Genealogical Gems

The Belleville Opera House was destroyed by fire On This Day in 1880. The opera house is located in Bellville, Ontario . The loss was estimated at $15,000 at that time. There had been a performance just two hours before the fire broke out.   Source: Lancaster daily intelligencer. ( Lancaster , Pa. ), 27 April 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

As I research various postcards and the historical images they present, I often stumble upon some gems - usual sites or information that may have a bearing down the road on my genealogical quests. Today, while searching for information on the timeline of the State Normal School in West Chester, Chester County, I found a timeline for West Chester itself. Lots of great facts here that may help in searches at some point. For example, the Daily Local News was founded in 1872. I'm sure I probably knew that at some point but the reminder is nice! I also listened to some videos from the National Genealogical Society while I was typing. Donna Valley Russell, fasg, was being interviewed and said one standard documentation concerns bible records. She says the first thing she looks for is the publication date of the bible. Things entered before that date have simply been copied in and cannot count as documentation. Switching tracks ... I did some research today for a client whose...