Our Mayflower Ancestor Wasn’t a Pilgrim
Richard Warren sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 as a merchant, not a Pilgrim. He signed the Mayflower Compact, and all seven of his children survived.
The Ancestor Who Chose the Other Side
Ebenezer Samis of Huntington, Long Island signed an oath to the King during the Revolution. Patriot, Loyalist, or simply trying to protect his family?
The Ancestor Who Was Hanged for Murder
Thomas Cornell was hanged in 1673 for murdering his mother, after her brother claimed her ghost named the killer. A family historian revisits the case.
What Happened to the Family Farm?
John Thomas Mason bought Illinois prairie for $1.25 an acre in 1843. Three generations later the farm was gone. What happened, and was it really a loss?
Are You My Cousin?
Swedish surnames changed every generation. How patronymic names like Jeppsson and Andersdotter work, and how parish records still let you trace ancestors.
Would You Let Your Sixteen-Year-Old Cross the Atlantic Alone?
In 1896, sixteen-year-old Anna Erika Olsson left a farming parish in Skåne, Sweden for Chicago, possibly alone. What we know, and don't know, about her.
How AI Broke Through My Writer’s Block
After eight years of research and twenty-eight false starts, a family historian shares how AI helped her find a storytelling voice without writing for her.
Mårten Jeppson, Swedish Stowaway?
My grandfather said only one thing about his father: "Pa came to America as a stowaway." Decades later, a letter from the Malmö archives showed that Mårten Jeppson had left Sweden twice — deported on the first attempt, then buying passage and reaching New York in April 1893.
