Obituaries can be important sources of information for genealogists, often serving as detailed and descriptive memorials of an individual's life and family. In this post, researcher Anjelica Oswald reflects upon her efforts to preserve her own late grandfather's life story. Read More
Upcoming Virtual Author Event
Margaret Atwood with Old Babes in the Wood: Stories
From the award-winning author of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments comes a dazzling collection of short stories that look deeply into the heart of family relationships, marriage, loss and memory. Don’t miss hearing from the remarkable Margaret Atwood in this insightful virtual conversation. Hosted by Charleston Literary Festival, Moderated by Regina Marler. November 7.Register Now
2024 American Ancestors Young Family Historians Essay Contest
The 2024 American Ancestors Young Family Historians Essay Contest is open! Students enrolled in grades 4–12 across all U.S. states and territories are welcome to participate. This year’s contest asks each student to share a story from their personal family history and to reflect on how lessons from that story can apply to their life today.
Share your thoughts about the survey! Please limit submissions to 150 words or fewer. Responses featured in a future newsletter may be edited for clarity and length.
Last Week's Survey:
Ancestors Who Worked on a Boat or Ship
Total: 2,658 Responses
20%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked on a fishing or lobster boat.
35%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked on a sailing ship.
12%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked on a whaling ship.
4%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked on a tugboat.
11%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked on a ferry.
2%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked on a recreational tour boat.
9%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked on a steamship.
8%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked on a tanker or cargo ship.
1%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked on an icebreaker.
3%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked on an ocean liner or cruise ship.
42%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors served on board a U.S. Navy or U.S. Coast Guard vessel.
6%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors served on board a naval or coast guard vessel of another country.
13%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors served in the Merchant Marine.
10%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors worked on another type of maritime vessel not mentioned above.
22%, No, I don’t believe any of my ancestors worked on a boat or ship.
Readers Respond
Ann Carroll, New York, New York: My Irish great-great-grandfather Christopher Gorry joined the UK Merchant Navy in 1849. Through the 1850s, he was stationed between Liverpool and Dublin and sailed to various ports. Christopher moved the family to New York City in 1862. He is identified in the 1865 NYS census as a dockworker. He then disappeared from the record, as did his son Nicholas. The mystery was solved when I read New York City newspapers accounts of a fatal Hudson River pier explosion in 1867. Among the dead was Christopher Gorry, engineer for the Inman Steamship Company. Also reported dead was his 16-year-old son, Nicholas, who was working with his father that day on the pier in place of his brother John, my great-grandfather, who usually accompanied him.
Jan Taylor, Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania: My great-great-grandfather John Littlefield was a master shipbuilder. In the winters, he took a crew into the woods to cut timber for knees, spars, and other ship parts.
Helen Moss Ogden, Gorham, Maine: My great-great grandfather John Holmes Burleigh started out as a cabin boy and ended up as master of his own vessel—the Delia Maria, built in Richmond, Maine. He captained it for seven years in the foreign trade. His last voyage left Boston in October 1850 with his bride Matilda (Buffum) aboard. They weathered the rough seas around the Horn and made it to San Francisco, where some of his crew left for the gold fields. He hired a new crew and sailed across the Pacific, on to Europe, and back across the Atlantic. Once back on land in 1851, he sold the boat and started up the Newichawannock Woolen Mill in South Berwick, Maine. By that time his wife was expecting their first child, which may have played a role in their decision to leave the rugged seafaring life.
Desiree Hendrickson, Pembroke Pines, Florida:Harold Parker Ewart, my great-grandfather, was a Merchant Mariner for both the US and UK. During World War I, he was aboard the RMS Hesperian when it was torpedoed by a German U-20 submarine off the coast of Ireland on September 6, 1915. Harold was commended for his bravery with an award from the British government. In WWII, Harold was serving as chief engineer on the SS Malay when a U-123 targeted the tanker. Harold was one of 29 survivors.
Sarah W. Langdon, Granby, Connecticut: My great-great grandfather John Pierce Aiken was a captain out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. In December 1873, as captain of the schooner J.H.G. Perkins, he rescued the crew of the barque Helen Patterson of Victoria, Nova Scotia. In December 1897, he and six crew members left Gloucester for Newfoundland on the Grace L. Fears to collect a load of frozen herring. The schooner was last seen near Newfoundland on December 16, a day or two before a terrible gale. Three years later, a bottle was found on the beach near Stage Fort Park in Gloucester with a message inside: “We are sinking in the schooner Grace L. Fears. Whoever finds this hand to my wife.” The signature was “Aiken.”
The Secret Cemetery “More than a million were buried on Hart Island in New York City, but families couldn’t visit.” Melinda Hunt, a Reed College alumna, changed that.
“An exhibition at the Getty Museum reveals the Egyptian Book of the Dead, long relegated to a dark vault, in the light of day.”
Spotlight: Benton County, Iowa, Newspaper Database
by Valerie Beaudrault
The city of Vinton is the seat of Benton County, located in east central Iowa. The Vinton Public Library and Benton County Historical Society have made a newspaper collection available in the Benton County Community History Archive. The database comprises nearly 275,000 pages from nine newspapers, including Cedar Valley Daily Times (1926-2010), Cedar Valley Times (1970-2022), The Vinton Eagle (1855-2022), Vinton Eagle (2005-2017), Vinton Review (1898-1919), and Vinton Semi-Weekly Eagle (1882-1894). Search by keyword or browse individual papers. Search Now
On January 27, 1890, The Philadelphia Times reported the story of Harry C. Redfield, an 18-year-old boy who ran away from home on December 25, 1887, in Norfolk, Virginia. Inspired by adventures he had read in dime novels, Harry roamed the streets of Norfolk before turning himself in to the police. He was reunited with his father on January 26, 1890, at Philadelphia Hospital.
Harry's story is one of the many that you can read with NewspaperArchive, an online database with billions of newspaper articles from all over the world, spanning from 1607 to 2023. Members of American Ancestors can access this resource along with many more external databases from a variety of organizations. What stories will you uncover?
[Note for TWG Editors: Instead of the above link, paying members will see this: Access NewspaperArchive Now ]
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
