General Genealogy Blog Topics - Archives

October 17, 2020October 17, 2020

Highlights From Holly’s Genealogy Research

Read below to learn about Holly’s genealogy research projects. Discover the places and time periods she investigates as well as the records she finds.

Columbia County, New York

Do you have ancestors from Columbia County, New York? Then you are welcome to join the Columbia County Genealogy Facebook group!

Litchfield County, Connecticut

Examination of 19th century church records for the town of Salisbury, in search of an 1830’s marriage record.

Learn More About Holly

Berkshire County, Massachusetts

Analysis of probate records, with a focus on early 19th century wills and guardianship records for the town of Great Barrington.

Revolutionary War Service Records

Research of Revolutionary War service records to verify a soldier’s military service.

These types of records can provide evidence of a soldier’s rank, their enlistment date, length of service and promotions.

Warren County, New York

Reviewed pre-1850 deeds and maps in an attempt to identify any family connections for a man named Abraham Fry and his wife, Eliza.

Rhode Island and Massachusetts

Research of the Chase family of Rhode Island and Massachusetts – Investigating their link to Mayflower passengers.

Click Here For Holly’s Research Package Rates

Albany County, New York

Utilized published county histories to research early settlers in the western part of the county.

New London County, Connecticut

Researched 18th century probate records to prove a father/daughter relationship between John Niles and Abigail (Niles) Chapman.

Warren County, New York

Investigated newspaper collections to uncover details about an 1890’s murder trial in upstate New York.

Wayne County, Michigan

Researched early 19th century deed and land records in Michigan to find out more about the migration of families from New York State.

Lineage Applications

Conducted research to gather the required generational evidence/proof required for a Daughters of the American Revolution lineage application.

Send A Research Inquiry to Holly

Advertisements from the 1871-72 Gazetteer of Columbia County New York

February 29, 2020February 29, 2020

Using My Genealogy Detective Skills

I am a huge fan of vintage items. I love going to estate and yard sales to find old treasures. I have even created my own business on Etsy to sell the interesting antique and vintage things I come across.

The Find

One time, at a sale, I found an antique photo album in pretty good shape. The person who was holding the yard sale had no idea where the album had come from, but was sure that it did not belong to their family.

I noticed that most of the pages of the album included handwritten notes from the original owner, identifying nearly all of the 50+ people in the album. This brought out the amateur sleuth in me. I was intrigued and had to buy it!

The Investigation

Since there were a number of surnames written in the album, and the photos weren’t necessarily grouped by family, I decided the first step in my detective work would be to organize all of the names in a spreadsheet. Another detail I culled from the album to assist in my history investigation was from the advertisement on the front page, which identified the location of the album’s manufacturer as Philadelphia.

One other lucky clue I got was from the original album owner, who actually wrote their own name and the year “1865” on the inside cover. Although I am sure I could have identified the album’s time period based on the ladies’ fashions or perhaps by identifying the photograph types (tintype, daguerreotype, etc…), this fortunate clue saved me some research time!

Once all of the information I had assembled was organized and I had a research approach, I did an online search of U.S. census collections on Ancestry.com. I used the time period and location information, in combination with the surnames I found written in the album, to refine the search.

My genealogy detective skills paid off quickly! It did not take long for me to find some of the people from the album in the 1870 U.S. census living together in the same household.

The Happy Ending

From there I searched Ancestry members’ family trees for a living descendent. I found a member who looked to be an active, frequent user of the site and I sent off a message. I started out by introducing myself and wrote:

“We are not related, but I wanted to write to you because I found an old photo album at a yard sale….”

I am happy to state, there was a very excited reply and a sense of amazement that I had found the album. Shortly thereafter, the heirloom was being shipped to a very grateful family member. I had done my good genealogy deed for the day!

So, now I always keep an eye out for vintage and antique photo albums when I go to yard and estate sales.

I have managed to find additional family albums since this one was found. Unfortunately, not all of them provided as many good clues as this one did. I am currently investigating the best sites and online groups to share and upload my mystery album photos, so if you have any suggestions, just let me know!

Can I help with any of your family history mysteries? If so, I would love to hear from you.

Contact Holly

February 22, 2020February 26, 2020

Welcome to Holly’s Genealogy Blog!

History has been a passion in both my professional and personal life, through archival work, genealogy and collecting vintage items.

The Beginning of My Interest in Genealogy

My interest in genealogy and curiosity about my own family history began in 1992, when I asked my grandmother to send me information she had about her ancestry.

Research was a little bit of a slow-go back then, involving mostly written requests to libraries and genealogical societies. Nearly 30 years later, genealogy grew from a fun pastime, to a passionate hobby, to a career choice.

My Career as an Archivist and Genealogist

Early in my career, I worked as an archivist and used the organizational and research skills I learned to enhance my genealogy techniques. I eventually received a Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University.

I am now a professional genealogist and have officially started my own business. To date, I have completed over twenty-five research projects for companies and individuals located in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and England. My specializations include New York State research and I have access to libraries and archives in the Hudson Valley and Capital District areas of the state. I also have years of experience researching New England and Mid-Atlantic digital record collections dating back to the Colonial era.

My Research Projects

My research projects have ranged in length from a few hours to a few weeks, addressing research questions primarily concerning birth, marriage and death, as well as immigration and naturalization. I have utilized online and on-site resources including vital records, church records, land records, newspaper collections, immigrant passenger lists, naturalization and citizenship collections, cemetery records and probate records.

As I have been building my business, I have also been trying to define my social media presence. This leads me to where I am now, writing my first blog post!

With my future posts, I hope to share the discoveries I make in my personal research, as well as provide tips and advice about using different types of record collections. I also plan to feature local libraries and archives that I use in New York as well as those I visit during my own family history trips.

I have found genealogy to be personally fulfilling endeavor. Through learning about my ancestors, I have learned a lot about myself. I hope that my enthusiasm and expertise can help you discover more about your own family history.

If you have questions or suggestions, I encourage you to leave comments in the section below. Please feel free to contact me via e-mail as well. Your feedback is appreciated. Thanks so much!