Our Stories: A daughter’s project
People catch the genealogy bug in many ways. For MyHeritage member Chris King (in Georgia, US), it was because of the Girl Scouts.
My daughter, Caitlin, was in Girl Scouts and had to do a family tree of three-to-four generations. I always wanted to know more about where my family was from, but had never thought about doing a family tree. I helped her with the project and together we went back several more generations.
Born Christine Carlton in Paget, Bermuda, in January 1969, Chris' father was in the US Air Force, stationed on the island. Her parents divorced when she was 3, and she, her sister and their mother moved to Georgia, where she grew up. Today she has four children and a step-daughter. She and her husband have been together for 12 years and married for nine, with six grandchildren and another on the way.
Continue reading "Our Stories: A daughter’s project" »
Happy Father’s Day!
Happy Father’s Day!
We asked you to share your memories and sayings from your father. We wanted to know how he had an impact on your life, whether it was advice, a loving saying or a life lesson.
We received numerous responses completing the sentence: “My father used to say… .”
Here are some of our favorites: Continue reading "Happy Father’s Day!" »
Father’s Day: Memories and advice
Fathers are monumental figures in our lives and are known for giving great advice. The 17th-century poet George Herbert said that “one father is more than 100 schoolmasters.”
Father’s Day is a celebration honoring dads, granddads and paternal bonds, and in honor of the day we want to know how your dad made an impact on your life by participating in our competition (see details below.)
Image credit: http://justimagine-ddoc.com/
The day has American roots and was founded in Spokane, Washington by Sonora Smart Dodd.
Continue reading "Father’s Day: Memories and advice" »
Our Stories: A family reunion in the Netherlands
A group of MyHeritage users from Holland and Canada met for the first time in Haarlem, Netherlands, in May.
Family photo outside the North Holland Archives
Joining them was our Netherlands country manager Denie Kasan, who documented their reunion at the North Holland Archives in Haarlem. Following is a translation based on his original post.
Continue reading "Our Stories: A family reunion in the Netherlands" »
Family History: The human connection
We are so fortunate to be living today, when so much family history - and essential documents and records - is accessible online.
However, not everything is online ... yet!
Keep checking and searching online - particularly with MyHeritage's new Record Detective technology - to see what's available to you.
However, there may be perplexing family history mysteries that you are trying to resolve, and family historians need to speak - in person - to other researchers, who may have faced similar problems in the past. Continue reading "Family History: The human connection" »
Our Stories: The Mayflower and more!
There are so many ways to get bitten by the genealogy bug. MyHeritage member Melva Jo Wright of Florida (US) took over the research of her maternal aunt (Geraldine Martinez) when she died in 2004.
Her aunt’s four sisters helped with the research and each received a family history binder from their researcher sister.
Melva Jo’s maternal great-grandparents and their family: Norval Smith Channing (1878 PA-1955 PA) and Amanda Catherine (Pyle) Channing (1877 PA-1957 PA). Her grandmother (far left) is Rebecca (Channing) Lytle (1901 PA-1980 FL) (Courtesy photo)
Most have shared them with me, but I’m still waiting to hear from the others to complete their details in our family tree. I hope they contain some original pictures, as most of those I already have are copies.
Melva Jo, 60, has three children and three stepdaughters. Her mother worked at the Pentagon and her father was a stockcar racer, killed in a 1951 race. Her mother remarried, to an Army major, and the family lived in Germany and France.
Among her exciting discoveries: the Mayflower’s John and Priscilla Alden are her direct ninth great-grandparents. She's also related to writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, President Abraham Lincoln, Clement Clark Moore (who wrote “The Night Before Christmas), as well as Orson Wells, Marilyn Monroe, Dick and Jerry Van Dyke and Ricky Nelson, to name a few.
Continue reading "Our Stories: The Mayflower and more!" »
Honoring Our Mothers: Mother’s Day competition
Mother’s Day is nearly here. What better way to thank our mothers for everything they've done for us than by reflecting on all the wonderful mothers out there.
Mothers have a strong impact on our lives. Many even say that “mother knows best.”
Whether they are, in fact, our grandmothers, our aunts or our own mothers, all leave us with lasting impressions of the advice and wisdom they share.
Growing up, I remember listening to my grandmother recall her childhood, and learning about my own history. On my first day of school, I remember my mother's hug and her words of encouragement, reassuring me that everything would be OK. I know that - even today - I can always count on these great women in my family.
Mothers around the world have a huge influence on our lives. It's always important to show our appreciation for all they do. Continue reading "Honoring Our Mothers: Mother’s Day competition" »
Our Stories: Hidden families and an opera singer
We never know what our unique family histories may reveal, and MyHeritage member Kathleen Whitfield, 60, of the UK, is no exception.
Her childhood was spent in the UK with her parents and older brother, who lived some 250 miles from any blood relatives. Neither of the siblings ever met their father’s family or had any living grandparents they knew about.
Although they occasionally visited their mother’s sister and family in Lancashire and another sister in London, the only details they were told about their father’s family was that his Irish father was an opera singer, their father was born in London, that he had siblings, but he had lost contact with his family. Kathleen was told she was named for her father’s mother. Further, she discovered that her paternal grandmother was really Kate Constance, not Kathleen!
William C. Green, Kathleen’s paternal grandfather (Courtesy Photo)
Kathleen got “into” family history because her husband’s niece conducted fascinating research into his family. Continue reading "Our Stories: Hidden families and an opera singer" »
Competition: The oldest wedding photo, Part 2
Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s oldest wedding photo competition. All the entries were fantastic and captured the beauty and significance of the person’s special day. The oldest entry was from 1846!
With over 40 photos received, participation was above our expectations. It was great to see the lives of your families and the rich history brought to life with the stories that accompanied them.
We've selected the top 10 photos and want you to vote for the final winner. Below you can see the top 10 photos in no particular order: Continue reading "Competition: The oldest wedding photo, Part 2" »
Family Heritage: Not just chicken soup!
Many of our female ancestors were healers or midwives.
In the old days, when doctors were few and far between in rural areas, women with knowledge of medicinal herbs, of healing the sick and of midwifery were important community members.
In the American Southwest, among the old Hispanic families, there are many documented curanderas (healers). The older generations still tend gardens of special medicinal herbs and are the keepers, preservers and transmitters of generations of remedies.
In some countries, foods are classified as hot or cold in nature. People with certain ailments are told to eat one and not the other or vice versa. It is something a person is brought up with and never disregarded. Those who have not been raised with this system generally find "the rules" somewhat strange.
So do these remedies really work, or do we just believe that they work because that’s what we’ve been told since we were little children? In any case, this is part of our family history, of our heritage, and the details should be preserved.
Continue reading "Family Heritage: Not just chicken soup!" »
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