Are you eligible to be a member of the DAR or SAR?-Clarifying and Finding an Ancestor

Many of you have ancestors who were patriots of the American Revolutionary War. Now apatriot of that particular war does not necessarily have to be a soldier. Before I joined theDaughters of the American Revolution (DAR) I was under the impression that I had to findan ancestor in my lineage that had been a soldier ...

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR ANCESTORS?

Recently there has been an explosion of interest in the field of family history research (otherwise known as genealogy). Some could speculate that this newly found interest was fueled by the popular television series “Who Do You Think You Are?” where celebrities embark on personal journeys into their pasts to solve their family’s mysteries. Another ...

MACABRE DEATH PHOTO-1915 ADRIAN COLLEGE

While searching through my grandfather's old photos I came across a macabre picture which took me by surprise. Timothy Callahan had been a medical student at Adrian College in Michigan around 1915. Apparently his fellow classmates were quite the jokesters. I don't know who the student is that is lying down in the ...

Book-MICHIGAN TRAILMAKERS

I happened to stumble upon this delightful little book while attending a book fair some time ago. To be honest I had forgotten I had purchased it, so rediscovering it the other day was an unexpected treat. The book, Michigan Trail Makers was written by Henry Ormal Severance in 1930. It is an interesting story based ...

Living at the Old Soldiers’ Home – Story of a Mexican War Veteran

I came across a little unknown book this past weekend while visiting my sister in Michigan. This little volume was tucked away with some old family photos and was begging to be discovered. The title reads, U.S. Soldiers' Home, Washington, D.C. It is a hard cover booklet written in 1891 by the author A. Wittemann. ...

Real Victorian Death Photos Explained

I was lucky enough to inherit many photos from my mother's side of the family. As I was sorting through them this particular picture jumped out at me. Turning it over someone had been kind enough to write a short description on the back. It read, "Stanley Darling, drowned in Thames River, Chatham, Ontario Canada ...

A Hostile Indian Attack on a Revolutionary War Veteran & His Family

Revolutionary War Veteran genealogy history story

This is a true story about a Indian attack on a Revolutionary War Veteran and his family. Once in a while you come across someone in your genealogical research that literally blows your mind. While researching the Bradley family for a client of mine, I came across two individuals in her family tree that truly ...

19th Century – The Irish Immigration to Western Michigan

One of my all-time favorite genealogy research books regarding the Irish immigration to Western Michigan is “The Passing of the Gael" that is no longer in print. The Irish Immigration to Western Michigan - The Passing of the Gael Below is a slight “Reader’s Digest” version pertaining to the chapters on the Irish Settlers ...