Genealogical Gems

My husband's maternal grandmother was a COURSAULT - Julia Coursault to be exact. Of all the children of Charles and Appelina Coursault, Julia is the most elusive. The couple had several daughters, three were  married at Christ Church in Philadelphia. I beg your indulgence while I degress for a moment. Christ Church is located on Second Street just above Market. It has been called The Nation's Church . Organized in 1695, this church saw the likes of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. While the people there were very helpful in our genealogical search when we went, it is still an active church. It does still hold two Sunday services in the Episcopalian faith and a Communion Service each week. The burial grounds, located at 5th and Arch, are the resting place of five of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Julia (b 13 June 1885) married Morgan G DEYOE. She died in December 1945 and is buried at the Mt. Peace Cemetary in Philadelphia. Anne (b. 13 March 1...

StoppingPoints.com, a guide for discovery of historical markers and points of interest throughout the United States, this week has launched another new and extensive guide which thoroughly covers the historical landmarks of New York. The New York StoppingPoints guide displays and pinpoints over 3,000 markers within the state, including properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Most markers are grouped and mapped by city, county, and also individually, allowing history researchers, genealogists, preservationists, and geocaching hobbyists to easily locate them when visiting "The Empire State". The simple map pages allow for browsing the NY markers in major cities such as Albany, Buffalo, New York City, Niagara Falls and Rochester - viewing the historic sites as they are pinpointed. Bill Lawson, Editor-in-Chief for StoppingPoints.com, stated "We believe our New York historic site guide is one of the most comprehensive guides of the state anywhere,...

Provo, UT— Funium announced today the integration of its forthcoming Facebook game, Family Village, with FamilyLink’s We’re Related on Facebook, a top 300 social application. Still in limited alpha development, Family Village is the first free Facebook-based game to connect and unite real families as players explore their family trees while building an online FarmVille™ and CityVille™-like community. FamilyLink’s massive database provides Family Village players with access to billions of online records for a unique family discovery experience of their ancestors and living relatives. These genealogical and family history records contain information such as birth and death dates, birthplaces, and much more, and tie in with game characters providing users with a realistic and deep connection with their relatives. “Most computer games eventually lose their luster for players who reach some prescribed goal. Even FarmVille average usage is starting to shrink,” stated Jeff Wells, Funium CEO...

FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ - Savvy genealogists have long known the benefits of building their family tree online in a collaborative environment.  A common approach is to find other genealogists who are searching the same surname in hopes of exchanging genealogical data to minimize their own research efforts. Today, ourFamily•ology unveils two new collaboration features aimed at helping subscribers build their family history. The first new feature allows genealogists to search for a common ancestor and see basic data from anyone’s tree that has enabled this feature.  Users can also contact and exchange information in hopes of sharing research. The second feature gives the ability to share documents with other subscribers. There are only a small percentage of genealogical documents available online.  Genealogists need to do field research to uncover and document their family history. ourFamily•ology now provides a tool where subscribers can share their findings such as wills, ...

In an earlier post I mentioned having a hard time confirming the father of my great great great grandfather George David Still, born in 1808 in Chester County, PA. His mother was Margaret Still born in 1788 in Chester County, PA. That much I have documented from many sources. That much I am certain. I also have documented proof that George had a brother David who was born in 1823. I also knew that Margaret bought 3 plots of land in East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, PA in 1829. She died in 1872 in East Fallowfield Township. I went to the Chester County Archives the other day hoping to answer three questions: 1. Who fathered George and David? 2. Was Margaret ever actually married or was she a Still by birth? and 3. If she was not married or widowed, how could a single white female afford to buy that much land in 1829? So ... I still do not have a clue who fathered my George. However I have a possibility for David which shines a whole unfavorable questionable light on my M...

I am writing an article titled, "How to Find Ship Records for Your Pomeranian's Genealogy" and I have to admit until I took this assignment I had never heard of Pomeranian Genealogy. So ... I had to say yes! I did find one very useful website which gave me some insight. I have learned: Pomerania, which literally means along the sea in Slavic, was located along the southern Baltic Coast on both sides of the River Oder. The area was settled in the 5th century by Slavic tribes Pomorzanie and Polabs. Being Slavic, I am excited to jump into this new area. My only hope is that I do not get "lost" in my research. Have you heard of Pomerania? Do you have suggestions as to where I should look? Thank you!