Archives for Allison Dolan

In the News

Q I remember seeing as a child a clipped newspaper ad for a boxing match in which one of my ancestors (with a very distinctive surname) participated. Is there a way to track down old newspaper advertisements? I’m almost positive this was from a Chicago area newspaper, at least 75 years old, but beyond that […]

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Suspicious Death

Q Leslie Carlisle Grant was born about 1912 in Macon Co., NC. I last found him on the 1930 census in Miami, Dade Co., Fla., living near his sister Ethel Heinneman. Shortly after, he supposedly joined the Army. Coming home on leave from who knows where in 1931 or 1932, he supposedly drowned in New […]

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Saving Old Scrapbooks

Q I’ve discovered scrapbooks my mother made in the 1930 and ’40s. They include photos and paper ephemera such as party napkins and dance programs. The scrapbook pages are black and the items are glued on. What’s the best way to preserve this material? Also, I’d like to take pictures of each page. Should I […]

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Out on a Limb: Stuck on You Premium

Every hobby has insider lingo. When I got involved in family history, it took me only about five minutes to figure out the biggest buzzword in the genealogical lexicon: brick wall. Throughout the community — on message boards, in mailing lists, at society meetings and events — researchers repeat...

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Swede Success

Q My grandfather Carl August Petersson (he later went by Charles) was born in 1863 in Sweden, and died in America in 1927. I’ve spent years searching unsuccessfully for his birth parish. He came immigrated around the mid-1800’s and spent most of his life in northern California. Records I’ve found list his birthplace as only […]

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Whatever Floats Your Riverboat

Q. My German ancestors arrived at New Orleans in 1853 and traveled to Ohio by river boat. I’ve found their passenger list to New Orleans, but how can I find record of the next segment of their journey? A. Congratulations on finding your ancestors on a New Orleans passenger list! “It was pretty much a […]

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Out on a Limb: Getting Together Premium

Genealogy can be a lonely pursuit if you let it: Much of our research activity involves searching Web sites, scrolling microfilm and scanning books in relative solitude. But family history is so much more satisfying when you have kindred spirits to share your genealogical triumphs, trials and discoveries with...

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