Online Seminar—Last Chance!

Stories from the Archives: Civil War Manuscripts

This webinar will feature Civil War-era items found in the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections and the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at NEHGS, including family correspondence, photos, diaries, and more. December 9 at 3 p.m. ET. Register Now

Online Lecture—Last Chance!

A Virtual Tour of Lobkowicz Palace and its Collections

Join William Rudolf Lobkowicz on a virtual tour through Prague's Lobkowicz Palace Museum collections, including world-famous paintings by Breuegel, Canaletto and Velazquez, and hand-annotated manuscripts by Mozart and Beethoven. December 10 at 1 p.m. ET. Register Now

Online Research Tour

Virtual Winter Research Stay-at-Home

Due to the popularity of our virtual research programs, we will continue offering an online “Stay-at-Home” experience. Advance your research skills from home! Includes one-on-one consultations, lectures, live demonstrations, extended Q&A with our experts, and access to recorded content and other materials beyond the end of the program. February 24–26 at 9 a.m. ET. Register Now 

Spotlight: Burials and Cemeteries Databases, Utah

by Valerie Beaudrault

Three databases collecting information about Utah burials have been made available by the Utah Division of State History. The burials index contains information from cemeteries across the state, searchable by name, year of death, date range, and cemetery name. You can also access a comprehensive list of Utah cemeteries, as well as the Utah Death Certificate Index (1905-1967). Search Now

Free Author Event

See the Civil War anew in this intimate, absorbing chronicle told from the ordinary soldier’s perspective—a revelatory history that documents the forgotten contributions of immigrants to the Union cause. January 11 at 6 p.m. (ET)

Register Now

This Holiday Season, Give the Gift of Family History!

Gift a Membership

Three-Week Seminar

Take your research skills to the next level! This course will teach you skills and best practices for getting the most out of your family history research.
Live Sessions: January 11, 18, and 25 at 6 p.m. (ET)

Register Now

What We’re Reading

Uncovering the Story—and the Person—Behind a 109-year-old Photograph
After being given a bag of old newspapers, receipts, and photographs by a neighbor, Josh Calder of the Chevy Chase neighborhood in D.C. started researching the items.

Roots: Genealogy After Death
“Have you inherited someone’s family-history files? Here’s how to avoid tossing them all in the dumpster.”

A Jewish Writer has 4,000 Tiny Dreidels Found by Eastern European Treasure Hunters
“Traditional Hanukkah tops collected by Arthur Kurzweil are pulled from the earth in the Old Country; they have little monetary value, but their historical significance is priceless.”

Found in a Candy Tin: One of the First Coins Struck in Colonial North America
“Illegally minted in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the 1652 silver shilling recently sold at auction for $351,912.”

The Man with the Golden Smile: A 19th Century Visit to the Dentist
This post from The Village Broadside, the blog of Historic Deerfield, describes the dental work Edward Wells Colton of Northfield, Massachusetts, had done in 1860.

The Hidden, Magnificent History of Chop Suey
“Discrimination and mistranslation have long obscured the dish’s true origins.”

Catching up with Vita Brevis

Michael Dwyer wrote about the Vermont church which protested its former parishioner's reappearance from Alabama with a slave in her household. Chris Child and Jeff Record both played games of "Genealogical Clue"; Pamela Athearn Filbert offered an almost-but-not-quite family relationship in Oregon; Jan Doerr explored the lifelong friendships of her grandmother's high school classmates; Chris also wrote what is to date probably the shortest blog post ever published on Vita Brevis; and Scott Steward traced family relationships in the portrait miniature collection of Peter Marié at the New-York Historical Society and contemplated a surprising family burial in a Rowley (Mass.) cemetery.

The Weekly Genealogist Survey

Last week's survey asked if you compiled a family health history. We received 2,848 responses. The results are:

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: Health Histories

By Lynn Betlock, Editor

Last week's survey asked whether you have compiled a family health history. Thank you to everyone who replied. Below is a selection of reader responses.

Paul Veltman, Peoria, Arizona: I think this is an extremely important topic. In my research I found heart issues and prostate cancer in my family. My wife died of congestive heart failure, as did several of her relatives. Also, glaucoma runs in the female side of her family, one generation after the other. One of my daughters is being treated to prevent it and I keep reminding my other daughter and granddaughters get their eye pressure checked periodically. A major reason I do family history is to determine the cause of death of every person I research, to discover new information and identify patterns. And you can bet your boots that this all gets shared with family physicians and anyone else I determine has a need to know.

Diana Nelson, Yellow Springs, Ohio: My father's biological father died at a fairly young age, in his 50s, so I wrote for the death certificate, which indicated a heart condition that can be genetic. My older brother died in his 40s of a heart problem. I shared our biological grandfather’s cause of death with my siblings. I think it's important when you find an unexpected parentage to look at the health implications as well as the genealogy.

Kathleen Morrow, Rockwall, Texas: My mom was a registered nurse and served in battlefield hospitals during World War II. Her interest in health carried over into her genealogy research. As a result, she has compiled as much "medical" information as possible, beginning with cause of death from obituaries and death certificates. She also collected information about allergies, injuries, and stories related to health. As a result, we know one of my great-grandfathers gulped down a handful of "bicarbonate of soda" each night after the evening meal; perhaps he had stomach or digestive issues.

Kate Vakiener, Easton, Pennsylvania: Through a DNA test we identified a “new/unknown” relative, who had been adopted as an infant. He was later in a bad train accident that required operations and different specialists. Every time the doctors asked about his family medical history, he had nothing to offer. When we found each other online, we were living in different states but within driving distance. We met, shared family photos and stories, ancestor charts, and, most importantly, the family health history. He was ecstatic! He immediately said, “On Monday I’m going to my doctor’s office and show him my health history!” You would have thought we gave him a million dollars.

Database News

New Searchable Catholic Records Volumes

This week we’re announcing the addition of 34 new volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records,1789-1920 from Our Lady of Lourdes (Jamaica Plain); St. Clement (Somerville); St. John the Evangelist (Swampscott); St. Mary and St. Charles Borromeo (Waltham);  Immaculate Conception and St. Francis Xavier (Weymouth); St. Thomas of Villanova (Wilmington); St. Mary (Winchester); and St. Charles Borromeo (Woburn). This update is part of our multi-year collaboration with the Archdiocese of Boston. Search Now

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