Ancestral Findings

The Twenty-Third Amendment gives the citizens of Washington, D.C. the right to vote in US Presidential elections, and also gives the city its own slate of electors in the Electoral College. This is what the amendment says, why it was needed, and what it does not provide to Washington, D.C. and its citizens. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/the-twenty-third-amendment-the-constituti...

The Twenty-Second Amendment to the US Constitution sets term limits for the US President, as well as some other qualifications for being elected to that office. This issue had been discussed as far back as the 1780s, during the Constitutional Convention, and many Founding Fathers expressed concerns about not limiting presidential terms. This is why term limits for US Presidents were finally instit...

The most personal types of Civil War records are letters, diaries, and photographs. You can find quite personal, and even intimate information in these records, and with photographs, it is always wonderful to be able to put a face to a name. This is what you may find in these records, as well as where you may go to look for them. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/diaries-letters-an...

Civil War pension records are excellent sources of information on both the personal lives and military service of Civil War soldiers and their dependents. Veterans could apply for government pensions if they were elderly or disabled. Their dependents could apply if the veteran was deceased, such as widows, dependent parents, and orphaned children. This is the information you can find in Civil War...

The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment. The 18th Amendment was adopted in 1919 and made manufacturing, transporting, and selling alcohol illegally at the federal level. The amendment proved unenforceable, and even increased crime in the United States, so it was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. This is the reason why. Podcast Show Notes https://ancestralfindings.com/the-twenty-first-...

The 20th amendment to the US Constitution changed the inauguration dates for the President, Vice-President, and members of Congress. The date was changed from March to January, with Congress being inaugurated slightly earlier in the month than the President and Vice-President. This article tells you why. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/the-twentieth-amendment-the-constitutional-a...

The service records of your Civil War ancestors have a lot of information in them. This information can be put together to give you a pretty accurate and often quite detailed story of what they did while they were serving in the Civil War. There are some important personal details that are also usually included. This is what you will usually find in the Civil War service records. Podcast Show Note...

The American Civil War generated a lot of records of different types. These are records that can often add many beautiful layers of personal detail to your genealogy research and bring ancestors on your tree to virtual life by making them seem more three-dimensional. This is where you can look for Civil War records. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/the-american-civil-war-a-closer-...

Walt Disney is probably the best-known animator the world has produced thus far. His cartoon movies are known and beloved far and wide, even those that were made seven to eight decades ago. How did Walt become such a phenomenally successful animator? Here is the story. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/animation-career-walt-disney-an-american-icon/   Click Here to listen to the wee...

The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution is the one that gives women the right to vote at the federal level, and prohibits states from denying women the right to vote at the state or federal level. This amendment was the result of decades of hard work by women's equality groups. This is what you need to know. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/the-nineteenth-amendment-the-constitut...

The Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was the infamous one that established Prohibition—the ban on the production, transportation, and sale of alcohol in the United States. Temperance groups had been trying to get this passed for decades. Yet, the amendment ended up increasing the amount of alcohol consumption in the United States, and became the only amendment to be repealed. This is wh...

Arguably the most famous creation of Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse is an iconic cartoon character that is recognized around the world. No one knows why the public found the humble, anthropomorphized mouse so compelling, but his origin is well known. Here is the story of how Mickey Mouse was created. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/mickey-mouse-walt-disney-an-american-icon/   Click He...

If you are not able to locate a death certificate or an obituary for an ancestor, you may be able to find a date of death for them (as well as some other information) in a death index. There are three primary types of death indexes used in the United States. This is what you need to know about them. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/death-record-alternatives-a-closer-look-at-death-...

If you are not able to locate a death certificate or an obituary for an ancestor, you may be able to find a date of death for them (as well as some other information) in a death index. There are three primary types of death indexes used in the United States. This is what you need to know about them. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/death-indexes-a-closer-look-at-death-records/   C...

Walt Disney is one of the world's best-known and best-loved animators. Before he became famous for his work, he was a struggling young artist who discovered animation and became interested in it. Largely self-taught in animation, Walt eventually established the world-famous Walt Disney Studios. Here is the story of how he rose to the top. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/early-car...

If there is no obvious place to look for cemetery records, such as an office at the cemetery or a church attached to it, there are other places in a city or a town you can look. In fact, there are several possible municipal sources of older cemetery records. These are the best places to look for them. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/alternative-sources-of-records-a-closer-look-at...

If there is no obvious place to look for cemetery records, such as an office at the cemetery or a church attached to it, there are other places in a city or a town you can look. In fact, there are several possible municipal sources of older cemetery records. These are the best places to look for them. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/municipal-sources-of-records-a-closer-look-at-c...

While looking through my collection of Walt Disney postcards, I was inspired to talk about this household name in American culture and entertainment. While he is an American icon, he is known and beloved around the world. His childhood was a tough one, but it helped him to become the man the world knew and loved. Podcast Show Notes:  https://ancestralfindings.com/walt-disney-an-american-icon-his-c...

If you are researching your ancestors at a historic cemetery, there is a chance there will not be an obvious place you can go to look for cemetery records. A lot of times, those records never existed or were lost long ago to time. There are still some potential places you can find information, though. You just need to be creative in your searching. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com...

If you have never explored cemetery records, you could be missing out on a potentially excellent source of genealogical information. These records can actually help you solve a few different types of family mysteries. You can find information here that is not on any vital record. This is what information you will find in most cemetery records. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/ceme...

Walt Disney is a well-known American cultural icon, whose movies and theme parks are famous around the world. While his creative genius is respected and his projects are known, not much is ever said about the first influences in his life, which were his parents and siblings. Here are some fun facts about the parents and siblings of Walt Disney. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/wal...

In instances where you can't find a death certificate for a particular ancestor, there are other options to get the information you need. One of these options, which is a truly excellent one, is in obituaries in old newspapers. These can sometimes give you just as much, if not more, information than a death certificate. While each obituary is different, this article lets you know some of the most...

Death certificates are one of the three basic types of vital records used in beginning genealogy research, along with birth and marriage records. The amount of information you will find on a death certificate can be incredible if the person filling it out knew a lot about the subject person on it. This is what kind of information you might find on a death certificate. Podcast Show Notes: https://a...

There are times when you will not find an official birth record for a person. This could be because one never existed, or that it was lost to time. If you cannot find a birth record, there are alternative places to look to get a good idea of when a person was born. Try these alternative birth records. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/alternative-records-a-closer-look-at-birth-reco...

One source of birth records that you might not have considered is the family Bible. These were popular in the 1700s and 1800s and were Bibles with blank pages for recording birth, death, and marriage information in a family. They were usually handed down from generation to generation. This is what you need to know about family Bibles. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/family-bibles...