Hello, Neighbor! A Jamaica Plain Triple-Decker Case Study
Researcher Peggy Polydoros digs into the lives of the families who occupied a triple-decker building in Jamaica Plain, Boston, in the 1920 census, demonstrating how researching neighbors can provide insight into an ancestor's life. Read More
New from American Ancestors
Genealogist’s Handbook for Portuguese Research—Now Available!
Modeled on our other popular Genealogist’s Handbooks, this is the first essential guide to finding your ancestors from mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira. We also provide information for Brazilians with Portuguese ancestry. After reading the primer on genealogical research principles and a brief history of Portuguese immigration, follow our step-by-step approach to searching first in U.S. records and then in Portuguese records. Includes real-life examples, detailed maps, key terms in English and Portuguese, and activities to reinforce your new skills. This book will give you the tools—and the confidence—to dive into researching your Portuguese family history! Purchase Now
Upcoming Online Seminar, January 2–30
Getting Started in Family History Research
Whether you are new to genealogy or have been conducting research for years, this five-week online course will provide practical steps for effective and efficient research and help you find the answers you’re looking for! Register Now
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
This Week's Survey:
Finding Distant Genealogical Links with Unrelated Family and Friends
Share your thoughts about the survey!Please limit submissions to 150 words or fewer. Your submission may be featured in an upcoming newsletter or shared on social media; please note in your email if you do not want your story to be shared. Published responses may be edited for clarity and length.
Martha Wiggin Rheaume, Franklin, New Hampshire: My paternal grandfather, Edwin A. Wiggin, abandoned his wife and two sons around 1930. My dad, Ed Wiggin Jr., was nine and my Uncle Alan was six. In 1976, a woman contacted Uncle Alan. She identified herself as Emily Wiggin from Fort Worth, Texas, the widow of Ed Wiggin Sr. She said that Ed had always regretted leaving his two boys behind. Uncle Alan met her, and she showed him a photo of her deceased husband, who was indeed Ed Wiggin Sr. He closely resembled my dad, right down to smoking a pipe. Not only did we learn what happened to my grandfather, but my dad and uncle gained two half-sisters with whom they developed warm relationships that lasted for the remainder of my dad's life.
Tracy Reinhardt, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin: My ancestor William Hegner was twelve in 1830 when his family left Germany and settled in Ohio. William eventually moved to Wisconsin in the 1850s, along with some of his wife’s siblings and their in-laws. William died after about ten years in Wisconsin and his wife died a few years later, leaving seven orphans. The children were split up between neighbors and lost contact with their relatives in Ohio. About 15 years ago my sister was researching at the Wisconsin Historical Society library and noticed a recent Hegner genealogy in their collection. William Hegner appeared with the notation “died young or headed west and was never heard from again.” WE were the Hegner’s lost family, unaware we were “missing.”
Susan Clark, Sidney, Maine: My great-grandmother told our family that in the 1870s her youngest brother, Moses Lyford Jr., of Sebec, Maine, ran away and was never heard from again. My research determined that when Moses was in his mid-twenties, he made his way to South Dakota, where he worked as a miner, and then moved to Los Angeles, where he died in 1932. Sadly, my great-grandmother died in 1945, never knowing what became of her brother.
Shannon Ortiz, Long Island, New York: My paternal great-grandfather, Ray Provost Sr., of New Haven, Connecticut, left his family in 1927 or 1928. My great-grandmother Margaret supported her three small children by making and selling bathtub gin during Prohibition. She then married my step-great-grandfather, Milton “Pop” Leeper, who raised her children as his own. I learned through research that Ray had married bigamously and moved to Massachusetts, where he died in 1973.
Boy Finds Rare Neanderthal Axe on Sussex Beach “It was only when the boy, now aged nine, went to Worthing Museum three weeks ago and saw the Stone Age exhibition that he realised he had a similar looking item at home.”
Spotlight: Community History Archive: Mary Cotton Public Library, Sabetha, Kansas
by Valerie Beaudrault
The city of Sabetha is located in Brown and Nemaha Counties in northeastern Kansas. The Mary Cotton Public Library has made a number of resources available in its Community History Archive. The collection comprises more than 106,000 pages from eleven newspapers, including Sabetha Herald (1885-2020), Bern Gazette (1898-1942), Sabetha Republican Herald (1893-1905), Bern Press (1889-1898), and Nemaha County Republican (1879-1882). In addition, there are over 8,000 pages from Sabetha High School yearbooks (1950-2018) and about 2,000 pages from the U.S. Federal Census for various Kansas locales (1860-1880). The database can be searched by keyword or browsed. Search Now
Database News
New Sketches: Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784
We’ve added six new and updated sketches to Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784: Caleb Howe (Vernon), William Phipps (Fort Dummer), Noah Porter (Springfield), Nathaniel Powers (Springfield), James Tute (Vernon), Nathan Willard (Fort Dummer). This database is available to Individual-level and above members only.Search Now
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
