Like many of you, I was an Army brat. We brats know what it meant to move every year or so, following our fathers from base to base. We made friends quickly because we knew we’d be on the move again soon. My family’s military history has a long reach: My father, grandfather, brother and
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As this column goes to press, genealogists are getting a big boost. The long-awaited 1940 U.S. Census became available on April 1. This is great for those who have had a difficult time finding family members who lived during that time. For privacy reasons, later censuses are not yet released. The 1950 census is expected
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The Tuolumne County Veterans Military Museum in Sonora is a great place to visit if your parents or grandparents served in the military. You won’t find genealogical records, but the museum’s treasures will help you understand their service experiences a bit better. Curator Steve Wilson and volunteer Eric Olson treated me to a wonderful tour. They showed
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Returning from my 18-month Family History mission in Utah, I walked into the Carlo M. DeFerrari Archive in Sonora wondering, “What’s new?” Directly in front of me was a huge painting called “The Hunter’s Dream.” To my left were several more paintings and artifacts, and to my right sat County Historian Carlo De Ferrari and
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No matter your heritage, you will more than likely find at least one of your ancestral lines leading back to England. Let’s make something clear, though. When some folks say England, they are really referring to all of the British Isles. Not so! The following is a general breakdown that will help you with the correct
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Genealogy miracles small and large have been experienced by most family history researchers … and recently, I watched one unfold. Have you ever bumped into a good friend while in a distant city – what a thrill to see them – someone from home! And if that doesn’t happen, the next best thing is to
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What a great time to be a genealogist! The records being collected and digitized are appearing online faster than we can keep track of them. At the time of this writing, there are 475 collections on beta.familysearch.org, and several more will have been added as you are reading this. For instance, those of you who have
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“If you don’t stop wasting, you’ll land me in the poorhouse!” was a phrase that many of us who were Depression babies grew up hearing. Poorhouses have been with us for hundreds of years – and many people have been forced to go there as a result of economic failures. They existed in almost every
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Thanks to the generosity of our Tuolumne County Archivist, Charlie Dyer, I am holding in my hands a real treasure – more valuable than gold! I realize that saying such a thing in the Mother Lode is like swearing in church, but it’s true. Charlie gave me Otis Rosasco’s new book, “Early Day Tuolumne County
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Your ancestry is Native American and you want to find your ancestral records. Your parents and grandparents have told you stories, but you wonder where to go from there. Perhaps the following will be of help to you and Myrtle Franks of Sonora. “I don’t have much information, but I wonder if you can help
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