Using Google Scholar to search for – and keep up with – scholarly publications

You may be using Google for your research. You may even have Google alerts set up to let you know if any new hits come up for your favorite search(es). But have you tried Google scholar for published works?

One little word – a difference of two days

I've been researching some French ancestors lately, having fun with websites for archives throughout France. There are some really great records freely available online, but getting everything out of them means not only reading >100-year-old handwritten documents, but also reading them in French (not to mention following the French instructions on the websites - note: I...

The McLeods of Schenectady

Just by looking at U.S. and New York Census records for the McLeods of Schenectady, I’ve figured out a bit of their story, and it’s left me very interested to learn more.

Adding up indirect evidence – and grabbing all those bits of information

I love finding stuff like this. My husband’s grandmother, Dorothy (Keane) Burns, was listed in the 1930 U.S. Census as a little girl (age 5), niece of the head of household (Edmund Sweeney), and living at 523 West 135th Street in Manhattan, New York.1 Also in the household were: Ellen Sweeney, Edmund’s wife (age 36,...

Refining a Research Strategy

The start of my genealogical "research" a couple of decades ago consisted mostly of reading through things my family had done already and drawing pedigrees of my ancestors. At some point, my dad and I visited cemeteries where we knew family should be, took some pictures, and added a few names and dates to our...

A Wedding Doubleheader

Same couple, same evening, two weddings. George Dallas Hill and Edith (Sterling) Hill.

Benjamin Franklin “Frank B.” Wright – In censuses and in between

My great grandfather was born Benjamin Franklin Wright, about 1892 in Delaware (“near Harrington”).[1] He appears to have been named for his father, Benjamin Franklin Wright, (and presumably also for another, more famous, Benjamin Franklin). My great grandfather though, didn’t much like his given name, and for most of his life went by “Frank B.”[2]...

Schenectady Stories

Schenectady stories - exploring local family history

Mining Census Data for Historical Context – Fairfield County, Connecticut in 1920

Analyzing full census data for Bridgeport City and Fairfield County, Connecticut, in 1920 to get some context for a Polish family of interest living there at the time.

George William Rutledge: From Dedham, Massachusetts to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

For Week 4 of Amy Johnson Crow's #52 Ancestors challenge, the suggestion is to write about someone we'd like to invite to dinner. The person who came to mind is my 2nd-great grandfather, George William Rutledge. While I would like to know more about most of my ancestors, and I'm sure many of them would...