The sad endgame for my grandfather, John Oliver Manson
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It takes a village to tell a family story
Understanding our family stories, writing them down, and getting anyone to pay attention takes a lot of friends.
This is NOT the story of my grandparents...BUT
This is NOT the story of my grandparents. But I wonder what ChatGPT means about how we will tell and research stories in the future.
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A snapshot of family stories from just one New York State Asylum
One of the comments I get most often when I tell the sad tale of my Italian immigrant grandparents and their lost 122 years in New York State mental institutions is, “That’s just an unbelievable story!” But….
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1917 – Father and Son Miami-to-Key-West Race Winners – Or Were They?
My grandfather and his son both won the Miami-to-Key-West powerboat race, 46 years apart. Or did they?
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1913 - My Grandfather and the Mystery of the Columbus Bones
My grandfather John Oliver Manson was never one to miss out on an opportunity to be in the press.
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1880 - Wait. My Grandfather Wasn’t Born in Australia?
Wait… my grandfather wasn’t born in Australia? Watch out for the family legends - and even official documents. Sometimes our ancestors just made stuff up.
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1925 - John Oliver Manson and the Phantom Kidnapping
The first in a series of posts documenting my maternal grandfather, John Oliver Manson. This one is focused on a 1925 Phantom Kidnapping.
Genealogists Unite! - Release the Records
It’s time to modernize the privacy rules surrounding the health records of long-dead ancestors. Release the records!
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How will future genealogists know what is truth?
How do those in the genealogy, records, and archives biz think we should start future-proofing the contemporary documents, news, and pictures that are so critical to accurately remembering the past?
Three Lessons in Family History Publishing
Thinking about publishing a family history book? Here are three lessons I learned.
Hatteras Reflections
Every year at Cape Hatteras, I go on a bike ride along a somewhat fixed path, one that goes first to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, then past a tiny World War II British cemetery, and from there to a National Park Service campground immediately prior to Beach Access Ramp 43.
A good potential Reclaim the Records project...
The only thing my father ever said about his Italian immigrant family was that his parents died in the 1930s, shortly after arriving at Ellis Island.
Except they didn’t.
Why I am so Nuts about Family History? – Part One
Why do I spend so much time on family history? - Part One of series.
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Happy St. Patrick's Day, Sarah
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Sarah. The only grandparent we ever knew.
What do we think about ancestors who fought on the wrong side?
Before beginning a series of family history posts tied to Civil War service, I think I need to pause for a bit and think about broader issues.
Our future history is being recorded every day
Archives matter. They are the way the future will view what we do.
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The OxyMorons -- S2E2 -- How to Make Your Book a Reality
Along the way to publishing my book, Immigrant Secrets, I discovered Reedsy.com, a platform for connecting authors and contractors that is disrupting the publications business. Here are highlights of my conversation with Reedsy.com co-founder Ricardo Fayet.
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What are they saying about Immigrant Secrets?
Join the Immigrant Secrets community! The book was released October 20 and is now available for purchase from Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Immigrant-Secrets-Search-My-Grandparents-ebook/dp/B09JB1745Z/
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Are we at risk of losing our digital history?
As the world becomes more digitalized, we are at of risk losing our history. We are saving files everywhere, often with little idea of how future generations will find them, or whether they will even have an appropriate application to open them. Most digital preservation strategies feel like the digital equivalent of the massive warehouse in Raiders of the Lost Ark -- petabytes and petabytes of information that we'll "someday" go back and sort through.
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