Mitochondrial DNA tests—used to trace matrilineal descent—can be a powerful tool for breaking down brick walls. This week, genealogist Michael Dwyer explains how mtDNA helped solve one of his long-standing family mysteries—by way of an unexpected connection to a friend. Read More
Upcoming Online Research Tour
Fall Stay-at-Home—Getting the Lay of the Land: Using Land Records in Your Family History Research
Make real headway in your research! In this three-day online experience, you will learn about essential resources and gain new research strategies through lectures from our staff, real-time demonstrations, one-on-one consultations, and other activities. All experience levels welcome. December 7–9. Register Now
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Save $30 on a New Individual Membership
Become a member today and save $30! Unlock over 1.4 billion searchable names from the nation's leading resource for family history. You'll also receive the award-winning print magazine American Ancestors, including online access to all past issues. Your membership helps further our mission, to inspire, educate, and connect family historians everywhere! Sale ends December 2.
Share your thoughts about the survey! Please limit submissions to 150 words or fewer. Your submission may be featured in an upcoming newsletter or shared on social media; please note in your email if you do not want your story to be shared. Published responses may be edited for clarity and length.
Last Week's Survey:
Observing Thanksgiving
Total: 3,301 Responses
52%, I will observe Thanksgiving at home.
31%, I will observe Thanksgiving away from home.
66%, I will observe Thanksgiving with relatives.
79%, I will eat classic Thanksgiving food: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, etc.
25%, I will eat at least one family dish (not widely considered a Thanksgiving classic) made from a family recipe.
25%, I will discuss family history and/or look at family photographs with my relatives.
20%, I will reflect on my Mayflower or Wampanoag ancestors and their experiences.
13%, I will participate in activities that are long-standing family Thanksgiving traditions.
2%, I will volunteer for a Thanksgiving-related event or cause.
23%, I will watch or participate in a football game, road race, or other sporting event.
8%, I will observe or commemorate Thanksgiving in a way not mentioned above.
2%, I observed Canadian Thanksgiving in October.
1%, I do not observe Thanksgiving.
Readers Respond
Kathy Pasko, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania: For the past five years I have volunteered as a balloon handler in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. I was inspired to volunteer by my father, who loved the parade and the balloons. This year I will be on Team Beagle Scout Snoopy. My day will begin at 4 a.m. when I leave home in time for costuming at 5:30 a.m.; by 7 a.m. Team Beagle Scout Snoopy will be in position. After a two-mile march through the city center, our team will deflate Snoopy and carefully store him for use in next year’s parade. By 1 p.m. I will be home in Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving dinner with my family. I will give thanks for the memory of my father, who would have been thrilled to see his daughter marching in the parade.
Elizabeth (Betsy) MacMillan, Franklin, Massachusetts: This year I will celebrate Thanksgiving at the Plimoth Pawtuxet Museum. I am a descendant of seven Pilgrims and have always wanted to participate in the museum’s Thanksgiving feast.
Joanne Coe, Gaithersburg, Maryland: In honor of my three Mayflower ancestors, I make "pilgrim hat cookies" every year with my eight grandchildren: a chocolate wafer cookie is topped with a dark chocolate miniature peanut butter cup, and piped white icing makes a hatband and buckle. Nabisco quietly discontinued its Famous Chocolate Wafers (introduced in 1924) so we make do with Dewey's Bakery Brownie Crisp Cookie Thins.
Keith Goodwin, Reading, Massachusetts: Thanksgiving is our family’s favorite holiday. We typically have 20 to 25 people. We roast and fry turkeys. The meal includes stuffing, mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, parsnips, creamed onions, sweet potatoes, eggnog, and lots of desserts. We remember those who have passed and are not with us, as well as those who are distant. The next day we all gather to cut down our Christmas trees.
What We’re Reading
How Thanksgiving Recipes Have Changed over Time, According to “Joy of Cooking” To find out how the recipes for three Thanksgiving staples have changed over time, a Washington Post reporter contacted John Becker, editor of Joy of Cooking and great-grandson of original author Irma S. Rombauer, who self-published the first edition in 1931.
"The French government gave the museum 30 months to raise the funds to purchase the Cimabue painting."
Interpreting Coded Messages in Friendship Albums A post in the American Antiquarian Society’s Past Is Present blog analyzes messages written in code in two mid-nineteenth-century friendship albums.
Spotlight: Newspapers, Union Township Public Library, Ohio
by Valerie Beaudrault
Union Township is located in Brown County in southwestern Ohio. The Union Township Public Library hosts an online newspaper database comprising over 256,000 pages from fifty-one newspapers, including The News Democrat (1906-2022), The Ripley Bee (1849-2022), The Brown County Press (1977-2022), The Adams County News (1928-1983), The Signal (1897-2013), The Georgetown Gazette (1905-1925), News Democrat (1897-2016), and Brown County Press (2012-2018). Search by keyword or browse individual newspapers. Search Now
Celebrate Giving Tuesday with us on November 28. Join the global giving movement built by individuals, families, organizations, businesses, and communities in countries around the world. Every act of generosity counts, and we thank you for your generous support and your dedication to family history, heritage, and culture. We couldn’t do this without you! Please consider a gift today
Planning for the Future?
Name Beneficiaries for Your Non-Probate Assets Today
Non-probate assets such as an IRA, 401(k), or life-insurance policy are not covered in your will or trust—you must name beneficiaries separately. Our friends at FreeWill.com have provided a free and secure online tool to guide you through naming beneficiaries for your non-probate assets. Preserve your legacy, make sure your loved ones are provided for, and support the causes most important to you—get started today! Learn More
