Member Blogs

We Iowans are very proud of our own Meredith Wilson, creator of "The Music Man," long running Broadway musical and award winning movie. 

Professor Harold Hill, The Music Man himself, extolls the secret of his success to his fellow salesmen when he states, "Ya Gotta Know the Territory!" 

I often hire experienced genealogy researchers in other locales. Why? Because they "know the territory!" Local researchers are knowledgeable and familiar with the resources and repositories in their area. Remember

                                                                                                          Enhanced photo of James Clark, Mary Cashman, Julia Cashman and Tom Keneavy

                                                                                                                       (1895)

 I couldn’t believe I overlooked a useful tool that was right at my fingertips. E.A.B.

Several years a

I decided yesterday that I was going to go to the historical society today to do some research.  I did not find much.  I got copies of 4 death certificates for some of my Hartman's.  I did however have a wonderful time talking to the volunteers and some other researchers.  It is amazing how many of us were researching the same family's.  I really enjoy my time there even if I don't get much accomplished.

I've often found when researching that the tinest snippet of information can lead to a wonderful surprise.  For example, typing surnames into Google Book Search has led me to the following:

A tiny snippet from a railroad magazine that was published for employees, mentioned my father's name. As my father has passed away, you can imagine how this peaked my curiosity.   I decided to research the magazine only to find it was no longer in print.  Not one to give up so easily, I contacted a railroad m

When my day is hectic and I'm feeling frazzled, how relaxing it is to just step back into time.  I look around me at all the conveniences that modern day has to offer and wonder how my ancestors ever managed.  Old pictures, a small glimpse of their lives and towns, brings delight, wonder and a thirst to know more.  Whether I am combing through State Archives or searching old newspapers, that tiny clue, the little nugget that gives me the breakthrough I am looking for, makes the pressures of toda

I have started to place just a few of the several hundred images of Heads stones I have online at Flckr. You can use these images for FREE providing they are for personal use and not commercial.

I am about to lose space, so if you think one of the people might be yours – get there quick:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ancestrycentral/sets/72157626628816782/

Please note this is a small collection of what I have from the following cemeteries, so why not contact me and check. More Information

A small collection of images of Monumental Headstones and Markers taken at the above cemetery are available to download  at Ancestry Central  (www.ancestrycentral.co.uk – go to find a grave – Select Cemetery/name etc)

Please also explore the other collections and revisit as I start to add my collection. Download for personal use is Free.

Please note this is a small personal collection, but large enough to be worth displaying – I am happy to receive contributions from other people and credit them a

Featuring Churches in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Malta, Canada and Cumbria

Often, on the records, the people listed as "witnesses" to a wedding or "informants" of the information (births, deaths) are close family members. Pay attention to these people. Search them out. Knowing more about them will help you to know more about your ancestors.

For example, my great grandmother's wedding registration lists her sister, Janet, as a witness. This particular sister was one of three sisters that my great grandmother had. But she was the oldest sister and the eldest child. My gre

A small collection of images of Monumental Headstones and Markers taken at the above cemetery are available to download  at Ancestry Central  (www.ancestrycentral.co.uk – go to find a grave – Select Cemetery/name etc)

Please also explore the other collections and revisit as I start to add my collection. Download for personal use is Free.

Please note this is a small personal collection, but large enough to be worth displaying – I am happy to receive contributions from other people and credit them a

What information can we find for one family from one page of a Census ?

Well how about 3 marriages, 2 agricultural labourers, a widow, a Coal merchant, a cordwainer, 4 siblings living apart, a widower, a nephew, a father in law, a mother in law, cousins, and several scholars ! Not to mention the uninhabited buildings.

A brief family study in a part of Scredington village in 1881 Lincolnshire.

Every census document tells us something of our ancestors; where they married ? what did they do ? where di

As web site www.ancestrycentral.co.uk continues to develop, Ancestry Central have launched a number of opportunities for Family History and One Name Study Societies.

At Ancestry Central, we are committed to providing a platform for new collections of genealogical data and imagery for researchers worldwide and we invite Family History and One Name Study Societies to get involved by adding their listings to our directory pages and by contributing to collections on display.

Currently we aim to add mo

 With the popularity of the television show Who Do You Think You Are, more people are showing an interest in finding their roots. I am a genealogist, living in Ontario, with an expert in Scottish genealogy research. I offer 10 day trips to Scotland to allow people to access the records directly (as opposed to paying for services of a professional genealogist). I take groups to the repositories in Edinburgh (Scotland's People Centre, The Scottish Genealogy Society, The National Library of Scotlan

The Toll of Time….and Council’s

Still on the theme of local cemeteries. Following a visit to Eastern Cemetery in Kingston, I was astonished to witness in such a well kept cemetery that an eagerness to protect the visitors, the stones themselves were being damaged.
It looks to me as though the sinking of some older graves, very likely due to some flooding and certainly some excessive rain, perhaps caused them to be a little unsafe.

However, the actions of those safety conscious officials has not bee