March 2012
15 posts
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Ask Ancestry Anne: Where is George Elmer Thomas?
Dear Anne
Is there any way that you can help me find out who the parents were for George Elmer Thomas? He was born November 18, 1863 and died December 27, 1955. He was married to Emma Adams in Burlington, NJ at the Methodist church (no help there on his marriage return). He lived in Buddtown, Burlington and Vincentown, New Jersey and he died at the Cranbury Nursing home in Cranbury, New...
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Searching without a Last Name
Over the years my family had tried to find a record of the birth of my grandparents’ first child, who was born in England in the very early 1900s. The family story was that my grandmother, Anna, left Russia first with the opportunity to travel to England with a choir “to sing for the queen.” She jumped ship and stayed in England, where their first child was born. Grandpa...
February 2012
19 posts
2 tags
“If the past has been an obstacle and a burden, knowledge of the past is the...”
– Lord John Acton (1834-1902)
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Ask Ancestry Anne: New Ways to Use Your Hints
One of the many advantages of having a tree online at Ancestry.com or on Family Tree Maker or one of our downloadable apps is that you can take advantage of our hints. While you are away we are out searching for you.
And now we have a new way for you to access those hints: the All Hints Page
If you are on a tree view online, mouse over the find a person in your tree text box and choose List of...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: The Ancestry Insider is Talking... →
The Ancestry Insider was at mine and the Barefoot Genealogist’s Roots Tech presentation: Don’t Waste Your Money and other thoughts
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“To add a library to a house is to give that house a soul.”
– Marcus Tullius Cicero
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Marriage Records Video and Ancestry Day in...
Our ancestors got married and we get the gift. Marriage records can include details that can spur our research back in time, but even beyond the names and dates, our ancestors’ weddings marked a big turning point in their lives. I often wonder about their stories. How did they meet? What kind of wedding did they have? Who stood up in their wedding? I know the answers and have some great stories...
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Mysteries and other stories in the family tree
By Juliana Smith
Marissa Tomei’s journey into the past on last night’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? (Fridays 8/7c on NBC) centered on the untimely death of her great-grandfather. At the start, he was little more than a name in the family tree and the subject of speculation—of the shadiest type. But his reputation got a makeover once Tomei dug into his story.
That’s the wonderful part about...
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Don't miss Marisa Tomei on tonight's "Who Do You...
On this week’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? award-winning actress Marisa Tomei searches for the truth behind her great-grandfather’s rumored murder. Learn what she uncovers and how getting a look at the big picture changes an entire generation’s view of one hardworking man in the family tree. Ancestry.com is a sponsor of Who Do You Think You Are?, which airs Friday nights at 8/7c on NBC....
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget...”
– Maya Angelou
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Freedman’s Bank Records, 1865-1874
The year 1865 found many African American Civil War veterans and ex-slaves with a little money in their pockets and there was a need for an institution where they could start a savings account. The Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (often referred to as the Freedman’s Bank) was incorporated on 03 March 1865 to meet that need. Unfortunately mismanagement and fraud led to the failure of that...
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Ask Ancestry Anne: Was my ancestor in...
Question: My great grandfather served in the Civil War and was a prisoner at Andersonville. However, I am unable to find him when I search the archives using his name and Andersonville. His name was John Aziza Jones born April 22, 1840 died May 10, 1941. Can you help?
-Sandy
Answer: First, I looked for John in the 1930 census – it’s the most recent one available and it lists if a man is a...
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Your Story: Visit to a Nursing Home Pays Off
We wanted to know who had been putting flowers on my husband’s granduncle’s grave. We first tried to contact the person by putting a note on some silk flowers and leaving it at the gravesite, but we received no response. On Memorial Day we decided we would wait at the grave to see if the person would arrive. Then we discovered we were too late – she had already been there and gone.
We made some...
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“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
– Theodore Roosevelt
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Twists of fate in the family tree on Who Do You...
When you start down a road in your family’s history, you never know whose paths may have crossed in the past. Actor Martin Sheen found that out on the first episode of this season of Who Do You Think You Are?. In a mind-bending twist of fate, he learned that a great-great-great-great-grandfather on his grandmother’s side and a great-great-great-great-grandmother on his grandfather’s side had a...
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WatchAncestry.com LIVE @ RootsTech 2012: Watch It Live for Free!
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"To My Old Master"
Sometimes you find a historical record that just leaves you speechless. Ed Cardinal shared a link with me this week that took me to one such record. It’s posted on a website called Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience. The document is a letter written by a former slave to his master in response to a request from said master to return to work for him. As we mark the start...
