Every year, in August, the National Endowment for the Humanities announces the digitization award grants to states that are a part of the National Digital Newspaper Program that contribute to the Chronicling America database. The total awards this year are $18 million. Here are the 2026 awards and prior award years: State / Territory Award […]
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.
Given Name Abbreviations Historical records, newspapers, and family documents often use abbreviated given names rather than the full name. Understanding common Norwegian given name abbreviations can help you locate records that might otherwise be overlooked. Name Abbreviation Adelheid Ad. Agnes Ag. Albert Alb. Alexander Alex. Alida Al. Alise Al. Amalie Am. Anders A. Anders And. […]
Finding a “Jr.” and “Sr.” with the same name does not prove you have found a son and his father. The Myth When two men with the same name appear in historical records as Senior and Junior, the relationship seems obvious. John Smith Sr. must be the father, and John Smith Jr. must be his […]
Are you doing Mississippi genealogy research and looking for Free Online Mississippi Genealogy Records? Click on a link for your desired category’s free collection links: NewspapersYearbooksBirthsMarriagesDeathsBMD RecordsAlumni RecordsCemetery RecordsChurch RecordsCoroner RecordsCriminal RecordsDigital ArchivesDirectoriesDivorce RecordsImmigration RecordsInstitutional RecordsMilitary RecordsMortuary RecordsNaturalizationsObituariesPhotosProbate and WillsSchool RecordsTax RecordsVoter Records Good Luck and Happy Hunting! Want All of Mississippi’s Genealogy Resources in […]
Given Name Abbreviations Historical records, newspapers, and family documents often use abbreviated given names rather than the full name. Understanding common Italian given name abbreviations can help you locate records that might otherwise be overlooked. Name Abbreviation Alberta Alb. Alessandra Aless. Anna Ann. Antonella Anton. Antonio Ant. Augusta August. Bartolomeo Bart. Battista Batt. Beatrice Beatr. […]
The middle name you find in an ancestor’s later records may not be the name they were given at birth—if they were given a middle name at all. The Myth When an ancestor appears in a record with a first, middle, and last name, it is easy to assume that all three names were given […]
On this website, the first set of free online links to U.S. historical newspapers was published in February 2014, with about 10,000 titles. There have been at least two updates published each year since then. This update adds another 3,615 titles. The total is 53,100 Historical American Newspapers that can be searched for Free Online. […]
An official record could identify your ancestor by a nickname, assumed name, middle name, or another name they commonly used—not necessarily the name they were given at birth. The Myth Official records seem like the place where we should expect to find a person’s “real” or legal name. A census, marriage record, deed, court document, […]
Are you doing Kentucky genealogy research and looking for Free Online Kentucky Genealogy Records? Click on a link for your desired category’s free collection links: NewspapersYearbooksBirthsMarriagesDeathsBMD RecordsAlumni RecordsCemetery RecordsChurch RecordsCoroner RecordsCriminal RecordsDigital ArchivesDirectoriesDivorce RecordsImmigration RecordsInstitutional RecordsMilitary RecordsMortuary RecordsNaturalizationsObituariesPhotosProbate and WillsSchool RecordsTax RecordsVoter Records Good Luck and Happy Hunting! Want All of Kentucky’s Genealogy Resources in […]
Given Name Abbreviations Historical records, newspapers, and family documents often use abbreviated given names rather than the full name. Understanding common French given name abbreviations can help you locate records that might otherwise be overlooked. Name Abbreviation Adélaïde Adél. Agnès Agn. Aimée Aim. Alexandre Alex. Alexandrine Alex. Amélie Amél. Angélique Ang. Anne A. Antoine Ant. […]