Archives
Family Tree Charting Services
Posted on September 1, 2026 2 Comments
From time to time I get asked where to go for printing large or complex family trees. I make no endorsement of these companies but offer these up for what its worth. Most resident Family Tree programs have Chart Making capability but for larger than legal sized charts these may be helpful. Also check Ancestry, […]
What was it Like? Where to find Diaries and Letters
Posted on September 1, 2026 Leave a Comment
As a follow-up to my post They Came to America: The Immigrant Experience I thought I would put together websites that may be helpful in finding diaries that share experiences with your ancestor. Off the top, any large archive like the National Archives or major Library or University is a good place to start. You […]
Spinning a Scottish Yarn: The Reverend David Dickson Part Four Edinburgh
Posted on September 1, 2026 Leave a Comment
EDINBURGH After spending a decade in Glasgow, on the 12th April 1650 David Dickson was appointed to a charge at St Giles Cathedral (second charge) by the Town Council and to serve as a professor of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. At the latter he succeeded Samuel RUTHERFORD. DICKSON left Glasgow University and its High […]
Spinning a Scottish Yarn: The Reverend David Dickson Part Three The Covenant & Glasgow
Posted on June 28, 2026 Leave a Comment
The following excerpts provide a timeline of DICKSON’s activities from 1638 to about 1650. They are pieced together from various sources. Roughly covering his last years at Irvine through his tenure at Glasgow University. There are many excerpts from correspondence between David DICKSON and Robert BAILLIE. Just looking at the places he traveled to gives […]
Spinning a Scottish Yarn: The Reverend David Dickson Part One Beginnings in Glasgow and Busby
Posted on June 20, 2026 2 Comments
Storaidhnean farsaig: in Scots Gaelic storaidhnean is a story or tale and farsaig : wide, extensive or broad. Roughly translated an expansive tale. This may turn out to be Storaidhnean farsaig. INTRODUCTION As I often do when getting ready for a trip I try my hand at researching my own families that may intersect with […]
Family History Writing: Telling Our Stories
Posted on December 15, 2025 2 Comments
Writing about oneself, especially in retrospect, is always a dangerous undertaking. Do you tell the truth and risk being seen in a bad light? Or do you soften the edges to make it more palatable? Will it be considered your own brand of narcissistic, revisionist drivel or worse yet will it mean a damn thing […]
Writing Challenge: Choose Your Own Adventure Genealogy Style
Posted on September 19, 2025 Leave a Comment
First crossroads. Heaven, hell or purgatory. Your choice. Second crossroad. Which ancestor will you choose? Third quest. You will have 20 minutes to come up with a list of questions to ask your chosen ancestor. This may be a brick wall ancestor and your first question is where were you born? Or who were your […]
Celtic Origins
Posted on September 1, 2025 1 Comment
Apologies to my faithful readers. I took a break after the death of my best genealogy friend, Jean to process what her life and loss means to me. I have found that I cannot be creative on demand, and must wait for inspiration and the imperative juices to flow. Sometimes all that it takes is […]
What you are Missing if you Aren’t Using Family Search for your Genealogy
Posted on June 18, 2025 2 Comments
This is written for my Genealogy class and most of it is a repetition of resources found on FamilySearch.org however it is a curated list and aimed at beginners that do not know where to start at Family Search or those more advanced who have not mined all the great resources that are available there. […]
Fleshing out the Story: Context Matters
Posted on January 26, 2025 1 Comment
How do we go from avid genealogist to storyteller? How do we bring a single ancestor back to life? How do we take a set of facts, essential the bones of our ancestors life, and tell their story as a three dimensional ancestor that you want others to know more about? Research of course! There’s […]
Wheaton Wood 