Saturday Serendipity (August 29, 2020)

 

Here are a few suggested reads for this weekend:

1.   For those in New England or with New England roots, you should be aware that NERGC (the New England Regional Genealogy Consortium) has released its second e-zine this week and the big news is that the 2021 conference will be virtual for the first time.  Read more about this big change by going to the newsletter here.

2.   Now seems to be a good time to learn more about the history of the United Sates Postal Service.  I have a personal interest because the best summer and holiday jobs I had after graduating from high school and going on to college were working as a "sub-carrier" during two summers and holidays during breaks from school. Read "A Brief History of the United States Postal Service" as presented in Smithsonian Magazine and highlighted in The Weekly Genealogist of American Ancestors/NEHGS this week.

3.   Do you like a challenge and enjoy helping someone?  Are you good at reading beautiful, but frustrating, handwriting?  If so, then Linda Stufflebeam, of Empty Branches on the Family Tree blog, could use your help.  Read Linda's three-day effort to transcribe an 1861 deed and see her missing words here.  Perhaps you will be the one to break the code!?

4.   It was 206 years ago this week that Washington became a much hotter place than it has been even this month.  Read "Rescuing History" here at The Legal Genealogist by Judy Russell.

5.  Early this week Marian Burk Wood, of Climbing My Family Tree blog, posted a nice reminder of how important it is for those of us interested in genealogy to preserve and pass on family history that would otherwise be lost and quickly forgotten.  Marian captured the concept so concisely and poignantly when she wrote, "I really don't want to be the last person on Earth to recognize grandpa." Read "Who Tells Your Story?  Choosing to Be Family Historian" here.  

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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew

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