April 2017

Today we remember comedy legend Lucille Ball, who passed away on this day in 1989 at the age of 77. Born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York, Ball had an itch to perform at a young age. She enrolled in a New York City drama school where she was classmates with actress Bette Davis. However, she was dismissed from the school after a short period due to her shyness to perform. She began… Read the full story

Do you have Italian heritage? On this day in 1874, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy. He was known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission and radio telegraph system. Marconi was born on April 25, 1874 into an Italian noble family. He was the second son born to Giuseppe Marconi, a wealthy Italian aristocrat landowner, and Anna Fenwick Jameson, who was Irish and Scottish. His great grandfather was John Jameson, the founder of… Read the full story

Next week, Geni will be heading to the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium 2017 Conference in Springfield, Massachusetts. Held every other year, this year’s conference will focus on “Using the Tools of Today & Tomorrow to Understand the Past.” NERGC 2017 will take place April 26-29, 2017 at the MassMutal Center in Springfield. The exhibit hall will be open April 27-29 and will be open to the general public. Geni will be there at booths B,… Read the full story

Prolific sculptor Daniel Chester French was born on this day in 1850. He is best remembered for the design of his most famous piece, the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial. Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, French spent his childhood growing up in Concord, Massachusetts with writers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott as neighbors. In fact, it was thanks to Alcott’s sister Abigail that French pursued a career as a sculptor. Considered one of America’s… Read the full story

No one looks forward to doing their taxes year after year. However, since everyone is expected to pay their taxes each year, tax records make an excellent resource for genealogists. Ohio 1826 tax records / MyHeritage SuperSearch Here are 5 reasons why tax records are great for genealogy research: 1. They are consistent. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, expect death and taxes.” Everyone is expected to diligently… Read the full story

When the RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, over 1,500 people died in what was one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. Of the estimated 2,240 passengers and crew on board, over 700 survived. Amongst the survivors where two young French boys who were tossed into a lifeboat by their father, who had died in the disaster. Unable to speak English, the identity of the boys was a mystery. The boys were at first misidentified as Louis and… Read the full story

Have you visited the library recently? This week is National Library Week in the United States, which makes it the perfect time to highlight librarian Melvil Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal system of library classification. Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey was born on December 10, 1851 in Adams Center New York. He was the fifth and youngest child of Joel Dewey and Eliza Green. At the age of 21, Dewey invented the Dewey Decimal… Read the full story

Did your family serve in World War I? On this day 100 years ago, the United States entered World War I and joined the Allies in the fight against Germany. Called the “War to End All Wars,” the Great War would be unlike any war ever seen before. East Oregonian, April 6, 1917 / Library of Congress Upon the announcement, President Woodrow Wilson called on all citizens to volunteer their services to the country. The president declared the… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Doris Day! Today the actress turns 95. Day got an interesting birthday surprise this year when she learned she was actually turning 95 and not 93. The Associated Press obtained her birth certificate which revealed that she was actually born in 1922, making her two years older than what she believed. Day originally thought she was born in 1924. In a comment on her birthday surprise, Day said “I’ve always said that age is just… Read the full story