The Mysterious Mrs. A.A. Young: Tips for Finding Your Female Ancestors
Have you struggled with finding your female ancestors? With a slim paper record and changing surnames, women can be a challenge to plug into the family tree. Let’s spend some time exploring different strategies and resources that can help us unlock the stories of women gone by. We’ll consider research methods as we delve into the life of Mrs. A. A. Young, founder of the Pythian Sisters. What was her name before marrying Mr. Rollins and then Mr. Young, anyway? Let’s go back. Let’s find out.
Newspaper Treasures: Beyond the Obit
How can newspapers help us with our genealogical research? What treasures do they hold beyond the standard obit? The truth is, historical local newspapers are equivalent to our current day social media. They often told of social calls, well-being and personal anecdotes of people around town. But where are these newspapers? How can we locate and access them and what strategies can we use to calibrate our search in digitized collections? Join us for a tour around the web as we peek into subscription and free newspaper collections.
Calling All Weavers, Coopers, Vampers and Wheelwrights: Let’s Explore Your Ancestor’s Occupation!
Exploring your ancestor’s occupation can give you great insights into their daily existence, but how do we go beyond the standard vital records, census records and city directories? Join us to explore and unearth occupational information through local histories, trade publications, old town maps, federal programs, surnames and more.
To the Map Case! Discovering Your Ancestor’s World Using Local Maps
Historic maps are not necessarily a first stop on the genealogical journey, and yet maps can provide you with new clues as well as context into your ancestors’ lives. But where do you begin? What maps are out there? We’ll make pathways from local history books through physical map cases and then head out onto the web to explore epic digital collections.
What’s the History of Your House?
The best thing about tracking down the history of a house is that your research subject usually stays in one place! House history projects give us the opportunity to access local historical resources such as newspapers, deeds, city directories, and more. This avenue of research allows us to uncover architecture, neighborhoods, and people of the past. Join us as we track the records of a Masonic Lodge and delve into the history that is underfoot each day.
Tracking True Crime
What happens when your family research turns into fodder for a true crime novel? Join us for a case study as we attempt to puzzle out the clues of one such story using family rumors, old newspapers, autopsy reports, mug shots, inmate records and more.
Content Warning: This research is not suitable for all audiences.
Death of a Showman
What happens when the subject of your genealogical research joins the carnival, moves across the country, reappears six years younger, marries a couple of times and then dies suddenly leaving a wave of confusion in his wake?
Sometimes, the path of an ancestor can be long, convoluted and confusing, especially when you are limited to a small amount of evidence. When this happens, tracking an ancestor from cradle to grave and completing exhaustive research across regions can help to complete the story and answer burning questions. Join us to track the life of one such subject. We’ll delve into vital records, newspapers, trade publications and more as we search for proof of identity.
