Location-based genealogy groups on Facebook are an invaluable resource for genealogists. Members can help you answer research questions, translate records, connect you with family, and much more. Read More
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Upcoming Online Seminar
Pennsylvania Research: Four Centuries of History and Genealogy
Whether your ancestors arrived in Pennsylvania during the colonial period or the twentieth century, this four-week online seminar will review essential resources for exploring your Pennsylvania roots. May 10–31. Members Save 10% Register Now
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
This Week's Survey:
Did Your Immigrant Ancestors Stay Connected to the Relatives They Left Behind?
Share your thoughts about the survey at weeklygenealogist@nehgs.org. Responses may be edited for clarity and length and featured in a future newsletter.
Last Week's Survey:
For Which Family Connection Do You Know the Most Family History?
Total: 5,093 Responses
28%, My paternal grandfather
18%, My paternal grandmother
22%, My maternal grandfather
24%, My maternal grandmother
5%, My spouse
<1%, My son or daughter-in-law
3%, Other
Readers Respond
Peg Aaronian, Exeter, New Hampshire: A couple of years ago, I switched from researching my own family to researching my husband's family when I realized no one else was going to tell that story. My husband’s father, Suren Hovsep Aaronian, had created a rudimentary family account in the mid-1980s; I was able to use this document as a starting point. I found records of Suren as a child in the Ottoman Empire in the late 1890s. His father left for America when Suren was young; in 1908, Suren and his mother traveled to America join him. I identified Suren’s tiny village and was able to document his parents and grandparents. Armenian records from the Ottoman Empire have for the most part been destroyed, so I was fortunate to learn so much about Suren and his family.
Neysa Carpenter Garrett, Orinda, California: I have a special interest in the ancestor who provided my surname. My paternal grandfather, born in Providence in 1878, came from four lines of early settlers to New England. Four immigrants arrived on the Mayflower and most of the others during the Great Migration. At least fourteen relatives fought in the Revolution. Through researching these families I have learned about the earliest wars, the witch trials, the beginnings of the cotton mills, the settlement of Rhode Island, and so much more.
Carolyn Pike, Rocky Hill, Connecticut: The family member for whom I know the most family history is my paternal grandfather, Albert Pike, born in Boston in 1897. As the Pikes arrived in Massachusetts in the early 1600s, information on them is widely available. I have also utilized family stories and other family members' research. The most meaningful source of information to me was an account book in which my great-grandfather recorded the residences of his family in Boston from 1897 to 1920. He also noted the births, deaths, dates, and places of family members; my grandfather continued the practice by recording his marriage to my grandmother, and the births of their children. The book includes my grandmother’s small, precise handwriting recording the dates of death of her father-in-law, her husband, and the children who died before her.
What We’re Reading
She Met her Long Lost Cousin on a Cruise Ship “Eileen and Paddy were distant relatives who’d never met, but were about to be unexpectedly reunited on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean.”
Tulsa Reaches ‘Breakthrough’ in Search for Massacre Victims “More than a century after a white mob burned down the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Okla., a community known as Black Wall Street, the city moved a step closer to identifying victims.”
Where Did All Vermont’s Stone Walls Come From? “So they took these stones, and turned them from an inconvenience into something useful: a wall that would last a long time, didn’t take much work to maintain, and kept livestock out of the crops.”
Spotlight: County Clerk’s Office Resources, Gregg County, Texas
by Valerie Beaudrault
Gregg County is located in eastern Texas and seated in Longview. The County Clerk’s Office has made vital records and real estate transaction indexes available on its website. The birth index includes records from the mid-1850s to the present; the death index includes records from 1903 to present; the marriage index includes records from 1873 to present; and the real estate index includes records from March 1927 to present, as well as links to document images. All databases include certificate or license numbers and page numbers for each record. Search Now
New York City Roadshow: Tracing Colonial Ancestors in New York and New England
New Yorkers and New Englanders have a lot in common when it comes to family history! This in-person seminar will help you understand essential connections between early New York and New England research. Join us May 13 at The Museum of the City of New York. Register Now
Free Video from American Ancestors
Pennsylvania Genealogy: Go-To Published Resources
Since its founding, Pennsylvania has seen countless waves of immigrants settle within its borders. In this online lecture, Genealogist Ann Lawthers shares her go-to resources for researching your Pennsylvania ancestors. Watch Now
Planning for the Future?
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