Understanding where your ancestor is living at a given time can be a loaded question—and to answer it completely, you need to know the broader geo-political and historical context. And as records are most often arranged by place, the “where” becomes especially important for family historians. In this webinar, Genealogist Hallie Borstel will demonstrate how to research boundary changes and understand jurisdictional levels using maps, primary and secondary sources, and other records.

So, you think you’re descended from royalty? You might be surprised to learn that a large number of Americans can claim descent from European nobility. In this lecture, Researcher Zachary J. Garceau will help you navigate some of the first steps in uncovering and proving your descent from British, French, and German royalty from the 10th through the 17th centuries. We will also look at several go-to published and online resources that can assist you along the way.

Created by Ann Lawthers, Genealogist

Published: October 2021

PDF Download, 12 pages

“Torrey’s New England Marriages” is an essential reference for any genealogist with New England ancestors. Owned by American Ancestors, Clarence Almon Torrey’s twelve-volume manuscript enumerates an estimated 99% of all pre-1700 marriages of New Englanders and is now published for the first time in a three-volume set. These records also include those individuals married in Europe before migrating, as well as those couples for whom no marriage record exists but whose marriage can be inferred from other evidence.

John Benson was born about 1608 in England. He married Mary Williams, daughter of Robert Williams and Agnes Atkins, 14 October 1633 in Caversham, Oxfordshire. The couple emigrated in 1638, settled in Hingham, Massachusetts, and had five children. Descendants lived mainly in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and South Carolina.

As the eldest grandchild on both sides, Albert J. Zdenek, Jr. has always been the collector of his family’s stories and memorabilia. This thoroughly researched, beautifully designed and illustrated book explores how the branches of his family left Germany, Ireland, and Bohemia (today’s Czech Republic) to settle in America’s Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Pennsylvania was the hub most of these families passed through before 1950, when Albert James Zdenek, Sr.