Do you find you have more time than ever to work on family history but don’t know where to start? Are you tackling a brick wall and need more guidance as you research from home? The Winter Research Stay-At-Home, a virtual program from the experts at American Ancestors and NEHGS, is a three-day online experience filled with lectures, one-on-one consultations, and more!
What online data does AmericanAncestors have that other genealogical websites don't? In this free, hour-long FB live event, Database Manager Molly Rogers will present several of our unique databases and explain how they can help you advance your research. Don't miss this fascinating dive into what makes American Ancestors stand out from other family history sites! No registration required—simply join the event at the link below.
New Database: The LeRoy Family in America, 1753-2003
Today we are featuring a new database: The LeRoy Family in America, 1753-2003. This genealogy of the Le Roy family gives a full account of the descendants of a colonial New York family. The authors, Scott Campbell Steward and Newbold Le Roy, 3rd (both descendants of Jacob Le Roy), have traced Jacob’s descendants down to the present. There are 800 pages and 13,500 searchable names in the database. Become a member of American Ancestors to access this database and more!
Our free live chat with family history experts is now available 6 days a week! Have a question about family history research? Wondering where a certain type of record can be found? This service provides quick answers to genealogy or local history reference questions. Ask a genealogist in real time, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET!
The Art, Architecture, and Collections of British Country Houses, Part II
For centuries the country house held a unique position of power in English life—the center of productive agricultural estates and a repository of jaw-dropping collections of art. In this three-session online course, Curator of Special Collections and celebrated architectural historian Curt DiCamillo, FRSA will guide you through nearly two and a half centuries worth of British decorative arts and style
Spotlight: Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, Missouri
by Valerie Beaudrault
The city of Independence is the seat of Jackson County, located in western Missouri. The Midwest Genealogy Center, which is part of the Mid-Continent Public Library system, has made an index to several genealogy and local history resources available on its website. The resources included in the database are several newspaper indexes (Independence Examiner, Kansas City Star and Kansas City Times, The Call, and SaintsHerald), Kansas City Social Registers, Book and Local History indexes, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board inactive pension claims, and more. Click the List the Collections link to learn about each of the resources.
This first of two volumes is a collection of articles on New England Native American genealogy, history, and culture that are have appeared in the Register or American Ancestors magazine (formerly New England Ancestors) from 1854 to the present.
The Search for an Uncle Lost to a Pandemic Past Roy Peter Clark set out to learn what he could about his uncle Vincent Marino, who contracted tuberculosis when he was in high school and died in 1941, seven years before the author was born.
Speed Eating This post in the Restaurant-ing through History blog examines how Americans have been eating meals quickly since at least the mid-nineteenth century.
The Art of Whaling: Illustrations from the Logbooks of Nantucket Whaleships The 19th-century whale hunt was a brutal business, awash with blubber, blood, and the cruel destruction of life. But there was plenty of time for creation too. This article explores the rich vein of illustration running through the logbooks and journals of Nantucket whalers.
Last week's survey asked about ancestors who returned to their country of origin. We received 2,797 responses. The results are:
16%, Yes, at least one of my immigrant ancestors returned permanently to a country of origin.
44%, Yes, at least one of my immigrant ancestors returned for at least one visit to a country of origin.
42%, No, I am not aware of any of my immigrant ancestors returning to a country of origin.
8%, I am not sure whether any of my immigrant ancestors returned to a country of origin.
This week's question asks about grandparents who lived their entire lives in one state or province. 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: by Lynn Betlock, Editor
Last week's survey asked about ancestors who returned to their country of origin. Thank you to everyone who replied. Below is a selection of reader responses.
Elizabeth Ekstrom Richards of Durham, North Carolina: My father insisted that his father's sister, Edna Ekstrom, had died in Sweden as a child. I dismissed the claim as confusion. Edna had been born in the United States, while three older siblings had died in infancy in Sweden. After years of searching, I finally stumbled across Edna’s death record. I was surprised to learn that Edna had sailed to Sweden, along with her mother and brother—my grandfather—to visit her grandparents. She was buried in Linköping parish where her older siblings had been buried years earlier.
Eben W. Graves of Norwalk, Connecticut: One of my immigrant ancestors, Henry Sewall (1615–1670), and his new wife, Jane (Dummer) Sewall, left New England and returned to England permanently — only for him to change his mind and return to New England twelve years later. He had become a minister and half of his children were born in England. One of his children born in England, Chief Justice Samuel Sewall (my distant uncle rather than my ancestor), who came to New England as a child with his parents, visited England a quarter century later.
Richard Josselyn of Andover, Massachusetts: My Irish maternal grandfather, Bernard J. McQuillan, came to Boston in 1873. He was apprenticed to a grocer, eventually owned a liquor store, and became fairly prosperous. After bragging to friends that he could be successful in Ireland as well, he sold everything and took his wife, Annie, also an Irish immigrant, and their son to Dublin in 1898. In Ireland, he was shunned as a “Yankee” and lost his money, so he returned to Boston in June 1907. Months later, Annie followed him back to Boston with their U.S.-born son and three daughters born in Ireland. Bernard then worked at a series of low paying jobs and was never financially comfortable again.
Tony Bouret of Laurel, Maryland: In about 1862, Gabriel Bourret, my 58-year-old great-great-grandfather, immigrated to Massachusetts from St.-Ours, Québec, with his second wife and eight surviving children. Not long after the family appeared in the 1870 census in Milford, Mass., Gabriel and his wife, along with one son and his wife and son, moved back to Québec, to a town called La Patrie which is now a 15-minute drive north of the New Hampshire border. The town was established by the Canadian government to attract Québécois immigrants in the U.S. to return to Canada. There, instead of working in the mills, the residents received land and could farm. La Patrie attracted about 750 reverse immigrants. I visited La Patrie two years ago. The town reminded me of small New England towns in the 1950s. I found family gravestones in the cemetery but didn’t locate any surviving descendants; I think there may be some in the larger neighboring city of Sherbrooke.
Registration Open for New England Regional Genealogical Conference 2021
The 2021 NERGC conference will take place online from April 1 through May 31. This virtual conference will feature speakers, live chats, panel discussions, a virtual exhibit hall, and more. Several of our experts will be presenting at the conference: Drew Bartley, Lead Genealogist for the Early Vermont Settlers to 1784 project; Pam Holland, Researcher; David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist; Melanie McComb, Genealogist; and Meghan Siekman, Genealogist of the Newbury Street Press.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., half-length portrait, facing front. Dick DeMarsico, photographer, 1964. New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection. Prints & Photographs Division.
American Ancestors, 99-101 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116, 1-888-296-3447
.jpg?upscale=true&width=318&upscale=true&name=JanHigginbothamEvent%20(1).jpg)
