Not every ancestor was a pillar of virtue. Some were drunks, swindlers, thieves—or worse. You may have been told stories about them, or maybe you found hints in old letters or whispered rumors passed...
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Snow White’s Dance with the Dwarfs | Postcards from the Past
I remember watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on VHS with my parents when I was very young. That memory is still fresh. The soft hum of the tape rewinding, the old Disney clamshell case with...
Win a Copy of The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual (ENDED)
This giveaway has concluded. Stay tuned for our next giveaway. Are you looking to take your family history research to the next level? This month, I’m giving away a copy of one of the most trusted...
Thomas A. Hendricks: The Vice President Who Died Before He Could Lead
As we continue “The Forgotten Seconds” series — exploring the lives of U.S. vice presidents who never became president — we arrive at a man whose political career spanned decades and...
William A. Wheeler: The Honest Man in a Compromised Age
As we continue our series Forgotten Seconds, which explores the lives of vice presidents who never reached the presidency, today we turn to William Almon Wheeler, who served as vice...
Henry Wilson: The Shoemaker Who Rose to the Vice Presidency
As we continue our “The Forgotten Seconds” series, tracing the lives of vice presidents who never became president, few offer a more profound story of transformation than Henry...
A Night at Churchill’s, Broadway and Forty-Ninth Street, New York | Postcards from the Past
A Window into Manhattan’s Golden Nights This postcard captures more than just a location. It holds a slice of New York City’s vibrant nightlife in the early 1900s, frozen in time. Dozens of sharply...
The Gravedigger’s Path: Beneath the Surface
Of all the jobs people avoided, feared, or whispered about, the gravedigger stood near the top of the list. Working in quiet corners of churchyards, behind iron fences, or in the shadows of city...
Ashes, Bones, and Grease: The Rag-and-Bone Collector
Long before cities had garbage trucks and recycling centers, there were the rag-and-bone collectors—wandering figures with pushcarts, sacks, and sharp eyes trained on the gutters and alleys of the...
The Tanner’s Trade: Skin, Stink, and Skill
Of all the historical occupations that could be found in a family tree, few were more pungent, more physically difficult, or more socially isolating than tanning. While farmers, blacksmiths, and even...