I love scouring old newspapers. I hit the jackpot with Joseph Billman from Erie - German-born and Civil War veteran.

The main Celtic traditions for genealogy are the Irish, the Scottish and the Welsh. Complicating matters, Irish settlers brought Gaelic from

Christine makes the journey across the Atlantic in 1950. Her daughter in Germany worries that her frail mother might not be strong enough.

Why do some family names end in -son and some in -sen?

AUGH! It’s not just a cry of distress, it’s an anglicization. Why do we see lots of names ending in -augh? Baugh, Grumbaugh, Brumbaugh?

Why were there piles of Christmas cards from 1960 sent from around the world to a young girl in Virginia?

Sewing, in addition to laundry, used to be a responsibility that almost every woman had. And yet it can be tough to get insights into this p

Just a head's up for those looking up dates further back (generally prior or 1752) or from some other countries cultures: People used di

It's amazing how curious you can get about people in no way related to you. I've written before about Olof Harrison, a Swede who mov

Our family has a photo of the framed wedding invitation of my 2nd great aunt and uncle. It's a charmingly simple one. When I first came

When you’re tracing an ancestor to Central Europe from a century or more ago, you need to find out which state they were from. Here are some

One of the early things my father told me when I asked him about his family was that my great-grandmother, Pauline Volkmann, had left her hu

A series of correspondence to and ​​from the same people opens up a whole new understanding about them. Old Swedish postcards from greater

When learning about ancestors who immigrated to the US decades or centuries ago, you get a double challenge. Not only is there the translati

We thought it would be fun to conclude our week celebrating  the magic of handwriting with a light-hearted Christmas note that arrived one F

Eliese Trede, my mother's grandmother, immigrated in 1908, leaving her loving parents on a journey across the Atlantic. This is her 1925

This is an 1843 letter from my 3rd great grandfather, to his son telling him to hurry home from the army before his mother dies. We have a l

Day 2 to highlight the Art of Handwriting and your Family through January 23rd, National Handwriting Day. Share a favorite family hand-writt

Post your family handwritten letters to celebrate National Handwriting Day.

An apprentice butcher's training in 19th century "Germany" included journeying and learning from one expert to another and sta