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Did my ancestor go from being a business owner to becoming a medical doctor late in his life? Or had I found two separate people? William Claude Montgomery (1883-1939), my 1st cousin 3X removed, was the first-born child of Samuel Henderson Montgomery and Marie Etienette Soffray Montgomery. I immediately thought of Claude, as he was known, when I considered this week’s writing assignment. Time was the subject. Detailing an instance when one had used a timeline in genealogy research was one suggestion. Another idea given was to feature an ancestor who had been a clock- or watchmaker. Claude had been… Continue reading Time for More Research →

Was my great great-grandfather’s relocation to America courageous? Or was it an audacious, ill-advised undertaking that happily worked out? I recently returned from a week in London. When I first planned this trip, I had made it a goal to find an address(es) in London where I could walk in the footsteps of my great-great-grandfather who was born and lived, married, and raised a family in the greater London area before moving with his own family to America. In spite of my best efforts, I was unable to locate an associated address for a residence in London for him or… Continue reading A Kansan with Chutzpah →

Dead men tell no tales, but when those left behind do—a fellow family historian reminds us—their stories often reveal more than any records. This week I read a very moving piece by a fellow family history researcher. I have enjoyed many of Paul Chiddicks’ posts on Substack. He is also a columnist for Family Tree Magazine. In a recent piece, The Trees Remember, Paul has perfectly underscored the fact that, in terms of having a better understanding of history— whether about one’s family or in a more general context—records are merely a starting point. They have limitations. Paul’s piece provides… Continue reading Living to Tell the Tale →

Newspaper clippings can reveal a lot about an ancestor. Maybe too much. In the years I’ve been researching family history, I have found that my subscription to Newspapers.com has been a valuable resource, primarily in locating obituaries of ancestors. Obituaries can be extremely helpful in finding out detailed information about the decedent, of course. But because obituaries often list family members who predeceased the decedent as well as survivors, obituaries can provide information on parents, siblings, and descendants as well. Apart from my subscription providing useful factual information, I’ve also discovered that what constituted “news”—especially from the late nineteenth century… Continue reading I Read the News Today. Oh Boy! →

What if one could actually speak with a dead ancestor? I remember first “discovering” my 5th great-grandfather Michael Antoine Garoutte (1750-1829). I had known for some time that my ethnic background was almost exclusively Scots-Irish, with the exception of a maternal line traced to Germany. Discovering this direct link to France, through Michael Garoutte, came as a total surprise. That was only the first of many intriguing things that I learned in researching Michael Garoutte. He left France at a young age, coming to fight for the patriot cause in the American Revolution. He called fellow French nobleman Lafayette a… Continue reading The Specter of My 5th Great-Grandfather →