 1814, and by Private Acts of Congress to 1905, identifies and recreates the Revolutionary War pension files generated prior to the disastrous fire in the War Department on 8 November 1800, and a[…]Read more
You’ve probably run across the word “Ahnentafel” over the course of your research, but have you ever had it explained? The word’s origin is German for “ancestor table.” These days, however, it refers to a particular kind of numbering system used to keep track of our ancestors. Best used with pedigrees, as opposed to the[…]Read more
(Excerpted from Elizabeth Shown Mills, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, 3d ed. rev. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2017), pp. 52, 180, §2.21, 4.6.) In the following excerpt from her acclaimed book, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. 3rd Edition Revised, Elizabeth Shown Mills explains why researchers should avoid[…]Read more
Persons looking for Scots-Irish ancestors invariably discover that Ulster church records are a crucial source of information. Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors, by William J. Roulston, is the most comprehensive source in the field. Chapter 2 provides detailed coverage of Church of Ireland, various Presbyterian, Methodist, Moravian, Quaker, Roman Catholic, and Huguenot denominations. Excerpted below are the[…]Read more
“A forensic genealogist,” according to Michael S. Ramage, J.D., CG, “is one who applies genealogical knowledge, methods, and standards to legal problems and proceedings.” Mr. Ramage, who is himself a forensic genealogist and has written the chapter on his specialization for the book, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards, edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills, describes[…]Read more
Genealogical.com is delighted to announce its publication of the preeminent textbook for Scots-Irish genealogy. This 2018 second edition is a massively expanded version of its 2005 predecessor. The new edition includes additional information on church records and landed estate papers, as well as new chapters looking at records relating to law and order, emigration, business[…]Read more
Brian Mitchell’s New Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy is a wonderful combination of how-to book, guide to sources, and case studies–in only 120 pages. In fact, page for page the New Pocket Guide may be the best value on Irish genealogy in the marketplace. In the first half of the book, Mr. Mitchell covers all[…]Read more
First settled in 1635, the coastal city of Newburyport, Massachusetts, is situated at the mouth of the Merrimack River, about 35 miles northeast of Boston. During the Revolutionary War privateers famously operated from Newburyport. At various times in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it boasted of a significant fishing and whaling fleet. Later, clipper ships[…]Read more
Editor’s Note: Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck’s groundbreaking book, Revolutionary War Pensions Awarded by State Governments 1775-1874, the General and Federal Governments Prior to 1814, and by Private Acts of Congress to 1905, identifies and recreates the Revolutionary War pension files generated prior to the disastrous fire in the War Department on 8 November 1800, and a[…]Read more
In Chapter 21 of The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy. Fourth Edition, author Val Greenwood cautions genealogists that during ‘pick and shovel research’–when the documents we need are not online and we must go to them in person—we will be glad we know how to abstract those records. At the outset of the chapter, the[…]Read more
