Archives

In Honor of Labor Day 2017

For Labor Day 2016, I wrote a blog post highlighting ancestors who belonged to labor unions. For 2017, I thought I’d highlight a few labor-related resources I’ve found helpful in researching my ancestors who worked in northeastern Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal industry. Ancestry, “Pennsylvania, Coal Employment Records, 1900-1954“ This collection...

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Observing the 4th of July, 2017

The 4th of July–the nation’s birthday, independence, parades, fireworks, picnics and cookouts, family gatherings. For genealogists and family historians, it’s a chance to savor our family’s role in creating our great country, and share it. Maybe our ancestors arrived in one of the original thirteen colonies, or maybe they...

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What does raisin cake have to do with genealogy?

Tomorrow I will be speaking at Hennepin County Library‘s annual Family History Fair on “Finding Female Ancestors.” During my talk one of the topics will be women’s historical household roles, including cooking, sewing, and needlework, and what recipes and crafts can tell us about family history. While I was...

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Drive-by Genealogy, 2016

In June my husband and I drove from our home outside Minneapolis, Minnesota, to my family’s summer cabin in northeastern Pennsylvania in order to spend a few weeks with my mother before attending the Advanced DNA course at the second session of GRIP–the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. On...

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Memorial Day, 2016, Part 2–Generations 5 and 6

Continuing our virtual visit to my family cemeteries with my great-great-grandparents, let’s start with my mother’s side, where we’re coming to the Civil War generation. Her paternal grandfather Roland R. Neifert’s parents were Martin Neifert (1840-1912) and Harriet (Gerhard) Neifert (1939-1915). Martin is buried in Christ Church Cemetery, Barnesville,...

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