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 Gristmill operators ran mills that ground grain such as wheat, corn, and rye into flour and meal for local consumption. In the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries, gristmills were […]
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.
MyHeritage continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For April 1-15, 2026, there are 2 new and 9 updated collections. The new and updated collections are: I hope that some of these are what you have been waiting for! Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
Ancestry.com continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For the period of April 1-15, 2026, the new and updated collections are: I hope that some of these are what you have been waiting for! Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
FamilySearch continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For the period of April 1-15, 2026, the added/updated collections are: For a complete list of all added/updated collections, go to https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list I hope that some of these are what you have been waiting for! Good Luck and […]
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 Saloon keepers owned or managed establishments that served alcoholic beverages and often provided food, lodging, or social space. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, saloons were central gathering places […]
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 Oil field workers extracted petroleum from underground deposits for use as fuel, lubrication, and industrial material. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the discovery and expansion of oil […]
If you follow The Ancestor Hunt, you know that we specialize in curating and sharing links to free online genealogy records, collections, and indexes organized by category and location. You can always explore those through the By Locations page — choose a state, then a record type. But not all valuable resources fit neatly into […]
Washington Digital Newspapers regularly adds or updates newspaper titles to the collections. Last month, 5 titles were added or updated (Information provided by Veridian Software, which powers the Washington Digital Newspapers website). Here is the list of titles for this month: To access the site, go to Washington Digital Newspapers
The Wyoming Digital Newspaper Collection regularly adds or updates newspaper titles to the collection. Last month, 47 titles were added or updated (Information provided by Veridian Software, which powers the Wyoming Digital Newspapers Collection website). Here is the list of titles: To access the site, go to Wyoming Digital Newspaper Collection
Virginia Chronicle regularly adds or updates newspaper titles for the collection. Last month, 68 titles were added or updated (Information provided by Veridian Software, which powers the Virginia Chronicle website). Here is the list of titles: To access the site, go to Virginia Chronicle