Everything’s Relative: Wanted Poster Premium
About two years ago I asked my mother about my great-grandfather, Herman Haass. He had an interesting family legend. According to the legend, he embezzled money from the Chicago bank that employed him. The story gets more interesting: He did it for his mistress, a burlesque dancer. When he...
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Orphan Train Ancestors Premium
Have an orphan train rider in your family tree? Get your search on track with our resource roundup.
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Professional Critiques of Family Photos Premium
Two photographers offer advice for getting better family snapshots.
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AncestorNews: Finding the Details in Old Photos Premium
AncestorNews: Finding the Details in Old Photos I have some exciting news to share with all of you. Last week, I received a copy of my book Finding Your Roots Online (Betterway Books, $19.99). I'm so proud of it, and I hope you find dozens of ancestors...
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AncestorNews: PDAs Premium
As AncestorNews readers know, I'm a great fan of using personal digital assistants (PDAs) as genealogy tools. PDAs (also known as handheld computers) include the variety of machines that run on the Palm operating system or a version of Windows. PalmOS machines include the Palm, Handspring Visor, Sony Clie...
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AncestorNews: Traveling Notes Premium
Recently, I had the chance to travel through quite a bit of the Northern Plains. I drove from San Diego to Salt Lake City, then to Casper, Wyo., Billings, Mont., Williston and Bismarck, ND, Rapid City, SD, Fort Laramie, Wyo., down through Denver to Santa Fe and Albuquerque, up...
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Fictional Family Album Come True
Here's the family album you wish your ancestors had kept: The Metcalfe Family Album is a fictional dream come true for family archivists (Chronicle Books, $29.95). In 1835 Marianne Metcalfe begins a tradition of writing in a family journal each Christmas. She is succeeded by five generations of women...
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On the Road Premium
As much as I love using the Internet for genealogy, there's absolutely nothing in the world as satisfying as visiting a family homestead. I can say this with certainty, as I spent all of yesterday at two Moravian villages in North Carolina—both homes for my Shore (also spelled...
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AncestorNews: Museums off the Beaten Path Premium
When my sister and I were traveling through Nebraska, we stopped at the North Platte Valley Museum in Gering. The museum is a short distance from Scotts Bluff—a major stopping place along the Oregon Trail. The museum itself, although small, was one of the best I've ever seen for...
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AncestorNews: Old Cemeteries Premium
I've always liked poking around old cemeteries—even ones that were unrelated to my family. I especially like the artistry on some of the old markers—it seems to tell a more in-depth story about the people than just an inscription. I took photos about 30 years ago of some of...
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