Want to clean a tombstone without damaging it?

This website will get you started in the right direction, The Good Cemeterian.

The Good Cemeterian Historical Preservation Project, Inc. is a public charity with a mission to preserve and honor the past through inspiration and education.

1810 Census for Salem, Massachusetts, sent to the US National Archives

The original record of the 1810, Salem, Massachusetts census has been sent to NARA from the Peabody Essex Museum. Read about how it was found here https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/1810-census-massachusetts

Last Civil War Pensioner dies

Last Civil War-related pension recipient dies in Wilkesboro 

 A Wilkes County woman recognized as the nation's last Civil War-related military pension recipient died Sunday. 

Irene Triplett's father, Moses Triplett was 83 when she was born.

https://www.journalpatriot.com/news/last-civil-war-related-pension-recipient-dies-in-wilkesboro/article_716dd0dc-a686-11ea-a23e-5ff3d2e0416f.html

What's New at Family Search?

https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/category/about-familysearch/whats-new-at-familysearch/

Over 57 Million New Records!

FamilySearch expanded its free online archives in April of 2020 with millions of new indexed family history records from all over the world. FamilySearch is continuously adding new records every month that you can access for free. Make new discoveries about your tree in our most recent collections.

See New Records

A Few of our Most Popular Records Collections Find A Grave Index BillionGraves Index United States Census, 1940 United States Census, 1930 United States Social Security Death Index United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014 England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008 England Marriages, 1538–1973  England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005

See what else is new on the FamilySearch.org blog.

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Fees may rise 500% for some genealogy records in the USA

From CNN: The cost of getting genealogical records from the government could go up nearly 500%. An effort is underway to stop that.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that oversees the country's immigration and naturalization system, has proposed significantly increasing fees for a number of applications and documents, including historical records of deceased immigrants who came to the United States between the late-19th and mid-20th centuries.

In some cases, the proposed fees would amount to an increase of nearly 500% -- making what was once a relatively affordable process out of reach for many people.

A group of genealogists, historians and records-access advocates is organizing a public campaign to persuade the USCIS not to hike the fees.

Who Do You Think You Are list of Family History Websites

Who Do You Think You Are has a list of recommended Family History Websites on its blog: 50 Family History Websites to watch in 2020

Revealing hidden Jewish ancestry

From NPR: Trove Of Recipes Dating Back To Inquisition Reveals A Family's Secret Jewish Roots
December 22, 20197:29 AM ET
Heard on Weekend Edition Sunday
GREG ALLEN

In a trove of old family recipes, Genie Milgrom found clues that led her to Inquisition-era Spain and her family's hidden Jewish heritage. Milgrom is a Cuban-American, now 65, who was raised a devout Catholic. Several years ago, when her Mom became ill, Milgrom went through her things and found a collection of recipes that had been recorded and handed down by generations of aunts and grandmothers. Some of the recipes traced all the way back to Inquisition-era Spain and Portugal.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/12/22/789864201/trove-of-recipes-dating-back-to-inquisition-reveals-a-familys-secret-jewish-root

My Immigrant Ancestors with known Origins from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and France

Here is a list of my immigrant ancestors with a known origin in the British Isles and France. More will be added as prepared.

England:

• 1621, Thomas Farley, wife, Jane, and daughter, Ann, to Jamestown, from Worcester, Worcester, England. Documentation: Records of the Jamestown Company; Will of his father Roger Farley. Correspondence with brother Humphrey Farley, merchant of London.
• Abt. 1640, Matthew Moulthrop, from Bridlington, Yorkshire, and wife, Jane Nichol, from Wraby, Lincolnshire, to New Haven Colony. Documentation: Articles by Patricia Law Hatcher in The American Genealogist, vol. 74.
• Abt 1640, Samuel Hotchkiss, from Dodington, Whitchurch Parish, Shropshire, to New Haven Colony, d. 1663. Documentation: Will of father, John Hotchkiss.
• 1653John Burnett, mentioned as imported to Virginia as an Indentured Servant. 1656/7 Finished Indenture. Purchased land on Piscataway Creek, in Lancaster County (later Rappahannock and then Essex County), Virginia. Iventory 1686. Wife Lucretia (Lues, Lois, Lucy) LNU Burnett, her Will in 1709, Essex County, Virginia. See, .John and Lucretia Burnett of Essex County, Virginia.
• Bef 1690, Joseph Phipps, and wife, Mary or Sarah Benefield, from Abington, Berkshire. Documentation: Reading (Eng.) Monthly Meeting, his will in 1716, her biography published in The Friend. Comparison of children in England and Pennsylvania.
• 1717, George Boone, and wife, Mary Maugridge. He was from Stoke Canon, Devonshire, and she was from Bradnich, Devonshire. They settled in Pennsylvania. Ancestors of Daniel Boone.
• 1771, James Harvey May, alias Emanuel King. Documentation: Records of The Old Bailey. Transported from Middlesex Gaol on the ship Justitia to Virginia.

Wales:

• 1693, or 1694, Maud Richards, wife of Rowland Powell. She was from Llanllwch, Carmarthen, Wales. He is presumed to be Welsh. Immigrated to Pennsylvania. Documentation: Certificate from St Peters Parish, Carmarthen, Wales. Married at Radnor Monthly Meeting in 1694.

Scotland:

• 1635, John Burnett, and wife, Lucretia Johnston, from Aberdeen to Old Rappahannock, Virginia. Documentation: Called "Merchant of Glascow" in Charter from King Charles II. Ship Abraham of London.

Ireland:

• 1727-1728, George Aston, from Wicklow, and wife, Elizabeth Hunter, from Ballinaclash, Wicklow, Ireland. First to London, then to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Documentation: London, England, Monthly Meeting; Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. Member of Delaware and Pennsylvania legislatures.

France:

• Abt 1660, Benois Brasseur (Benjamin Brashear) and his wife, Mary [Richeford?], are called "subjects of the King of France" in their Denization paper from Lord Baltimore. He is first found in Nancemond and Lower Norfolk, Virginia, and then moves to "The Cliffs" in Calvert County, Maryland. He was a Justice of the Peace and died in 1663 without a will. Mary wrote a will before her marriage to Thomas Starling. The home of Benois Brasseur, "Upper Bennett", was in existence in 1957 and was located at "The Cliffs" in Calvert Co., Maryland. it was purchased from Richard Bennett, Esq., colonial Governor of both Virginia and Maryland.

Ancestry World Obituary Collection

This is a post from Ancestry.com:

For more than three decades, AncestryⓇ has been a pioneer in family history research, developing innovative research tools and adding new content to our unparalleled historical record collections that enable people around the world to uncover their unique family story.
Today, we are proud to announce the launch of our new Newspapers.com Obituary Collection, as well as an upgrade to our U.S. Obituary Collection, adding to what is now the world’s largest, searchable digital archive of over 262 million worldwide obituaries and death announcements, containing almost 1 billion searchable family members.

Ancestry World Obituary Collection

My families from 1621-1820

• A Jamestown Settlement, Jamestown Road, Williamsburg, VA, USA
• B Portland, ME, USA
• C New Haven, CT, USA
• D Strawbery Banke Museum, Hancock Street, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA
• E Norfolk, VA, USA
• F Northumberland County, VA, USA
• G St Mary's City, MD, USA
• H Wicomico County, MD, USA
• I Philadelphia, PA, USA
• J Whitley County, KY, USA

Between 1760 and 1820 several of my ancestors were in the New River area of Virginia and North Carolina. Particularly in Washington and Grayson counties in Virginia, and Ashe and Wilkes counties in NC. A number of those families came from New York, New Jersey, and Delaware.