Staying organized is an important part of the genealogical process. In this three week seminar you will learn tips, tools, and best practices for organizing your research and results at every step of your family history journey. Members save 10%. September 7, 14, and 21 at 6 p.m. (ET). Register Now
End-of-Summer Sale
Save $25 off Your New Membership
Now is the perfect time to trace your family history. Save $25 and access over a billion searchable names, family tree software, award-winning publications, and hundreds of online educational tools to help you along. Offer valid through the month of August! Join Now
Use discount code: AUGUST22. Offer expires 8/31/22 at 11:59 PM EST. Not valid on current membership renewals (expiration dates of 6/30/22 onward).
Spotlight: City Cemetery, San Marcos, Texas
by Valerie Beaudrault
The city of San Marcos is the seat of Hays County, Texas. The city's website provides a database of burial records for San Marcos City Cemetery, which was founded in 1874. Search by last name, first name, year of interment, and veteran status. Click on the deceased’s name to view their detailed record. From there, you can locate the grave on the cemetery map by clicking 'Locate on Map' at the top of the page. or choose 'Return to List' to view your search results again. Search Now
Still Time to Register!
Tracing Ancestors on the Move in America
This seminar will help you track your ancestors on the move and give you historical context for migrations across America.
Hear from epitaph expert John Hanson on how to interpret early New England gravestones, and what they can tell us about our ancestors' lives. August 25 at 3 p.m. (ET)
“The Great Moon Hoax emerged from a series of newspaper articles describing newly discovered life on the moon, including winged humanlike creatures and never-before-seen species of flora and fauna.”
“[Portable soup] became a breakfast staple—often reboiled with celery and oatmeal, or mixed with hot water and green pea flour to create an edible porridge—among the ship’s officers and crew.”
“A California librarian assembles forgotten objects in a heartwarming digital archive.”
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
Last week's survey asked about libraries. We received 3,703 responses. The results are:
25%, At least one of my ancestors or relatives was a librarian or worked in a library.
22%, I am or was a librarian, or worked in a library in another capacity.
30%, I volunteer, or have volunteered, for a library or library friends group.
79%, When I was a child, I regularly visited the library.
35%, I use my public library on a regular basis.
41%, I use my public library on an occasional basis.
52%, I have visited a library for research purposes in the last year, or plan to visit one in the next year.
69%, I use online resources provided by libraries at least once a year.
11%, I have a connection to libraries not mentioned above.
5%, I haven’t been in a library in years.
2%, I currently have no connection to libraries.
This week’s survey asks if you have any ancestors who lived to be at least 100. 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: Connections to Libraries
By Jean Powers, Senior Editor
Last week's survey asked about libraries. Thank you to everyone who replied. Below is a selection of reader responses.
Sherill Baldwin, New Haven, Connecticut: My family knew that my great-grandfather, Orrell Inslee Hancock (1867-1915), was connected to the Lynbrook Public Library on Long Island, New York. On a 2000 visit to the library with my aunt, I learned that Orrell founded the library and died a few months after it formally opened. The tradition of libraries extended to my grandmother Florence (Avellar) Hancock and mother Lee Hancock Baldwin, who both worked at the Brooks Free Library in Harwich, Massachusetts, where I also volunteered. As a Trustee, my mother helped Brooks Free Library modernize while retaining the integrity of the historical building with an extensive renovation project in the late 1990s. *Editor’s note: I spent most of my free time as a child at the Brooks Free Library. I credit the children’s librarian, Rosemarie Mulcahy, for my lifelong love of reading. Imagine my delight when I read Sherrill’s entry!
Mary Alice Harvey, Duluth, Minnesota: While sorting through old family papers, I found a note addressed to my great-grand-aunt, who was the librarian in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The note asked her to allow the bearer—a member of the author’s circus—to use the library. It was signed by P. T. Barnum.
Mary Beth Norton, Ithaca, New York: As a high school student in Greencastle, Indiana, I worked after school two afternoons a week at DePauw University library, shelving returned books and "reading shelves" (the tedious job of ensuring the books are in order in the stacks). I worked longer hours at the same job during the summers and later for two years while in college. That experience has come in handy many times since, both while I was a grad student and when I started to teach history, for I gained a sort of “sixth sense” of where a book would be misshelved if it was not in its proper place and had not been checked out. I became an expert at locating “lost volumes” that no one else could find.
Carlene Williams, Laguna Hills, California: I grew up in New Salem, Massachusetts, which was a very small town in the 1950s. A Regional BookMobile used to visit our neighbor’s house, and my mother, sisters, and I would go to pick out books. When the operators saw how many books Mama would get, they added a stop at our house. I loved looking at all the books—and getting my share, too. Books are a wonderful thing.
Database News
New Sketch: Early New England Families, 1641-1700
We’ve recently added one new sketch to Early New England Families, 1641-1700, featuring Isaac Jones and his family. Isaac arrived in New England at the age of eight, and his family largely settled in and around Dorchester. This study project, led by Alicia Crane Williams, highlights heads of families mentioned in Torrey’s New England Marriages to 1700. Access the database with your American Ancestors membership. Search Now
Your Legacy. Your Peace of Mind. Your Free Will.
As a family historian, you know that wills are important in your research—but have you created a will for yourself? Free Will, an easy and free online will creation tool, will guide you step-by-step through identifying beneficiaries for your assets, supporting the causes that are important to you, and planning for the preservation of your research. Learn More
