Moon & Yew Genealogy

04/20/2026

In huge news for those with Irish roots, the 1926 Census of Ireland has officially been released!

Taken on 18 April 1926, the census was the first conducted after the establishment of the Irish Free State and provides the earliest comprehensive snapshot of an independent nation emerging from a period of profound upheaval.

The National Archives of Ireland has made the entire census, comprising over 700,000 individual household returns, freely available and fully searchable online through their website. In it, you'll be able to uncover wonderfully detailed snapshots of everyday life for your ancestors, including their exact ages down to the month, their precise birthplaces, and even how many rooms they had in their home.

Happy hunting! 🍀

04/09/2026

The NJSA has been working assiduously to microfilm their vital records and make them available to in-person researchers. So excited to see how much their marriage offerings have expanded in just the last year! 🔮

Love is in the air! 💚

Both 1955 and 1956 marriages are now available on microfilm!

These are available for in-person research only. For mailed and certified copies of post-1950 marriages, you still need to go through the Department of Health.

Click the link to schedule your Microfilm Room Appointment!
https://bit.ly/njsaappointments

04/02/2026

As Easter approaches, it seems like an excellent time to spotlight a fascinating piece of Catholic genealogy.

While browsing records from the parish of Spie in Bojanów, Poland, I came across a loose paper tucked into a marriage register, sent from thousands of miles away at St. Joseph's Church in Passaic, New Jersey.

What was a marriage record from New Jersey doing in the middle of a Polish register?

In 1907, the Catholic Church issued the Ne Temere decree, which required marriages to be registered not only where they took place but in the parishes where the marital parties were baptized. When someone married far from home—as many immigrants did—the pastor of the marriage was urged to send formal notification back to the parish of the baptism. These are commonly known as "Ne Temere notices."

In this case, the bride was a Polish immigrant who had been baptized in the parish of Spie, so the marrying pastor from Passaic sent this notice all the way to Poland, where it was preserved in their official registers.

It's a small document, but it offers a compelling way to connect the same woman across two different countries.

03/23/2026

One of the biggest mistakes in genealogical research is stopping at the first record you find and treating it as absolute truth.

Genealogy isn't about collecting names; it's about building evidence.

In one case, a Polish civil birth record listed a mother's maiden name as Cichoń. However, the baptismal record for the same child identified her as Kowal. At first glance, this looks like a contradiction.

It's not.

By continuing the research and correlating additional records, we uncover a third document that reveals the explanation: the family was recorded as "Cichacz vel Kowal," meaning they were known by both the Cichoń/Cichacz and Kowal names. Indeed, further records confirmed that these surnames were used interchangeably.

Had we stopped at the first record or dismissed one as incorrect, we would have missed critical evidence and likely stopped this genealogical research trail in its tracks!

The key is correlation and conflict resolution. Compare multiple records and look for shared patterns and consistency. When conflicts arise, don't ignore them—investigate them and resolve them.

When independent sources can point to the same conclusion, your findings become more confident and reliable!

03/10/2026

Extremely excited to deliver my second guest lecture at Marist University tomorrow afternoon, this time about some of the most persistent and pervasive myths we encounter in genealogy: how they form, why they endure, and how we can work through them to conduct meaningful, accurate research. I'm hugely grateful for the opportunity to share with these students, and I hope this empowers them to think critically about the family lore and cultural myths that inform—and distort—the stories that shape us! 🔮🐲

03/05/2026

Sometimes when I work with international records for client projects, I get extremely jealous. Not only does this Italian marriage record from 1839 exist—in a lot of places in the United States, this in itself would be completely unheard of—it also gives me:

- the groom's name, age, profession, birthplace, and place of residence
- the groom's status as eldest son
- the names and professions of his parents
- the exact death dates and ages of his parents
- the name and profession of his paternal grandfather
- the exact death date and age of his grandfather
- a notation that death records were used to verify that the parents and grandfather were deceased
- the same information for the bride and her family

Granted, not every Italian record boasts quite this level of detail, but some of my 20th-century American relatives don't even have birth records. 😅

02/11/2026

Deeply honored to have been invited to give a guest lecture at Marist University (my alma mater ❤️) later this afternoon! This semester, Marist is offering an exciting First Year Seminar course on The Psychology of Genealogy, and I'll be talking to the class about the Genealogical Proof Standard, an essential framework for building accurate, well-documented family histories. Here's hoping they walk away feeling even more inspired and determined to dive into their research! 🔍📃

01/16/2026

"Don't faint on the road"? But where else, pray tell, is a vulnerable velocipedist supposed to swoon? 😵‍💫🚲

A short excerpt of a very (very, very) long list of no-nos for female cyclists, appearing in the Minneapolis Daily Times on 14 July 1895.

01/02/2026

As we step into a new year, I want to take a moment to thank every client who trusted me with their family's stories in 2025. Thank you for the incredible opportunity to give voice to your ancestors and the history that shaped who you are today. It is truly an honor to do this work. 💛

A new year invites fresh curiosity, bold questions, and exciting discoveries. If learning more about your ancestry has been on your mind, let this be the year you finally explore your family tree. You never know what remarkable stories, connections, and surprises are waiting to be uncovered. Whether you're brand new to genealogy or ready to take your research further, I'd love to work with you.

Cheers to charting new paths in 2026! 🥂✨

10/17/2025

Every great film begins with a story, and so does every family. 🎬

Tonight marks the start of the annual Montclair Film Festival (October 17-26), one of the best tickets in town for cinema lovers. Moon & Yew Genealogy is proud to support the festival this year with an ad in their program. As usual, I'll be there running from theater to theater, so if you’re attending, keep an eye out for me and say hi.

See you at the movies! 🌙

09/18/2025

📚 I'm super-excited to be attending the Association of Professional Genealogists' Professional Management Conference (PMC) from September 18–20!

This annual event is a cornerstone of professional development in the genealogical field, offering in-depth seminars and workshops on everything from advanced business strategies to cutting-edge technologies. I'm always looking for ways to expand my offerings and improve the quality of my services, and this conference is an important part of that commitment.

Wish me luck as I soak up three days' worth of incredible information! 🧬📖✨

08/28/2025

🕰️ Happy 30th Anniversary Month to Chrono Trigger—a timeless journey through history, legacy, and lineage!

From the prehistoric past through the castle-specked Middle Ages and far into the distant future, Chrono Trigger beautifully wove a tale about the ways in which our roots shape our destiny.

As a professional genealogist and a longtime gamer, I love how this classic RPG reminds us that our stories didn’t start with us—they’ve been unfolding for generations. If only I could be descended from kings, queens, and butt-kicking cave-people like Marle is!

Curious about your own ancestral saga? Let’s start your time-traveling adventure—no Epoch required. 🧬✨