Family Tales & Trails

07/23/2025

There's nothing new. What's your story?

Source For more information www.miamillefoglie.com

07/15/2025

Interested in your Ukrainian/Eastern European history? Attending cultural events like this one up in Schuylkill Co. gives you an opportunity to talk with like-minded folks who might be able to provide you with hints and leads.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1XM8dmodk6/

It's picnic and block party season! In today's Trips Around Schuylkill, here is a shot from Saint Nick's Picnic in Minersville in July 1988. These Ukrainian Sword Dancers from Frackville were a frequent sight at such ethnic celebrations across the county.

07/10/2025

Eastern European Ancestry

Whenever I teach a class someone will say that their family came from [insert name of country] in Eastern Europe. They feel stymied by the presumed lack of records from the area due to numerous wars, border changes, you name it. When it comes to family history, we all have challenges, some greater than others, but this is not a cause for despair. You still need to follow the standard research processes, but rely more on newspapers and family stories.

Get as many documents and stories as you can from family members. Visit them, if you can. Ask to see their "archives" (letters, photos, clippings). Note any return addresses on envelopes/letters. For you, the "stories" are part of your history. Research the time period and location. Try to determine the "truth" behind them.

Remember, after conflicts families tried to find one another. This is where newspapers come in. Can't read the language? You can try on-line translators, but you may also want to connect with a local organization or the Church of the Latter Day Saints Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Both would have folks more than happy to help with translations.

You might be surprised what folks managed to save/salvage/rescue from disaster zones. Contact possible family/libraries/churches in the area from which your family came. Nothing to be lost, but a whole lot to be gained!

Join Facebook groups specific to your area of interest. Find one where the folks are willing to answer your questions, that provides knowledgeable information about the area, maybe even a family specific group. There are many out there.

Webinars are another way to learn what "experts" are finding. This one from the MyHeritage Blog discusses "Being Polish: Traditions and Genealogy."

Best of luck on you journey!

06/29/2025

"Destroyed" Records

Sooner or later we all seem to run into this situation. It could be as a result of the fires at NARA (1890 census & WWII Army records), storms or, for a lot of folks with Eastern European ancestry, war. What, if anything, can you do?

To begin with, interview any and all family members. Their stories are a start! Yes, memories changes with the years and age but, somewhere in there, is a grain of truth. It is our job as family historians to winnow it out. If you are lucky, pieces of one will interlock with those of others.

The Internet is full of all sorts of resources from individuals telling their stories, groups and organizations recording the stories of people and places, images of documents, etc. that have managed to survive. Remember, efforts were made to save as much as possible, but it might be in someone's attic or basement, forgotten to time. Maybe you will be the one to encourage them to pull it out or recall that they even have it.

You may be surprised at what you find and that you are not alone on your journey! You also have to share your story so that it doesn't get lost. Write it up, record it, then donate it to a repository, school, archive that specializes in the area, culture, ethnicity, so that others down the line can benefit from your knowledge. Don't ASSUME that what you know is "nothing."

Best of luck!

06/26/2025

THANK YOU!!!

Rose Ruggieri of the Delaware County (PA) Paralegal Assoc., Nancy Ward (Delaware Co. (PA) Bar Assoc.) and Kristi Dick (Realtor) for allowing me to present "Genealogy, DNA and the Law" yesterday.

A thanks, also, to all of those who attended. Still waiting for the "numbers" but it was very well attended and received.

Please feel free to contact Family Tales & Trails at: susanevanspacp@gmail.com or 610-622-1899, if you'd like it or any other presentation to your organization.

06/25/2025

All TEMPORARILY good at NARA.

There was a very poorly worded announcement made by the National Archives yesterday that caused a lot of confusion (and anger) among the general public.

Let me address the rumors: No, the National Archives is NOT restricting access to the records at College Park, Maryland, or at any of the National Archives facilities.

I’m at the National Archives in Washington DC today, and have heard from supervisors here that there are no plans to shut things down there, or anywhere. The announcement (that was very poorly worded) was about their parking policy. Some of the parking in College Park, Maryland is no longer accessible to the general public. That was the key detail missing from their announcement.

Their post has since been taken down, but the uproar on social media is still going. I’ve gotten several emails from people who are concerned about my ability to access the records moving forward.

Nothing is changing. Everything is fine. I'm literally sitting in the research room of the National Archives as I'm writing this, so I can still access the records.

Let me know if you need anything from the National Archives! Our team is onsite every week, helping to get these records in your hands! www.CivilWarRecords.com

05/31/2025

Since I have Family Tree Maker 2019 and had a question about one of its reports, I thought I'd join its "Users Group" here on FB. Haven't posted my question yet, but here's what I've learned--

I'm REAL GLAD that I've not linked my desktop copy to any on-line database!!! Not that it's necessary an FTM issue, but there seem to be a lot of issue when this is done: All sorts of information gets added to your tree without you first being consulted, fields aren't the same in both places, etc.

If you are taking the time to do a "professional" job (only adding properly documented information and sources), then why would you want to have your hard work corrupted by AI?

This may be the one scenario where you want to upload a copy of your tree so that you receive "hints." Of course, not a bad idea. But my suggestion would be to keep a "clean" copy of your tree elsewhere so that only you have access and make changes.

04/24/2025

Next week I'm headed to Annapolis, MD, with member of the APG Mid-Atlantic Chapter to explore the Maryland State Archives & Library.

Huey family history has it that the family came in through Havre de Grace, MD, and then traveled up the Susquehanna to the Juniata, etc. All of this in the early 1820s.

As with circa 1890 and the loss of the U. S. Census, it seems that this is "lost period" in both Irish and U. S. immigrant records...a time just before someone realized that this information might be important.

Although preliminary on-line research of the resources held by the Archives indicates that this type of information is not within its purview, you never know if something else might exist for an ancestor. (State archives are repositories for the records relevant to the operations of the state government.) It is still important to check out the various record groups since, especially in the early years, this may have been the only place responsible for various transactions...including marriages. In later years, you may find an ancestor had dealings with the state or been part of an action involving it.

Going through this process, one also finds that the Maryland State Library is right there and covers a far wider range of materials. Remember, though, most, if not all, of this will related to the state in which it is located!

The importance of checking out a repository's holdings ahead of time cannot be stressed enough. Doing so can save you time and aggravation. Why waste time looking at things on-site that you could have looked at from the comfort of home or at your local library? You may also learn that certain items, materials can only be viewed or used on-site.

Read "Guides" that may be available. These may open your mind to other possibilities. Remember, an ancestor might just appear in someone else's file!

Happy hunting!

03/31/2025

Back by special request!

"Genealogy: More Than Ancestry.com"

Offered by Main Line School Night--Taught by Family Tales & Trails
June 11, 2025 from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Are you interested in knowing more about your heritage but you hit a brickwall? Learn about an array of online resources that may help you find your ancestors. Bring a computer, iPad or phone to access the web during class, if desired.

To register go to: https://courses.mainlineschoolnight.org/wconnect/ace/CourseStatus.awp?&course=25SHC32319

03/30/2025

Another Ellis Island myth debunked! This is from the Geneanet article "Do you have Scottish family names in your tree?"

The persistent Ellis Island myth

In the United States, an oft-repeated tale is that a European family name was randomly changed by some careless immigration official at Ellis Island, the major port of immigration to America from 1892 to World War I (some 13 million immigrants). This in fact never happened. Ellis Island had a staff of 35 translators on hand and immigration officials had a single concern: matching an individual or family before them to the passenger list established at the port of departure, signed by the ship’s captain under his legal responsibility. What this means is that if a Scottish family name was misspelled phonetically, this either happened at the port of embarkation (Glasgow, Belfast, Liverpool) or later, after arrival, when immigrants applied for naturalization. To learn more about researching your European immigrant’s ship, read our two-part article “Finding Your European Immigrant Ancestor’s Ship“.

European family names can help orient your genealogy research to a particular region or place. Scotland’s rich history has given rise to last...

03/30/2025

Thank you to.everyone who stopped by to
chat at the yesterday! Feel free to contact me if you need any help.

03/29/2025

Family Tales & Trails is open for business at the Folsom Italian Festival, Folsom, PA! Stop by with your family history questions!