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Weekend at the Museum: Concord Museum and the Shot Heard 'Round the World
On April 19, 1775 colonists and British troops skirmished at the North Bridge. It was the "shot heard 'round the world." The momentous events of that day are taught to school children across the...
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Saving a Slice of Family History
Family history is so much more than a collection of documents. It's also in the holiday traditions passed down from generation to generation. In my husband's family one of these traditions features a...
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Tech Tuesday: Shuttersong
I saw this lovely app, Shuttersong, mentioned in a column in Better Homes and Gardens. Can't wait to try it, but can't seem to download it for either Apple or Android. It allows you to add music to...
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Hey! Don't I know you?
Hey! Don't I know you? How good are you at recognizing faces? Researchers found that 1 in 50 have some version of face blindness. Watch the video and take the test. You might be surprised.
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Wedding Wednesday
It's not a great photo. Some of the folks moved and blurred the shot. The left and right sides are over exposed by the flash. It's on cheap gray card stock. Despite all the shortcomings of this image...
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Celebrity Wedding: Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren, 1863
No doubt about it. P.T. Barnum was a showman extraordinaire. He knew how to get attention. In April 1863, two of his stars General Tom Thumb (Charles Stratton) and Minnie (Lorinia) Warren married....
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NGS Happenings: Out of the Box Sessions
I love national conferences. You get to meet folks you haven't seen in a year or more. Make new acquaintances and oh yeah....learn new things. Stop by booth #620 for even more ideas on how to solve...
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Hairstyles Has A New Look
If you liked my book, Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles, you're going to LOVE the new one simply called Hairstyles 1840-1900. It's updated and revised and best of all in COLOR. I've spent the last few...
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Fashionable Folks Hairstyles versus Hairstyles 1840-1900
If you go to Amazon.com (or my website) you'll see two titles by me on the same subject. This is the old edition. I'm going to retire this title on July 1st. It's all black and white. This is the...
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Tech Tuesday: Daguerreobase
A big thank you to Facebook friend Dick Bolt for telling me about this Facebook page for European daguerreotypes. A daguerreotype is a shiny reflective image on a silver coated copper plate. You have...
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Wedding Wednesday: General William Tecumseh Sherman's Daughter Minnie
When Maria Ewing Sherman married Thomas William Fitch on October 1, 1874.Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman and his wife, Ellen...
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Tech Tuesday: Listen to Historical Figures Speaki
There's a new treat for users of wikipedia. Voice recordings. That's right. Along with biographies the BBC has shared voice recordings from some of their programs. Take a listen to Emma Thompson,...
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Wedding Wednesday: A Couple from the Mid-1890s and Crayon Swindlers
collection of the author The spectacle of the Kim Kardashian/Kanye West wedding is outside the pocketbooks of modern brides, nineteenth century high society wedding with white gowns, diamonds and...
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Oldest Living Revolutionary Widows
As of June 30, 1898 five women appeared on the pension rolls as widows of Revolutionary War soldiers. Esther Damon of Plymouth Union, Vermont age 84 Nancy Jones of Jonesboro, Tennessee age 84 Rebecca...
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A Thankful Moment
Years ago I met genealogist Joyce M. Bowden and we chatted about the connection between family history and photography. A few months ago she sent me a copy of the book she'd been writing. It's a...
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Kodak Craze circa 1893
Thank you to Lori Parkinson who found this clipping in the front of a family scrapbook circa 1893. The woman attended Mt. Carmel (Illinois) High School and Northwestern. Today's parents worry about...
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Tech Tuesday: A Chance Encounter and a Photo Mystery Solved
Years ago I bought an interesting image at a photo show. It was completely unidentified--no name and no photographer's markings. I'd never gotten around to researching the image. Last summer I...
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Wedding Wednesday: Decorated with Flowers
Collection of the author A. M.Estrella of Fall River, Massachusetts took this photograph in the first decade of the twentieth century. There is something really charming about the enhancements on this...
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Tech Tuesday: Atlas of the Rhode Island Book Trade
It's fascinating how online tools can expand our knowledge of a period/topic and how easy it is to share those discoveries. My little state of Rhode Island has a long history of...
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Wedding Wednesday: Mother and Daughter
Collection of author This unidentified bride and her mother posed circa 1914. The shawl collars on both of their dresses help place them in a time frame. So do the flowers. Edwardian era bouquets were...
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Holiday Bargains
There are a lot of deals out there this week. Here are a few of my favorites. They are listed here because I actually use these companies/products. BitDefender They are offering 60% off their most...
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Colored Pencils Galore
Color matching pencils to the actual nineteenth century engravings was no chore. I loved every minute of it. When I walked into my local Blick's with those Victorian fashion magazines, the staff...
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Fall in Love with Find My Past
I think the organizers of RootsTech need to offer prizes for the prettiest booths. This year Find My Past may have won. At the conference they announced their U.S. Marriage Record Collection. The...
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More New Products at RootsTech: ShotBox
At RootsTech 2015, a company called ShotBox debuted a prototype of a portable photo studio. At the time they were in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to make their dream a reality. Of course, once...
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