Celebrate with FREE Admission to the Family Heritage Experience on Fridays
Are you curious about your family history? The Family Heritage Experience invites visitors to explore our interactive exhibits and family heirloom displays for free on Fridays throughout October. Learn about your family’s place in history from American Ancestors, a trusted leader in genealogy and historical research.In addition, theBrim-DeForest Library is free the entire month of October.Learn More
Upcoming American Inspiration Author Events
Don’t miss these events exploring the importance of legacy! On October 15, historians Karin Wulf and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and our partners at Massachusetts Historical Society will discuss Wulf’s new book, Lineage: Genealogy and the Power of Connection in Early America.
Then, on October 23, enjoy a hybrid event featuring author Dorie Lawson and daughter of historian David McCullough—in conversation with American Ancestors CEO Ryan Woods on History Matters, Lawson’s posthumous collection of McCullough’s thought-provoking essays. Learn More
New From the Bookstore at American Ancestors
The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640—A Concise Compendium, 2nd Edition
The new 10th-anniversary edition of The Great Migration Directory by Robert Charles Anderson, FASG, contains 82 new immigrants, for a total of 5,700 sketches. Many new English or European origins have been discovered, sketches have been greatly expanded by research published in the last ten years, and errors from the first edition have been corrected. This new volume also includes an appendix of eleven first-edition sketches retired by the author, along with his reasoning. Purchase Now
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
This Week's Survey:
Family History Discoveries in Historic Newspapers
Share your story! Each week in our Readers Respond column, we publish a selection of reader-submitted stories related to our most recent survey. Submissions must be 150 words or fewer and include your full name, city, and state. Published responses may be edited for clarity and length.
Ancestors or Relatives Who Went Bankrupt/Lost All Their Money
Total: 2,406 Responses
27%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors went bankrupt / lost all their money.
14%, Yes, at least one of my relatives went bankrupt / lost all their money.
39%, No, I don’t think any of my ancestors or relatives went bankrupt / lost all their money.
26%, I don’t know.
Readers Respond
Ken Rockwell, Salt Lake City, Utah: After becoming wealthy in business in the Midwest, my great-great-uncle Irvin E. Rockwell bought a silver mine in Idaho around 1900. The mine brought Irvin considerable wealth until the miners ran up against a fault. Irvin poured his fortune into trying to reach the rest of the ore body, which was miles deep in the earth. When he died in 1952, Irvin’s only asset was his house in Bellevue, Idaho, which was sold to settle his debts. My father, Irvin’s main heir, inherited Irvin’s oak furniture, which is currently owned by me and my brothers.
Jill Morelli, Seattle, Washington: My grandfather John Bode established a private bank in 1895 in Woden, Iowa. In 1931, John declared bankruptcy. I requested his bankruptcy documents from NARA (St. Louis) and was informed by the archivist that the file was more than 1,000 pages. I was asked if I really wanted to have all the pages copied (at a cost of $.80/page). I decided to hire someone to copy the file at about half that price. That was a good decision since the file actually contained 1,800 pages! I learned that the bankruptcy had devastated the family, and they were forced to sell all their belongings.
David De Vecchis, Providence, Rhode Island: On the night of his wedding in 1887, my Italian paternal great-grandfather, Antonio De Vecchis, drank to excess and gambled away all his money. Fortunately, his wife, Amalia Boccia (my great-grandmother), was a woman of means and able to cover their expenses—but she never let him forget it.
Elaine Schenot, Greensboro, North Carolina: In October 1809, my 5th-great-grandfather Samuel Watson of West Greenwich, Rhode Island, petitioned the state’s general assembly to extend to him the benefits of Rhode Island’s 1756 “Act for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors.” Samuel submitted a list of what he owned, including “One old Feather Bed and some Bedding very poor,” “three knives & forks old and poor,” and “three or four old spoons.” Samuel owned no real estate and “never expects to have any, & if hereafter any should come to his Hands or Knowledge, he will chearfully [sic] add the Same to the above Inventory.” Samuel was granted relief in February 1812.
Richard Josselyn, Andover, Massachusetts: In 1873, my maternal grandfather, Bernard J. McQuillan, immigrated from Ireland to Boston. He worked as a liquor salesman and eventually established his own successful liquor store. In 1898, Bernard sold his store and moved back to Ireland with his wife, Annie, and son Joseph. Unfortunately, Bernard was considered an outsider “Yankee” by his fellow Irish. His business endeavors were unsuccessful, and he lost all his money. After the family returned to Boston in 1907, Bernard was able to obtain only low-paying positions such as an elevator operator.
Spotlight: Community History Archive: Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick, Maine
by Valerie Beaudrault
The town of Brunswick is located at the northern end of Casco Bay in Cumberland County, Maine. The Curtis Memorial Library has made a number of newspaper databases available in its Community History Archives. The collection comprises more than 100,000 pages from five newspapers, including The Bath-BrunswickTimesRecord (1967-1972), The Brunswick Record (1903-1966), Brunswick Telegraph (1853-1894), The Brunswick Telegraph (1894-1903), and The Times Record (1972-1977). The database can be searched by keyword or browsed.
We have updated Connecticut: Society of the Cincinnati so that it can be searched by birth, marriage, death, and burial records. This database now has 25,943 records, 78,920 names, and 2,769 pages. The volumes are divided as follows: Volume 1: Thomas Abbe–Cornelius Higgins, Volume 2: Joseph Higgins–Samuel Sanford, and Volume 3: Abijah Savage–John Yates/Yeats. Search Now
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
