For over forty years, the Greenbriar Hotel concealed a closely-guarded national secret: an emergency relocation bunker for U.S. government representatives, buried beneath the historic hotel's grounds. Read More
Extended Cyber Monday Sale
Save 30% Off Your New Membership
We're extending our Cyber Monday deal exclusively for readers of The Weekly Genealogist! Become a member of American Ancestors and save 30% today using the code AACyberMon2022.Valid for new memberships only. Offer expires December 1, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Join Now
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
This Week's Survey:
Did You Begin Your Genealogical Research Pre-Internet?
Share your thoughts about the survey at weeklygenealogist@nehgs.org. Responses may be edited for clarity and length and featured in a future newsletter.
Last Week's Survey:
How Will You Observe Thanksgiving This Year?
Total: 3,721 Responses
53%, I will observe Thanksgiving at home.
33%, I will observe Thanksgiving away from home.
65%, I will observe Thanksgiving with relatives.
79%, I will eat classic Thanksgiving food: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, etc.
24%, I will eat at least one family dish (not widely considered a Thanksgiving classic) made from a family recipe.
24%, I will discuss family history and/or look at family photographs with my relatives.
18%, 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.
1%, I will volunteer for a Thanksgiving-related event or cause.
25%, I will watch or participate in a football game, road race, or other sporting event.
10%, I will observe or commemorate Thanksgiving in a way not mentioned above.
2%, I observed Canadian Thanksgiving in October.
2%, I do not observe Thanksgiving.
Readers Respond:
Carolyn Cooper, Glasgow, Scotland: I will not celebrate Thanksgiving this year. I am not against the practice, but I live abroad, in a non-American family, and the rest of the family is not interested in the custom. Also, they are not generally meat-eaters (varying from a pescatarian to vegetarians to a vegan), so turkey and stuffing does not appeal to them (although I suppose there must be vegetarian alternatives now). I wish all those who celebrate a happy Thanksgiving!
Joann MacDonald, Modesto, California: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this Thanksgiving will be the first time in three years we have gathered as a family. Four generations will be present: I will be the oldest at age 77, the youngest will be four. The gathering was started by my grandparents and continued by three daughters and then granddaughters. A great-great-granddaughter will host this year.
Ellen Steward, Farmington Hills, Michigan: Living in the Detroit area, Thanksgiving has always had football. Mom and Dad would go to the game and dinner was always later in the day. I will be attending the game with the hope of a win. This year there will be the challenge of getting to the prepaid parking with the Detroit Thanksgiving parade traveling the normal route.
Peggy Davis Littrell, Pêra, Algarve, Portugal: We live in a retirement home outside of the U.S. Our neighbors in the closest two streets are French, Austrian, Swiss, Dutch, British, and American. The couple from Switzerland worked 12 years in America before retirement. They loved Thanksgiving, so every year they host a big Thanksgiving dinner at their house with all the trimmings. It is the most diverse Thanksgiving that I have ever heard about. I bet there is not another crowd like it.
“In opulent seaside Newport, a wealthy and beloved Black businessman turns up dead. The prime suspect is his son-in-law, a dashing medical student set to become one of the country’s first Black surgeons. The resulting trial will tear the town in two.”
“Provincial archeologist Jamie Brake said Wednesday that he knew he was looking at something very special when Edward Hynes sent him photos of a gold coin he'd found this past summer.”
She Was Kidnapped as a Baby in 1971. Her Family Just Found her Alive. “Melissa, 53, reunited last week with her parents and two of her siblings for the first time in more than five decades thanks to a home DNA test, a marriage certificate and the help of an amateur genealogist.”
Spotlight: St. Croix Collection, Stillwater, Minnesota
by Valerie Beaudrault
The city of Stillwater, seat of Washington County, is located in eastern Minnesota. The St. Croix Collection from the Stillwater Public Library contains a number of local resources, including: digitized World War I German Alien Registration records; a directory of Stillwater high school alumni (1876-1915); a Civil War records database; city directories (1890-1899); indexes for obituary, cemetery, and veteran records; maps of Stillwater and Washington County; building permits (1866 to 1945); and five digitized local history photograph collections. Search Now
Naturalization records contain important information for the family historian. Learn what records exist, how to search them, and where to locate these essential resources with our free research guide. Learn 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
