Germans have been immigrating to America since the seventeenth century and today are the largest self-reported ancestry group in the country. No matter when your forebears arrived in the U.S., this online seminar will teach you how to trace your German ancestry by using key records, resources, and repositories, while gaining important skills and strategies. Join us virtually on Saturday, August 28 from 2–3:30 p.m. Register Today
Last Chance! Free Virtual American Inspiration Event
Scott Borchert with Republic of Detours
An immersive account of the New Deal project that created American state guidebooks in the midst of the Great Depression and employed some of the biggest names in American letters. Don’t miss Scott Borchert’s discussion with genealogist Rhonda McClure about this remarkable, history-making Federal Writers’ Project, part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)’s New Deal initiative. Tuesday, August 17 at 6 p.m. ET. Register Now
Online Course: View-Only
Researching Colonial War Ancestors
In the 17th and 18th centuries, conflicts between European superpowers often played out in their fledgling North American colonies. This three-part online course will provide the historical context for these conflicts, point to essential published resources and original documents, and demonstrate strategies for proving your descent from a colonial war veteran (this course does not cover the American Revolution). Note: registration is full, but due to popular demand we have created a view-only option. All course materials will be available through November 2021. Purchase Now
Catching up with Vita Brevis
by Scott C. Steward
Arlene Ovalle-Child made her Vita Brevis debut with a post on Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights" and its resonance with her own experience growing up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Elizabeth Peay delved into the earlier history of the Olympic Games (even during the nineteenth century); Maureen Carey considered mass Irish migration starting during the 1840s in "Coffin ships"; Christopher C. Child played out some unlikely British succession scenarios in "Heirs apparent, heirs presumptive"; Cécile Engeln linked childhood memories to her grandparents and her own children; Jeff Record looked back at instances of twins in his family (including his twin daughters); and Joe Smaldone marveled at the research possibilities in online collections of Irish deeds.
Nantucket is an island located about 30 miles south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Nantucket Atheneum has made a Digital Historic Newspaper Archive available on its website with a keyword searchable database containing the following titles: The Inquirer and Mirror (1821–2013, published under several titles); Nantucket Gazette/Nantucket Commerce Gazette (1816–1817); Nantucket Weekly Magazine (1817–1818); Nantucket Journal (1826-1828; and 1878–1899); The Islander (1840–1843); Daily Telegraph (1843–1844); Morning Telegraph (1844–1845); The Warder (1846); Island Review (1874–1878); The Daily Nantucket (1889–1899); Nantucket Light (1964–1965), and a few other smaller Nantucket newspapers (1842–1985). The Search and Browse buttons are in the upper right corner of the newspaper archive homepage. Search Now
In 1937, many 12- and 13-year-old girls in Bolton, a northern English mill town, wrote personal narratives on a variety of topics for the research organization Mass Observation. The essays were discovered by two historians in 2014.
This blog post by the NYC Department of Records & Information Services discusses the high number of street accidents in New York in the early twentieth century. A cartoon character, Aunty J. Walker [“Anti-jaywalker”], was the star of an outreach campaign.
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
Last week's survey asked if your ancestors worked in a restaurant. We received 2,348 responses. The results are:
22%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors owned a restaurant.
12%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors managed a restaurant.
18%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors was a chef or cook in a restaurant.
26%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors was a waiter or waitress in a restaurant.
8%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors was a host or hostess in a restaurant.
7%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors was a dishwasher or busboy/busgirl in a restaurant.
4%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked at a restaurant in a capacity not mentioned above.
45%, No, I am not aware of any of my ancestors working in a restaurant.
24%, I work (or worked) in a restaurant.
5%, I don’t know.
This week's question asks if any of your ancestors had a large family. Take the survey now.
Want to share your thoughts on the survey with us? We are always happy to hear from our readers. Email us at weeklygenealogist@nehgs.org. Responses may be edited for clarity and length and featured in a future newsletter.
Readers Respond: Ancestors Working in Restaurants
By Jean Powers, Senior Editor
Last week's survey asked if any of your ancestors worked in a restaurant. Thank you to everyone who responded. Below is a selection of reader responses.
Bonnie Reilly, Indianapolis, Indiana: My grandmother, Amelia Aitchison, was widowed by the influenza epidemic in 1918. An impoverished and uneducated mother of three, she was working in a restaurant as a waitress when she met Leander “Lee” Swanson, who was 16 years her senior. One day, Lee was eating at the restaurant with a friend. The friend asked, “Why are you seeing that hash-slinger? Don’t you know she has three
boys?" Lee—my soon-to-be step-grandfather, replied “It’s because she has three boys that I’m dating her.” Amelia and Lee married and had six more children. I have always loved this story about Lee, as to me he seemed a very taciturn Swede. I guess he had his moments.
Sharon Tucker, North Richland Hills, Texas: During World War II, my mother, Dolly Sue Porter, worked as a "cigarette girl" in some of the finest restaurants and clubs in Dallas. Although she was in high school, she was never questioned about her age. Unlike the pictures one sees in old movies that feature cigarette girls in skimpy attire, Mom wore a white shirt with a little black tie and a modest black skirt. She did wear very high heels, and since there was a shortage of silk during that time, she and the other girls would "paint" the backs of their legs with a seam, to indicate hosiery. She did not get paid, but strictly worked on tips. That money allowed her to participate in her high school activities and helped finance her first two years of college.
Kathy Astrom, Wheeling, Illinois: In 1911, my great-great-grandmother Carrie Martin McMaster opened the first restaurant in Hilger, Montana. Both the town and her restaurant were so new that Carrie operated the restaurant from a tent until a building was constructed. A month after she moved to the new location, Carrie hosted the first social shindig in town. A review in the Fergus County Democrat newspaper described the evening as “A most delightful dance . . . which was attended by the entire countryside. . . . Martin served an elegant dance supper at her restaurant and furnished a fine evening’s entertainment. A large crowd drove down from Kendall and also from Armells, and all report a great time.”
New Volumes! Only on AmericanAncestors.org
Boston, MA: Provident Institution for Savings, 1817-1882
This database is possible through our partnership with the Boston Athenaeum. The Provident Institution for Savings in Boston was the first savings bank in the United States to be incorporated. We've added three new volumes, including: Waste Book 1A, 1817-1820; Waste Book 1B, 1820; and Waste Book 1E, 1822-1824. Approximately 80 percent of these records represent early immigrants to Boston, particularly in the Irish community. Search Now
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Your support is vital. Help us maintain, conserve, and make our extensive collections— from publications to art to irreplaceable family and business archives—available to a wider audience. Please consider a gift today. Thank you! Give Now
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