Ancestral Findings

November is the perfect month to dig deeper into your family's past and turn history into something you can see, taste, and share. As the days grow shorter and the holidays draw near, it's a natural t...

3 Nov 20256min

The fields around Kassel shimmered in the summer light, the scent of rye and damp earth thick in the air. Johann Müller paused his plow horse and wiped his brow. His father's land had been small when ...

1 Nov 20257min

The story of German immigration to America is one of the great migrations in modern history. Over five million people left the German-speaking lands between the early 1700s and the early 1900s, crossi...

31 Okt 20257min

The wind had turned sharp over the fields of County Clare. It carried the sour smell of rot—the smell of potatoes dying in the ground. Every family in Kilfenora knew that scent by now. It had haunted ...

29 Okt 20258min

Do you have Irish ancestry in your family? You might be surprised how often the answer is yes. Roughly one in ten Americans can trace at least part of their lineage to Ireland, making Irish ancestry o...

28 Okt 202510min

Every year on October 31, children walk door to door collecting candy while wearing costumes. The custom feels old and familiar, but it has a real history. Trick or treat did not appear overnight. It ...

24 Okt 20259min

Names are among the most personal pieces of information we can record, yet in genealogy they often become our most puzzling clues. They carry history, culture, and family identity. They also shift, di...

22 Okt 202512min

There's something about the World's Fairs that has always captured my imagination. Whenever I read about them or stumble across old photos or souvenir postcards, I feel like I'm looking into a time wh...

20 Okt 20258min