In this online lecture, Senior Genealogist Rhonda R. McClure will offer tips on how to make a research plan and stick to it! Using templates, worksheets, and other research tools available at AmericanAncestors.org, you’ll learn how to stay organized and get the most out of your research time.
Escape to Boston for three days of research, one-on-one consultations, orientations, lectures, and social events. Explore the rich offerings at the American Ancestors headquarters and benefit from the knowledge and assistance of our expert genealogists. Register Today
Finding Cornerstone Stories: Uncovering Inspiration in Your Family’s History
Part memoir, part history, and part genealogy guide, Finding Cornerstone Stories follows André Kearns's journey through twenty years of family history research to uncover inspiring stories of enslaved ancestors, entrepreneurs, educators, Patriots, and community builders. Through richly illustrated essays and practical research tips, the book shows readers how to discover the people and stories that shaped their own families—and America itself. Purchase at American Ancestors or on Amazon.
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 will be edited for clarity and length.
23%, A connection to a castle or large estate in a country of origin.
5%, An ancestor or relative from a wealthy family who ran off with a stable boy, maid, or other servant.
4%, An ancestor or relative who ran off to join the circus.
35%, An ancestor or relative who went west to seek his [or her] fortune.
11%, An ancestor or relative who ran away to sea.
22%, An ancestor or relative accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.
21%, Native American ancestry.
43%, Mayflower ancestry.
24%, Three brothers who immigrated to colonial America.
21%, Family members who fought on opposite sides in the Revolutionary War or the Civil War.
12%, A family surname that was changed by immigration officials at Ellis Island or another port of entry.
19%, A presumed relationship with a prominent person, living or dead, because of a shared surname.
3%, A line of descent from Adam and Eve.
25%, We have family lore that fits into a category not mentioned above.
8%, We have no family lore.
Readers Respond
Valerie Becker Makkai, Chicago, Illinois: My great-great-grandmother Mary Anne Cumberland was the fifth of seven children in her Northern Irish family. In 1841, at the age of twenty-four, Mary Anne was engaged to Robert Cleland, an immigrant from Lanarkshire, Scotland. However, Mary Anne’s youngest sister, twenty-year-old Jane, eloped with the fiancé. The couple sailed off to Canada, where they settled in York, Ontario, and raised a family. The following year Mary Anne, her widowed father, and all but one of her siblings immigrated to Creemore, Simcoe, Ontario. There Mary Anne met and married (in 1846) my great-great-grandfather John Day, and they raised a large family of their own. Despite this happy ending, Jane was always considered a black sheep by the family, and the entire Cumberland clan refused to speak to Jane or her family again.
Margaret Roberts, Elk Grove, California: According to family stories, my Spanish ancestry originates with Manuel Butron (1727-1793). The House of Butron was a powerful noble family with a castle in the Basque country. Butron arrived in the Americas circa 1770 as a member of the Free Company of Catalonia Volunteers, which protected missions built by Franciscan missionary Father Junípero Serra Ferrer. Manuel Butron is the only layman buried at the Carmel Mission in California. In 2019, my father and I made a trip to Bilbao to visit the castle of our family lore. It was a beautiful memory to make together.
Joanne Whitney Hill, Maysville North Carolina: My mother told me that my dad's grandmother Gertrude Ballou Whitney (1872-1957) had been invited to join the DAR because "she was a direct descendant of John Paul Jones." Jones never married and there was considerable dispute about him having any descendants, so I didn't think too much more about the claim. In researching Jones, however, I discovered an ancestor, Richard Lunt, who served in the Revolutionary War in the Navy. Lunt was taken prisoner by the British and wrote home about how Dr. Franklin was trying to secure his release. He later went on to fight under John Paul Jones.
Saloon-Smashing Carrie Nation in Nebraska “Starting in 1900, Carrie Nation became a household name for her fanatical (she agreed with that word) opposition to alcohol. The 55-year-old Kansan spent much of early 1902 crusading in Nebraska.”
Haywood County, seated in Brownsville, is located in western Tennessee. The Haywood County GenWeb site has made a collection of more than 15,000 transcribed burial records from 170 cemeteries available on its website. In addition to cemetery name links, burial counts are provided for each of the cemeteries. Click the cemetery name link to begin. The data fields include surname, first, middle, and other name; birth date; and death date. Researchers can also perform searches of the database by clicking the search links in the contents banner. Search Now
Database News
Update to The Maine Genealogist
We have uploaded volumes 42 and 43 (2020-2021) to The Maine Genealogistdatabase. This update adds 453 pages, 9,300 records, and 9,173 searchable names. Search Now
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
