Mapping San Mateo
Just where would that ancestor have lived? So… an ancestor died in San Mateo County, California, on 1 January 1886. His obituary kindly informs us that he had lived in the same house for exactly 40 years, having moved in on 1 January 1846. Here’s the...And the device is…
An inkwell So… yesterday The Legal Genealogist challenged readers to answer a question beyond this writer’s ken. What in the world was this item? Reader Janet Hall Werner of Virginia was trying to figure it out, and I had no clue. But readers had some...And this device is…?
Collective wisdom needed The Legal Genealogist loves reader questions. And when they focus on obscure and arcane elements of the law, I can usually manage to come up with an answer. When they focus on obscure and arcane devices, well… I often don’t have a...To legalize the acts of Robert Leffler
Private laws in Indiana Everything Robert Leffler voted for in the 1843 term as school commissioner of Harrison County, Indiana, was technically illegal. Oh, it’s not that he hadn’t been re-elected as a school commissioner on the first Monday of August...More Silver threads
Expanding the Baker family story One of the very best things about being a genealogist is the community of friends we build. The Legal Genealogist has been the beneficiary of this community so many times, and there just aren’t enough ways to say thank you. A...Genealogical gem in Indiana
The wonders of ACPL There are some destinations that simply make a genealogist’s face light up. The Family History Library. The National Archives. The Library of Congress. And the Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Where...Taking notice
A lesson from Arkansas law It is one of the most basic elements of the law. You can’t do something about an issue if you don’t know about it. And so the law makes people who want you to have to do something — or who want to do something to you...Finding the law in the Natural State
Early Arkansas statutes It’s been called, at one point or another, the Bear State, the Toothpick State, Rackensack, the Wonder State, the Land of Opportunity and — now — the Natural State. Only the last three, however, were official nicknames of...The history in the news
When is it copyright-free? It’s the kind of question that arrives in the email box of The Legal Genealogist on a regular basis. This one, from reader Jerry Lumpkins, is typical: “As I create ( or publish ) a book on our town’s history using newspaper...Subscribe by Email
