For nearly thirty-five years, I have been moving back and forth between my two passions: genealogy and history. They are sister passions, admittedly. Knowledge of one feeds the other. But I’ve come to realize something: I don’t want to move back and forth between them; I want to cultivate the spot where they intersect.
In this middle ground, I do not have to identify exclusively as a genealogist incorporating “historical context” or as a historian doing the “microhistory” of a family. Nor must I identify as a hyphenate genealogist-historian. Why be the proverbial “jack of all trades, master of none,” when I can master something really wonderful?
I envision something deliberately, definitively, on purpose in the middle of history and genealogy. Even better, it borrows from many other fields of knowledge and skill. This lush and fertile middle ground is its own discipline, deserving its own name. I am calling it “genohistory.”
Defining Genohistory
Don’t look for “genohistory” in your dictionary (yet). It’s not there. But when it is, it may read something like this:
Genohistory (noun) /ˈjenohist(ə)rē/ The cross-disciplinary study of an interconnected group of people, often a family, within the context of its own time and place.
A Future Dictionary, 2025 (if we’re lucky)
I get a buzz just thinking about it. It is permission to move beyond a genealogical sketch of lineage or a high-level study of a municipality or event. I get to immerse myself in the color and depth of real people’s lives — the difference in a sketch and a painting. It’s history on the ground, as experienced by people tied to each other, to the place, to the time, and to the situation, by any number of factors. I can seek to reimagine their world, to the extent possible — their world as they saw it. I can borrow from genealogy, history, sociology, literature, law, geology, cartography, and geography. From architecture, archaeology, psychology, religion, music, and art—anything that brings a time, place, and people to life. Anything that helps me to know and understand them and then.
Discovering the Genohistorian in Me
The truth is, as long as the past has intrigued me (starting about age 24), it has been a genohistorical intrigue. I am drawn to history that is personal, more so than broad, general narratives or analytical social theses. Oh, I value what these academic histories offer. I learn from them and use them. I just cannot make myself digest some of them from start to finish with much relish. And I cannot get excited about researching that kind of history. Something is missing—at least it is to me.
I remember being completely enthralled by an essay assigned in an undergraduate history course: “The Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem,” by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum. (After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection, 2nd ed.) I read countless pages in the years of graduate school after that. Much of it is a blur now, but this brilliant piece never left my memory.
Boyer and Nissenbaum captured the story of the Salem Witch Trials with a depth of detail that inspired me. They tracked the story door to door in the town and village of Salem, studying the accusers, accused, and everyone else influencing events. They sought answers to how a group of people might have fallen under such hysteria. The data yielded fascinating theories that made sense from a human, real, personal point of view. They demonstrated how studying the connections between people can bring whole new layers of understanding to a seemingly inscrutable past.
History up close. History with a human face. How great is that? Unfortunately, the academic field of history has a tendency to discourage “small history.” My thirst for history with an up-close human face lured me back to genealogy before the ink was dry on my Ph.D. dissertation in history.
But I keep a foot in both worlds. It’s in my DNA.
Not surprisingly, since then, I have loved genealogy education most when the teacher has a historical grounding and a detective’s passion, like Boyer and Nissenbaum. My favorite teachers go larger than “who begat whom,” telling me why things might have happened as they did.
Perhaps you can say the same.
You Might Be a Genohistorian
Are you a genohistorian. too? Do you find yourself hanging around with a generation, long after you have filled in the standard genealogical blanks? You have collected the names. You have found the birth, marriage, and death dates and places, You have identified the spouses and offspring. You have proven them and cited them to the highest standards. But you are not content just to document them and move on. You want to know the people and their world.
Where was the site of their old homestead, you wonder? Can you find the old roads, plot the map of their town? Who were their neighbors, and what did their church expect of its members? Did the $200 in assets reported in the census make them the richest or poorest family on the road? What did they likely eat and wear? How did they get around, and how long did it take to get to town or the next farm? What would they do to survive a drought or cholera epidemic? Your curiosity drives you.
By giving this longing a name, we give ourselves more than permission to dawdle along the path. We give ourselves the mandate to satisfy our curiosity thoroughly before we climb the tree another generation or move on to the next chapter of a history. And when we get to there, we are better equipped to build on the story we have begun.
Or maybe we stay in one place for the rest of our genohistorical career, because we never run out of questions. And that’s perfectly fine, too.
The Road Ahead
Join me as I explore what being a genohistorian looks like in actual practice. I will be blogging, describing my experiences with pursuing historical depth in the story of people, sometimes my own people.
Some of the posts currently under development include these:
- What Was Where: Getting the Lay of Your Ancestral Lands
- Degrees of Separation: What the Neighbors Can Tell You about Your Ancestors
- The Supreme Court Shopping Spree: Treasures in Unexpected Places
Sign up below to receive emails that alert you to new blog material, bonus offerings, and more. Subscribers to the newsletter will get free content that will not be otherwise available.
One other thing I ask of you. If you think you might be or definitely are a genohistorian, please introduce yourself in the comments and add your experiences and knowledge to mine, starting now. Or email me at donna@publishgold.com. Help me to find my genohistory colleagues, so we can enjoy and refine the practice together. And share this with that friend you suspect of being a genohistorian. Build the team, friends!
With each blog post, I will share insights into Zotero — the research organizer I consider the ideal tool for genohistory. This research cannot be contained in family tree software, though we will certainly use family tree software for the event and kinship documentation. But the questions we will ask are larger than facts attached to a person. We need a tool with greater flexibility. Zotero is free and can store, organize, and retrieve just about every piece of knowledge we want to collect. And, if you have a mind to publish, it also creates citations.
If you are unfamiliar with Zotero or new to it, everyone who subscribes to my mailing list will be given a link to a mini-course I have created. I think you’ll find that this video lives up to its name: Zotero: Up and Running in 25 Minutes. If you’re looking for a more thorough instruction, check out one of my two Zotero books below. Or, if you are an avid do-it-yourselfer, download Zotero at zotero.org and teach yourself, as I did ten years ago and continuously since — time well spent.
Zotero Titles by Donna Cox Baker
Hi Donna, I share your ideas and I’m looking forward to your blog posts. Many of my ancestors arrived in America during the colonial time period and moved from place to place as the country grew and expanded its boundaries. It finally occurred to me that the stories of our nation are the stories of my ancestors and the stories of my ancestors are the stories of our nation. One of my goals has been to do what you’re doing and combine the people with the history of their times.
It will be a lifetime of adventure, won’t it, Sarah? I look forward to traveling it with your company!
I’m from a history background too. Love these thoughts!
I’m glad to hear it, Nicole. I think there are a lot of us! Welcome!
I am so excited for this! I love trying to place my people in context and figuring out where they lived and who they were friends with is the best part of doing all this for me! I can’t wait to read more!
And I look forward to hearing more from you, Candy. It’s just the most glorious addiction. See you next time!
Great article, Donna! I’m looking forward to the next blog. I have been a ‘dawdler’ in historical context for many of my ancestors but I need this ‘course’ to put flesh on the bones of the names, providing the why’s, who’s and when’s of their lives. Bringing their lives into historical context provides reality for those in my family that have less interest in genealogy. This will be a great way to encourage a budding genealogist/genohistorian!
I suspected as much, Allen! Thank so much for weighing in. I look forward to all that is ahead for we of like mind.
I am looking forward to your blogs. I, too, have been interested in the intersection between genealogy and history. I am currently in the process of writing biographies of several ancestors that are set within the history of their times.
That sounds like a great project, Linda. I hope you’ll share your lessons learned along the way!
You have captured my passions quite accurately although I am just now beginning to pursue them with any kind of attention. This semester, I’ve started taking history classes at my local college (free for seniors!) for the sole purpose of giving context to my ancestor’s lives. I’ve studied this same history in the past but only with a need to get the grade and the degree. Now I can pay attention and learn for me! It opens up history in a way I’ve never considered before. I look forward to the rest of your presentations.
I’m so glad to hear it, Katrina. History caught my interest when I was my people, too. Fortunately, many of today’s history teachers in school are started kids off with the family tree. And what a great thing for the local university to offer free classes! I look forward to learning from you!
I’m excited about your project. I always wondered about my ancestor’s lives but didn’t go about it in a consistent way. And then what do I do with all that information.
Exactly. From the genealogical point of you, it feels sort of messy. That’s why I love the idea of approaching this “on purpose,” rather than as a side detour from genealogy or from history, for that matter. We get to create a “consistent way” that work for genohistory. And I think Zotero is great for storing the masses of information a genohistorical type is going to gather. And in August, I plan to do a blog post about what we do with this information, in terms of giving it back–publishing, etc.
Thanks so much for checking in, Margaret!
This sums up my two passions exactly! Now that I am almost an empty-nester, I have been able to spend more time with my genealogy research but then I find myself getting caught up in learning about the time period, the location, or even what was going on in the country at that time. Thanks for defining my interests so well. Also, I have been learning how to use Zotero (love your book!) so I am glad you will be incorporating Zotero into your blog.
I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying Zotero, Jennifer! AND that you have the genohistorian DNA. I’m eager to learn more about what your genohistorical adventures are yielding. Thanks!
I have always pursued genealogy from the genohistorical viewpoint – you simply cannot “do” good genealogy without “doing” history. I am fond of saying genealogy without documentation is mythology, so too genealogy without the history.
What truly cemented this in place was an incident about 10 years into my research (1999) when records came available that allowed me to pin down my 2X great grandparents and I discovered they had been slaveholders. Not many, just 3 – man, wife, and child. I was devastated and told a much elder cousin I would no longer pursue genealogy. She said to me “Susan, you can’t let that discourage you. They were a product of their time and upbringing and lived in a time when slavery was acceptable. You are not responsible for their actions any more than they are accountable for yours.” I continued to research and found my ancestor, my great grandfather had inherited his slaves sometime between 1840-1850. He held them only as long as the law required then manumitted them. He apparently also gave them land as they lived on a parcel he had originally registered. It appears they loved him and his wife Nancy, as well. They kept his surname as theirs and named their children after my great grandparents. What Margaret said to me has remained ever in my thoughts, even when I pursued my Masters in history. The youngsters in my graduate classes got tired of hearing the old lady in the class telling them this, but several have come back to me with a thank you. It belongs to Margaret!
Hi, Susan. Been there! My first discovery of documented ancestral slaveholding was 42 men, women, and children, and it was a lightning bolt to the gut. And while I haven’t met your wise Margaret, I was lucky to have met her counterparts along the way. If you haven’t encountered The Beyond Kin Project (beyondkin.org), it’s how I processed that lightning bolt without hating or hiding my ancestors. I look forward to the journey ahead! Thanks for checking in!
Hi Donna, I look forward eagerly to your blog posts as I have been attempting to write up profiles of my ancestors that are much more than mere documentation of facts with sources and to put a human touch into their stories that is interesting and readable by my living relations. I am trying to teach myself the skills necessary with very little education in history and am struggling to achieve my aims. On thing that is helping my efforts and assisting with publication of that work is the use of WikiTree as that has the flexibility, while having high genealogical standards, to add human stories along with the facts and sources. Thankyou.
Thank you for getting in touch, John. You definitely sound like a genohistorian to me. I confess I am not familiar with WikiTree, but I hope to give it a look!
The term “genohistorian” is so apt and discribes what until now I have called “putting meat on the bones” much more accurately. With ancestors scattered accross the globe living in different eras to our own the dates and addresses give us scafolding to build a window into their world that history can describe. I look forward to reading more.
Yes! Scaffolding and bones. Just like sketches vs. paintings. Thanks so much, Sandra. So many of you are well on your journey, and I look forward to what I can learn from you!
I can’t tell you how excited I am about this blog! I have been doing genealogy since I was a teenager and I’m now 86. My interest has always been getting to know the people and their place and time. I love history so that intersection has been my focus. I have spent huge amounts of time (and money!) going to the places my ancestors lived, walking their land, visiting their graves and getting to know as much about their lives as possible. I am known to my kinfolks as the family historian, so when anyone has a question they call me. I have authored two books and I’m spending my “stay at home” time right now transcribing the journals of my maternal grandmother’s first cousin. This is where I was meant to be. Thank you so much for taking this on! I look forward to more.
Wonderful! It’s so great to have your experience and wisdom to draw on, Martha. I know what you mean: “This is where I was meant to be.” Welcome and thank you!!
I find the concept of Genohistory both interesting and challenging. While I generally have a sense of what the historical context of my ancestors and their families is when I write their stories, I haven’t necessarily fully delved into the historical context in the telling of the story, largely because of the extensive research I would need to do to describe the historical context with accuracy.
Your blog led me to go back and look at some of the things I have written, particularly the two I have recently published on my blog site. This reflection then led me to write a new post that refers to your website. You can find it here: https://enthusiasticallymuddlingthrough.blogspot.com/2020/05/genohistory.html
As I said at the end of that post:
With so many relatives to write about, there is always a tension between focusing too long on one at the expense of others. Both in depth historical research and genealogical research take time. Finding the spot where they intersect and discovering just what that looks like feels to me like an important thing to do. I look forward to future blog posts.
Many thanks, Jane, and I am intrigued with what your anthropology background might bring to genohistory. (In fact, that field should have been prominent in my list of cross-disciplines in my post.) I enjoyed exploring your blog and hope others will do the same!
What a fabulous idea. There is definitely a dearth of blog sites that address this topic yet it’s the most fascinating aspect of genealogy for me. I don’t care how many names I have identified for my tree or how far back I have gone, unless I also know how these people lived, those facts are meaningless.
So true! Thanks so much for taking part!
My name is Karen Burks Franks and I too am a genohistorian! Looking back, I’ve probably been one since the summer after I graduated high school, when I was poring through encyclopedias to learn more about the royal families of Europe-I remember how, in an effort to understand their relations to each other, I covered an entire wall with notebook paper and wrote in the names of all of the royal families and their ancestors / descendants, who they married, and birth / death dates–in other words, I built a family tree!
Little did I know that my “silly” summer project (yes, it got a lot of eye rolls lol) already had me hooked on a passion which–in my teenaged world–didn’t have a name. A few short years later I would discover the world of genealogy.
I’ve always been a history buff so when I discovered genealogy they just seemed to go together; and after a few years of collecting dry facts I, too, wanted the personal stories.
It’s like meeting someone and discovering you have a lot in common; then you spend time with them and along the way these tidbits of discovered information are what allow you to “get to know them.” Added to that are the shared experiences, and one day you realize that you aren’t just friends–you’ve become “good friends,” and maybe even “old friends.”
It’s a very similar feeling when doing research and for what ever reason, a particular person may stand apart from the rest. Your curiosity has been piqued; you want to know more. You search for details, even though you may already have all of the vital statistics. As you collect the tiniest bits of information, this ancestor even develops a personality; you feel sympathy for their tragedies; or maybe you laugh because you see a stubborn streak (which matches your own–can you inherit pigheadedness?) and you might even feel anger toward them over past deeds–all of the same emotions you experience with a “good friend.”
So yes-the two disciplines go hand-in-hand and while a historian might be able to research without genealogy, I don’t believe a genealogist can research without history. It’s the tool which breathes life (back) into our ancestors with glimpses into their lives 🙂
I seem to be incapable of writing anything less than a tome so my apologies for the looooong comment…
I look forward to reading your articles!!
Thanks so much, Karen. And no apology necessary. What a wonderful story about covering your walls with genealogy before you ever heard of it. Your sentiments about the ancestors are rich and no doubt shared by most of us. Isn’t it sad that history has often gotten along without genealogy? In getting back to genealogy after my doctoral work in history–and learning things like the Genealogical Proof Standard–I have found myself telling historians, LEARN GENEALOGY. You’ll be so much the better historian for it.
And yes, I am convinced you can inherit pigheadedness. 😉
Welcome!
Hi, Donna! I know I am echoing what these other genohistorians have said. I have been working on my family history since I was a teenager (I am now 71 and happily retired!) Over the years as I have researched my family, I have learned so much about the history of the times in which they lived. This has led to an interest in how the times effected them, and a desire to learn more about their towns (some very small) I can’t wait to discover how to focus this. Thank you this project!
You are welcome, Eileen, and undoubtedly have much to teach the rest of us. Genealogy came first for me, too. And wanting to know their world led me to history. I think it happens for a lot of people. Looking forward to it, friend!
“History without Sociology has no fruit; Sociology without History has no root”- John Seely.
I think I may be a genohistorian! My parents were history buffs and passed on their interest to me. As the descendant of enslaved people, I have always been interested in the impact historical events and social issues had on my ancestors and their FANs. When I started digging into my family history about 25 years ago, I considered myself to be more of a social historian than a genealogist. Over the years this has led me to be “curiouser and curiouser” about the communities where my family lived/died and I have collected a lot of historical information.
All my genealogy documentation is in Legacy Family Tree. I have been cataloguing the history information in Zotero for about 15 months. As you said, Zotero is perfect for genohistory items and I am looking forward learning additional tips/tricks.
Welcome, Danni! And thank you for triggering the “sociology” memory again. I’m going to add that to the list of cross-disciplines in the post. It belongs there. And funny you should mention curiosity, because that’s coming up in the next post. The power of being curious. I descend from both slaveholders and enslaved persons (if I am interpreting my DNA correctly), and my curiosity about that has had more to do with making a genohistorian of me than anything. It made me realize how much more complicated my ancestors’ stories are than who begat whom. I am happy to have your wisdom and experience added to our circle. Thank you!
I am so happy I found your website! This is what I have been doing since 1999. Just having names and dates has never satisfied me, so I have been hunting for the “personality” of the people and the history of what they experienced. Looking forward to reading more!
Thanks for joining in, Vicky. Isn’t it great to find we are in good company in our happy middle ground? See you next post!
I realized that genealogy and history went hand in hand when reading a mill newspaper i realized my grandparents were possibly at an event with Helen Keller. Not until then did I 1) put Helen Keller into my world but also put my grandparents and other family members into the the happenings of our country and beyond.
This connection is invaluable and I look forward to traveling it with you.
Thank you for the opportunity to consider other ways to connect family and history.
Oh, what I’d give to have been at an event with Helen Keller. Isn’t it mind-bending to know that your grandparents would have seen Helen as an in-the-moment celebrity and themselves as living on the cutting edge of modernity? Thanks for sharing the journey, Cynthia–AND for putting IGHR online for me. Cutting edge, indeed!
Donna,.
Thank you for including me in your email announcing your new blog. Yes, I am right there with you on this approach to genealogy. I’m a story teller, and have been telling the stories of my ancestors for years. As a child, it was the family stories that I learned and sought out. Constantly trying to find the why behind an action or choice. Trying to learn what was going on in their lives.
When my children had to do reports on colonists, I had them report on our own ancestors who were colonists: From what they probably wore and ate , to what resources were available where they lived, to the challenges and benefits they experienced. The same with other ancestors at often studied points of history. This led to discoveries and brought our ancestors to life.
Six years ago, my family tree work became solely about ” bringing each name on my tree to life. Visiting the land/ home / buildings / and community where they lived, worked, attended church. Then reading about the history of these places. Examining old maps, and walking the land or boating the river. Along the way I discovered a far richer understanding of the people I come from. I also had many small world experiences where I found how the different ancestral lines intersected.
So yes, I’m with you in this pursuit. Please keep me on your blog list
Thank you,
Cynthia Snider
snidercynfamily@gmail.com
A kindred spirit to be sure, Cynthia. And a teacher of it, at that. I’ll be bringing up maps next week. I look forward to hearing about your adventures along the way. Thank you so much!
HI Donna
I think the like of genohistory. I have been planning a reply for a bit and wanted to read article on ‘Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem’ it a great piece of writing. It covers a lot of ground – trying to understand behaviour from a psychological and historical perspective.
While I don’t have a big investment in disciplinary boundaries like History or Sociology or Psychology or Economics – quite the opposite I do find myself wondering why ‘Visible and Invisible Worlds’ isn’t an example of sociology.
Traditionally it was seen that History dealt with the big (national) picture and sociology was supposed to do all the little picture work. In sociology we call it structure and agency – social structures shape choices of agents and agent’s choices create structures. It seems to cover gender and class – it doesn’t mention race but one of the girls was Jamaican (a freed slave?).
I am not an expert on Salem and witch trials but I wondered if you had read/heard of Wayward Puritans by Kai Erikson – https://www.powells.com/book/wayward-puritan-a-study-in-the-sociology-of-deviance-9780023322006 its a classic study of the sociology of deviance and, while there are issues with it (functionalist sociology always has issues with power) it would be an interesting complement to the Seen/Unseen piece.
Anyrate just my academics 2c worth in the concept. Keep up the good work.
Regards
Shane
Thanks so much, Shane. It’s great to have the sociologists weighing in. I do recall reading Wayward Puritans in one of my graduate school classes and will have to go back to my notes, if I no longer have the book. It is amusing to hear your take on “issues” with books, because in history graduate work, it felt like that was your job 90% of the time–finding the weaknesses in the work of those who came before you. I was never as good at that as I should have been, but it was a growth exercise, to be sure. I am also interested that sociology was presented in your circles as the closer-up stuff and history as broader. I definitely felt the encouragement to “go bigger” in research and I have been concerned about that. If all the academic historians go big, what smaller histories can they build the big view from? Someone has to do the smaller stuff with equal rigor, or the big stuff begins to crumble on its own inadequate source material. Like you, though, I’m happier leaving the boundary definitions to those who care about the distinctions. I want to learn from all the fields, but I want to apply it with a microscope, rather than a telescope. For now. I’ll enjoy hearing more from you as we go forward! Thanks again.
Yeah maybe its different in US sociology where individualist culture is even stronger and so teachers need to point at the bigger picture.
I guess I was thinking about the central frame of sociology and that is structure and agency. How do we reconcile A. the notion of a society “out there” that seems to rule over us in some way independent of our choices and B. The notion that we are agents, making choices.
I think this is fundamental in how we do family history – always interested in our individual ancestors but we can only do that if we really understand the society they are a part of (rather than projecting the present backwards). I think this is what you are talking about with geno-history.
Cheers
Shane
Exactly, Shane. Any attempt at local history without an understanding of how it affected individuals is a shell–and any story of individuals without understanding the society around them will just be an anecdote. It’s a cosmos.
Yes! I am definitely a genohistorian. My particular interest is how my ancestors lived, what their lifestyles were like. What was it like to be a hand loom weaver or watchmaker in Fife, Scotland in the early 1800s? How was their time spent?
The Internet enables me to see photos, videos and google maps of where they lived until I can visit places in person.
The thrill when I discover a shipboard diary of my ancestor and read in old newspapers of his many interests.
Knowledge of traditional history helps me become aware of the events that shaped their lives.
I am looking forward to reading more of your blog.
Thank you so much, Sue, and I apologize that it has taken me this long to realize a comment was awaiting approval. There are so many ways for us to fill in the details that people 50 years ago did not have. And it’s a pleasure, isn’t it?
My name is Susan Posten Ellerbee and I live in Oklahoma. Like others, I am the ‘designated family historian’. I signed up for your genohistory blog when you first posted the information. I wonder about the effects of lesser known events on my ancestor’s lives. Examples – one person known as an exceptional truck farmer in rural Pennsylvania in late 1800s/ early 1900s. Was he affected by ash from Krakato volcano eruption in 1883? One of my husband’s ancestors may have lived near New Madrid, Missouri about 1811, at the time of the New Madrid earthquake. And, of course, there was the Spanish flu pandemic of 1917-1919. Dad’s oldest known ancestor was born in 1782 at Monmouth county, New Jersey. A female relative was hospitalized in early1900s for postpartum depression and ‘hysteria’. I agree that genealogy incorporates many disciplines. Using these various perspectives brings our ancestors to life.
Exactly, Susan. Those events take on a whole new meaning when you’re viewing them through the eyes of a human who matters to you. The historic Bryce Mental Institution on the campus of the University of Alabama has more meaning to me because my great-great-grand-aunt was apparently dropped off there by her family before they moved to Texas. I feel for her every time I drive past it, and that building matters to me, personally.
Hi Donna – I look forward to finding out more about this new “technique” of incorporating genealogy with history. I’ve been a history buff for years, especially American History. I have relatives that came on the Mayflower and also have Native American ancestors, so American History is so interesting to me. As a retired public school grant writer, research is truly a passion. I think that’s why genealogy and history go hand in hand for me. Anything I can research and read about from days gone by is a fun pastime for me. I’ve worked on our family tree for a few years now and have found several of my relatives from generations long past, but at times, I find the history of when they lived and how they lived more exciting than the person I found. Admittedly, much of the information I uncover isn’t the prettiest or even the most notable, but nevertheless, it’s my family history, good and bad. Thanks for taking on this new field for all of us out here who love research and genealogy! Can’t wait to learn more.
Exactly, Kristi! The ancestors leads you to stories you really want to know. Then you can relish the idea that your DNA in some form saw it happen. Thanks!
Hi Donna-
I just found this site and this post today, and felt an instant connection. My Irish relatives fled the famine and came to Pennsylvania to work in the coal mines. I’m fascinated by their stories and the history they lived and created. Today we see small struggling almost ghost-towns, yet 150 short years ago these towns were on the cutting edge of progress in our country- coal, iron, trains,and canals. It truly boggles my mind!
My computer and organizational skills are a (slow) work in (halting) progress, so I’d like to thank you for your video re Zotero, and for your generous sharing of your talents and hard-earned knowledge. I look forward to learning from you and this little community you have established.
Welcome,Judy! I look forward to learning more about your ancestors in the days ahead.
I am found! How did we not meet at IGHR 2016? I am so excited to be a part of Genohistory and fine tune my research into something that is as interesting to others as it is to me.
Welcome home, Nona! I hope to have new material coming soon!