I adore old newspapers. Whether I’m looking for an ancestor or researching something for work, I always find something intriguing. This week was no exception. I especially love advertisements. They really give me a sense of what life was like during a certain time period. Case in point…this 1895 advertisement for French Crepons. That’s not what initially caught my eye, but being me, I had to look it up to see precisely what kind of fabric it was. Crepon is…
William Lee Bird: An Ancestor Profile Born: Around 1855, Baltimore, Maryland, USA What was Baltimore like when William was born?In 1855, Baltimore, Maryland was a thriving port city and a major economic hub. It was the second largest city in the United States at the time, with a population of approximately 200,000 people. The city’s strategic location on the Chesapeake Bay and its extensive railroad network made it a vital center for trade and commerce. Baltimore was known for its…
Birth Born – March 27, 1854, in Cincinnati, Ohio. What was Cincinnati like in 1854?In 1854, Cincinnati was a thriving metropolis on the banks of the Ohio River. Known as the “Queen City of the West,” it was a hub of commerce, industry, and culture, with a growing population of over 150,000 people. The city’s strategic location made it a vital link between the East and the expanding American frontier, shaping its development and prosperity in the mid-19th century. Marriage…
Henry was born on September 23, 1810, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He ventured into the world of business alongside his friend John W. Baker, relocating to Cincinnati around 1842. Together, they founded the Baker & VonPhul gas lamp company, marking the start of a successful entrepreneurial journey. In matters of the heart, Henry found love twice. He first married Esther Powell on March 29, 1843, in Hamilton County, Ohio. Together, they raised a family of eight children: George B., Sarah M.,…
In a small, rural community of southeastern Indiana lived a pioneer farmer – William Warder Hamilton. “Warder” migrated to Decatur County from Kentucky in the fall of 1842, where he purchased a hundred-acre farm in Clinton Township. Uncle Warder, as the local citizens lovingly referred to him, was a consummate businessman and farmer throughout his life. When he died in 1907 at the ripe old age of eighty-five, he still owned the first land he bought in 1842, and he…
I am a firm believer in fate. Things happen for a reason, and there is no good explanation. Last night, fate stepped in and felt like the tale of Melvin and Emma needed to be told. When I have free time, I like to search online for discarded family heirlooms. There’s a myriad of reasons why these keepsakes are looking for new homes. Some seem to beg me to be their steward through this life. While I collect many different…
As with many other family history lovers, I have taken it upon myself to rescue heirlooms of other people. They have been discarded for one reason or another, and I don’t want those memories to die. I have been collecting an array of items for several years, and I wanted to share some of my newest treasures. After recording the video, I scoped out the second Bible. I found the entries for births and marriages. Like the other Bible, it…
I love the idea of Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I’m morphing it into my own version, and I plan to expand it a bit. My goal is to create a profile and short story for one ancestor from each branch of my tree and my husband’s each week. I’m starting with the paternal grandfathers. Here’s the one I created for my grandpa this week: For this one I even found a newspaper article at NewspaperArchive.com to…
Living in the country in Indiana, I loved that there was a small church and old cemetery next to our property. I was ecstatic when we moved to southern Georgia to find another country church and cemetery just across from our house. To help myself become acquainted with the “neighbors,” I methodically made my way row by row through the cemetery double-checking that each gravestone had a picture on Find a Grave, and then mapping its GPS location within the…
Good fortune smiled on me recently when I got to visit Provo for a work retreat. Knowing I had to make the most of my two-day trip, I planned a quick getaway to the Family History Library in Salt Lake. I have been working on a research project for a friend of mine, and several of the marriage records I needed were not available on the FamilySearch website. To access the 8-10 images I desperately needed for my research, I…