Join Claire Vail, Vice President for Digital Strategy and Communications, for a demonstration on the newly launched AmericanAncestors.org! Learn about key new features, how to navigate the site, and how to get the most out of the website from home. Friday, November 19 at 3 p.m. ET. Join us on Facebook
American Inspiration Author Event—Extended Q+A
Noted Historian H. W. Brands on Writing History and the American Revolution
The best-selling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist shares his latest work, a page-turning narrative that recasts the American Revolution, as “our first civil war”—a violent battle among neighbors, friends, and family members. Ticket includes illustrated presentation, audience Q+A, and signed and personalized copy of Our First Civil War. Join us December 7 at 6 p.m. ET. Register Now
Fall Family History Benefit Dinner Recording
Honoring Leading Historian and Best-Selling Author Mary Beth Norton
Distinguished writer and professor of American History Mary Beth Norton shares insights on the intersections of history and genealogy and discusses her latest work, 1774: The Long Year of Revolution—a Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year. New England Historic Genealogical Society President and CEO Brenton Simons presents Norton with a detailed history of her family and COO Ryan Woods awards her with the NEHGS Lifetime Achievement Award in History. Watch Now
Spotlight: Cemetery Database, Biloxi, Mississippi
by Valerie Beaudrault
The city of Biloxi is located in Mississippi on the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of two seats of Harrison County. Biloxi has made a burials database for its city-maintained cemetery available on its website. The database comprises nearly 16,000 burial records. Click the cemetery map image to open the search page. To begin enter the name or part of the name of the deceased in the search box, then click Apply. Grave location information is located just below the deceased’s name in the search results. To locate a grave on the map, zoom out so that you can see the Addition numbers. Click anywhere in the desired Addition and zoom in to navigate to the grave location. Search Now
Free American Inspiration Author Event
Julie Flavell with The Howe Dynasty
Drawn from letters and correspondence, The Howe Dynasty sheds new light one of one of England’s most famous military families and provides unique insight into how the American Revolution unfolded on the battlefield and behind the scenes in London parlors. Join Julie Flavell in conversation with the celebrated historian Mary Beth Norton, December 2 at 1 p.m. ET. Register Now
Free Webinar
Genealogist Hallie Borstel will demonstrate how to research boundary changes and understand jurisdictional levels using maps, primary and secondary sources, and other records. November 18 at 3 p.m. ET.
This webinar will feature Civil War-era items in the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections and the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at NEHGS, including family correspondence, photos, diaries, and more. December 9 at 3 p.m. ET.
How Your Family Tree Could Catch a Killer “Genetic genealogists like CeCe Moore are cracking cold cases and transforming policing. As DNA analysis redefines ancestry and anonymity, what knowledge should we be permitted to unlock?”
Last week's survey asked if you own any books that belonged to your ancestors. We received 3,075 responses. The results are:
77%, Yes, I have books that belonged to one or both of my parents.
67%, Yes, I have books that belonged to one or more of my grandparents.
47%, Yes, I have books that belonged to earlier ancestors.
38%, Yes, I have books that belonged to other relatives.
8%, No, I do not have any books owned by my parents, grandparents, earlier ancestors, or other relatives.
This week’s survey asks if any of your ancestors immigrated to the United States via at least one other country. 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: Books Owned by Ancestors
By Jean Powers, Senior Editor
Last week's survey asked if you own any books that belonged to your ancestors. Thank you to everyone who replied. Below is a selection of reader responses.
Nancy Livesay Stewart, Michigan City, Indiana: My grandfather was a “signal man” for many years, and I have his railroad books from the 1890s and 1900s, as well as his grade school books from the 1800s. I inherited my mother’s and my aunt’s 1920s and 1930s nursing school reference books. I also have my grandmother’s Pilgrim's Progress, and several cookbooks from earlier generations.
Jeff Bixby, Lancaster, South Carolina: I have several books from my late grandparents that have been passed down to me. My maternal grandmother was a school cook her entire working life and several of her go-to reference cookbooks are now in my collection, including a 1936 copy of The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook she received as a wedding gift and an 1884 copy of Mrs. Lincoln’s Boston Cook Book.
Carol Marchegiani, Readsboro, Vermont: I have an 1829 Old Farmer’s Almanac that belonged to my great-great-grandmother, Lydia Athelannah Blanchard. Her name is written across the cover of the magazine. She always used her middle name rather than Lydia; this treasure confirmed her full name for our family.
Linda Miller, Hampton, Virginia: My mother was an avid reader and kept a large bookshelf filled with books in our basement. Instead of visiting the library, I just wandered down to our basement and chose a book to read. I continued to use our home library after she passed in 1961 and my father subsequently remarried. But arriving home from school one day, I saw that all of the books were packed up and ready to be discarded; the only one remaining was my final selection: My Life by Isadora Duncan. That book continues to grace my bookshelf 60 years later.
Karyl Hubbard, Omak, Washington: I'm in the middle of the difficult process of downsizing my possessions and finding homes for books that have been in the family for three generations. I've been fortunate to find recipients for my mother's Alcotts, Montgomerys and L. Frank Baums, but I don't know what will become of my great-grandmother-in-law’s prayer book, or the schoolbooks from 1890s California with my grandmother’s and her siblings’ signatures in the front covers. Wish me luck!
Catching Up with Vita Brevis
Jan Doerr considered ways the machinery of today would look like the wizard's magic of an earlier age. Amy Whorf McGuiggan worked her way to Aaron Osborne via Francis Augustus Osborn; Jeff Record continued the game of "Genealogical Clue," competing against Christopher C. Child; Joe Smaldone found the smallest of genealogical clues and opened up a relationship with modern cousins; and Maureen Carey looked at the half-hidden history of the Donner party. Chris Child took a close look at the ancestry of actor Billy Porter and found an example of nineteenth-century migration for an (unexpected) religious reason, and Scott C. Steward promoted an architectural history survey in Maryland (featuring two school buildings designed by his great-grandfather) and contemplated the far-from-coincidental marriages contracted between Anna of Bohemia's female descendants and seventeenth-century French kings.
Database News
New sketches for Early Vermont Settlers, 1700-1784
The Early Vermont Settlers study project highlights families living in Vermont prior to 1784. Recently we added 10 new sketches, focusing on families from the Brattleboro area. The new sketches include: John Alexander (Fort Dummer), James Andrews (Brattleboro), Seth Andrews (Brattleboro), Simeon Calkins (Brattleboro), Joseph Chamberlain (Brattleboro), Thomas Chamberlain (Brattleboro), John Compton (Brattleboro), Oliver Cook (Brattleboro), Thomas Cook (Brattleboro) and Jesse Frost (Brattleboro). Scott Andrew Bartley researches these sketches. Search Now
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