Shopping Saturday: Ideas for the Genealogist on Your List

My sister asked me recently what books I would like for Christmas. Normally I really do not like when people ask what I want because then it’s always a let down when I’m expecting something and it never comes. However, I decided it may be useful to create a “genealogy wish list” for myself.

So, in no particular order, my list includes:

Barry, John M. The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History. Penguin Books, 2005.
Caldwell-Crosby, Molly. The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History. Berkley, 2006.
Aizic, Anna. The Circles of Life: My Ukrainian Family’s Odyssey of Secrets, Love and Survival from Pre-War Odessa to the Promised Land from America. 2014.
Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz. Touchstone, 1995.
Rees, Laurence. Auschwitz: A New History. Public Affairs, 2005.
Steiner, Jean-Francois. Treblinka. Plume, 1994.
Pakula, Hannah. An Uncommon Woman – The Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm. Simon & Schuster, 1997.
MacMillan, Margaret. The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914. Random House, 2014.
Shown Mills, Elizabeth. Evidence Explained: Citing History Source from Artifacts to Cyberspace. Third Edition.
Rupp, Daniel. A Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other Immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776. Genealogical Publishing, 1965.

Subscriptions and memberships are another great idea for the genealogist on your list.

Give the gift of Polish heritage with a Polish Genealogical Society membership. The best membership rate is for fast electronic delivery of the Rodziny quarterly journal at the current rate of $25 for a one year membership. This journal has many articles of interest to Polish genealogists. For more information see the website, pgsa.org and click on membership.
Consider your local historical society. For example, I have a membership in the Lancaster County Historical Society as well as the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. You may also consider a membership in a society that is local to where the research takes you. The Chester County Historical Society would be a wise choice for someone researching in Chester County.
Ancestry.com offers subscriptions and renewal deals this time of year. Other useful websites are: Fold3, Newspapers.com, and FindMyPast.com.
I normally get my magazines at Barnes & Noble but a subscription to one or more would be a great gift as well. Your genealogist may enjoy: Your Genealogy, Internet Genealogy, and Family Tree Magazine.

Other Items

USB drive. A USB drive is a great inexpensive gift for anyone who collects data. A lanyard would also be helpful. This way your genealogist can carry it around on their person without loosing it.
Scanner. My printer is an HP Officejet Pro 8620 and I can do anything with it. It has been a godsend.
Office supplies. Every researcher can use a variety of office supplies. Last year I had just picked up the above printer and my sister asked what I needed. I can do need lists so much better than want lists! She got me a box of paper. I still have a few reams left. Other office supplies include: file folders, post it notes, pencils and paper clips.
Magazine holders. I have a hard time throwing away anything, including magazines. At the moment they are literally piled up on my shelf. Magazine holders would keep them better organized.

These are just a few ideas for your genealogist. Merry Christmas!

Shopping Saturday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers.

Coatesville's First Serial Killer

Young Alexander Meyer was a disturbed and angry young man with some major issues. He had failed sixth and seventh grade, and instead of having to repeat eighth grade again, he finally gave up on school. At age 16 he quit Downingtown Junior High. Meyer is not a relative, nor are his victims (that I am aware). I stumbled upon young Alex while reading Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania's Most Bizarre - But Forgotten - Murders by Tammy Mal. On 11 February 1937 Alexander Thweatt Meyer killed young Helen Moyer as she walked home from school in Coatesville along Modena Road. She was not his first. The jury was out only three minutes after hearing Dr. Michael Margolis' testimony on the death of Helen Moyer. The jury determined Meyer had murdered Moyer and should be held for first degree murder. The jury also condemned the parole system which had released Meyer back into the public, after having served just 14 months in Huntingdon Reformatory, for the murder of two other girls - Anna Blasc...

Thaddeus Stevens at the Lancaster Convention Center

Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside. Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery. Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he...

52 Ancestors: Remembering the King

Today is Elvis’ birthday. He would have been 80 today. I was only eight when he died so obviously I am too young to have seen Elvis perform. However, when I hear his music, I go back in time. I am once again that young girl dancing in the living room to Elvis and other greats with my father. Back then girls learned to dance by dancing with their fathers not some video of scantly dressed people doing all sorts of things young ladies should not be doing in public! What is YOUR favorite memory - either of your father or of Elvis? 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a weekly genealogical challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small . Look for my weekly posts each Thursday! © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Genealogical Gems

Search This Blog