Revolutionary Roots

 

I surely do hope you're registered for the EWGS Spring Seminar with focus on Revolutionary War research. This will be a 3-lecture, all day (with lunch) learning day...... and EWGS will furnish two 4-page handouts: Researching Patriot Roots and Researching Loyalist Roots to all registrants!!  FREE!! 

The aim of the day is to discover the stories of our Patriot ancestors in the American Revolution....those who fought for independence, freedom and unity. You'll also discover the remarkable stories of Loyalists ...... ancestors who upheld allegiance to the Crown amid turmoil and change. These handouts, offered by American Ancestors (formerly The New England Historic Genealogical Society), will be your printed roadmap to success.

Today's Priceless Tip:  Click to www.revolutionaryroots.AmericanAncestors.org. There you will find a long list of free handouts for researching the various aspects of research in this period of history. 

American Ancestors, Try It You'll Like It

 

AmericanAncestors.org is a website offering a million (well, close) ways to help you find your early American ancestor. For instance, these are FREE webinars at www.americanancestors.org/events

13 Feb:  Researching Famine Irish Ancestors in Ireland's Poor Laws

13 Mar: Friend or Foe: Researching colonial Ancestors During the American Revolution

17 Apr: Best Published Sources for Colonial New England Research

13 May: English Immigration to the American Colonies

12 Jun: Best Published Sources for German Research in America

17 Jul: Top Repositories for Researching Upstate New York

Surely viewing these FREE webinars would help you??????

Here are some Sad & True Genealogy Rules Your Ancestors Followed...shared to guide your research in 2025:

* Thou salt be consistent in naming male children; only acceptable names are: James, John, Joseph, William and Thomas.

*Ditto for female children: Mary, Elizabeth, Ann and Sarah.

*Thou shalt never write down the surname of female children on any document.

*Thou shalt, after naming children from the approved list, call them by nicknames: Polly, Dolly, Sukey, Tommy or Billy.

*Thou shalt never write a surname legibly: let them guess!

*Thou shalt discard any documents created prior to your grandparents' time; descendants really won't care.

*Thou shalt bury your people on your land without a headstone.

*Thou shalt leave no family Bible records nor letters or diaries.

*Thou shalt never enter a courthouse to sign any legal documents.

*Thou shalt promote and propagate misleading legends, rumors and vague innuendos regarding ancestral information to mislead descendants. 

Fun Facts & Trivia

 

What would December be without a blooming amaryllis? In any of their gorgeous colors, they are the quintessential December flower. Did you know that according to Greek mythology, the first amaryllis grew from the droplets of blood of the nymph Amaryllis, who was smitten with a handsome but aloof shepherd named Alteo. That beautiful flower helped win his heart.  Well, now you know!

Here's a tantilizer for you: How many "people" are you? Daughter - Child - Mother - Parent - Sister - Sibling - Wife - Spouse - Niece - Grandmother - Granddaughter - Aunt - Cousin - Great-grandmother - Mother-in-law - FRIEND ........ can you add something I missed?  Could do the same thing for gentlemen.

The New England Historic Genealogical Society announced that they're offering a Genealogists Handbook for Portuguese Research. There will be some folks delighted with that bit of news.  (Click to www.AmericanAncestors.org) 

Here's how to fool people and make a new document look old:  Create a sample on plain paper with black or dark brown pencil.  Make a dark, strong tea and let it cool. Then put your paper in the tea and leave them there for 3 days. Squeeze and crush the papers daily. Finally, remove the paper from the tea and air dry in a surface where the tea will not stain.  Why does this work? Tea contains tannin, a dark chemical that stains paper. 

A funny from Chuckleberries, from the Huckleberry Press:  A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds.  After explaining the commandment to "honor thy father and mother," she asked, "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?" Without missing a beat, one little boy answered: "Thou shalt not kill." 

Want to expand your vocabulary? And impress your family and friends? Google this: "100 Totally Weird Words."  There you'll learn about words like "argle-bargle" which means "copious but meaningless talk or writing."   Perhaps you would think this post was argle-bargle?

American Ancestors Offers FREE Online Learning

 

Even if you don't have bonafide New England ancestry, you would enjoy, benefit and learn from the FREE online presentations of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

 Here are their offerings for June............. you must click to the website and register even though they are offered for FREE.   (www.AmericanAncestors.org) 

If you sign up for their free newsletter, you'll get notified of upcoming free online presentations....... plus all sorts of other good stuff. 

Tuesday, June 7, 3:00-4:00 pm (ET) - Featuring Ann Leary's new novel, The Foundling.

Sunday, June 12, 3:00-4:30 pm (EG) - Lakes, Lanyards, and Learning: The Story of New England Jewish Summer Camps.

Sunday, June 12, 6:00-7:00 pm (ET) - Honoring Elizabeth Shown Mills: The Coddington Award of Merit

Thursday, June 16, 4:00-5:00 pm (ET) - Researching Enslaved Ancestors

Friday, June 17, 3:30-4:30pm (ET) - New Hampshire Resources

Monday, June 20, 6:00-7:00pm (ET) - Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed's book, On Juneteenth

Thursday, June 23, 3:00-4:00pm (ET) - Anniversary of the Four Courts Fire in Dublin