History Highlight: The 1908 Olympics
With the world's focus on the Olympics, it's time to think about the athletes in your family. There's a family story related to my husband's grandfather: It's said he was asked to play baseball with the Boston Red Sox, but his father forbade it. His father had other plans for...
Read MoreScenes of Moving Day
I've been packing boxes for weeks getting ready to move houses. So how did our ancestors move their belongings in the past? They employed wagons and later, vans similar to the ones companies use today. Sharon Pike sent in this picture of her father-in-law's Greyhound Van Lines Truck that he...
Read MoreWhich War is It?
Mike Empting found this photo in a box with other cabinet cards. Only two men in his family served in the military: his great-grandfather, who at age 35 enlisted for the Mexican American War. He was a bugler. The time frame for this war, 1846 to 1848, coincides with the...
Read MoreAnswers to our Farming Ancestor Photo
Do you read the comments posted on blogs? Last week I posted Sharon Pike's photo of a wheat harvest and asked if anyone could identify the thresher. We then posted the query on Family Tree Magazine's Facebook page. Thanks to savvy readers, Sharon now knows which...
Read MoreYour Farmer Ancestors: Threshing in South Dakota
There are a lot of comments on my posting on the threshing photos I saw last month at Jamboree. I learned a lot about the threshing process. Thank you! Sharon Pike sent in another picture of threshing wheat. It's of her family in South Dakota. Being...
Read MorePhoto Contest Submissions
A big thank you to everyone that submitted photos to our contest. The deadline has now passed and I'm gradually working my way through all the images to pick the winning image. The winner will receive a copy of my book, The Family Photo Detective, and the image...
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Jean-ealogy: Ancestors in Blue Jeans
When I was working on my book Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album, I spent a lot of time looking for all sorts of clothing examples. As one of the photo shows, I found this picture of a man wearing what looks like blue jeans. Today jeans are...
Read MoreWestward Bound! Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree
This week I'm off to the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree and a meeting of the California Genealogical Society. I hope to see you there! Please stop by my booth at the Jamboree to say hello. All this California travel makes me think about western American style clothing worn in...
Read MoreCall for Photos! Maureen’s New Book
I'm working on an updated and revised version of Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs. To reflect all the new content, it has a new name, The Family Photo Detective:When I was at the NGS Conference in Cincinnati, Genealogy Insider Diane Haddad, Managing Editor Allison Dolan and I sat...
Read MoreNGS Photo Spotlight
The owner of last week's photo, Larae Schraeder, sent me some additional information on her family. I love the connection between family history and photography! That's no surprise to all the readers of this space. Last week, I showed details giving evidence that this picture was taken by an itinerant...
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