Learn how stories from family, DNA test results, and historical records came together to help family researcher Blanca Bruso uncover her enslaved Puerto Rican ancestors. Read More
Upcoming Online Seminar
Massachusetts Research: Four Centuries of History and Genealogy
This online course will provide a century-by-century look at the records, resources, repositories, and research strategies that are essential to exploring your Massachusetts roots. April 8 at 2 p.m. (ET). Members save 10%. Register Now
Final Reminder! Deadline is April 1
Young Family Historians Essay Contest
Do you have a young family historian in your life? American Ancestors/NEHGS is holding an essay contest for students currently enrolled in grades 4–12 in public, private, parochial, and home schools across the nation. Prizes range from $250-500. Submission deadline is April 1. Learn More
The Weekly Genealogist Survey
This Week's Survey:
Do You Have Family Connections to a Jail or Prison?
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:
Do You Have Connections to Adoption and Fostering?
Total: 3,724 Responses
50%, One or more of my ancestors or relatives was adopted or fostered.
32%, One or more of my ancestors or relatives was an adoptive or foster parent.
5%, I was adopted or fostered.
8%, I am/was an adoptive or foster parent.
13%, I don’t know whether any of my ancestors or relatives were adopted or fostered, or were adoptive or foster parents.
15%, I have another connection to adoption or fostering.
18%, I have no connection to adoption or fostering.
Readers Respond
Janet Fulton, Davis, California: Both my great-grandparents and my parents served as foster families. I served as a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate; I was matched with foster youth and advocated for their best interests in family court. In my final project before retirement, I helped lead the development of a new statewide program offering substantial support to eligible foster youth attending community college.
Rebecca Smith, Rehoboth, Massachusetts: My great-grandmother was born Bertha May Brigham in 1876. She was adopted as an infant and renamed Agnes Helen Aldrich. She was taunted by other children for having "no parents." She and my great-grandfather had nine biological children and adopted one. They also became foster parents and were sent a lot of sick babies to nurse back to health. Agnes was a foster mother well into old age, caring for 94 "official" children—and a number of unofficial ones—on their farm in North Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Maureen Quinn Dwyer, Haverford, Pennsylvania: My father, James B. Dwyer, was a judge in the Common Pleas Court of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Over the course of his career, he presided over 5530 adoptions—no other judge in Pennsylvania has reached that mark. My father said that handling adoptions was the most rewarding aspect of his 31 years on the bench.
Dotty Kinnun, Mena, Arkansas: Several years ago, I thought that there were no incidences of adoption in our family tree. That was before DNA testing! I have since discovered a niece and several second cousins who are DNA matches to me or my husband but were given up for adoption as infants. We have enjoyed getting to know these new family members.
Donna Di Lello, Bradford, Ontario, Canada: I was adopted as a baby back in the early 1950s in Ontario, Canada. Once I had children of my own, I realized that my birth mother would have wondered what happened to me. I decided to search for her. This was before records were opened for adoptees, and it took me three years to find both birth families. Both of my birth parents had passed away, but I found four siblings. The search for my birth family got me hooked on genealogy for life.
What We’re Reading
DNA From Beethoven’s Hair Unlocks Medical and Family Secrets “By analyzing seven samples of hair said to have come from Ludwig van Beethoven, researchers debunked myths about the revered composer while raising new questions about his life and death.”
Why Did States Require Blood Tests for Marriage Licenses? “Contrary to what you might assume, America’s history of mandatory blood tests before marriage has nothing to do with an Oedipal fear of accidentally tying the knot with your long-lost mother, brother, or other close relative.”
Spotlight: Cemetery Indexes, Lawrence County, Kentucky
by Valerie Beaudrault
Lawrence County, seated in Louisa, is located in eastern Kentucky. The Lawrence County Public Library has digitized five volumes containing cemetery records, including burials, cemetery maps, and gravestone photographs. Use the Locator List to search for a specific cemetery and its associated volume number. Data fields include full names, birth and death dates, gravestone location information, and notes. Separate databases have been created for CurtRight Funeral Home and Pine Hill Cemetery. Search Now
New Database: Roman Catholic Parish Cemetery Records, 1866-1940
This database collects Catholic cemetery records from select parishes in Massachusetts. Most volumes contain records of lot sales or interments, and may include lot owners and date/location of burial, including graves which may not have headstones. Search Now
Free Video from American Ancestors
Wanted! Dead or Alive: Researching Criminal Ancestors
Genealogist Melanie McComb provides an overview of key resources that can be used to research the criminals in your own family tree, including newspapers, jail registers, prison records, court records, and more. Watch Now
The Bookstore at NEHGS—Last Chance!
Experts' Choice Sale—Save 20%
Treat yourself—or the family historian in your life—to our handpicked collection of genealogical classics. For a limited time, our popular Experts’ Choice books are 20% off, so there has never been a better time to add to your personal library. This special offer ends March 31, so shop now! Use promo code ExpertChoice323. Save Now
Planning for the Future?
Name Your Beneficiaries Today
Did you know that non-probate assets—such as an IRA, 401(k), or life-insurance policy—are not automatically covered in your will or trust? Our friends at FreeWill.com have provided a free and secure online tool that makes naming your beneficiaries easy. Preserve your legacy and make sure your loved ones and most important causes are supported—get started today! Learn More
