Leaving Home: A Memoir in Full Colour with Mark Haddon
From the acclaimed author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time comes a brilliantly written, darkly funny, lavishly illustrated memoir exploring the complexities of family life and art. Award-winning author Claire Messud joins Mark Haddon for a discussion of Leaving Home and the art of memoir. 10% Member Discount. Learn More
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Database News
Update to North America: Records of Enslaved People from Plantations and Estates, 1727-1890 Database
We are excited to announce that we have added a new volume to this database: Maryland: Historic Sotterly. Inclusion of this volume was made possible through a collaboration with Historic Sotterly. This update adds 481 names and 475 records to the 10 Million Names Project. View Now
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
This Week's Survey:
Ancestors or Relatives Who Married the Sibling of a Deceased or Former Spouse
Share your story! Each week in our Readers Respond column, we publish a selection of reader-submitted stories related to our most recent survey. Submissions must be 150 words or fewer and include your full name, city, and state. Published responses will be edited for clarity and length.
Ancestors or Relatives Who Received a Major Inheritance or Financial Windfall
Total: 2,133 Responses
25%, Yes
46%, No
29%, I don’t know
Readers Respond
Alison Watson Maston, Bolton, Connecticut: My grandfather was the caretaker of the Robinson estate in Rhode Island for many years. When Mrs. Robinson passed away in 1959, she left my grandfather $1,000 in her will. (That amount would be about $11,177 today.) I was born the following year. My parents were living in California while my dad attended school. My grandparents spent their inheritance money to drive across the country to meet me.
Mike Burd, Kennebunkport, Maine: About twenty-five years ago, my father received a phone call from an “heir finder.” They were researching the heirs of my mother’s uncle, who had died in 1920 when she was one year old. My dad knew nothing of the uncle, and my mother was in the advanced stage of Alzheimer’s. I was able to confirm the relationship, which resulted in my mother receiving $150,000. My great-uncle’s estate had been tied up in trust for the eighty years since his passing.
Kelly A. Fox, Methuen, Massachusetts: From about 1900 to 1940, my ancestor Henry Fox (1874–1948) worked as a coachman and then as a chauffeur for the co-founder of the stock brokerage firm Paine Webber, William A. Paine, and his wife, Ruth. When William died in 1929, the Boston Globe reported that the bequest recipients included “One chauffeur, Henry Fox, who is left $2,500 and $100 for each of his children.” Henry and his wife had eight children at the time. When Ruth died in 1940, she left Henry $1,000. I am sure these gifts had a significant impact on Henry’s large family.
Spotlight: Durham County Library Vital Events Indexes, North Carolina
by Valerie Beaudrault
The city of Durham, seat of Durham County, is located in north central North Carolina. The Durham County Library has made two vital events indexes available on its website. The obituary index (1848-1927) has more than 16,000 records. The data fields include obituary date, newspaper abbreviation, death date, full name, age, and place and cause of death. The second database is an 1820 to 1911 index to birth, death, marriage, and divorce announcements appearing in local newspapers. The data fields include newspaper abbreviation, date published, page, event date and type, full name, notes, and corrections. The indexes are in Excel file format.
Making a Circle Out of a Square: The Transformation of an Ohio Town
While it's not uncommon for a city or town to be named after a defining feature or a key element of the community’s history, it's rare for the name to stick when that feature is no longer there. Read the latest Vita Brevis entry by researcher Zachary Garceau to find out how a square town got a round name. Read More
Your Legacy. Your Peace of Mind. Your Free Will.
As a family historian, you know that wills are important in your research—but have you created a will for yourself? Free Will, an easy and free online will creation tool, will guide you step-by-step through identifying beneficiaries for your assets, supporting the causes that are important to you, and planning for the preservation of your research. Learn More
