Legacy Tree Genealogists' Jessica Howe specializes in finding unknown ancestors. In this article, we discover some tips for identifying women in historical records by learning how cultural differences worldwide affect names and naming practices.Suppose you have searched for female relatives in online databases. In that case, there is a good chance you've come across an alternate spelling of their name or found that they went by a completely different name throughout different records. Here … [Read more...]
Stories Worth Telling: The Saibara Story in Texas
What untold immigration stories are waiting to be discovered in your family history? We share the story of Japanese immigrant, Seito Saibara.The history of America is an interlacing web of immigration stories from all over the world, many still untold. Every pioneer, either celebrated in life or silent to the grave, has a story worth telling—you just need to know how to go about telling it!Such is the case with Japanese immigrant, Seito Saibara, a name largely unknown outside of the … [Read more...]
Passenger Lists: A Gateway to Foreign Lands and a Former Life
How do you trace your immigrant ancestors from one country to another? Their travels were likely documented on passenger lists. Learn more!In the United States, I’ve heard it said that “unless your family is Native American your ancestors immigrated from somewhere.” How do you trace them if your family immigrated from one country to another, particularly crossing an ocean or two in the process? Their travels were likely documented, specifically on a passenger manifest for the ship they sailed … [Read more...]
Tracing 20th Century Immigrant Ancestors
Do you have 20th century immigrant ancestors who came to the United States? If so, you’re in luck, as there are a variety of resources available to help you learn about their journey to the United States and where they came from. The biggest challenge in tracing the ancestry of immigrants is that you must first identify their exact hometown (not just country or region) before you can locate records in their home country. Luckily, there were a variety of records created when an immigrant came to … [Read more...]
Angel Island and Chinese Immigration to the United States
Archaeological evidence indicates that more than a thousand years ago American Indians known as the Coast Miwok used Angel Island as a hunting and fishing site. Europeans first encountered the island in August 1775 when Juan Manuel de Ayala (1745–1797), a Spanish naval officer, was appointed commander of the packet boat San Carlos and ordered to explore what came to be called San Francisco Bay. After cautiously sailing through the strait between the Marin and San Francisco Peninsulas (the Golden … [Read more...]
The Wrights in America: Tracing Immigrant Ancestors
*This story of tracing immigrant ancestors is shared with client permission. Names have been changed to protect privacy.At Legacy Tree Genealogists we enjoy working with clients from all over the world, especially as they trace their immigrant ancestors through multiple countries. We were especially intrigued when a recent Brazilian client explained that in the process of immigrating from Yugoslavia to Brazil, her great-grandparents, Joseph Wright and Emily Horvay, had spent several years in … [Read more...]
Spanish and Portuguese Citizenship for Sephardic Jews
Descendants of Sephardic Jews may be eligible for Spanish or Portuguese citizenship. * Article originally published in May 2017; requirements for this law are in flux Spanish and Portuguese Citizenship for Sephardic JewsWithin the last three years, Spain and Portugal have begun to offer citizenship to the descendants of Sephardic Jews who were exiled during the religious persecutions of the late 15th century. As a result of these new laws, we’ve received many requests for research into … [Read more...]
All in a Day’s Work: Using Apprenticeship Records to Trace Your Ancestors from the United States to England
Making the leap backward from the United States to England during colonial times can be difficult. There aren’t those lovely modern passenger lists to use to determine the identity of the family left behind, places of birth, and family or friends who have already immigrated. But, if you are fortunate, and know one or two key pieces of information about that colonial ancestor, Findmypast has some great databases which can help you to make that leap across the pond.Let’s imagine your ancestor … [Read more...]
Immigrant Ancestors & “Avalon”: A Movie for Genealogists
We’re fresh off the holiday season, and that meant movies in our household! My family enjoys all the standard classics, but as a genealogist, I must confess that one movie stands out as my all-time favorite: Avalon was the perfect Thanksgiving kickoff to the holiday season.This autobiographical film was written, directed, and produced by Barry Levinson in 1990 and centers on the stories told by his Russian Jewish immigrant grandfather Sam Krichinsky. The movie is set in the early 1950s … [Read more...]
4 Steps to Finding Your Polish Ancestors
Legacy Tree Genealogists employs researchers with a wide range of expertise. We asked our Polish expert, Julie, to share tips for finding Polish ancestors based on decades of experience.If you’re an American researching your Polish ancestors, you aren’t alone. Polish Americans make up “the largest Slavic ethnic group in the United States, second largest Central and Eastern European group and the eighth largest immigrant group overall.”[1] So how do we begin tracing our roots in … [Read more...]