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A good friend recently asked how to get started researching family history in Cuba which piqued my curiosity. What records ARE available, either online or in-country, that document a family’s life in Cuba, in particular, late 19th and early 20th century? The information below serves only as a starting point and is by no means … Continue reading Cuban Genealogy Research Tips
Some FABULOUS projects and resources celebrating American women, from our friends at the Library of Congress.
A few of my favorite (free) family history sites, databases and other resources. These have been consistently useful for getting started researching an Irish ancestor. Sláinte! National Archives of Ireland: – 1901 and 1911 census reports – Tithe Applotment Books. These books record the amount of Irish tithe, ie tax, due from each occupier of land, regardless of his … Continue reading Irish Family History Resources
Help transcribe documents from the archive! The Papers of the War Department project welcomes contributions from members of the user community. For more information, visit http://wardepartmentpapers.org/index.php. Fire destroyed the War Department office in 1800. For decades historians believed that its files, and the window they provide into the early federal government, had been lost forever. This … Continue reading Transcribers welcome!
U.S. City directories provide a wealth of information for historians. Beyond simply establishing location or residence, directories offer details about individuals and their community. Directories have been published usually annually (yearly) since the early 1800’s. City and county directories are similar to present day telephone books and are useful records for locating people. City directories … Continue reading Deciphering city directory entries
A client recently asked me to clarify the meaning of “Palatine German” in researching their family origins. In simple terms, a “palatine” is someone from the “palatinate”, an area near the Rhine River near present-day Southwestern Germany. The term has been used to refer to German immigrants who originated from that particular region of Europe. … Continue reading What’s a Palatine German?
This month, I researched a young man who spent time in a Chicago orphanage in the late 1800s. Through this process, I discovered the following excellent resources: GENERAL RESOURCES Jane Addams Hull House: http://www.hullhousemuseum.org/ Encyclopedia of Chicago – Orphanages: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/937.html Social Welfare History project: Chicago Orphan Asylum by Ruth Orton Camp: http://www.socialwelfarehistory.com/organizations/chicago-orphan-asylum/ COLLECTIONS Chicago Nursery … Continue reading Researching orphanages and asylums in Chicago
Digging for resources documenting the history of minor league baseball, players and teams, farm clubs, in the United States. The Official Site of Minor League Baseball – http://www.milb.com/index.jsp Society for American Baseball Research – http://www.sabr.com The National Pastime Archives – http://sabr.org/content/the-national-pastime-archives The Baseball Cube – http://www.thebaseballcube.com/minors/ Baseball Hall of Fame – http://baseballhall.org/ Baseball Hall of Fame Library/Archives Collections – http://baseballhall.org/discover/archive-collection … Continue reading Take me out to the ball game
A few excellent resources to kick start (no pun intended) research on the Chicago Fire of 1871. Spoiler alert! Mrs. O’Leary’s cow is not to blame… Chicago Fire of 1871: http://www.history.com/topics/great-chicago-fire The Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory/Chicago History Museum: http://www.greatchicagofire.org/ Did a Cow Really Cause the Chicago Fire? http://mentalfloss.com/article/12864/did-cow-really-cause-great-chicago-fire Chicago Fire Newspaper Collection … Continue reading Great Chicago Fire of 1871
Don’t overlook this port of entry when researching 19th century immigration routes. Thousands of immigrants, primarily from Germany and Eastern Europe, disembarked at the port of Galveston, Texas, between 1846 and 1948. Beginning in the 1830s, Galveston was an increasingly popular port of entry for German immigrants. Up to 20,000 German immigrants settled in Texas after Texas Independence … Continue reading Texas’ Ellis Island
Tobias History Research 