Month: June 2017

NARA Materials on Fold3.com–What’s Free and What’s Not

Fold3.com is digitizing a variety of National Archives and Records Administration and making them available to their subscribers. Ancestry.com  sometimes makes indexes available to these records, but the actual images are on the Fold3.com site. As a result of agreements between National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and Fold3.com, users on the physical NARA computer network at any NARA location […]

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A Divorce, A German Bride, and a War Baby

It’s rare for one newspaper clipping to suggest as many records as this one does. But given all the claims this article makes, validating those claims with other records is advised. The Lincoln Evening Journal of 14 April 1922 (available in digital format on Newspapers.com) contains “news” on Frank Goldenstein (styled “Frand”), indicating that he had recently returned […]

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Ancestral Clues and Lessons: Melinda (Sledd) Newman

Melinda Sledd (Newman) was born about 1799, probably in Amherst County, Virginia. She married Augusta Newman in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1815 and died in Linn County, Iowa, in 1867. Some things I’ve learned about research from Melinda: first names can slightly vary. Melinda is listed in a few documents as Belinda. Since the majority […]

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Speaking at the Family Reunion

I’ve been asked to speak at the annual Ufkes reunion in Carthage, Illinois, early in July. It can be tempting to simply ramble off lists of dead relatives at presentations like this and convert oneself into a walking talking four-generation genealogy. That’s a temptation best avoid. Genealogies consisting only of vital statistics and lists of […]

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Ancestral Clues and Lessons: Augusta Newman

Augusta Newman was born in Maryland in the late 1790s and died in White County, Indiana, in 1861. Some things I’ve learned about research from Augusta: the importance of “heirship” deeds. Augusta’s estate settlement in White County, Indiana, does not mention real property at all. There was a series of deeds wherein his widow and […]

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Our Purpose

Our goals here are simple: share research frustrations discuss methods and sources discuss pitfalls and ways to get confused analyze what we find occasionally insert some humor write about what interests me–and what may interest the reader That said, I don’t write about: genealogy “news” stuff I don’t use books I don’t read things that […]

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