Archives

Researching New Places

I’ve recently had occasion to give several library talks about researching in places that are new to you. Generally, family historians start by doing research in the county and state where their ancestors lived most recently. There is a good chance that they know about the area–what it looks...

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Genealogy on the Blue Ridge Parkway

As I was driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway last month (stopping every half mile so I didn’t miss any overlooks or exhibits), I was pleased to notice that the National Park Service had incorporated genealogy into its interpretive materials! Entering the parkway in Virginia at Rockfish Gap, I...

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Over the Blue

In my last post, I talked about the value of seeing the ground your ancestors walked and understanding its geography, specifically how seeing Pennsylvania’s Blue Mountain helped me understand my ancestors’ migration patterns. Most of my Pennsylvania German ancestors were among those who arrived in Philadelphia, moved up to...

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Drive-by Genealogy

I recently returned from almost two months on the road. One of the highlights of the trip was the drive from Lake Wallenpaupack, Pennsylvania (You can see the lake in the photo of my Dad and me on the right side of my banner.) to Birmingham, Alabama, for Samford...

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