Vol. 22, No. 24 — June 21, 2017
How to Make Sure the Stories of Your Family Heirlooms Don’t Get Lost |
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Are you the guardian of your family’s treasured heirlooms? Many genealogists find themselves in that position. It is not uncommon for relatives who know you are a genealogist and family historian to leave heirlooms with you, because they know you will protect them. And, you do. But, like most genealogists, you probably wonder how you are going to preserve those heirlooms for future generations.
If your kids are interested in genealogy and engaged with it, then you have no issue, because you know those heirlooms will be protected and their stories preserved. However, not every genealogist is that lucky. It is true when other genealogists say the interest often skips a generation, or sometimes two. If your kids, and even your grandkids (or if you don’t have kids) are not interested in
genealogy, what do you do about those heirlooms? They mean something to you, and probably to others of your generation or the generations before you. How can you protect them and make sure the stories associated with them are preserved for the future generations who WILL be interested in them? Read More
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Site of Salem Witch Trial Hangings Discovered: Why It’s Important to Genealogists |
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Nineteen people were executed by hanging during the 1692 Salem witch trials, with a 20th being pressed to death to try to force a confession from him (to his credit, he never plead one way or the other, knowing the city could take his property from his heirs if he said anything). The tradition has long been that the victims of the witch trials were hanged on the summit of Gallows Hill, and
their bodies were buried together in a shallow pit at the site, since, as convicted witches, they would not be allowed burial in consecrated ground in the city cemetery.
Yet, the story of the place of the hangings and what happened to the bodies is only that…tradition. While there is usually a truth behind historical and genealogical traditions, the real story can often get lost in the retelling.
This is what happened with the Salem witch trial executions. Fortunately, new research has revealed the actual location of the hangings and the likely fate of the bodies of those who were hanged there. This is important to genealogists with Salem roots in several ways.. Read More
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A Review of the New England Historic Genealogical Society |
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The New England Historic Genealogical Society is one of the nation’s oldest genealogy societies. It was founded in 1845 by five men from Boston, with the purpose of exploring not only the history of New England but the genealogical history of the people who lived there or had roots there. The story of New England, after all, is the story of the settling of America by Europeans, and the founders
of the organization knew this. Interestingly, Charles Francis Adams, a grandson of 2nd U.S. President John Adams and son of 6th U.S. President John Quincy Adams, objected to the organization’s name, as he was already president of the Boston Historical Society, and did not like the similarity in names. Despite his objections, and that of some of the founders who thought the name was too long and cumbersome, it was adopted, and is still called the New England Historic Genealogical Society
today... Read More
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This Week’s Free Genealogy Lookups |
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- Marriage Index: AZ, CA, ID, NV, 1850-1951
- Marriage Index: GA, 1754-1850
- Marriage Index: Selected Counties of AR, CA, IA, LA, MN, MO, OR, TX, 1728-1850
- Marriage Index: IL, IN, 1790-1850
Read More
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Latest Genealogy Gold Podcast
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Are you searching for the burial location of an ancestor and can't seem to find it? Join me on the Ancestral Findings Podcast and I’ll show you three tried and true techniques for tracking it down.
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Listen
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Recent
Surnames: - FAULKNER
- ALCHERMES
- CONCANNON
- PITTILLO
- KEIMIG
Tips and Tricks for Photographing Neon Lighting |
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Last week, I talked about my trip to the American Sign Museum, an interesting destination packed with the world’s most beautiful neon lighting. Hopefully, the history lesson I gave you provided some inspiration. Now I think it’s time to talk about how to photograph neon lighting. These tips and tricks can be applied to other kinds of lights but for now, I’d like to focus on neon lights because
they are a beautiful, colorful part of our history... Read More
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