Search Results for: blog genealogy and family ghost stories

Is There A Black Sheep In Your Family History?

Is there a black sheep ancestor somewhere in your family tree? If so, you are probably curious about some of the stories that have been handed down over the years. How much truth is there in what you have heard, and how much has been embellished or covered over? Perhaps your family prefers to let sleeping ghosts lie – until you discover interesting details while conducting what you thought was a routine check of the census records. Researching or discovering a black sheep ancestor can be fascinating, yet it can be very difficult for you and for your family. When … Continue reading →

Add Some Halloween Flavor to Your Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of your family. A great way to understand more about your ancestors is to learn more about the history of the places that they lived. October and November are excellent months to add some Halloween flavor to your genealogy research. On October 19, and October 20, 2012, the Pensacola Lighthouse, which is located in Pensacola, Florida, will hold Haunted Lighthouse Tours. They will take place from 6:00 at night until 9:00 at night. Reservations are required. Admission will cost adults $5.00 and children $3.00. The tour is not recommended for young children. The Pensacola Lighthouse has … Continue reading →

Ancestral Gold, Murder, and Ghost Stories

Every week, there are interesting genealogy workshops, classes, conferences, webinars, and events to attend. Some of them might be going in near where you live! Here are a few that will be happening soon. Ancestry.com LIVE has two webinars scheduled for this week. One is called “Genealogy Brainstorming: I’m Stuck. Now What?”. It will take place on October 9, 2012, from 1:00 in the afternoon until 2:00 in the afternoon, EDT. The other one is called “How To Up Your Genealogy Game”. It will happen on October 11, 2012, starting at 1:00 in the afternoon, and ending at 2:00 in … Continue reading →

Celebrity Family Trees

Many people enjoy following the lives and times of celebrities. If you are into genealogy and celebrities, then you may enjoy Genealogy.com’s selection of celebrity family trees. Now, you do not have to wait for your favorite Hollywood personality to have their own episode of “Who Do You Think You Are?” You can check out their heritage online at any time of day or night. From artists and athletes to royalty and historical figures, this collection of celebrity family trees is full of interesting folks. The first celebrity family tree that I chose to look at is that of Donald … Continue reading →

Looking for a Good Genealogy Related Book?

Genealogy is a hobby that tends to require a lot of books. Some books are simply reference materials, while other books are a good way to get a better understanding of a specific historical period. What might be the most fun, however, are books that describe someone else’s genealogy experience, as that person puts together information about their family tree. All genealogists are going to need a few good reference books. If you find yourself confused by the legal terms that you run across while researching titles of property or other documents, a good legal dictionary can help you understand … Continue reading →

Family Heirlooms: The “Stuff” of Genealogy

I was talking to my mom on the telephone the other day, and she brought up something that I had not really thought too much about before. We were discussing family heirlooms, and how some families have more than others because of when and how their ancestors arrived in America. For example, my mother’s paternal ancestors have been in the United States for quite some time. I believe that they arrived before the Civil war. Her maternal ancestors, however, did not come to America until her maternal grandmother came from Italy through Ellis Island with her family, My genealogical math … Continue reading →

Genealogy and Family Ghost Stories

Occasionally, your genealogy research will reveal a “skeleton” in the family closet. Sometimes, if you are lucky, your genealogy research can uncover a family ghost story. It is things like these that make genealogy so interesting! Part of the fun in documenting a family ghost story is discovering clues of it’s veracity. Just make sure you are recording it the right way. It is not unheard of for a family to hide, or to stop talking about, a family member that caused a scandal. Perhaps a baby was born “out of wedlock”, or maybe an ancestor suffered from a mental … Continue reading →

Explore Ben & Jerry’s “Flavor Graveyard”

Is your favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor lurking in the Flavor Graveyard? Genealogists can visit an online, somewhat animated, version of this graveyard (that actually does exist outside of the internet). It can be fun to explore the “family history” of some of the flavors that have “passed away”. Sometimes, it’s good to have a bit of fun with genealogy. Halloween is in October, and this holiday makes a lot of people think about graveyards, ghosts, and scary stories. Genealogists who cannot get their family to accompany them to a cemetery might be able to talk them into a tour … Continue reading →

This Halloween, Why Not Dress Up As Your Ancestors?

Okay, so I know that it is a little bit last minute to be discussing Halloween costumes. I also know that as many of us as there are that already have our kids’ costumes in hand, there are still plenty of us that are looking for a great last-minute idea because the kids have either not decided what they want to dress up as yet or have decided that the costume that they had you buy a while ago is not what they want to wear this coming Sunday. Perhaps you have just been invited to a Halloween party and … Continue reading →

LDS Week in Review June 30th-July 5th

Thank you for joining us as we take a look back at the past week. You’ll want to visit “Dinner Discussions” to see what your family members are studying at church, and you won’t want to miss the First Presidency Message or the Visiting Teaching Message, either, which will help you with your home teaching and visiting teaching assignments. The Church has a wonderful program which circulates through the wards and stakes every couple of years to teach about the policy on adoption for unwed mothers. You can read more about it here. We started a new series on the … Continue reading →