Memory Tree Genealogy Journal

Last week, I shared my findings from a new (to me!) website called Elephind. Fellow genealogists will not their heads in agreement...sometimes, after hitting brick-wall after brick-wall, discovering an obituary, story, or social pages snippet mentioning a particular ancestor can be a genealogical gift.  Wrapped in a bow.  Sealed with a kiss! Context to add a little something-something to the names, dates, and places of birth on a paper tree. Likewise, when I've taken a break from serious document searching, and I need a little inspiration, newspaper snippets are just the thing to get creativity flowing again.  Have you ever heard of FultonHistory.com ?  If not - CHECK IT OUT.  That's an order.  Fulton History has been on my radar...but I admittedly haven't spent time searching its archives.  Working completely from home, website founder Tom Tryniski has scanned over 22 million historic newspaper pages!  THIS ARTICLE was shared today via one...

Family Tree Magazine (I enjoy my subscription to the e-reader version!) mentioned an new-to-me website in their most recent edition.  Just HAD to check it out during my quiet time this afternoon.  Oh yes.  Quiet time - otherwise known as nap time or Mom's Sacred Time in this household.  Savoring every last two-hour nap time until our youngest grows out of it!  When people ask me how I possibly find time to accomplish anything with three little boys in the house under the age of seven, my answer is always "nap time".  Holy, holy nap time.  Want to know the opposite of nap time?  It's called Mommy is seriously cranky because she hasn't had enough time to herself.  Let's not go there. ANYHOW...back to the genealogy website.  Elephind .  Ever heard of it?  It's a FREE (yay!) collection of newspaper archives from domestic and international sources.  There is just absolutely nothing like finding a fascinating article about an ...

Every so often, I browse through the new searchable resources available on Ancestry.com.  The majority of my research these days is done on the local level, or using free sites such as FamilySearch.org , Castle Garden (for immigrants arriving in New York before 1890), newspaper archive sites such as Genealogybank.com and Newspapers.com , and Fold3.com for military information.  I still pay pay a monthly subscription (begrudgingly!) to Ancestry because of my DNA testing and results; also, I occasionally use the local search features by state or county.  This week, I noticed a GREAT new resource for anyone with veteran ancestors who served in the US Navy - "Registers of Patients at Naval Hospitals from 1812-1934" .  My husband is the one in our household with family members who served in the US Navy (he's doing his job to keep that tradition alive!).  Since our surname - Melvey - is very uncommon, I always start there when searching a new database.  Neve...

Glad to be back in the swing of things after the break!  One of the easiest ways for me to resume writing is to follow the daily prompts from Geneabloggers ...and start off with "Tombstone Tuesday".   Nels Nelson Melvey (1867-1942) and Ingeborg (Johannesdatter Winger) Melvey (1864-1952).  Buried at Riverside Cemetery, Moorhead, Clay County, Minnesota.  *Photo credit: Suzanne McConn (Hi Suzanne!!  You're awesome!) You'll notice the discrepancy between the birth date listed on the grave stone for Ingeborg (1865) and the one I have listed in my records (7 February 1864).  The birth date I have in my database is directly from her birth record from her home church - Vinger Church - in Norway.  Source HERE .  I have no great explanation for the error, other than that it was probably misinformation transferred from parent to child.  Her death record from Seattle, King County, Washington indicates "about 1865".  I'll stick ...

 Happy Memorial Day weekend! Throughout my (brief) course of work as our self-appointed family genealogist (!), I've loved stumbling upon heroic stories of our ancestors and their military experiences.  While Memorial Day is specifically set aside to honor the memory of our fallen heroes - the men and women who died while protecting our country as members of the US Armed Forces - today's journal entry is a little different.  A few months back, I came across an article in the Aberdeen American (South Dakota) documenting the unbelievable account of Ernest Melvey and his experience aboard the USS Westover in WWI.  Ernest Melvey (1896-1973) is my husband's paternal great-uncle.  I've transcribed the article below in its entirety. Why write about this at-sea adventure for Memorial Day?  While our fallen military heroes paid the ultimate sacrifice...many of our heroes have been affected by the traumatic stress of war and extreme danger.  PTSD is p...

Image Source Two days ago, I received a much-awaited email from an archivist with the Children's Aid Society in New York City in regard to a research request I placed at the end of January.  Just in case you're wondering, I'm finding genealogy to involve a lot of what I call "fishing" for information.  Sent out a baited line (ie: email to a historical society, archive, family member, etc.) and wait for a nibble.  Maybe I'll be lucky enough to land a HUGE fish in the form of a break in a brick wall.  Other times, I might catch a shoe (like this week).  Cast, tug, wait, reel-in, repeat. So, back to the Children's Aid Society. Paul's paternal great grandfather, a gentleman named Joseph W. (William?) Daly {1869-1934}, was an orphan train rider.  Until a few months ago, when we started to suspect that he was in fact an orphan, I had never even heard of the Orphan Train Movement in the United States.  Reaching out to one of Paul's cousins enabl...

Today's blogging prompt...Shopping Saturday!  Share advertising or information about an ancestor's business. One of my favorite websites for research as of late is Genealogy Bank ...a database of historical newspapers, obituaries, advertisements, and just about everything.  I've had great success finding stories that add context to our family history research.  Found this advertisement a few weeks back - an entry from the Moorhead Daily News in December 1941: (Jay N. Melvey Contractors.  "Home Building Advertisement".  Moorhead Daily News , 12 December 1941.  http://www.genealogybank.com; accessed February 2013.) Jay N. Melvey, listed above, is my husband Paul's paternal grandfather Jalmer Melvey.  He continued the family business (originally started by father Nels N. Melvey in Moorhead, MN).  In my own "past life" - as in, life before children! - I enjoyed working in the print media industry.  Specifically, newspaper advertising....