Strangers No More, the sequel to Bill Griffeth's 2016 best-seller, The Stranger in My Genes, is now available from the NEHGS Bookstore. The new memoir continues Bill's journey to learn more about his newly discovered biological family, as he shares some of the dramatic stories that strangers and friends have told him about their own shocking DNA discoveries. In the process, Bill stumbles on some closely guarded family secrets. Purchase Strangers No More between now and August 31 and automatically get 20% offThe Stranger in My Genes. Shop Now
Free American Inspiration Author Event
Women in the Gilded Age: Two Authors’ Insights
Hear stories of women during the Gilded Age from Laura Thompson, author of Heiresses: The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies, and Betsy Prioleau, author of Diamonds and Deadlines: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Female Tycoon in the Gilded Age. July 7 at 1 p.m. (ET). Register Now
Online Seminar
Researching Your French-Canadian Ancestors
This four-week course will guide you through the peculiarities of French-Canadian research and teach you how to locate and use essential resources, analyze records, and maximize your search results. Members Save 10%Register Now
Spotlight: Cemetery Databases, Fairfax Genealogical Society, VA
by Valerie Beaudrault
Fairfax County is located in northeastern Virginia. The Fairfax Genealogical Society has burial records for more than three hundred cemeteries in Fairfax, Arlington, and Loudon Counties. Cemeteries are listed alphabetically. Search by surname and limit results by county or cemetery name. The data fields in the search results are surname, given name, age, birth, death and burial year, and cemetery name. Click the eye icon in the Actions field to view the detailed record. Search Now
Free Online Lecture
Early Art Collecting in Renaissance Venice
Hear fascinating anecdotes about the pioneering art collectors who created the modern art world. Presented by Frederick Ilchman, Chair, Art of Europe at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. July 8 at 4 p.m. (ET).
Family History Refresh: How to Become a Better Researcher
We're coming to Chicago! This in-person seminar will help you get the most out of your family history research and teach you to tackle brick walls like a pro.
In this online workshop, our experts will demonstrate how to plan, scan, and manage your own records digitization project at home. July 23 at 2 p.m. (ET).
An upcoming article in American Ancestors magazine will identify common pitfalls (and their solutions) encountered by new family history researchers. We’d like to know about the mistakes you’ve made—perhaps based on faulty assumptions and unfamiliarity with the genealogical research process. Please share your anecdote of no more than 250 words by emailing magazine@nehgs.org. The deadline is Wednesday, July 13.
Inventing the Beach Read “Feeling guilty about kicking back with a paperback during vacation? There’s a precedent for escapist holiday reading, particularly during times of anxiety.”
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
Last week's survey asked if any of your ancestors or relatives made furniture. We received 2,983 responses. The results are:
27%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors or relatives was paid to make furniture.
50%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors or relatives made furniture for their own use or to give to others.
14%, Yes, multiple generations of my family made furniture.
11%, At least one of my ancestors or relatives owned a furniture-making business or a furniture store.
17%, At least one of my ancestors or relatives repaired furniture.
15%, At least one of my ancestors or relatives did upholstery or caning for furniture.
35%, I own furniture made by a family member.
7%, I make or have made furniture.
4%, I have an ancestral connection to furniture not mentioned above.
30%, No, I don’t think any of my ancestors or relatives made furniture.
This week’s survey asks if you have visited any Revolutionary War battlefields or historic sites. 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: Ancestors Who Made Furniture
By Lynn Betlock, Editor
Last week's survey asked if any of your ancestors or relatives made furniture. Thank you to the many people who replied. Below is a selection of reader responses.
Walter G. Blenderman: In 1877, my great-grandfather, George W. Gates, received U.S. Patent No. 192,252 for his tilting, sliding, and rotating adjustable table design. He founded Gates Manufacturing in Worcester, Massachusetts, then relocated the company to Philadelphia, where it operated until 1909. The table was about card table-sized and available in several different types of wood, with varying degrees of embellished decoration. It was promoted as a game table, a sick-room table, and even as a dictionary or work table, with a support rail along one edge. I only learned about this family history in the late 1990s and discovered that the Smithsonian has examples in its collections. I have purchased two Gates tables, one for each of my daughters.
Susan Gregg, Pinellas Park, Florida: For the last 40 years I have been sleeping in a bed built by my grandfather’s grandfather, John Albert Lydecker (1820–1898) of Maywood, New Jersey.
EvaAnne Johnson, Genoa, Illinois: My grandfather, Edwin Drake, was an amateur woodworker who often attended local farm auctions. He purchased antique furniture at low prices to refinish and restore. After purchasing a set of six chairs without caning for a dollar at an auction in about 1967, he taught himself how to recane chairs. Over the next forty years he recaned hundreds, if not thousands, of chairs for people in our community. He also demonstrated the art of chair caning at local heritage days and taught others how to cane chairs, including his children, sons-in-law, and his four grandchildren. Although he passed away in 2010, we continue to demonstrate chair caning at local events and teach others in our family.
Jean Pettitt, Santa Barbara, California: My husband’s great-grandfather, Eugene Newman, served in Cuba during the Spanish American War. His job was to build caskets for soldiers who lost their lives during the conflict. Eugene made the caskets out of mahogany since that was the most prevalent wood on the island. Before he left Cuba, he shipped some mahogany back to Bryan, Ohio, and used it to build a display cabinet that now stands in our home.
Steve Clarke, Churchville, New York: My father made many pieces of furniture, mostly in a basic Shaker style. My favorite pieces are those he made for my wife and me as wedding gifts: a cocktail table, two end tables, and a dry sink and mirror. He used wood from the butternut tree in our backyard, in which I had a tree house. I think his favorite might have been a drop-leaf dining table for eight that he made from old church pews with straight seats and backs made of single wide slabs of pine. When anyone asked what the wood was, Dad always replied “pew wood,” so he could tell the story of how he found the wide boards.
Database News
Improved Christian Intelligencer Marriages Database
We've recently announced our improved database of Christian Intelligencer (Dutch Reformed Church) Marriages, 1830-1871. This database is now fully indexed and searchable, complete with images to browse. Search Now
.jpg?upscale=true&width=254&upscale=true&name=StrangersNoMore-web%20(1).jpg)
