Mail order brides were popular in the Old West in the United States. Here's why, and why so many women decided to become them.
Category - American History
Where Were the Pilgrims Really Going?
The Pilgrims were originally going to settle in Virginia. Why did they settle in Massachusetts instead? Here's the real story of the Mayflower.
Oklahoma, the Natives, and US Settlement
Oklahoma was originally set aside as a reservation for Natives. Yet, Americans wanted to settle there. Here's how Oklahoma went from a reservation to a state.
The Seminole Wars: A Brief History of the Settlement of Florida
The Seminole Wars played an important part in the American settlement of Florida. These wars were three wars fought in Florida between the Seminole Nation (the name for a diverse group of Native...
Why Was President Johnson Really Impeached, and Why Did He Get to Keep His Office?
President Andrew Johnson has two important distinctions in American history. One is that he was Abraham Lincoln’s vice-president and became the nation’s 17th president after...
Pioneers of the Old South: a chronicle of English colonial beginnings
Genealogy Book Club Recommendation: This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. This book is offered free through Kindle wireless delivery...
George Washington, the Masons, the White House, and the Case of the Missing Cornerstone
In 1792, the cornerstone of the White House was laid in a Masonic ceremony overseen by member George Washington. Supposedly, the cornerstone went missing the day after it was laid, and no one has...
The Evolution of Florida
Florida has a long and checkered history in North America. The indigenous culture remained a uniform one from what the archaeological evidence tells, until about 500 years ago. At that time, the...
Mayflower Passengers: Not All Were There for Religious Reasons
Though the Pilgrims (a separate group from the Puritans who came just after them) were all about establishing a religious community in the New World, they were forced to take on non-religious...
Quaker Persecutions in Puritan Massachusetts
Colonial Massachusetts is well known for the Salem witch trials. However, there was another dark period of persecution before that, which involved the Quakers.
How the Seven Years’ War led to the American Revolution
History is a continuous rope of causes and effects. The birth of the United States is no different. Our Revolutionary War was the result of battles across the globe between the world’s major...
Charles M. Schulz: An American Peanut
I had no idea that Charles Schulz was first published in Ripley’s Believe It or Not until my family visited the museum named for him in Santa Rosa, CA. I was a big Ripley’s fan as a child...
Faster Than a Speeding Bullet
We all have to admit it that when we’re doing genealogy research to learn about our families’ histories, we secretly hope to find someone famous in our family trees. Or maybe not so...
Navy Before Country
The history of the U.S. Navy is longer than the history of the United States. It’s even longer than the idea of the United States. Back in 1775, the Colonists (Americans) were fed up with their...
By the Rocket’s Red Glare (Francis Scott Key)
We Americans recognize those as the first lines of our National Anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," but to the author of those words, Francis Scott Key.
The Orphan Train Movement
Throughout the entire history of America, federal, local, and state governments have regularly undertaken programs to promote the welfare and betterment of their citizens, and the largest city in the...
Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000
The U.S. Census Bureau publishes a list of frequently occurring surnames from Census 2000. (Note: this data is from the 2000 census.) You can look through the list below of surnames that may show how...
The Mayflower Pioneers: The Hardships They Encountered
The story of the Pilgrims has its origins in the desire of religious independence from the Church of England.
How Did Air Force One Get Its Name?
In 1953 a near mid-air collision took place over New York City… Additional Information: From FDR’s prop-driven Pan Am to the glimmering blue and white jumbo 747 on which George W. Bush...