Open Forum

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions, websites, processes, methods, or the like for finding descendants of people, especially from the early to mid 1900s? I haven't used Ancestry.com yet - I'm trying to get an institutional account.

I am trying to track down descendants of a range of people, descendants of historical figures and sometimes descendants of donors who have since passed away. For example, I have some names for people who worked in the College Park, MD Air Mail Station and the DC Air Mail Office, but I haven't had luck tracking down descendants. I would like to connect for the purposes of exploring overlooked stories. Sometimes I find obituaries online and look for next of kin that way. There are other times I am looking for descendants of donors that previous staff did not stay in touch with and whose contact information is no longer in use. Prior staff did not always record proper provenance or context and I hope to fill in those gaps.

Any help or pointing my in any useful direction would be very appreciated.

Best,

Luke

Luke,

As someone who researches a lot of local history, a couple of suggestions.
Ancestry.com is good, but can be cost prohibitive. (Some local libraries and historical societies offer it at their locations.) Family Search is the free version and can be very helpful as you can both search for both family trees and individuals. 
Newspapers.com can be almost as useful as it contains obituaries, which can be invaluable in identifying spouses, parents and descendants. (Some Ancestry subscriptions can include discounts for Newspapers.com.)

I also found through Google that the Maryland State Archives have an online database of newspapers that appear to be free to use. 

Best of luck,

Mary Oswell

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions, websites, processes, methods, or the like for finding descendants of people, especially from the early to mid 1900s? I haven't used Ancestry.com yet - I'm trying to get an institutional account.

I am trying to track down descendants of a range of people, descendants of historical figures and sometimes descendants of donors who have since passed away. For example, I have some names for people who worked in the College Park, MD Air Mail Station and the DC Air Mail Office, but I haven't had luck tracking down descendants. I would like to connect for the purposes of exploring overlooked stories. Sometimes I find obituaries online and look for next of kin that way. There are other times I am looking for descendants of donors that previous staff did not stay in touch with and whose contact information is no longer in use. Prior staff did not always record proper provenance or context and I hope to fill in those gaps.

Any help or pointing my in any useful direction would be very appreciated.

Best,

Luke

Luke,

As someone who researches a lot of local history, a couple of suggestions.
Ancestry.com is good, but can be cost prohibitive. (Some local libraries and historical societies offer it at their locations.) Family Search is the free version and can be very helpful as you can both search for both family trees and individuals. 
Newspapers.com can be almost as useful as it contains obituaries, which can be invaluable in identifying spouses, parents and descendants. (Some Ancestry subscriptions can include discounts for Newspapers.com.)

I also found through Google that the Maryland State Archives have an online database of newspapers that appear to be free to use. 

Best of luck,

Mary Oswell

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions, websites, processes, methods, or the like for finding descendants of people, especially from the early to mid 1900s? I haven't used Ancestry.com yet - I'm trying to get an institutional account.

I am trying to track down descendants of a range of people, descendants of historical figures and sometimes descendants of donors who have since passed away. For example, I have some names for people who worked in the College Park, MD Air Mail Station and the DC Air Mail Office, but I haven't had luck tracking down descendants. I would like to connect for the purposes of exploring overlooked stories. Sometimes I find obituaries online and look for next of kin that way. There are other times I am looking for descendants of donors that previous staff did not stay in touch with and whose contact information is no longer in use. Prior staff did not always record proper provenance or context and I hope to fill in those gaps.

Any help or pointing my in any useful direction would be very appreciated.

Best,

Luke

Luke,

As someone who researches a lot of local history, a couple of suggestions.
Ancestry.com is good, but can be cost prohibitive. (Some local libraries and historical societies offer it at their locations.) Family Search is the free version and can be very helpful as you can both search for both family trees and individuals. 
Newspapers.com can be almost as useful as it contains obituaries, which can be invaluable in identifying spouses, parents and descendants. (Some Ancestry subscriptions can include discounts for Newspapers.com.)

I also found through Google that the Maryland State Archives have an online database of newspapers that appear to be free to use. 

Best of luck,

Mary Oswell

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions, websites, processes, methods, or the like for finding descendants of people, especially from the early to mid 1900s? I haven't used Ancestry.com yet - I'm trying to get an institutional account.

I am trying to track down descendants of a range of people, descendants of historical figures and sometimes descendants of donors who have since passed away. For example, I have some names for people who worked in the College Park, MD Air Mail Station and the DC Air Mail Office, but I haven't had luck tracking down descendants. I would like to connect for the purposes of exploring overlooked stories. Sometimes I find obituaries online and look for next of kin that way. There are other times I am looking for descendants of donors that previous staff did not stay in touch with and whose contact information is no longer in use. Prior staff did not always record proper provenance or context and I hope to fill in those gaps.

Any help or pointing my in any useful direction would be very appreciated.

Best,

Luke

Luke,

As someone who researches a lot of local history, a couple of suggestions.
Ancestry.com is good, but can be cost prohibitive. (Some local libraries and historical societies offer it at their locations.) Family Search is the free version and can be very helpful as you can both search for both family trees and individuals. 
Newspapers.com can be almost as useful as it contains obituaries, which can be invaluable in identifying spouses, parents and descendants. (Some Ancestry subscriptions can include discounts for Newspapers.com.)

I also found through Google that the Maryland State Archives have an online database of newspapers that appear to be free to use. 

Best of luck,

Mary Oswell

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions, websites, processes, methods, or the like for finding descendants of people, especially from the early to mid 1900s? I haven't used Ancestry.com yet - I'm trying to get an institutional account.

I am trying to track down descendants of a range of people, descendants of historical figures and sometimes descendants of donors who have since passed away. For example, I have some names for people who worked in the College Park, MD Air Mail Station and the DC Air Mail Office, but I haven't had luck tracking down descendants. I would like to connect for the purposes of exploring overlooked stories. Sometimes I find obituaries online and look for next of kin that way. There are other times I am looking for descendants of donors that previous staff did not stay in touch with and whose contact information is no longer in use. Prior staff did not always record proper provenance or context and I hope to fill in those gaps.

Any help or pointing my in any useful direction would be very appreciated.

Best,

Luke

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions, websites, processes, methods, or the like for finding descendants of people, especially from the early to mid 1900s? I haven't used Ancestry.com yet - I'm trying to get an institutional account.

I am trying to track down descendants of a range of people, descendants of historical figures and sometimes descendants of donors who have since passed away. For example, I have some names for people who worked in the College Park, MD Air Mail Station and the DC Air Mail Office, but I haven't had luck tracking down descendants. I would like to connect for the purposes of exploring overlooked stories. Sometimes I find obituaries online and look for next of kin that way. There are other times I am looking for descendants of donors that previous staff did not stay in touch with and whose contact information is no longer in use. Prior staff did not always record proper provenance or context and I hope to fill in those gaps.

Any help or pointing my in any useful direction would be very appreciated.

Best,

Luke

Aside from the ones already mentioned, findagrave.com can often be useful. Cross-referencing name/DOB/DOD dates, plus spouses can help identify folks. Additionally people frequently attach obits or photos to findagrave entries. 

Oh and of course the USGenWeb site for your state or county may be helpful. It can be really hit or miss quality wise, but sometimes you get troves of stuff painstakingly transcribed years ago that might just be what your looking for.

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions, websites, processes, methods, or the like for finding descendants of people, especially from the early to mid 1900s? I haven't used Ancestry.com yet - I'm trying to get an institutional account.

I am trying to track down descendants of a range of people, descendants of historical figures and sometimes descendants of donors who have since passed away. For example, I have some names for people who worked in the College Park, MD Air Mail Station and the DC Air Mail Office, but I haven't had luck tracking down descendants. I would like to connect for the purposes of exploring overlooked stories. Sometimes I find obituaries online and look for next of kin that way. There are other times I am looking for descendants of donors that previous staff did not stay in touch with and whose contact information is no longer in use. Prior staff did not always record proper provenance or context and I hope to fill in those gaps.

Any help or pointing my in any useful direction would be very appreciated.

Best,

Luke

Aside from the ones already mentioned, findagrave.com can often be useful. Cross-referencing name/DOB/DOD dates, plus spouses can help identify folks. Additionally people frequently attach obits or photos to findagrave entries. 

Oh and of course the USGenWeb site for your state or county may be helpful. It can be really hit or miss quality wise, but sometimes you get troves of stuff painstakingly transcribed years ago that might just be what your looking for.

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions, websites, processes, methods, or the like for finding descendants of people, especially from the early to mid 1900s? I haven't used Ancestry.com yet - I'm trying to get an institutional account.

I am trying to track down descendants of a range of people, descendants of historical figures and sometimes descendants of donors who have since passed away. For example, I have some names for people who worked in the College Park, MD Air Mail Station and the DC Air Mail Office, but I haven't had luck tracking down descendants. I would like to connect for the purposes of exploring overlooked stories. Sometimes I find obituaries online and look for next of kin that way. There are other times I am looking for descendants of donors that previous staff did not stay in touch with and whose contact information is no longer in use. Prior staff did not always record proper provenance or context and I hope to fill in those gaps.

Any help or pointing my in any useful direction would be very appreciated.

Best,

Luke

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions, websites, processes, methods, or the like for finding descendants of people, especially from the early to mid 1900s? I haven't used Ancestry.com yet - I'm trying to get an institutional account.

I am trying to track down descendants of a range of people, descendants of historical figures and sometimes descendants of donors who have since passed away. For example, I have some names for people who worked in the College Park, MD Air Mail Station and the DC Air Mail Office, but I haven't had luck tracking down descendants. I would like to connect for the purposes of exploring overlooked stories. Sometimes I find obituaries online and look for next of kin that way. There are other times I am looking for descendants of donors that previous staff did not stay in touch with and whose contact information is no longer in use. Prior staff did not always record proper provenance or context and I hope to fill in those gaps.

Any help or pointing my in any useful direction would be very appreciated.

Best,

Luke

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions, websites, processes, methods, or the like for finding descendants of people, especially from the early to mid 1900s? I haven't used Ancestry.com yet - I'm trying to get an institutional account.

I am trying to track down descendants of a range of people, descendants of historical figures and sometimes descendants of donors who have since passed away. For example, I have some names for people who worked in the College Park, MD Air Mail Station and the DC Air Mail Office, but I haven't had luck tracking down descendants. I would like to connect for the purposes of exploring overlooked stories. Sometimes I find obituaries online and look for next of kin that way. There are other times I am looking for descendants of donors that previous staff did not stay in touch with and whose contact information is no longer in use. Prior staff did not always record proper provenance or context and I hope to fill in those gaps.

Any help or pointing my in any useful direction would be very appreciated.

Best,

Luke

Good morning everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions, websites, processes, methods, or the like for finding descendants of people, especially from the early to mid 1900s? I haven't used Ancestry.com yet - I'm trying to get an institutional account.

I am trying to track down descendants of a range of people, descendants of historical figures and sometimes descendants of donors who have since passed away. For example, I have some names for people who worked in the College Park, MD Air Mail Station and the DC Air Mail Office, but I haven't had luck tracking down descendants. I would like to connect for the purposes of exploring overlooked stories. Sometimes I find obituaries online and look for next of kin that way. There are other times I am looking for descendants of donors that previous staff did not stay in touch with and whose contact information is no longer in use. Prior staff did not always record proper provenance or context and I hope to fill in those gaps.

Any help or pointing my in any useful direction would be very appreciated.

Best,

Luke