Category Archives: Research Methods

2018: the year in review

American History, Collections, Family Stories, Genealogical Writing, ICYMI, News, Research Methods, Technology, , , , , , , , , ,

As we begin the countdown for 2019 – and look forward to the blog’s fifth anniversary in January – I have selected some posts from the first half of 2018 to showcase the range of subjects covered in Vita Brevis during the last year.

Alicia Crane Williams started the year with a series of posts on establishing criteria for what constitutes an “excellent” genealogy, as distinguished from a “good” (or a “poor”) one:

A “scoring” system for genealogies would be interesting. If, for example, we had ten categories on which to judge a genealogical source, and each category had a potential ten points maximum, the “perfect” score would be 100. Of course, this would all be subjective, but it would give us a way to group works for comparison (top 10%, bottom 50% etc.). Continue reading 2018: the year in review →

A hot mess

Family Stories, Research Methods, , , , ,
My great-grandmother with her brother Raymond and his fourth wife in Santa Cruz, California circa 1972.

My great-great-uncle Raymond is a hot mess. At least that’s what kids these days might say about him if they, like me, were trying to unravel the workings of his life. I first “met” Raymond Young – or, rather, I first became better acquainted with him – while researching the family lines of my great-grandmother, his sister Opal (Young) (Porter) Everett, and her family’s Mayflower ties.[1] However, getting to know Raymond hasn’t been easy. He’s proven himself to be an artful character to say the least. Continue reading A hot mess →

A genealogist’s beginnings

Family Stories, Research Methods,

[Editor’s note: This is the second part of a two-part series of interviews with David Allen Lambert; the first part may be read here. The present article originally appeared in the Society’s NEXUS newsletter, 4: 3.]

Question: When did you first become interested in family history?

Answer: Since the age of 12 I have belonged to the Stoughton Historical Society.

Q: That is a young age to begin. You were probably the youngest member.

A: I was. I started in 1981, and in 1984 they made me the assistant curator, when I was just 15. Continue reading A genealogist’s beginnings →

Challenging modern records

American History, Family Stories, Research Methods, Technology, ,
A record generated for Meghan Markle’s great-grandmother.

In my post earlier this year, regarding preliminary research into the future Duchess of Sussex’s matrilineal ancestry, I indicated that I had ordered several additional twentieth-century records that might lead to corrections or additions. Fortunately, none of the new records seriously affect the lineage I presented, but obtaining one record was not so straightforward. Continue reading Challenging modern records →

Kate’s questions

American History, Family Stories, Research Methods, , ,
Fred Stone (1873-1959). Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Kate had questions. Her father’s family history, with its many connections to the Stone family of Hollywood, had been shrouded in mystery for years. She explained that it had been covered up through old family rifts, and, as happens to many of us, become surrounded by proverbial brick walls.

I didn’t know Kate all that well, but as she spoke about her father and grandparents, and the few things that she could recall, I could see her family history start to take shape – in part, out of what she only thought she couldn’t remember. I sensed that for Kate, as for many of us, all those secrets, all of that family history, lay just beneath the surface. Continue reading Kate’s questions →

The family archivist

Collections, Genealogical Writing, Research Methods, , , , ,
The Cann family archives, before organizing.

I am not sure why my family decided to elect me – maybe because I majored in History? – but I am the “family archivist.” What does that entail exactly? I have the responsibility to decide what is kept and what is thrown away in the box of family photographs, letters, and journals. I organize this material in a way that makes the most sense to me, so future generations of the Cann family can look at them and understand their history. Continue reading The family archivist →

“Grandfather Mustache”

American History, Family Stories, Research Methods, , , ,
Fred Athearn’s official portrait for his second year on the University of California football team, 1899.

The 31 October edition of NEGHS’s Weekly Genealogist ran a quiz asking readers whether they had any ancestors who participated in organized sports as adults. It reminded me that this past Thanksgiving marks one hundred and twenty years since my great-grandfather first played in “The Big Game” between the University of California (Berkeley was its only campus at the time) and Stanford – this year’s game will be played tomorrow.

Fred Athearn played a variety of sports at Pomona College, and when he transferred to the University of California he was urged by both students and faculty to be part of their football team. Cal had never beaten Stanford, but they’d just hired a new coach from “Back East,” and hoped that this – plus new blood among the players – would yield better results. The stakes of this rivalry were now higher than ever, since U.S. Senator James D. Phalen had just offered to place a statue on the campus of whichever university won two successive games. Until that happened, the statue would remain on display in Golden Gate Park. Continue reading “Grandfather Mustache” →

Loops and curves

American History, Genealogical Writing, Research Methods, , ,

Here on the web team, Rachel Adams (Database Services Volunteer Coordinator at NEHGS) is always working to recruit new volunteers for our major projects.  As she tries to think creatively about where to find new volunteers, she often hears apocalyptic pronouncements about how young people don’t know how to read cursive any more. Recently, we had the opportunity to teach students about our Catholic records project, giving them the opportunity to dive into deciphering the loops and curves of old-fashioned handwriting for themselves. Continue reading Loops and curves →

Stolen identity

American History, Family Stories, Research Methods, , , ,

Every few months, we have a “Staff Research Night” at NEHGS, where staff members stay in the library after closing and work on their genealogy. Several of the staff genealogists assist staff members in other departments who might be new to genealogy or would like some guidance. Awhile back I worked with Rachel Adams, our Database Services Volunteer Coordinator. She was interested in learning more about her mother’s Jewish ancestry in Connecticut and New York. While we found several items, the ancestor who surprised us both was her great-grandfather, Albert Goldberg (1886–1932) of the Bronx. Continue reading Stolen identity →