The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West with Author Bryan Burrough
From the bestselling author of The Big Rich and Forget the Alamo comes a reconsideration of Texas—home to America’s most legendary gunfighters, including Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Butch, and Sundance—as the epicenter of the Wild West. Join Bryan Burrough and historian Douglas Brinkley for a discussion of the Lone Star State and “one of the most important books written on the American West in many years.” (True West Magazine) Learn More
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
This Week's Survey:
Ancestors or Relatives Who Practiced Medicine
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.
9%, Yes, one or both of my parents spoke a first language that was not English.
31%, Yes, one or more of my grandparents spoke a first language that was not English.
49%, Yes, one or more of my great-grandparents spoke a first language that was not English.
51%, Yes, one or more of my great-great-grandparents spoke a first language that was not English.
30%, No, all my ancestors from my parents through my great-great-grandparents spoke English as their first language.
3%, I don't know.
Readers Respond
Ann Vilchuck, Batavia, Illinois: My paternal great-grandfather, Lee Kai, emigrated from China to Hawaii about 1882. Lee Kai owned a meat market and other businesses in Pahoa on the Big Island, so he probably knew Hawaiian, English, Pidgin English, as well as several Chinese dialects. His wife, Kaunu Kaaukai, insisted on speaking only Hawaiian.
Janice M. Sellers, Gresham, Oregon: My grandparents (who were both born in New York), great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents on my mother's side of the family all spoke Yiddish as their first language. My grandmother told me that she didn't learn English until she went to public school. She remained fluent in Yiddish her whole life. I once heard her have an argument in Yiddish with my godmother. I didn't understand a word!
Edythe Ann Quinn, Unadilla, New York: According to the 1905 New York State Census, my mother, Winifred Klotzbach (or Klotz), age four, was living with her paternal grandparents, immigrants Christian and Bertha Klotzbach, at 51 Jane Street in New York City's Greenwich Village. My mother fondly recalled that her Großmutter taught her enough German to go to the German butcher in the neighborhood.
Gale Kane, Bartlesville, Oklahoma: The 1920 Cowley County, Kansas, Census lists my great-great-grandmother Ann Nagle Morgan’s “mother tongue” as Irish. She was from the remote Burren in County Clare where Irish was spoken into contemporary times. That area was a hotbed of the Irish Revolution, so a sense of nationalism may have contributed to their determination to speak Irish.
Kathy Johnson, Appleton, Wisconsin: My grandparents were born and raised in Switzerland. They immigrated to the U.S. in the 1930s. Each of them spoke four languages: German, French, Italian, and English. They spoke German when they didn't want the grandchildren to know what they were saying. When I had the opportunity to study another language in school, I chose German so I would understand those conversations. Years later, my mother told me that when they learned I was studying German, they switched to French!
Database News
New Database: North America: Records of Enslaved People from Plantations and Estates, 1765-1890
We are excited to announce a new 10 Million Names database. North America: Records of Enslaved People from Plantations and Estates, 1765-1890, provides birth, death, marriage, and census records for individuals enslaved at North American plantations and estates, as well as their family members.
Each volume within this database represents a different plantation or estate. Additional volumes will be added as they are digitized. This new database provides records for Cedar Grove Plantation, North Carolina, 1765–1890. The records include 805 names, tax lists and inventories, deeds, family papers, the 1870 census, and the Torrence Family Tree Project. Search Now
Historical Home Health Manuals: A Doctor in a Book Inside Adams, the Library of Congress blog related to science, technology, and business, discusses the importance of personal medical reference books in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Links to digital copies of six home health manuals are provided.
The Best State Around: Historic, Promotional State Maps The Highlights from the Vault blog from the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library presents a variety of fun state maps, including some that offer highly distorted views of the rest of the United States.
Spotlight: Newspaper Archives of the Pipestone County Museum, Minnesota
by Valerie Beaudrault
Pipestone County, seated in the city of Pipestone, is located in southwestern Minnesota. Pipestone County Museum, home to the Pipestone County Historical Society, has made a digitized newspaper collection available on its website. The collection comprises nearly 51,000 pages from eleven newspapers, including Pipestone County Star (1879-1915), The Jasper Journal (1888-1915), The Farmers Leader (1897-1914), Edgerton Enterprise (1887-1913), The Daily Star (1886-1899), and WoodstockNews (1909-1916). The database can be searched by keyword or browsed. Search Now
Cartoon Caption Contest!
American Ancestors, our quarterly magazine, is seeking a caption for its next cartoon (pictured)! The winning entry will be featured in our fall issue. Click the image to view a larger version (clicking will redirect you to our Facebook page). Enter Now
Upcoming Lectures, Courses, Tours, and More
September 18—Free Online Lecture with David Allen Lambert
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
Young Family Historians Essay Contest
We're excited to announce the launch of our 2026 essay contest commemorating the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Students are invited to share a story of an ancestor who was “revolutionary” and explain how their actions were new or impactful for their time. Learn More
