Background Historical Occupation Profiles explain what ancestors actually did for a living and how those occupations shaped the records genealogists rely on today. Occupation Overview Lumber workers harvested, transported, and processed timber for construction, fuel, and industrial use. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, lumbering was a cornerstone industry across the Northeast, Upper Midwest, […]
Author: Kenneth R Marks
Kenneth R Marks was born and educated in the San Francisco Bay Area, receiving a BS in Mathematics in 1968. His career was in Information Technology; with the last 20 Years as a software executive with Boeing, Pearson, and NASA. His genealogy career began in 2004. He is an expert in newspaper research for genealogy, as well as additional genealogy topics. He regularly conducts webinars on the subject and has authored three genealogy books. See the About page for more details.
The Ancestor Hunt, founded in 2008, is focused on helping genealogy and family history researchers of all skill levels to achieve their goals, by providing links to free online genealogy collections, and search tips and techniques, largely via easy-to-understand Quick Reference Guides.
Understanding military records requires knowing what the abbreviations actually mean. Service files, draft cards, pension records, headstones, and even newspaper notices frequently use shortened rank titles. This quick reference guide lists common military rank abbreviations and their full meanings to help you interpret records accurately and avoid misidentifying service level or status. Army / General […]
Land deeds are filled with legal terminology that can obscure valuable genealogical clues. This Quick Reference Glossary explains common terms found in property transactions so you can better understand ownership transfers, family relationships, legal rights, and financial circumstances recorded in deed books. Term Meaning Grantor Person selling or transferring the property Grantee Person receiving or […]
Over 1,500 New titles were added by various Free and Subscription databases in the last month. Here are links to all the updates: Here are links to all the updates: Chronicling America – Not Yet Published Advantage Archives – https://theancestorhunt.com/blog/140-million-historic-u-s-newspaper-pages-now-available-from-advantage-archives/ Veridian – https://theancestorhunt.com/blog/veridian-adds-updates-306-titles-february-2026/ Newspapers dot com – https://theancestorhunt.com/blog/newspapers-dot-com-update-january-2026/ GenealogyBank – https://theancestorhunt.com/blog/genealogybank-adds-updates-15-titles-february-2026/ NewspaperARCHIVE – https://theancestorhunt.com/blog/newspaperarchive-update-january-2026/ British Newspaper […]
This past week (January 30, 2026 to February 5, 2026), the following additions were made to The Newspaper Research Academy: ✅ Free Resources – 0 New Articles were added – 102 Total ✅ Research Guides – 4 New Guides were added – 116 Total ✅ Video Guides – 0 New Videos – 19 Total ✅ […]
Background Historical Occupation Profiles explain what ancestors actually did for a living and how those occupations shaped the records genealogists rely on today. Occupation Overview Miners extracted raw materials—coal, gold, silver, copper, iron, and other ores—from the earth to fuel industry, transportation, and settlement. From the early 1800s through the turn of the twentieth century, […]
For the last 8 years, I have been tracking the online collections made available by the Advantage Archives (formerly Advantage Preservation) company, which has contracted with several hundred libraries and other institutions across the U.S. to digitize and host their online newspaper collections. These links have also been incorporated in the state collection summaries found […]
GenealogyBank, a subscription newspaper site, has announced its updates for February 2026. There are 9 New Titles and 6 Titles that have had issues added in the previous month. From GenealogyBank: Here are some of the details about our most recent U.S. newspaper additions: To see our newspaper archives’ entire title list of more than […]
Introduction: Ever wondered how disease outbreaks affected your ancestors’ daily lives? Long before centralized health departments and modern reporting systems, newspapers served as the primary public warning system during epidemics. Quarantine Notices alerted communities to outbreaks of contagious diseases such as smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, and influenza. These brief but urgent announcements named households, […]
Background Historical Occupation Profiles explain what ancestors actually did for a living and how those occupations shaped the records genealogists rely on today. Occupation Overview Railroad workers formed one of the largest and most influential occupational groups in North America from the mid-19th century through the early 20th century. They built, operated, and maintained the […]