At the end of World War II, three U.S. military officers discovered a hidden cache of jewels belonging to a royal German family with Nazi connections—and decided to keep the loot for themselves. Jeff Record searches for connections to the Hesse Heist conspirators. Read More
Upcoming Online Seminar
Beyond the Grave: Uncovering Life Stories from Death Records
This seminar will provide a detailed overview of death records through the lens of uncovering stories. We’ll discuss civil death records and substitutes; last wills and testaments; funeral, burial, and cemetery records; and more. Wednesdays in October. Register Now
New Online Exhibit
Explore Jewish Neighborhood Voices
Hear the voices and stories of a generation of Americans who grew up in the Jewish immigrant neighborhoods of greater Boston. Jewish Neighborhood Voices combines audio clips and archival images to evoke Jewish family and neighborhood life from the 1920s through the 1950s.
Share your thoughts about the survey! Please limit submissions to 150 words or fewer. Responses featured in a future newsletter may be edited for clarity and length.
Last Week's Survey:
Do You Have Ancestors Who Claimed to Have Psychic Abilities?
Total: 3,308 Responses
24%, Yes
55%, No
22%, I don’t know.
Readers Respond
Joan Kelly, Charlotte, North Carolina: My great-grandmother Elizabeth Gorman, who was Irish, had "the Gift." She read tea leaves and foretold events. My mother had similar experiences with prospicience, but the visions frightened her and she suppressed them.
Sue Glen, Warrenton, Oregon: My grandmother Nellie Gladys Staples was a medium. She conducted seances at her home—my uncle recalled seeing things move around during the sessions when he was a child. After I married and moved away, I wrote letters back home to Nellie. Whenever I put a letter to Nellie in the mailbox, I would find a letter from her containing answers my questions before she had even received them.
Julie Dresser, Sycamore, Illinois: My relative Lieutenant Colonel John C. Bundy (1854-1895) of Chicago assumed editorship of the Spiritualistic weekly periodical Religio-Philosophical Journal in 1877. Its founder, his father-in-law Stephen S. Jones, was murdered by phrenologist William C. Pike. Under Bundy’s leadership, the Journal embraced “Rational Spiritualism” and sought to promote true mediums and genuine phenomena while exposing charlatans and frauds. Sadly, Bundy’s goal of the “breaking down of idol worship and all superstitions that fattened among us heretofore” was not lucrative; the Journal and its editor were beset with financial problems until Bundy’s death in 1892.
Kathy Astrom, Wheeling, Illinois: My great-great-grandmother Carrie McMaster and her husband, Lloyd, were spiritualists in Oklahoma City in the 1920s. Lloyd was a “divine healer.” Carrie was a trance medium (charging $1 per reading) and pastor of the First National Spiritualist Church, which she ran out of their home. In 1920, Carrie was arrested for illegal fortune-telling in a sting operation by local police to crack down on practicing mediums. In 1922, with the goal of forcing the appellate judge to rule that Spiritualism was a religion, she appealed the arrest—unsuccessfully. The story of Carrie’s appeal was covered in newspapers across the U.S. I have a book, Voices from Beyond the Vale, which provides transcripts of readings by Carrie and a fellow Oklahoma City medium.
Marjorie C. Younglof, Gainesville, Virginia: My third-great-grandfather James Lawrence, who had moved from England to Ohio in 1835, was the leader of the spiritualist movement in Ohio in the late nineteenth century. His book, Angel Voices From the Spirit World: Glory to God Who Sends Them, published in 1874, presents essays given to James by his “Spirit Guides,” one of whom declares the “3Ist day of March as the Anniversary of Modern Spiritualism.”
Why Historical Markers Matter “Few realize that the approval process for these outdoor signs varies widely by state and organization, enabling unsanctioned displays to slip through.”
Spotlight: Historic Farnam, Dawson County, Nebraska
by Valerie Beaudrault
Farnam is a village in the southwest corner of Dawson County, which is located in south-central Nebraska. Resources on the Historic Farnam website include an historical photo collection, an extensive cemetery database with plat maps and obituaries, and digitized articles from The Farnam Echo. The village’s centennial history book, . . . from these beginnings we grew, has been digitized and uploaded to the website. In addition, there is searchable alphabetical database of homestead records. Search Now
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. Learn More
