LAPL Blog
Julie Huffman, Librarian, History & Genealogy Department
Genealogy Garage...Now Online
One of the good things to come out of our COVID year was the explosive popularity of online programming. Genealogy Garage—the library's monthly genealogy session—has taken the plunge, too, and we now have recordings of our presentations for you to watch whenever you want!
The Freedman’s Bank Was a First Step for Newly Freed Black Citizens
The notion of having one’s own savings account is commonplace to us modern folk. But for former slaves—many of whom had never even seen money—it was an alien concept. And, in a country that runs on capitalism, getting the hang of money management was (and is) essential to survival.
The Language of Heraldry
I recently completed an online heraldry class conducted by the University of Strathclyde, and I learned a great deal that will be helpful to me as a genealogy librarian.
An Unusual Resource for African American Genealogy
Insurance companies have long provided policies to cover losses of property but, before the end of the Civil War, this also included pay-outs for injury and death of the formerly enslaved.
A Powerful Genealogical Resource: City Directories
These annual precursors-to-telephone directories display a person’s home address, but also often a spouse name, occupation, and work address. And since they were largely published every year, they can be powerful tools used to find where your ancestors lived and worked between the decennial U.S.
How I Learned to Stop Worrying About the 1890 Census and Love the County History
To the bane of many genealogists, the eleventh census of the United States was heavily damaged by a fire at the Commerce Department in 1921. Less than one percent of it survived, which means we have census data (e.g., age, place of residence, family members, etc.) on only 6,160 Americans in 1890.
Search for Uncle Ebeneezer, Rather Than Grandpa Joe!
My grandmother was born June Eileen Lavonne Nystrom, and her husband called her Patty. I know this because my mom told me, and my mom knows this because her mom told her.
Beginning Genealogy
Am I related to anyone famous?
What is my ethnic background?
How far back can I go? 1800s? 1600s? Adam and Eve?!