August 2015

Happy birthday, Richard Gere! Today the actor and activist turns 66. Gere was born on August 31, 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Homer George Gere and Doris Ann Tiffany. Did you know he is a Mayflower descendant? His ancestors include Francis Eaton, George Soule, Richard Warren, Degory Priest and Francis Cooke. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the star of the hit films American Gigolo and An Officer and a Gentleman. After a box office slump, Gere bounced back… Read the full story

This year marks the 100th birthday of legendary actress Ingrid Bergman. From humble beginnings, Bergman would go on to become one of the most famous actresses in Hollywood history. In honor of the 100th anniversary of her birth, we take a look back on the life of the Hollywood legend. The only surviving child of Justus Bergman and Frieda Adler, Bergman was born on August 29, 1915 in Stockholm, Sweden. She was named “Ingrid” after Princess… Read the full story

Happy 50th birthday to Shania Twain! The hit country singer was born on this day in 1965. She was born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to Sharon and Clarence Edwards. Her parents divorced when she was two and soon after, her mother remarried. Her new stepfather legally adopted Shania and her sisters and changed their last names to Twain. Starting at the age of 8, Twain began singing at bars to help support her… Read the full story

Are you related to a U.S. President? On this day in 1908, President Lyndon B. Johnson was born. Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908 in a small farmhouse in Stonewall, Texas. He was the oldest of five children born to Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr. and Rebekah Baines. Perhaps it was inevitable that Johnson would enter the world of politics. His father had served five terms in the Texas House of Representatives. Hours after the… Read the full story

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton may be on opposing sides of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, but perhaps a new familial connection may help bring them a little closer. Yep, that’s right – the current leading GOP candidate, Donald Trump, is related to Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton! As revealed today on Extra TV, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are 19th cousins! The unexpected relationship was found through Geni’s World Family Tree, the definitive family tree of… Read the full story

Happy 85th birthday to Sean Connery! Best known as the original James Bond, Connery has starred in a wide variety of roles on the stage and screen. Connery portrayed the iconic British secret agent in a total of seven films, cementing his place in pop culture history. After taking a short break, Connery returned to film in a series of highly acclaimed roles, even winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Untouchables…. Read the full story

If you are lucky, you may have an entire treasure trove of old family photographs tucked away somewhere. Do you know who is the oldest person born to be photographed in your family? Two of the earliest people born known to be photographed are Hannah Gorby (Stilley) and Conrad Heyer. Hannah Gorby (Stilley) The exact date of Hannah Gorby (Stilley) is not known, but it is believed she was born around 1746. The photograph is believed… Read the full story

Iconic Civil Rights activist Julian Bond passed away on August 15 this year at the age of 75. One of the most prominent leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement during the 1960’s, Bond remained a champion of equal rights throughout his life. He was born Horace Julian Bond on January 14, 1940 in Nashville, Tennessee to Julia Agnes Washington and Horace Mann Bond. While a student at Morehouse College during the early 1960’s, Bond helped… Read the full story

Are you a horror fan? On this day in 1890, author H.P. Lovecraft was born in Providence, Rhode Island. Howard Philips Lovecraft was born on August 20, 1890 in his family home. He was the only child of Winfield Scott Lovecraft, a traveling salesman, and Sarah Susan Phillips. When he was three, his father was placed in the Providence psychiatric institution, Butler Hospital, where he remained until his death. Lovecraft was raised by his mother, his two… Read the full story

Happy 69th birthday, Bill Clinton! William Jefferson Blythe III was born on August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas. His father, William Jefferson Blyth, Jr., was a traveling salesman and died in a car accident three months before his birth. His mother, Virginia Dell, later married Roger Clinton, Sr. At the age of 16, Clinton met President John F. Kennedy while visiting the White House as a Boys Nation senator. His visit is said to have inspired… Read the full story

On this day in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, guaranteeing women the right to vote in the United States. The Lowell Sun, August 18, 1920 The long struggle for women’s equal right to vote began with the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. Organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lurcretia Mott, the event was the first women’s rights convention of its kind to be held in the U.S. It was here that Stanton first met Susan B. Anthony, who would play… Read the full story

When researching your family history, one of the greatest resources at your disposal are your living relatives. Your grandparents and other older relatives may just be your closest connection to earlier generations of your family. When your grandparents pass, their knowledge and memories of your family’s history disappear forever. Interviewing your elderly relatives now is not only great for capturing and preserving their stories for future generations, but also a wonderful way to get to know… Read the full story

Has your family history research helped you prove any rumors in your family tree? It was recently announced that DNA tests have proven the long standing allegation that the 29th President of the United States, Warren G. Harding, fathered a child with his mistress, Nan Britton. Harding was born on November 2, 1865 in Blooming Grove, Ohio. In 1920, he became the first sitting Senator to be elected President. During his campaign, he vowed a “return… Read the full story

Are you related to the famous sharpshooter Annie Oakley? On this day in 1860, the Wild West star was born. She was born Phoebe Ann Mosey in a cabin near Woodland, Ohio. Oakley honed her remarkable sharpshooting skills as a teen hunting game to support her mother and siblings. She met her husband Frank Butler, a marksman and performer, after beating him in a shooting competition. In 1885, she and her husband joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild… Read the full story

On this day in 1851, American inventor Isaac Merrit Singer was granted a patent for his iconic sewing machine. Although not the first to invent the sewing machine, Singer made important improvements to make the machine more practical and efficient than ever before. Sewing with a Singer sewing machine / State Library of Queensland Thanks to increasing affordability and practicality, the Singer sewing machines would find their way into almost every household. Isaac Merrit Singer / Wikimedia Commons Isaac Merrit… Read the full story

On this day in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was created. Founding donor James Smithson, an English chemist and mineralogist, had bequeath his estate to the United States government to create an “establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” Smithson was born Jacques-Louis Macie in Paris, France circa 1765. The illegitimate child of Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Norhthumberland and Elizabeth Hungerford Keate Macie, Smithson later changed his surname after the death of his parents to his biological… Read the full story

Do you still keep a handwritten address book? In today’s world, many people have forgone the old paper and pen for digital preservation of contacts either on the computer or a smartphone. But if you take a closer look at an old address book, you’ll find that they may hold the key to unlocking your family history. Before we carried all our contacts on our phones, we kept the names, addresses and phone numbers of our family, friends and… Read the full story

Today actress Charlize Theron celebrates her 40th birthday! She was born in Benoni, Transvaal Province, South Africa on August 7, 1975 to Charles and Greda Theron. She grew up in an Afrikaans-speaking household on a farm in Benoni. As a child, Charlize studied ballet and was eventually sent to a boarding school in Johannesburg to further her study in dance. After winning a modeling contest at 16, she traveled to the U.S. to begin a career… Read the full story

Today we remember actor Sir Alec Guinness, who passed away on this day 15 years ago. He was born Alec Guinness de Cuffe on April 2, 1914 in England to Ann Cuff. Although the name of his father was left blank on his birth certificate, some believe his father was Andrew Geddes, a Scottish banker who paid for Guinness’s schooling. During World War II, Guinness served with the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. He operated a British Royal… Read the full story

Have you heard this popular rhyme? Lizzie Borden took an axe And gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one. Memorialized in this children’s nursery rhyme is Lizzie Borden, who stood trial for the infamous murder of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was 123 years ago today on August 4, 1892 that Andrew and Abby Borden were found in their home. Since… Read the full story

Happy birthday, President Obama! Today the 44th President of the United States turns 54. Barack Hussein Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii to Ann Dunham, a white woman from Wichita, Kansas, and Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a member of the Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. While he was still young, his parents separated and his mother remarried an Indonesian man named Lolo Soetoro. Obama moved with is family to Indonesia before he… Read the full story