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A client recently asked me to look up an ancestor born in Belgrade, Serbia. First, I looked up a little about the history. Like many countries in Europe, and most countries in Eastern Europe, Serbia was part of other countries, kingdoms or empires for most of its existence. In addition, the language we know as…
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Need some help finding military service records for your ancestors? Or finding out whether they served? First, almost all adult men in the United States in 1917-1918 were registered for the World War I draft (1917-1918). Registration proceeded regardless of citizenship status, and those who served gained citizenship by serving. These draft cards are online…
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An important part of doing genealogy, for those who love doing it, is knowing what kinds of records are possible and what they might tell us. The following table is a list of the most important types of records we use for research in the United States. I listed them in the rank order I…
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Recently my family and I watched a stage production of the musical Fiddler on the Roof. In it, the milkman Tevye describes some of their traditions in their Jewish village (shtetl), which the residents try to maintain in the face of changing times. Most reviews will mention the changing social norms, but the larger context…
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The next workshop in the sequence honoring America250 and the partnership with FamilySearch, and timed to come right before we celebrate Independence Day: This workshop will explore US military records as aids to genealogical research. Draft records, service records, military grave markers, and military transport records, can sometimes provide clues we need to learn more…
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Next in the continuing series of free workshops to celebrate America250 and the connection between America’s history and personal family history: Ask you relatives about their stories of the past. Father’s Day June 14th is a good day to remember our ancestors and talk to them about their memories. This workshop will discuss best practices…
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In continuing to celebrate America250 with FamilySearch, this workshop will discuss resources for locating German-speaking ancestors. Bring a laptop or mobile device. Bring names to look up. After the presentation, question and answer period at the end.
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As my mother, an avid genealogist, taught me when I was young: every person needs a name, a date and a place. I touched on names here, and places here, so today’s contribution is about dates. How dates were recorded on documents was a function of what kind of record was being kept, what kind…
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To make specific connections between people, you need to fix them in a specific place. Each individual needs a name, a date, a relationship and a place. When professional genealogists start a research project, we start out by asking a question structured like the following: If you ask me for help, the first thing I…
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In English legal history, a married woman was “covered” under her husband, who was authorized to act in their shared interests. This concept called “coverture” explains why a woman in England and former English colonies like the U.S. took her husband’s surname, and often was known only by her husband’s name (Mrs. John Smith) instead…