Monday, August 31, 2009

Historic Miami Florida cemetery confirmed as burial place for Miami black pioneers

As researchers confirm that a Miami cemetery unearthed by construction crews was the final resting place of pioneering black residents, developers erecting a residential complex on the site move to keep what remains of the burial ground.

The mysterious, long-forgotten Lemon City cemetery unearthed by construction crews earlier this year will likely be preserved as a historical monument to the pioneering black Miamians who were buried there in the early 20th century.

The developers' decision to preserve the burial ground came after researchers found historical confirmation of the previously unknown cemetery's existence in a 1941 book published by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a government agency set up as part of President Franklin Roosevelt's response to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Continue reading the full story

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Emmett Till's Casket Donated to the Smithsonian

The National Museum of African American History and Culture has acquired the original casket of Emmett Till, whose brutal murder in 1955 energized the modern civil rights movement. Read More

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Monday, August 24, 2009

Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis Tennessee

Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis's oldest graveyard opened in 1852 and houses the remains of many prominent, and notorious, citizens. It's a microcosm of Memphis history—Civil War, Masons, yellow fever, immigration, crime: it's all represented.

Of particular note is the number of victims of yellow fever, which struck the city most severely in 1878. Half the populace fled Memphis and at the height of the disease that summer, 200 people died per day.

Over 1,000 Civil War soldiers are buried in the cemetery, as are former politicians, blues singers and criminals.

Read more about Elmwood Cemetery

Friday, August 14, 2009

FREE World Vital Records until AUGUST 18th!

WorldVitalRecords Free Site Access Today! World Vital Records announced today that it is extending its FREE ACCESS to the site until August 18th.

Genealogists have 4 more days to explore World Vital Records and find ancestors for FREE.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Death of Doris Hardisty, Guelph Wellington Co. Ontario

A Yearbook I bought on yielded this Death Notice:

DORIS HARDISTY

The late Doris Hardisty who passed away early on Saturday morning November 1st was a student in Form IV A and her death cast a mantle of gloom over the studen body of the Collegiate. When we remember her attractive personality and the great promise of her life, her death is particularly sad. in school and school activities, in Church, in Young Peoples' organizations, she is greatly missed.

A search of the Death Records on Ancestry.com revealed that Doris died of acute peritonitis after an operation in Guelph General Hospital (Ontario Canada). Gangrene set in and Doris died at the age of 16 years and 10 months. She was the daughter of Ernest Edward Hardisty and Lily Burton, both born England.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Coffin Plate of Ruth Stone 1782~1863

I have added the Coffin Plate of Ruth Stone 1782~1863 to my coffin plate database. I did a little digging and it looks like Ruth Stone may have lived in Jaffrey, Cheshire, New Hampshire.

Ruth Stone 1782~1863

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Footnote 1930 Census Is FREE

Footnote has opened up the 1930 census for all to view FREE during the month of August. This is a great opportunity to have a look for your ancestors.

Footnote.com