As author Doug Tattershall reminds us in the Introduction to his new book, Storytelling for Genealogists: Turning Family Lineage into Family History, “We work hard to discover our family tree. But what we [and the people we are writing for] really want to know is our family story.” To put it bluntly, if you want[…]Read more
We were delighted to see that the prestigious Midwest Book Review published a long and glowing review of J. Michael Cleverley’s book, Family Stories . . . and How I Found Mine. We have reprinted it in its entirety below. Reviewer’s Bookwatch: July 2020James A. Cox, Editor-in-ChiefMidwest Book ReviewFamily Stories…and How I Found MineJ. Michael[…]Read more
In the September 15 issue of “Genealogy Pointers,” we traced author J. Michael Cleveley’s ancestors to Rhode Island on the eve of the American Revolution, as they attempt to organize a militia company to support the Patriot cause. Nearly a century later, we learn that those Rhode Islanders’ descendants are struggling to establish themselves on[…]Read more
Family Stories . . . and How I Found Mine is actually several books rolled into one. At its simplest, it conveys the history of author J. Michael Cleverley’s family from the early Middle Ages, through its establishment in colonial New England, and later in the American Midwest. Unlike many genealogies, however, it examines the author’s[…]Read more
Genealogy is about solving puzzles. Who is related to whom? Who was my immigrant ancestor? How far back in time can I go? Do I have a famous ancestor? And so on. Family history is different. If you want others to learn about where you and they came from, you must command their attention. As[…]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
J. Michael Cleverley’s new book, Family Stories . . . and How I Found Mine traces his family history from the present day to the time of William the Conqueror. Mr. Cleverley’s book not only recounts his family’s history but also explains how he discovered and assembled the story. Since the author was determined to[…]Read more
As Emily Anne Croom writes in her book, Unpuzzling Your Past. The Best-Selling Basic Guide to Genealogy, “Collecting family history also means trying to fit the family into the history of the community, county, state, and nation. You can find the political, economic, and social history of these areas in books and contemporary newspapers, but[…]Read more
Coming on the heels of the publication of the two-volume Scots Irish Links, 1525-1825: Consolidated Edition, by David Dobson, we are pleased to announce three other new books by Dr. Dobson. Each of these Spring 2022 titles identifies inhabitants of a different region in Scotland between 1800 and 1850. Also available now is the latest[…]Read more
Over the course of the last few months, we’ve published a number of excerpts from J. Michael Cleverley’s intriguing book, Family Stories . . . and How I found Mine. We’ve followed the Cleverley ancestors from the court of William the Conqueror, to the intrigues of the British nobility on the eve of the War[…]Read more
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
