(This was originally published in February 2021.)
Chatting with my CIR co-founder Dan Noyes the other day about researching family history, he had some tips I can pass on, including tracing relatives through ancestry.com, the DNA-testing company. He says he's discovered previously unknown relatives that way.
Local newspapers have traditionally been the source for most family news from the pre-digital era. If your relatives owned a business, they may have advertised in the local papers. There is also the possibility they ended up in the criminal or civil justice records, and of course property records can be a major source of information.
Some of this data is online, but you are more likely to be successful if you visit the area personally.
People who've served in the military are traceable, and some professional organizations keep historical records. Colleges as well, as Dan says that there is a service that is now digitizing school yearbooks.
Obituaries are always helpful; I just reread my mother's yesterday, and it contained details I'd forgotten. For instance, that she arrived in Detroit precisely on her 8th birthday in 1923. and that she died precisely on her mother's birthday 79 years later at the age of 87.
There are immigration records at Ellis Island (we have my Scottish grandfather's name on a ledger there) or at Angel island, which is where many Asian-Americans entered the country.
If your family is religious, a church, synagogue or temple might be useful. And then there is the Mormon Church's odd tradition of collecting all of our vital records.
You can always search marriage and divorce records for personal details, though these are localized for the most part.
Best of all are journals and letters, along with photographs and old home movies. All of this material, when combined with personal interviews if you can do them, fill out the picture of a life.
It's conceivable that as more historical documents are digitized that merely entering relative's name in Google may yield richer results.
You can also investigate your own life using all the same tools. It might be worth the effort, especially if your name is of the less common variety. Google has gotten better and better at pinpointing which person you are among others with the same name.
All of this is in the spirit of capturing our lives for our ancestors and more generally for posterity. Every life matters. And that means that everyone's story does too.
HEADLINES:
Weaponizing San Francisco -A reactionary movement is manipulating urban crises for political gain. (Progressive)
Biden’s Promised ‘Devastating’ Response to Navalny Death Is Largely Symbolic (WSJ)
Poverty Has Soared in New York, With Children Bearing the Brunt (NYT)
Two Alabama clinics pause IVF services after court rules that embryos are children (NBC)
After siding with Alabama ruling that embryos are children, Haley defends IVF access (NPR)
Alabama IVF ruling a political gift for Democrats, headache for Republicans (BBC)
Biden Mulling Plan That Could Restrict Asylum Claims at the Border (NYT)
It Sure Looks Like Trump Can’t Pay the Bond in His Fraud Trial (New Republic)
Republican: Colleagues were warned informant’s Biden claims were not verified (The Hill)
How you can tell propaganda from journalism − let’s look at Tucker Carlson’s visit to Russia (The Conversation)
Fani Willis Didn’t Stand a Chance (The Cut)
Navalny's mother says authorities are blackmailing her to hold secret burial (Axios)
Yulia Navalnaya emerges as Russia’s newest opposition leader (AP)
Biden meets widow and daughter as Russia says Navalny died of ‘natural causes’ (WP)
Historic Odysseus moon mission marks a milestone in reaching the lunar surface (CNN)
Afghanistan: Archaeological sites 'bulldozed for looting' (BBC)
An online dump of Chinese hacking documents offers a rare window into pervasive state surveillance (AP)
Japanese stocks raced to a record peak, breaking levels last seen in 1989 during the halcyon days of the bubble economy, as cheap valuations and corporate reforms lure foreign money looking for alternatives to battered Chinese markets. (Reuters)
Google pauses Gemini AI image generator after it created inaccurate historical pictures (CNBC)
AI billionaire crowns ‘whole new industry’ amid ‘tipping point’ after his company passes Google for third most valuable in the world (Fortune)
Scientists say they can use AI to solve a key problem in the quest for near-limitless clean energy (CNN)
China’s Rush to Dominate A.I. Comes With a Twist: It Depends on U.S. Technology (NYT)
Google goes “open AI” with Gemma, a free, open-weights chatbot family (Ars Technica)
Reddit in AI content licensing deal with Google (Reuters)
Intel’s AI Reboot Is the Future of US Chipmaking (Wired)
A woman is marrying an AI hologram, ushering in a weird new era for human-robot relationships (Business Insider)
Rising Conservative Star Just Guy Wearing Nazi Armband And Crying (The Onion)
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