---
title: The Weekly Genealogist, August 30, 2023
---

Weekly news about genealogy and history, databases, educational resources, and more from American Ancestors/NEHGS.

| View in browser     August 30, 2023   Read Past Issues   Feedback? Email Us Recently on Vita Brevis Understanding Greek Immigrants Through Church Records   "The histories of buildings and institutions can help provide context for the lives of those who built and used them. When it comes to understanding the stories of Greek immigrants to United States, it can be helpful to turn to the histories of Greek Orthodox churches in America." Read More Upcoming American Inspiration Author Event Tiya Miles with Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation   Celebrating women throughout our country’s diverse history, this award-winning Harvard historian will converse with Pulitzer Prize winner Laurel Thatcher Ulrich about the natural world and the women who changed America. Register Now The Weekly Genealogist Survey This Week's Survey: Did Any of Your Ancestral Couples Come from Significantly Different Backgrounds? Take the Survey Now Share your thoughts about the survey! Please limit submissions to 150 words or fewer. Responses featured in a future newsletter may be edited for clarity and length. Last Week's Survey: Family Heirlooms Purchased Online   Total: 3,637 Responses 13%, Yes, I have purchased at least one item that belonged to an ancestor on eBay or another website. 7%, Yes, I purchased at least one item that belonged to a relative on eBay or another website. 83%, No, I have not purchased any items that belonged to an ancestor or relative on eBay or another website. Readers Respond   Wilma Lepore, Norwalk Ohio: About fifteen years ago, I started searching on eBay for my paternal surname. I was rewarded by finding the family Bible owned by my great-great-grandfather who was born in Germany in 1816. He, his parents, and four siblings immigrated to Ohio in 1829. The Bible, published in Philadelphia, is about four inches thick and written in German. It includes several pages of handwritten lists of births, marriages, and deaths. Bringing this heirloom back into our family was well worth the several hundred dollars I paid for it!     Nicki Birch, Vienna, Virginia: My husband's mother was a Merriman, and her ancestors ran a dairy in Waterbury, Connecticut. I have purchased six Merriman milk bottles of varying sizes on eBay. I love having this connection to a time long gone!    Craig Bateman, Goodyear, Arizona: Six years ago, I purchased on eBay the deeds for the farm of my eighth great-grandfather, Eleazer Bateman, in Chestnut Hill, Killingley, Connecticut, dated March 5, 1717. I also purchased the deed to his son’s farm, which contains the signatures of my seventh and sixth great-grandfathers.   Virginia Brizendine, Jefferson City, Missouri: I have purchased several family items online, but not the image of a relative who served in the U.S. Army in Utah after the Civil War. A one-sixth plate ambrotype picture taken in Salt Lake was (and, five years later, still is) on sale on eBay for $1,600. The seller suggests that my relative was an early Morman, hence the price. For most of his adult life, he lived in central Missouri, where he died. He was a Baptist and a Mason.      Kim Smith, White Lake, Michigan: I purchased two items. One was a glass medicine bottle embossed with the name of my great-grandfather: “Dr. Chas. L. Toothaker, Phillips, ME.” The other was an ashtray used to promote my grandfather’s service station in Lisbon, Maine. That auction turned into a bit of a bidding war because the ashtray also advertised his Chevrolet dealership from the late 1940s.    Scott Camassar, Norwich, Connecticut: My grandfather Gershon Camassar of Waterford, Connecticut, was an impressionist landscape artist who died in 1995. Very occasionally one of his paintings will show up on eBay, and I’ve been lucky to get several of them over the years. Autumn was his favorite season and he typically painted fall agrarian scenes of New England, mainly in oil. My most remarkable eBay find was a large pastel of a farm with a big, green-leafed tree. This is his only piece with a green tree that any of us in the family have ever seen.  What We’re Reading   Family Adopts Abandoned Babies, Learns Years Later They’re Biological Siblings  “‘I wasn’t at all expecting my brother, who I had lived with for my entire life, to be my biological brother,’ said Vicky Laffin, 19, about her brother Frank, 20.”      Dave the Potter’s Mark on History  “An enslaved African American in South Carolina did the unthinkable, writing his name on the walls of his vessels—and forever inscribing history.”    “You Feel Your Ancestors”: How Genealogy Tours Help Travellers Trace Long-Lost Family Roots “Ancestry-based travel, which Business Insider once forecast, pre-COVID, would be one of the biggest trends of 2020, has been on the increase.”    An Old Address Book Holds Numbers, Memories, and So Much More  Karen Galatz writes about the information and nostalgia contained within her mother’s “Very Important Data” book.    Son Stolen at Birth Hugs Chilean Mother for First Time in 42 Years  “Forty-two years ago, hospital workers took Maria Angelica Gonzalez’s son from her arms right after birth and later told her he had died.”    17th-century Records of Those Who Settled in Ulster Now Available Online  “[T]he database makes innovative use of historical data relating to the English and Scottish men and women who settled in Ulster in the period between 1609 and 1641, along with the Gaelic Irish inhabitants who they interacted with." Spotlight: Webster Parish Libraries Digital Archive, Louisiana by Valerie Beaudrault   Webster Parish, seated in the city of Minden, is located in northwestern Louisiana. The Webster Parish Libraries offer a digital newspaper archive comprising more than 212,000 pages from 20 newspapers, including Minden Press Herald (1966-2018), Springhill Press And News Journal (2004-2018), Webster Signal (1897-1927), Minden Press (1956-1966), Springhill Press (1997-2005), The Webster Review (1936-1950), Signal Tribune (1928-1934), Minden Herald (1954-1966), and The Minden Democrat (1901-1913). Other collections from the libraries include county census images (1840-1910) and reports from the First Baptist Church of Minden (1840-1980). The database is keyword searchable and can also be browsed. Search Now Upcoming Lectures, Courses, Tours, and More August 31 Free Online Lecture: Travel with American Ancestors in the Year Ahead!   September 6–27 (Wednesdays) Online Seminar: Law & Order: Using Court Records in Your Family History Research   November 5–12 In-person Program: Salt Lake City Research Tour View All Upcoming Events Database News New Sketches: Boston Tea Party Participant Biographies   We're excited to announce a recent update to our Boston Tea Party Participant Biographies database. We have added 12 new sketches of proven participants, eyewitnesses, and their families. This database is presented in collaboration with the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. Search Now Free Video from American Ancestors Introducing the 10 Million Names Project   There are at least 44 million descendants of enslaved African Americans alive today, but slavery separated families, erased names, and obscured facts. The 10 Million Names Project, recently launched by American Ancestors and its partners, aims to restore their family stories to history. Watch Now American Ancestors Membership Promotion Last Chance! $25 Off a New Membership   Now is the perfect time to trace your family history. Get started today with $25 off a new American Ancestors membership and gain access to more than a billion searchable names, family tree software, award-winning publications, hundreds of online educational tools, and advice and guidance from our experts. Enter code August823 at checkout. Offer ends August 31, 2023. Join Now Planning for the Future? Name Beneficiaries for Your Non-Probate Assets Today   Non-probate assets such as an IRA, 401(k), or life-insurance policy are not covered in your will or trust—you must name beneficiaries separately. Our friends at FreeWill.com have provided a free and secure online tool to guide you through naming beneficiaries for your assets in one easy place. Preserve your legacy, make sure your loved ones are provided for, and support the causes most important to you—get started today! Learn More Educational events brought to you by Vol. 26, No. 35, Whole #1170 Copyright ©2023 New England Historic Genealogical Society. All Rights Reserved.. American Ancestors, 99-101 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116, 1-888-296-3447 Unsubscribe Manage preferences Membership   \|   Database News   \|   Expert Help   \|   Give   \|   Live Chat |
| --- |