Dec 29 2008
My surname — Holden — has gone through many incarnations since it originated in England nearly 700 years ago. Letters were added, then dropped. Some branches of my family added an extra “u” in the middle, while others changed the pronunciation entirely. Then, when my ancestors arrived in America over 200 years ago, the name [...]
Nov 17 2008
Because their ancestors often were slaves during the 18th and 19th centuries, and therefore usually lacked birth or death certificates, it is very difficult for African American genealogists to trace their ancestors further than a few generations. Even when they can trace their ancestry to the slavery era, it is virtually impossible to find exactly [...]
Oct 15 2008
People naturally yearn to know where they came from. Genealogists scratch that itch by poring over historical documents such as vital records, tax rolls, census lists and diaries to reconstruct their family history.
In recent years, genealogists have also begun using genetic information as another way of understanding their identity and establishing kinship. With [...]
