Category Archives: piecing the puzzle together

If you don’t find it – look some more!

We all know that the last place you look is going to uncover precisely what you’re searching for whether it’s your house key, sunglasses or a record. It feels like I’ve been searching for some elusive information about my grandfather’s … Continue reading

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And over and over again

At the beginning of any research, as that tree begins to grow, the twigs, roots, and branches all fill out, documents are found so fast, sometimes it’s like magic. And then… suddenly, with no warning, you hit the proverbial brick … Continue reading

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Missing Records, Missing Connections

As a genealogist, I recognize the importance of going back to databases I’ve previously reviewed. If the database is digital, online, there’s always the possibility that there will be additions made to it, or that transcriptions have been updated and … Continue reading

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Handwriting (please!)

Handwriting (please!) Filed under: Uncategorized — Janette Silverman @ 9:25 pm Edit This Some days, today, for instance, I wish I could do the absolutely impossible.  I wish I could shake people who were in charge of creating records and … Continue reading

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So, what’s in a name?

Shakespeare said it long ago – a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.  However, in order to connect the word with the object, we need a clear path. In my mother’s family, my great-great grandfather seemingly arbitrarily … Continue reading

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Turn it and turn it again…

Without sounding too irreverent, there is a Talmudic statement found in Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 5:22 – Ben Bag Bag used to say, “Turn it, and turn it, for everything is in it. ”  Ben Bag Bag was referring … Continue reading

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But what does it mean?

So, you have a photo, and it’s interesting, and it’s old.  But, the photo without interpretation is meaningless without context.  Who is in this photo?  Where is it from?  What is the context?  What exactly is going on here?  The … Continue reading

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