Blog
Remembering during a time of loss
As I sat in a hotel room trying to prepare myself for the viewing (wake) and funeral of both of my Son’s Grandparents, it was comforting to turn to genealogy. They left this world after full lives, but sadly for us, within days of each other. Of course, repeating the caveats of capturing information while family members are still alive came to mind. But enough has been written about finding out the stories, the details, and who those people are in the pictures. And enough has been said about reminding to people to make those phone calls and...
read moreIn Memoriam – Linda Jarczewski
Like so many of my research friends, Linda is someone I worked with over the Internet. She was so giving of her talent and her warmth. She always had ideas or a new way to look at facts. I could pick up a phone and call even though I had never met her in person. Linda entered our lives through a clever genealogist’s move. She noticed that an ancestor’s grave was well tended and decided to leave a letter on the tombstone introducing herself. Through it she met her cousin Buddy, who was also my cousin, when he discovered the letter and...
read moreGoogle Searches
Without a doubt, Google search is one of my go-to genealogical tools. Google is always changing its tools to increase their effectiveness. The addition of tools and features is exciting. The elimination of tools can be frustrating. Google search is not immune from such changes. Over time, Google has removed some of the search operators. Since “A Weekend of Genealogy” was published, Google has dropped one of its operators. The tilde (~) operator was described on pages 54-55 of the book. The tilde operator was used to return web...
read moreUsing the USAHEC Tutorials
If you have had ancestors in the military, using military archives can be a research destination. You may find information about your ancestor, but it is more that your ancestor’s name will not be indexed. It is more likely you will locate collections and documents that contain information about the time and unit that where your ancestor served. In turn, these may contain references to your ancestor. At there very least, they will provide insights into the times and places your ancestor inhabited. After a visit to the U.S. Army Heritage...
read moreFinding Joseph McMahon and the 51st Pioneer Infantry Regiment (NY), Company B
My Grandfather, Joseph F. McMahon, was born on 29 August 1894 in Kilrush, County Clare, Ireland. He arrived in the U.S. on 6 October 1907 with his widowed Mother and the youngest siblings. Sadly, he died when my Father was a young child. Through this research into his military service, I am trying to learn about him and the stories that he might have told. As I have researched his life, I found out that many of my preconceived notions were incorrect. Most notably, he became a citizen before his military service in WWI. Also significant was...
read moreUSAHEC Reference Bibliographies Tutorial has been updated
USAHEC has updated their webpages! The tutorial about using the Reference Bibliographies has been update, too. Click on the Tutorial tab to view it.
read moreRelatively Curious and the Genealogy Words
Your might want to check out Relatively Curious. When you visit, there is a great set of genealogy words in seven Languages.
read moreCheck out a new Tutorial
I have posted a new tutorial about one way to search the holdings US Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC). USAHEC is the archive for the U.S. Army. This the first tutorial that shows how to use the Reference Bibliographies that are available. Go to the Tutorials page and select the link to view USAHEC: Using the Online Catalog: Reference Bibliographies. I will be posting more tutorials about other ways to search for USAHEC resources. When I visit to view the resources, I will post about that,...
read moreResearching at USAHEC
This past week I made an interesting trip to Carlisle, PA, to the US Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) to attend a lecture about researching in their facility. “USAHEC Research 101: Basic Research Methodology at the USAHEC” was presented by the very knowledgeable and informative Mr. Rich Baker. The focus was on how to use the online USAHEC Research Catalog and Digital Archive. One of the secrets to using the database is to use the reference bibliographies, by topic or keyword. After the lecture, I visited the research room, and...
read moreDNA Talk at AAGS
Thanks to the Anne Arundel Genealogical Society for a warm welcome tonight.
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