3 Reasons Why Women in the 19th Century had such a low life Expectancy

Today, it the average life expectancy of a woman is expected to reach is about 83 years of age. However, before the 20th Century this life expectancy was much lower. Often in researching your family history, you may discover a … Continued

9 Reasons Children Died Before Adulthood

While researching, I’ve come across family members who had numerous children.  However, out of the twelve children born to this family only three lived to adulthood. Today this seems very odd, but before all of the medical advances of the … Continued

History of the Shamrock

On this St. Patrick’s Day, I thought we would take a look at one of the popular symbols of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day, the Shamrock. A shamrock is a young sprig of clover.  The word shamrock derives from the … Continued

The Three St. Valentine’s of Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day! The history of Valentine’s Day is long, with the first record of Valentine’s celebrations being associated to courtly love, dating back to 1400 France. However, the history of Valentine’s dates back even further to three martyred saints, … Continued

7 Ways Visiting a Museum Can Benefit Your Genealogy Research

Recently I took a group of residents in my day job to the Historical Museum in our city.  Having only lived here for a year, there is a lot I don’t know about the city. However, I realized how helpful … Continued