These medical advances isolated some properties that caused the illness and then medications were made to treat them. However, for some illness such as pneumonia, it was not until the mid 1900’s that there was a treatment.

There are many illnesses that were clear to understand because of the name, the name often had to do with the symptoms of the disease. Then there are others that were named after the doctor or scientist that discovered the disease. Some diseases had names that had seemingly nothing whatsoever to do with the disease such as Brill’s disease, which was actually typhus. Another of these is chincough, this is what today is known as whooping cough.

There were also diseases known that had names which have long since been forgotten. One of one of the most familiar ones would be black death, which was used for bubonic plague.

Visitation of God, on a death certificate in most cases meant the person was elderly and died of natural causes. Viper’s Dance is another name that would not be heard today, along with St. Vitus Dance, which either would mean the patient had chorea.

To go along with the names both familiar and unfamiliar were the plagues that often killed hundreds in an area, and in some cases thousands. These plagues included yellow fever, smallpox, diphtheria, typhus, influenza, bubonic plague, whooping cough and measles. There were certain years in certain countries or states were the number of deaths made the disease a pandemic. Bubonic plague is one which struck the UK in 1630, 1631, 1636 and 1637 claiming large amounts of lives. Yellow fever struck the United States numerous times including 1647, 1668, 1690, 1699, 1706, 1732, 1741, and this lasted until 1743 in states such as New York.

Researching the family tree, this is one place where it is important to ensure to check mortality records for the area when a family member has disappeared from the census reports. Prior to census reports other town or city documents that were kept can give clues as to deaths in the area. Disease and illnesses did not distinguish ages, as many babies and children died of disease, along with older members of the family. During times of pandemics an entire family could have been wiped out from the disease.

Unlike today’s military the soldier might have been a wagoneer, which means they drove wagons with supplies, they might have been a drummer, which means they marched with the troops while playing a drum that was worn on a strap. There were soldier’s that were blacksmiths, shoeing the troop’s horses, and most of all the regiments were from certain areas.

Many books have been written about the regiments of the Revolutionary War and about the Civil War, by men that were with the troops or those that have done extensive research. One such book was the History of the One Hundred Forty-First Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers by Rev. David Craft. This book like others that were written was published in 1885 and gave detailed accounts of the battles the regiment was involved in, the soldiers who were enlisted, whether they were killed in battle or survived and returned home.

Researching the military person can lead to other clues, in the event the soldier was killed in battle, the wife or parents may have filed a paper to receive a monthly benefit. For the United States soldier the records are kept in Washington D.C. at the National Archives. Locally there might be records found at the Historical Society, even searching local histories of an area can have clues about the soldier and it is possible to find some military records from the Revolutionary War and the Civil War online. The proper way to document a military record in family genealogy is to order a copy of the record from the National Archives, however if it is not a direct descendant then a copy of what is found on line or in a book will do for most researchers.

The important thing about this type of research is that the movements of the ancestor during their time in the military can be learned and their fate. This can lead to learning what might have happened to someone that disappears from a census during the years of 1861 through 1864, even if they lived in a small backwoods community.

What occurred was that they recruited farm boys and men from the small backwoods towns; usually a tent was set up for the men to come and enlist to protect their country. The problem with the Civil War is that this war for the men was personal. Some brothers fought against brother, there were men from the north that had no idea about owning slaves or the other reasons for the war, and yet they joined the regiments that recruited in their towns.

These carvings on the stones can be in the form of words, they can be symbols or pictures. This can be as simple as the word “Relict,” which means this is a woman that was a widow at the time of her death. However, if the word “Consort” appears on the tombstone of a woman this means she was married and she passed away prior to her husband.

There are also other meanings of tombstone inscriptions, which are a meaning that the family would have added as a way to honor the departed. These can be inscriptions such as “flying birds,” which means flight of the soul, or “fruit,” which means eternal plenty. These would not be a clue to the person’s life, but it is a clue that their family cared for them.

There are other symbols that do have meaning when inscribed on a tombstone, which can be an organization they belonged to or have a military meaning. Bugles when on a tombstone have the meaning “resurrection and military,” and crossed swords inscribed on a tombstone stands for a high ranking military person. There is also the laurel, which means fame or victory, which might be seen on the tombstone of someone that served in the military during a battle. The seafarer or sailor also had a symbol; this was an anchor or ship, with the meaning “hope or seafaring profession.”

There are symbols such as the morning glory, that signifies the beginning of life, or the palm branch, which means victory and rejoicing. There are symbols that can also signify at what point in the person’s time of life they passed away. This is depicted in the carving of a butterfly, which means short lived, or an early death, or the full blown rose that stands for death in the prime of life. The broken wing that was inscribed on the tombstone carried the meaning the family circle severed, and would not be unusual to see on the tombstone of a woman that had children. The cherub on a tombstone signified angelic and might be seen on a child’s tombstone.

These are just some of the many symbols and inscriptions that can be found on tombstones, and with them some tell a tale about the person’s life. Even when it is a symbol with a common meaning it still shows that the person was loved and missed after their passing by family and friends. The person whose profession is inscribed on their tombstone can give clues to the genealogist, with new possibilities to look for, such as the person that served in the military as a soldier. Then there is the anchor that can mean the person was a sailor or they worked in the shipping industry and this can open new avenues to research.

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Tracing ancestors can be difficult and one of the ways to find many of the male and some female ancestors is by their occupation. These occupations had different names other than the names of the same occupations as today. There were also other occupations that no longer exist. There are many old occupations and lists of these can be found in books in the library and on Internet websites that have genealogy information.

These occupations, along with census reports can often help in locating the right ancestor even when they have a common name; this is because along with the names of family members the occupation was also listed on census reports.

The names for many have not changed to a point where they cannot be figured out today, such as the accomptant, which is the present day accountant or the book keeper, which the name has not changed through the years. There was also the alchemist which was the medieval chemist and today is known as the chemist or pharmacist.

The professions or names that no longer exist such as the alewife, and this was a woman that owned a tavern or during the past known as an alehouse. There were many of these professions, which ceased to exist due to the changes of daily life due to technology. One of these would be the “axel tree maker” who was the maker of axels for coaches and wagons and this person might also be referred to an axel tree turner.

Even after retirement men would be referred to on census reports as gentlemen, or a retired farmer would be referred to as a gentleman farmer. There were also names that were used for the wives of some professions, like the “coster wife” this was the wife of a fruit seller or a female fruit seller. The male fruit seller was called a costermonger.

The professions that are similar to some types of employment today are the “dog-whipper,” which was the person that chased dogs away from the village and is similar to the dog catcher of today. Then there was also the “dairyman” who either worked or owned a dairy farm.

The currier of today was referred to as “cuhreur or cunreur” and the journalist today was called a “couranteer.” The “delver” is the ditch digger of today, and the “dog leach” of yesterday is the veterinarian today.

These are only a few of the hundreds of professions and are a way of helping to locate the ancestor that would appear on a census report or found through other means to know what their profession was. This can give clues to the type of life they had and the one they made for their family.

One of the things that can provide clues is the hair styles of the women in the picture, because just like today they changed hair styles. While their hair would not be short, the type of bun, bangs or no bangs can provide hints to the age of the photograph. Men’s hair styles and facial hair is not as easy to decipher the photos age. The clothing can also be an indicator in the age of a picture, women whether they lived in the country or the city for most photographs would be wearing the latest fashions. Men, on the other hand can be difficult as suits did not change from year to year.

The paper backing on the photograph can tell the age of some pictures; this includes pictures that have tin that the photograph was placed on. There are pictures that used daguerreotype, glass plate, cabinet card, and the thickness of the cabinet card can also tell the age of the picture.

Looking at a picture and dating it, takes noticing all of the clues possible. Another clue might be the background, and on many the photographers name will be on the bottom of the cabinet card or on the back of the picture.

Daguerreotype photographs were 8 ½ inches by 6 inches, and the first of these were used in 1839. The process for these pictures was done by using a plate, made of copper and using silver iodide to expose the picture, along with exposure to light.

Tin type pictures were introduced in 1853, and became extremely popular. The one thing that was odd about these photographs, was that the picture would appear opposite of how the person was standing or sitting, just as they would appear in a mirror. The material that was used for these photographs was not actually tin, but became referred to as tin because they were made out of cheaper metal, rather than silver. The material was Melainotype and to cut these pictures apart a pair of tin sheers would be used.

Ozotope was another method that was used beginning in 1898, this was a process that used gelatin silver bromide, which transferred by contact with pigment paper.

Each of these different types of processes were used for many photographs, and just knowing which type of paper, glass or metal was used can give a range of years when they were the popular choice for photographers to use. The material along with, fashions, backgrounds and even photographers names can all indicate when the picture was taken.

Using clues to date photographs, along with family history research can often lead to the discovery of who the people or person was in the picture. One of the other things that help to distinguish when a photo was taken are clues in the setting; it was not unusual for doctors to have pictures with a skull in the setting. This can help to tell more about the person that might be in the picture and what they did for a living.

When you are researching your genealogy, it can be just like taking a journey to the past. Tracing the family history of yourself and your spouse makes for an interesting hobby. You can uncover fascinating historical information by going beyond names of your relatives, where they lived, and their dates of birth and death.

Research how they lived, how they cared for their children, and what made them act the way they did. Understanding what your relative’s daily lives were like can provide you a better idea of what the old laws were like and what society was like when they were alive.

Start out by getting journals and letters of your oldest relatives. Ask grandpa for permission to clean out his attic. Talk to your family about any ideas they have of where to look. Your enthusiasm for documenting your genealogy is sure to get you a lot of volunteers for information.

The next thing you want to do is organize the journals and letters. Sort them according to individual and timeframe. For example, you’ll end up with one box of your great grandpa’s history with everything arranged from the earliest date to the most recent.

Write out what you read in the information you’ve obtained. One example of somebody who documented her life is Laura Ingalls Wilder. Because of her books, we have an excellent idea of how people lived on a daily basis. As you document your family history, you can also breathe new life into your records. Don’t hesitate to take a break in your writing to call grandma and grandpa and get more details about certain events.

People love to recount things that happened in their lives. Try to fill in any gaps in time while you’re writing about your family genealogy. Ask grandma and grandpa how they were raised. Who provided for them? What did the people who provided for them do for a living? Find out about any childhood memories they want to share. You’ll want to make sure you record your conversation so you can play it back and make sure you don’t leave out anything important.

Your family history is the best treasure you can uncover. As you dig deeper, try to find out why people did the things they did. Was it because of certain laws? Was it due to an unwritten rule of society? Write everything you can down. When you are finished, you will have the first draft of what is sure to be a document that will be treasured for years.

Add more to your document by researching on the internet and at the library. Review anything you can find on the towns your ancestors lived in. Find out what was happening in the town. What led to the founding of the town? Who all lived in the town? If you can, find someone who was living there the same time your relatives were there. Ask that person what he remembers about your relatives. You are likely to hear interesting stories that your grandparents had forgotten.

When you are finished, you most likely have enough material for one or more books. Polish up your writing. Pass it on to your family for their comments and changes. Your family history can then be printed out and bound into beautiful books to be published or to have a special place in your children’s homes.

Up and to the right of your dad’s name, place the name of his dad with the number 4 under it. Below the name of his dad, place the name of his mom with the number 5 under it. To the right of your mom’s name, place the name of her dad with the number 6 under it. Underneath her dad’s name, place the name of her mom with the number 7 under it. Your diagram is now getting filled out.

By now you can see that you need to leave yourself plenty of room when you create a genealogy diagram using the pedigree chart. The benefit of this system is that if you’re not sure about the names of one of your relatives, you can just leave that part blank. For instance, if you have no idea who your mom’s dad is, you can just put in a blank with the number 6 behind it. Numbering is just a way to make sure you include everybody in your genealogy chart. If you go back four generations you will end up with the following.
Yourself
Your mother
Your father
Your grandmother on two sides
Your grandfather on two sides
Great grandparents on both sides
Great Great Grandparents

Your family tree has some branches that everyone is proud of. Your own parents, or grandparents are going to be among those people. Why not document their lives for them, and give them a unique book to pass along. What’s the best way to tell a story? in photos and documents of course.

Family tree scrapbooking lets you get the story told, and do it in a unique way. Taking a blank scrapbook and selecting some interesting textures and colors that are favorites of your subject is a great way to start.. If they have interests such as quilting, golfing or other things, integrate those into the scrapbook.

Begin with documents. If, for instance you’re doing a photo scrapbook of your father, who is an avid golfer, find as many photos as you can of his life, from start to present day, and put them into a book with pages whicha re decorated with a golfing theme.

Gathering together the images, the documents and other things you want to add will take a bit of time, but speaking with relatives who may have photos they will let you use, or your mother or grandmother, who may have baptismal certificates, marriage licenses and those little handwriting awards he got in third grade will make your project so much more personal and interesting for him and for you both.

Making your family tree scrapbook is going to give you new insight into who your dad, or your grandfather really is, and give them a real thrill that you took the tinme to explore their life up until now. What a great way to get to know a parent as a person, to revisit their childhood and understand more about them.

Family tree scrapbooking tends to make quite an impression on the person you make the scrapbook for, as well as on you. Take the time to put together a scrapbook for someone you know. Make sure that you use only copies of the documents rather than the real thing, in order to keep them secure.

GeneTrees DNA testing can give you the answers you’ve been waiting decades to get about the family, your ethnicity and where you actually came from.The GeneTree web site offers you the chance to learn more about your own heritage, and just maybe to get back in touch with relatives who are still living and learn a lot more about your common ancestry. GeneTree permits you to expand your horizons, to interact with family members who may be living in other countries and to explore your own unique family and preserve it.

With its state of the art DNA testing you will learn more about your family history in a single test than you could by scanning the worlds information for your entire lifetime. While learning more and more about each family member is always pleasant, learning that your great grandmother is Irish and not Italian as you thought will offer you valued insights and new places to look.

In fact, GeneTree gives the word family a whole new meaning, giving you new answers and probably leading to new questions. We’ve all laughed as someone else asked.. where do I come from… but we’ve all asked ourselves that same question and wanted more answers, more information and a way to get the answers we’re looking for with greater ease and in a faster time.

GeneTree offers us those answers using some innovative new tools and putting some resources at your fingertips that you might not have expected to ever have at your disposal.

You have the chance to make a home page for both living and dead family members.

Your family tree is interactive and its searchable to find new entries and add them to your own information.

You can control the privacy of your information.

Your level of collaboration is controlled by you, so what is added or removed from your famlily history is under your direction.

You may order DNA testing and share that testing with your family and friends when it returns.

GeneTree DNA testing and web site can offer you a whole new world…quite literally.

Before digging into those however, its important to dig into your own resources, family members, personal papers and get everything organized and in order so that you have a method to your madness.

While thats of course important in any kind of sound research, its especially important when it comes to finding African-American research. There are some great resources out there that will even help you to develop a great methodology for your African American genealogy research.

One such book, more than ten years old, but still pertinent and relevant to your research in that it helps you to appreciate and understand the idea of contexting, will offer you a wide array of information on not just African American genealogy but all types of genealogy and how to move forward with it.

The book, The Source: A Guidebook Of American Genealogy (Third Edition) is available to you from nearly any book seller as well as from Amazon.com and offers you a chapter about Tracking African American Family History, and can offer you a great view of what other groups might have interacted with your ancestors, such as political or social or anti slave groups in any given area, as well as what effect local laws or regulations might have had on your ancestors travels and the records that exist of them.

Another wonderful resource, with a wealth of links as well as news in a blog type format that is helpful in finding out what new and upcoming African American information is out there on the net and in print can be found at Afrigeneas.com

Afrigeneas.com is a superb reference and a great place to start with your African American research.
It is a well organized listing of information and resources that will offer you a great many links to world wide information.

YOu will find a mailing list, a place where you can ask questions and get answers as well as information on gatherings and helpful insight in conducting your research along with The AfriGeneas News is an online newsletter that shares tips and methods as well as resources for your work in African American genealogy

Afrigeneas News is one of the more helpful and knowledgable newsletters online today with regard to African American Genealogy.

When you’re working with a group of people such as African American or Native American, about whom and for whom records are sometimes lacking or found in vague places, getting all the tips and tricks you can for that kind of research from those who have been there and done that is going to be helpful.

Happy Hunting.