Online Research

Distant Cousin was LDS Pioneer

This morning (22 Jul 2018), I received an email from FamilySearch that I had a Pioneer Relative. When I clicked on the provided link I learned that this ancestor was Jacob Gibson, born 01 Jan 1814 in West Fallowfield Twp, Chester Co., Pennsylvania. I immediately searched to see if I had him listed in my Huskonen-Dingman-Van Court-Scheppelman

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Workshop: Getting Help with Your Genealogy Research

I have been doing genealogical research for over 20 years now (Wow! Has it really been that long?). Along the way, I sought and received information about blood relatives — and collateral relatives — from other researchers both in America and abroad. On Saturday, Sept 8, 2018, I plan to share some of my experiences

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Evaluate Those Hints from Ancestry.com

Yesterday, I received via Ancestry.com’s messaging service an email from a cousin. Here’s what she said: Hi Wally, I started my family tree on Ancestry.com, but am not sure of the best way to balance info vs. privacy. Also what is the protocol for entering female’s names…maiden vs. married. Also, from hints I am finding

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Eating Pizza in a Covered Bridge in Andover, Ohio

In my quest to accumulate information about the history of Andover, Ohio, where I grew up, I ran across a Google search result for the Covered Bridge Pizza Parlor. The company’s web page provides details of its origins: At the Covered Bridge Pizza Parlor we invite you to discover a pizza parlor that gives you

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Historic Photo Website Has Andover Square Image

In my latest Google search for historic images of Andover, Ohio, I ran across a website that provided me with a wonderful image of stores lining part of the village square. The website is FamilyOldPhotos.com, with the tagline “Free Old Photo Archive.” Here is a screenshot (using the program Snagit by TechSmith) of what came up

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Visit to Andover Public Library on 2018 To-Do List

During my youth in Andover, Ohio, I often visited the Andover Library. I remember well the two-story building on the southwest corner of the town square. I would step through the door in the front left of the building and see books lined up on shelves all around the main reading room. Over the years,

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Happy Boxing Day! But What Is Boxing Day?

I don’t have many lines extending back to England, Canada, or the former British Empire countries. But from time to time I have seen references to Boxing Day with respect to England, etc. I casually wondered what it was all about, but never enough to research it. On Christmas Day, Dick Eastman posted an explanation

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Finding Images of Our Residences in Parma, Ohio

On December 23, 2016, I created a post about discussing our first two places of residence in Parma with my wife, MJ. You can read that post here. For some reason, today I decided to learn what I could see by looking up the two addresses on Google. Sure enough, when I plugged in the

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Guide to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Research

I live in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. I am the only member of my family who lives in the county, and I have had only a few relatives who have lived hereabouts over the years. Still, I do Cuyahoga County research for clients and friends and I am impressed with the number of resources that are

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Andover Square Mystery

I was looking earlier today for historical information about Andover, the village and township in Ashtabula County, Ohio, where I grew up. There is precious little available online providing details of the the village’s history. On a whim, I Googled for postcards showing scenes of Andover. Most of them showed buildings and scenes I could

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