Weekly news about genealogy and history, databases, educational resources, and more from American Ancestors/NEHGS.
View in browser
twg-logo-option-1

 

 

June 28, 2023

 

Read Past Issues

 

Feedback? Email Us

Join American Ancestors 
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences Logo Oval

36th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences

Call for Speakers Now Open!

 

Are you a historian, scholar, or researcher in the fields of genealogy or heraldry? The 36th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences is now accepting proposals for speakers. The theme of the congress, which will be held in 2024 at the American Ancestors Research Center in Boston, is "Origins, Journeys, Destinations." Deadline November 15, 2023. Submit Your Proposal

Recently on Vita Brevis

Crossing Barriers: Barbara May Cameron

 

In honor of Pride Month, learn about the life and ancestry of Barbara May Cameron—writer, artist, and activist for Native American and LGBTQ+ rights. Read More

 
barbara-may-cameron-flag-square

The Weekly Genealogist Survey

This Week's Survey:

Are (or Were) Any of Your Close Relatives Genealogists?

Take the Survey Now

Share your thoughts about the survey at weeklygenealogist@nehgs.org. Responses may be edited for clarity and length and featured in a future newsletter.

Last Week's Survey:

Did Your Ancestor Drive a Motor Vehicle for a Living?

 

Total: 3,305 Responses

  • 7%, At least one of my ancestors drove a taxi.
  • 5%, At least one of my ancestors drove a city bus.
  • 1%, At least one of my ancestors drove a long-distance bus.
  • 7%, At least one of my ancestors drove a school bus.
  • 21%, At least one of my ancestors drove a local or long-haul delivery van or truck.
  • 9%, At least one of my ancestors drove an ambulance, fire truck, or other emergency vehicle.
  • 7%, At least one of my ancestors drove a mail truck.
  • 6%, At least one of my ancestors was a highway patrolman or other law enforcement officer who worked primarily from a motor vehicle.
  • 16%, At least one of my ancestors drove a motor vehicle in the military.
  • 2%, At least one of my ancestors was a driving instructor or administered driving tests.
  • 18%, At least one of my ancestors had job not mentioned above that primarily consisted of driving a motor vehicle.
  • 6%, I have or had a job that primarily consisted of driving a motor vehicle.
  • 43%, None of my ancestors had a job that consisted primarily of driving a motor vehicle.

Readers Respond

 

Barbara Laughlin Adler, Ann Arbor, Michigan: My father, Owen McKean Laughlin (1912-1990), drove “midget” racing cars as a career before and after World War II. After Owen lost his right arm in the Battle of the Bulge, news reports often mentioned his unique ability to win as “the one-armed racer.” One day, Owen was in the "pit" during a race when a car went out of control, hitting him and throwing him into the air. He suffered a large gash on his head and spectators took up a collection that resulted in $300. Owen said it was the most money he ever made at a race. He gave up racing in 1950 when my twin brothers were born, and he and my mother had four children under the age of 3. 

 

Karyl Hubbard, Spokane, Washington: My great-uncle, Ralph Goodhart, began working as a private chauffeur in Venice, California, around 1900. Ralph was passionate about motor vehicles. He taught my grandmother to drive, and she took great pride in being one of the first women in California to obtain a driver’s license. Sadly, in 1913 Ralph became one of the first official traffic fatalities in the state. Ralph was driving his employer’s car to San Francisco on what is now Highway 101. In Monterey County, a construction crew had dug a deep ditch across the road and left for the evening without leaving lanterns or any warnings. Ralph drove into the hole and was killed. He was just 25 years old. 

 

Marianne Adler, Seattle, Washington: At age 18, during World War I, my paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Victoria Lamont, began driving a bread truck for the Butternut Bakery in Tacoma, Washington. Elizabeth was one of the first women in Tacoma to drive a truck for a living.  

 

Kathy Meneghin, Croswell, Michigan: My grandfather, Claude Brock, drove a taxi in Detroit, Michigan, between 1931 and 1934 during Prohibition in one of the busiest corridors of contraband liquor in the country. Claude said that the key to his success—and to staying alive—was to not watch what was being loaded in the back of the car, to say nothing, and just drive. 

 

Donna Di Lello, Ontario: My maternal grandfather, Carl “Pop” Spencer, owned Bedford Park Taxi in Toronto, Ontario, from the 1920s to the 1950s. On December 14, 1931, Pop picked up three men who said they wanted to visit relations in the country. Outside the city limits, the men kidnapped him at gunpoint. With Pop bound on the floor of the back seat, the men drove to the town of Aurora, where they robbed the Canadian Bank of Commerce of about $1,200. On the drive back to Toronto, the robbers debated whether to kill or release Pop. They told him, “Keep your trap shut or you’ll get yours for sure.” Pop was able to provide the police with enough information to arrest two of the three men, who were sentenced to 15 lashes and 10 years in jail.  

What We’re Reading

 

Face of Anglo-Saxon Teen Girl from the Seventh Century Revealed
Researchers have not only reconstructed the face of the girl, who was unearthed south of Cambridge near the English village of Trumpington in 2012, but also discovered clues to her non-English origins. 

 

A Massive Archive Tells the Story of Early African American Photographers
“Arresting portraits, now a part of the Smithsonian collections, illuminate the little-known role these artists played in chronicling 19th-century life.”

 

Why We’ve Gotten “Custer’s Last Stand” Wrong for Nearly 150 Years
“So how did a defeat become viewed as one of the greatest noble tragedies in American history? A persistent lobbying campaign by Custer’s widow, for one.”

 

Martha Hodes Talks "My Hijacking" with HNN [History News Network]
Currently a history professor at New York University, Martha Hodes was twelve when she was on a TWA flight hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 1970. In her new book, Hodes applies her craft as a historian to her own memory of those experiences.

The Journals of Abby and Mattie Sanderson of Whately [Massachusetts]
This Historic Deerfield blog post examines journals kept by Martha “Mattie” Ann Sanderson and her mother, Abby H. Rice Sanderson, in 1874 and 1876.

Young Marine’s Letter Found at Quakertown Thrift Store Makes Its Way Home
In October 1961, a young Marine just out of high school penned a heartfelt three-page letter to his girlfriend back home in Pennsylvania. In April that letter surfaced at Liberty Thrift in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

Spotlight: Moody County Historical Society, South Dakota, Washington

by Valerie Beaudrault

 

Moody County is located in southeastern South Dakota and seated in the city of Flandreau. The Moody County Historical Society’s Research Center includes an alphabetical index to all recorded burials in Moody County cemeteries. Data fields include name, dates of birth and death, grave location information, veteran status, and cemetery name. The website also offers a database of veterans in Moody County from the Civil War through the present, compiled alphabetically by surname. Search Now

Upcoming Lectures, Courses, Tours, and More

calendar icon 1

July 6

Free Online Lecture: Researching Black Patriots and Loyalists During the Revolutionary Era

 

July 15

Online Seminar: Massachusetts Research: Four Centuries of History and Genealogy

 

July 18

Free Online Author Event: Leah Myers with Thinning Blood: A Memoir of Family, Myth, and Identity

View All Upcoming Events
event-dating-calendar-systems-twg

Free Video from American Ancestors

Understanding Calendar Systems in Family History Research

 

Learn about common calendar systems you may encounter in your research, how to interpret and record dates, and how to use online conversion tools to represent these dates in familiar terms. Watch Now

June Membership Sale

Get $25 Off A New Membership to American Ancestors

 

Last chance to save! An American Ancestors membership provides access to more than a billion searchable names, family tree software, award-winning publications, and extensive educational tools, resources, and videos. Take $25 off a new membership through the end of June using code June623. Join Now

june-memebrship-twg
free will twg-2

Planning for the Future?

Name Your Beneficiaries 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 non-probate assets. Learn More

Educational events brought to you by

The Brue Family Learning Center

Vol. 26, No. 26, Whole #1161

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