Chalk and cheese
And reasons for loving libraries Nothing about the divorce has ever surprised The Legal Genealogist. My parents -- who were married 73 years ago tomorrow -- were as different as chalk and cheese. He was formal German immigrant. She was folksy U.S. southern -- of the...
From the Roots of a Tree: 2021
The genealogy of a national hero This year, perhaps more than ever, we need to remember. This year -- on the 15th of January, 2021 -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have turned 92 years old. He was born 15 January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. And those of us old...
DNA winds of change
Big changes in the wind at FTDNA, GEDmatch There have been two major developments in the DNA world this week -- a change in ownership at Family Tree DNA and a change in direction at GEDmatch. And exactly what either change will mean for the typical DNA customer......
Milestones, 2021
Looking back to 2020, forward to 2021 The very best part of falling headlong into family history research is the stories. Stories in The Legal Genealogist’s family take us back a long way in America on the maternal side and in Germany on the paternal side. Stories...
To enrich, expand and inspire
TIGR registration opens tomorrow The Legal Genealogist descends from a Texan who descends from a Texan who descends from a Texan who descends from a settler in the Republic of Texas. As far as the records go, that's nearly 180 years of connection with the Lone Star...
Factually speaking…
Not copyrightable It's the kind of information a genealogist may spend hours or days or even weeks ferreting out. Hunting through courthouses and archival back rooms for county records that don't exist that far back in time. Trudging through court records that don't...
America’s law blog
From America's law library For many genealogists, their favorite law-related blog is The Legal Genealogist. And for that, I'm most appreciative. But The Legal Genealogist has one more for you to read. The one I read, all the time. It's America's law blog, from...
Rules of my road: 2021
Not legal advice! So many reader questions come in that are beyond what The Legal Genealogist can answer in this blog, because they're asking for legal advice. Um... that's not what this blog is all about. Not what this blog can do. It's necessary, or at least...
Finding Margaret’s mother: part 7
With a bit of luck, it's time to shine a light So... it's been more than a year since the last progress report -- or, more accurately, the last lack of progress report -- on the hunt for the identity of the mother of Margaret Battles Shew. It was November of 2019 when...
Welcome to 1925!
The copyright clock keeps ticking For many Americans, this is the first Saturday and second day of 2021. For The Legal Genealogist, it's the second day of 1925. No, that's not a typo. I really do mean 1925. The year that books like Theodore Dreiser’s An American...
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