Find out how American Ancestors can help you take the next steps in your family history research! Starting tomorrow, take advantage of our unique database collections, expert customer service, integrated family tree platform, and much more—plus, support our nonprofit mission to educate, inspire, and connect family historians around the world. Get $20 off your new membership using the code April0421. Sign up to be alerted when the sale opens!
From the colonial era to present day, Boston and its environs have been home to notable multi-generational Jewish family businesses. Join Michael Feldberg, Ph.D., Executive Director of the George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom, as he explores the role that Jewish values and tradition may have played in the inter-generational transfer of significant Boston-area companies.
Did you know that you can get updates on new additions to our databases sent straight to your inbox?Database News is your comprehensive source for information about the records we add to AmericanAncestors.org every week. This week we’re announcing 105 new volumes and 67 updated volumes in Massachusetts: (Image Only) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920. These new volumes come from 32 parishes—check out the Database News archives for a full list!
Since ancient times, shiny stones and precious metals have determined empires, communicated status and brought about ruin. In Jewels that Made History: 100 Stones, Myths, and Legends, Stellene Volandes takes us on a glittering tour of gem-driven drama through history. Join her and Curator of Special Collections Curt DiCamillo for an illustrated conversation on April 8 at 6 p.m. ET.
Old Town is a small city located in Penobscot County, in central Maine. The Old Town Public Library has made a digital archive available on its website. The archive includes a number of searchable resources: historic newspapers, annual town reports, vital records volumes, high school yearbooks, city directories, local history volumes, and much more. To view the full list of available resources, click the ‘More +’ link beneath the abbreviated list of titles. The newspapers in the collection are Penobscot Times (1934-2018), Sachem (1894-2015), Old Town - Orono Times (1979-1992), The Old Town Enterprise (1888-1934), and Old Town Enterprise (1901-1929).
Last week's survey asked about how many generations you have documented on your patrilineal line. We received 3,598 responses. The results are:
1%, One (my father)
2%, Two
8%, Three
14%, Four
14%, Five
10%, Six
8%, Seven
6%, Eight
6%, Nine
8%, Ten
6%, Eleven
21%, Twelve or more
<1%, I have not been able to document the names of any men in my patrilineal line.
<1%, I don’t know.
This week's question asks about your ancestors who were twins or higher order multiples. 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: Patrilineal Lines
By Lynn Betlock, Editor
Last week's survey asked how many generations of men you have documented on your paternal line. Thank you to everyone who replied. Below is a selection of reader responses.
Rebecca Smith of Rehoboth, Massachusetts: Based on the paper trail, I was fairly confident that my paternal line went back to Christopher Smith of Providence. Since his father is known, my answer would have been eleven generations. However, Y-DNA tests show that, somewhere along the line, there was a Herrendeen father instead of a Smith. Thanks to a fourth cousin who tested, I have confidence in my Smiths back to my third great-grandfather. I hope I can someday find a fifth or sixth cousin to bring the line further back.
Peggy Durack of San Antonio, Texas: Tracing my paternal line, Buell, eleven generations back to the immigrant ancestor, William Buell, an early settler of Windsor, Connecticut, is easy. The ancestry is well documented in the 1881 History of the Buell Family in England and America by Albert Welles. But nothing is known about William’s ancestry. Many theories exist about his origins and surname. The History of Ancient Windsor calls him “a Welshman and carpenter”; Buell Family mentions a “Bernardo Buil, a Spanish Benedictine monk,” and, according to other sources, in Dutch, Buell is an “occupational name for a hangman”; the name indicates “one who came from Bueil in France”; and “the surname Buell was first found in the Rhineland.” Everyone named Buell, or a variant spelling, can trace their lineage to William Buell, but no further. Perhaps one day DNA will solve the riddle.
Jean Wharton Pettitt of Santa Barbara, California: Generally, three or four generations span one hundred years, but in rare instances only two. I can trace my patrilineal line back six generations to Samuel Wharton, Sr., born in Pennsylvania in 1745, 300 years before I was born. I remember spending time with my great-grandfather, David Sterritt Wharton, who died at age 101 when I was seven. David was born in 1852, the seventeenth of eighteen children born to Samuel Wharton, Jr., my great-great-grandfather. Samuel was born in 1789, during the first year of George Washington’s presidency. When I was a child during the Eisenhower administration, my grandfather, Joseph Bradford Wharton, Sr., took pride in telling his grandchildren that the lifetimes of his father and grandfather spanned all the U.S. presidencies (from Washington to Eisenhower).
Online Course: Researching New Netherland Ancestors
The 17th-century colony of New Netherland was a crossroads for people from Europe, Africa, and the Americas. This three-week online course will explore the history of New Netherland and New Amsterdam, point you to key genealogical resources and references, and demonstrate several research strategies using a variety of case studies.
