Holiday Hours 2020: Our offices will be closed December 24 and 25 in observance of Christmas. We will also close at 1 p.m. EST on New Year's Eve, and reopen Monday, January 4. Happy Holidays, and Happy Hanukkah to those celebrating this week!
Introducing The Antiquarto: Conversations with D. Brenton Simons, President and CEO
Join D. Brenton Simons for a conversation with architectural historian Curt DiCamillo on some of the highlights in the fine art collection at New England Historic Genealogical Society, the new book Family Treasures, and our unique heritage tours to the United Kingdom, Italy, America, and beyond.
Do you hate slogging through probate records? Ever wonder if there was a way to make your search easier? Expert Genealogist Ann Lawthers will offer practical advice during her free tutorial this Friday, December 18 at 3 p.m. EST. Come to this free event and expand your knowledge!
Call for Submissions! Share Your Winter Holiday Memories
Each week, American Ancestors introduces a new theme on social media to celebrate our ancestors. This week's theme is "Winter Holiday Memories." Send photos and a short description of your ancestors celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas, or other winter holidays to instagram@nehgs.org and we will share them on our social media platforms.
Last Chance! Webinar: Tips for Interviewing Relatives
FREE event Thursday, December 17 at 3 p.m. EST: A family's oral tradition can be as important as document-based research. Even less-than-accurate stories can provide important clues for research. But how do you start the conversation, stay on track, and record the information provided? Learn tips and techniques for interviewing relatives—and discover strategies for encouraging family members to talk!
Database News: New sketches for Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784
This week we’re announcing fourteen new sketches in Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784. The new sketches center around families from Brattleboro including: Alexander, John; Baldwin, Daniel; Baldwin, John; Baldwin, Levi; Brace, William; Brown, Samuel; Burt, Joseph; Church, David; Church, Eber; Church, Jonathan; Church, Malachi; Church, Nathaniel; Church, Nathaniel, Jr. and Kendrick, Lemuel. This project, managed by Scott Andrew Bartley, tracks families who lived in Vermont prior to the Revolutionary War.
The city of Buffalo is the seat of Erie County in western New York. The Buffalo History Museum has made a number of resources available on its research library collections website. These include the following collections: 175 Years: Celebrating the Incorporation of the City of Buffalo, 1832-2007, selected documents and images from the museums collections; 1828 Buffalo City Directory, the first published directory for Buffalo; Adventures in Western New York History, a collection comprising short booklets on 25 different Buffalo-related history topics; Atlases of Buffalo and Erie County; Buffalo Historical Society Publications, 1897-1947, 34 volumes of regional history; Obituary Index, 1812-1896 (on FamilySearch.org); St. Francis Xavier Cemetery Records, 1850-1892; Undertaker Records, 1883-1899; and a number of collections of family papers and photographs.
This Week in 1787: New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Explore the legacy of this state with our recent edition of 1844's Historical Collections of the State of New Jersey.
The Deadly Temptation of the Oregon Trail Shortcut In the summer of 1846, a party of 89 emigrants was making its way westward along the 2,170-mile-long Oregon Trail. Tired, hungry, and trailing behind schedule, they made a fateful decision at Fort Bridger, Wyoming, to take a shortcut.
The Schooner That Became a Celebrity "The Edna Hoyt was a floating anachronism that gained a cult following — and helped kick off an enduring fascination with old-timey ships."
Castles in the Sky “While renovating a house in San Francisco, a couple discovered a diary, hidden away for more than a century. It held a love story—and a mystery.”
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
Last week's survey asked about architectural features in your house and your ancestors’ houses. We received 2,895 responses. The results are:
33%, I live in or lived in a house with a laundry chute.
24%, I know that at least one of my ancestors (including parents and grandparents) lived in a house with a laundry chute.
5%, I live in or lived in a house with a dumbwaiter.
10%, I know that at least one of my ancestors (including parents and grandparents) lived in a house with a dumbwaiter.
8%, I live in or lived in a house with a hidden compartment or a hidden room.
8%, I know that at least one of my ancestors (including parents and grandparents) lived in a house with a hidden compartment or a hidden room.
15%, I live in or lived in a house with a special architectural feature not mentioned above.
16%, I know that at least one of my ancestors (including parents and grandparents) lived in a house with a special architectural feature not mentioned above.
33%, I have not lived in a house with any special architectural features.
36%, I am not aware of any of my ancestors having lived in a house with special architectural features.
6%, I don’t know.
This week's question asks about donating ancestral artifacts. 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: Architectural Features by Lynn Betlock, Editor
Last week's survey asked about architectural features in your house and your ancestors’ houses. Thank you to everyone who replied. We wish we had room for many more of your interesting stories. Below is a selection of reader responses.
Catherine “Casey” Zahn of Pennington, New Jersey: I live in a house with a bomb shelter room in the cellar. Our bomb shelter is one of three in our township. Our house was built in the late 1950s, right before the peak of the Cold War.
Karen L. Pogoloff of Newport News, Virginia: I grew up hearing stories about the "mansion" that my grandmother Bertha Balinky Pogoloff (b. 1901) lived in as a young woman. In 2001, my cousin Jill and I drove to Flatbush Malls, New York, to see if we could find the house. As we took pictures of the exterior, the current owner drove up and invited us in. When I stood on the threshold, I broke into tears. The house was even better than she had described! Most of the original features of the house were intact, including a breakfast room on the second floor with a dumb waiter and a ballroom on the third floor. Our favorite space was the telephone room tucked under the mahogany staircase with the built-in shelf for the phone. Visiting this house was one of the thrills of my life.
Marian Natale of Cary, North Carolina: My great-great-grandfather’s house in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, has a beanpot cellar and a summer kitchen. At one time I owned an old home in Harwich, Mass., that also had a beanpot cellar. Access was only by ladder. These cellars were under or near the kitchen and were used to store food items, especially those that needed cool temperatures.
Elise Arneal of Albuquerque, New Mexico: My mother's parents had a one-lane bowling alley in their basement. They lived in a 40-room mansion that was built on the grounds of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair after the fair closed. The house is now the Dean’s House for Washington University, which is across the street.
Caroline Converse Cooper of Glasgow, Scotland: In the summer of 1956, we rented a house in Ludlow, Vermont, which had a hidden room behind a bedroom closet. It was accessible only from the attic when floorboards were lifted, revealing stairs. The house had belonged to a minister and the story was that this room was a part of the Underground Railroad and escaping slaves were hidden there. Years later my husband and I stayed in this house, which is now an inn. The room had been remodeled to become part of a bathroom, so it was no longer hidden.
Maureen Q. Dwyer of Haverford, Pennsylvania: The house that my paternal grandparents built in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1928 had a laundry chute. In addition, it had a trash chute that went straight to an incinerator in the basement. My parents bought the house in 1962. While my siblings and I lived there, we often accidentally threw items down the wrong chute!
Give the Gift of Family History—Special Offer
This holiday season, give the gift of family history—and get a little something for yourself, too! When you purchase an American Ancestors gift membership, you'll also receive a FREE coupon to the NEHGS Bookstore.
