A couple of weeks ago I took a trip up the Hudson River with a fellow genealogist who was researching a family living in Ulster County. I knew I had a few ancestors who lived in Kingston in the 17th Century, so I went with her to the Schoonmaker Research Library at Historic Huguenot Street…
The 1950 U.S. census is now available to view on the NARA website. An event that all genealogists, professional or not, have been waiting for! Finding the Sewards in Arkansas The first members of my family I searched for were my Mom and her parents. I knew they were living in the town of Arkadelphia…
New York City is starting to open up after over a year of COVID-19 related closings. The New York Public Library opened all its branches on July 6, including the Stephen A. Schwarzman building. Not all the resources at Schwarzman will be available on a walk-in basis though. Many of the research collections will still…
Since the day before was a research day, the next day was for exploring. Colonial Pemaquid I highly recommend visiting the Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site if you are in that part of Maine. It has a complex history that includes three forts built at different times: In 1677 (Fort Charles), in 1692 (Fort William…
Though I’m based in New York City, if you have been reading my blog you will have noticed many posts about ancestors in Maine. Late summer in Maine is lovely, with an average temperature around 72. I try to visit once a year during that time both to relax and recharge and to conduct some…
In honor of Valentine’s Day, this week’s theme is, of course, “Love.” It is the perfect time to continue the Melcher family’s story. I’ve already written about Benjamin Morse Melcher, a sea captain living in Brunswick, Maine. His wife’s name was Emeline Sylvester Morse, daughter of Joseph Morse Jr. and Lucy Sylvester. They were first…
This week I’m going to jump back into the 52 Ancestors project with the suggested theme “At the Library.” I grew up going to the library at least weekly, if not more often. We moved around a bit during my childhood so the local library was sometimes large, sometimes small, even a bookmobile (library on…
Continued from Part I… My visit to the Seward properties began in the New Hackensack Reformed Church building. Jim, a member of the congregation, met me in the side entry and took me on a tour of the church. I heard the sound of strings playing throughout the building and Jim explained that a musical…
I am stepping away from the assigned 52 Ancestors theme of “resolution” this week. Instead of focusing on one ancestor, I’ll be talking about the house many of them lived in and the church they all attended. Rev. William Seward moved with his family from Connecticut to Dutchess County, New York about 1795, after he retired…
The theme for week 51 of the 52 Ancestors project is “nice.” My association of the word “nice” at this time of year is with Christmas and being on Santa’s nice list. Joan Emily Avenell, my paternal grandmother, was born to Bertrand and Emily Thomas Avenell in January 1912 in Houston, Texas. She was the…