Military records can be a real boon to your family history research. Compare timelines and the ages of family members with the dates of historic military events. If you find that an ancestor was the right age to have served in a military conflict, develop a research plan to investigate the possibility more thoroughly and obtain any related records. Also, investigate what life was like in that era for families on the home front. Social and local histories may contain rich details on wartime activities in which your family may have been involved.

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by Paula Stuart-Warren, CG 

In the United States, the Fourth of July is a time for fireworks, beach trips, family vacations, and apple pie in commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the country’s struggle to reach that point.

For genealogists, this date also reminds us about researching our patriotic ancestors. If you have walked on a battlefield where a war was fought, you know that special feeling that comes over you. You can find many records related to families who lived at that time and who had some type of service related to the Revolutionary War effort. Recently someone asked me how to do research on an ancestor who may have served in the Revolutionary War. That is just the kind of question I like to get; the resources are phenomenal. Continue reading →

by Juliana Smith

It’s now been ten years since Ancestry.com began posting searchable databases online, and for family historians, it’s changed the way we research. While sound methodology still applies, new doors have opened. Years ago, we were forced to prioritize how and who we would search for based on what was available, accessible, and practical.

Back in early May, Sherry Irvine wrote a similarly titled article for us suggesting that we expand our borders and explore ways in which international databases like the UK censuses online at Ancestry.com might help us further our research. As I was trying to think of an appropriate article to write for this week as we celebrate the Fourth of July here in the United States, I thought it would be fun to use this philosophy to explore history a bit through the Historical Newspaper Collection at Ancestry.com. Continue reading →

from Michael John Neill 

Do you know what came out of your ancestor’s mouth when he was asked his name? I don’t mean that word eventually written down on the census page or the marriage license, but the sounds he made when asked his name. The pronunciation is key to finding your ancestor in many records.

When I began my own research, I had difficulty finding my Behrens ancestors. I always “said the name in my head” in a way that pretty much rhymes with the word “errands.” However, that’s not how ancestor Ulfert Behrens said it. In his low-German dialect, his uttering probably sounded closer to the modern pronunciation of “barns.” And that explains several variants I located. Now I look for Barnes and other variants in addition to Behrens and similar spellings. The sound makes a difference.

The last name Talliaferro is similar. This name is not usually pronounced “tuh-lee-uh-fair-ohh.” Rather it is often said in a way that rhymes with “Oliver” sounding like “toliver.” This opens up another set of variant surname spellings for this last name, including Toliver and Tolliver.

I learned of the Behrens pronunciation from my great-grandmother, her grandmother was a Behrens, and great-grandma grew up speaking the same low-German dialect as her parents. For other surnames, consider posting the question to the appropriate ethnic, regional, or surname mailing list; however, I would not recommend finding people with the desired last name in the phone book and asking them on the phone!

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A Book Behind the Name
My great-grandmother, Capitola McCann, was born in Tyler County, West Virginia, in 1859 and was the youngest of four girls. They all had rather unusual names—Loania, Theodosia, Viola, and my ancestor, Capitola. I was curious about where her name might have come from, and searching around the Internet I found a book that might offer an explanation. An author by the name of E.D.E.N. Southworth wrote a book called The Hidden Hand, or Capitola the Madcap—and it was first published in 1859! It was the story of Capitola Black, or Black Cap, who was a bit of a tomboy and an adventure-loving girl.

I would like to think that my Capitola’s mother was a reader, and that the book would not only explain where my ancestor got her name from, but also where my love of reading came from!

Bonnie Selig
Elizabeth, IL

AWJ Editor’s Note: For more information on E.D.E.N. Southworth, see the following sites:

Uncle Tom’s Cabin and American Culture
(Stephen Railton and the University of Virginia)

Portraits of American Women Writers That Appeared in Print Before 1861
E.D.E.N. Southworth, 1819-1899

Continue reading →

The year was 1776 and the American Revolution was just over eight months old. It had begun 19 April 1775 with “the shot heard ‘round the world,” and despite attempts by both sides to reach a peaceful solution, the war would continue.

Battles that year would include:

• The Siege of Boston, July 1775-March 1776
• Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge, 27 February 1776
• The Battle for New York, July-August 1776
• The Battle of Valcour Bay, 11 October 1776
• Washington’s Retreat through New Jersey, 1776
• The Battle of Trenton, December 1776

For more information on these battles and more, see AmericanRevolution.com.

In June, the Congressional Congress met and Thomas Jefferson was given the task of drafting a declaration of independence from British rule. On July 4th, a final version was approved by the Congress, although it wasn’t signed until later that year.

In January another publication had come out that caused quite a stir. Thomas Paine published Common Sense–a pamphlet addressed “To the Inhabitants of America,” which is credited with swaying public opinion in favor of breaking ties with Great Britain. It was the most widely-read publication in the colonies at that time.

Later that year, traveling with George Washington’s army during some of the most disheartening days of the war, Paine’s pen would inspire again with An American Crisis, which opened with the immortal quote,

These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.

1776 fell during a decade when great strides were being made in England in the field of spinning, with the introduction of James Hargreave’s “spinning jenny” and Richard Arkwright’s spinning frame and carding engine. Arkwright went on to build successful textile factories that would use a new steam engine, recently developed by James Watt and Matthew Boulton. To learn more about spinning and textiles, see the series of articles by Patricia Law Hatcher in the Ancestry.com Library.

• The Distaff Side
• Flax
• Weaving and Linen
• Early-American Life

Also in 1776, James Cook began his final voyage in search of the Northwest passage aboard the Resolution.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was in the midst of his career composing music that would live on centuries later. 

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Contributed by Barbara Ellison
Six of the eleven Hay children
From left top: Ruby Elizabeth, age 12; James Edward, age 10; (my mother) Sallie Mae, age 8.
From left bottom: Mattie Sue, age 1; Beulah Audrey, age 3; Dorothy Isabel, age 5; taken circa 1925, Oakfield, Georgia.

 

Contributed by Dorothy Bergman Davis, St. Louis, MO
Dorothy’s mother, Dorothy Elizabeth Hull, circa 1901, in Onarga, Illinois.