Silas Wright Titus, known as “The Water Wizard”, was an engineer who discovered and patented deep water pumping technology. He also discovered early water supplies for New York City and other towns and cities in the United States in the late nineteenth century. Silas Wright Titus was born on January 18, 1849 in Syracuse, New York to Colonel Silas Titus and Eliza McCarthy. Titus was named for a friend of his father’s, Silas Wright, a… Read the full story

Check out some interesting genealogy articles from the past week! The Genealogy Sphere Cpt Edward Doherty – the man who tracked down an assassin (The Sligo Champion) – Interesting article about the man who lead the hunt and capture of John Wilkes Booth My Grandmother’s Writings Part Two: File Cabinets and Beer Boxes (nocategories.net) – Tip on keeping things organized when repacking collections of materials O death! Thy name is woman (The Legal Genealogist blog)… Read the full story

Genealogists know that passenger lists and travel documentation can hold a great deal of genealogical information. Here’s an interesting one that I thought I’d share. Recently, I came across this immigration form for legendary director Alfred Hitchcock. Check out the title of the document: Information Sheet (concerning passenger arriving on aircraft). I have to say this is the first time I’ve seen an immigration form for a passenger arriving via airplane! When you take a… Read the full story

William E. Dodge, Sr. was a founding member of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and represented New York’s 8th congressional district in the United States Congress for a portion of the 39th United States Congress in 1866-1867. He was a noted abolitionist and Native American rights activist, and served as the president of the National Temperance Society from 1865-1883. He was born on September 4, 1805 in Hartford, Connecticut to David Low Dodge and Sarah Cleveland…. Read the full story

Have you made any interesting discoveries recently? Check out some interesting articles from the past week. The Genealogy Sphere “Grandma Did What?” Digging Up the Roots of Family Lore (Wall Street Journal) – Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak gives a brief summary of some common misperceptions passed down by families Address book is a family history, bound by tradition (MPR News) – Do you still have a physical address book? A great article to remind us that these… Read the full story

Mariana Victoria of Spain was born on March 31, 1718 in Spain and died on January 15, 1781 in Portugal. She was the eldest daughter of Felipe V of Spain and Elisabetta Farnese. At the age of seven Mariana Victoria of Spain was engaged to the young Louis XV of France, but was rejected due to her age. At the time of her birth, Mariana Victoria was fifth in line to the throne of Spain. In… Read the full story

Have you read any interesting genealogy articles this week? Check out a few more below! The Genealogy Sphere How my Grandmother risked her life in the dockyards during World War Two (Whaley Bridge Writer blog) – Blogger Gillian Mawson shares an amazing story about her grandmother MyHeritage mobile app version 2.0 released today! (MyHeritage blog) – Have you checked out MyHeritage’s new mobile app? Who belongs on the Family Tree? (The Professional Descendant blog) –… Read the full story

Nicholas Biddle was an American financier who served as the President of the Second Bank of the United States. His ancestors were Quakers who emigrated from England to America in 1681 in part to avoid religious persecution. The Biddle family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania produced numerous and diverse people of interest. Biddle was born on January 8, 1786 to Charles and Hannah Biddle. Charles Biddle served as Vice-President of Pennsylvania (now known as the office of… Read the full story

Here are some interesting genealogy articles to start off the New Year! The Genealogy Sphere Haddonfield genealogist helped Army identify remains of airman killed in 1946 (Philly.com) – Megan Smolenyak helps the Army ID the remains of a soldier Blood o f Louis XVI ‘found in gourd container’ (BBC News) – A team of scientists say they believe they’ve found the blood of Louis XVI Let Google help you on your genealogy research (NJ.com) –… Read the full story

Now that it’s the start of a new year, we’re putting together a helpful list of genealogy conferences for 2013! Check out the list of upcoming conferences below and we’ll continue to update it as more dates become available. If you know of a conference that’s not on the list, please let us know in the comments below. Which conferences will you be attending? January Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (Salt Lake City, Utah) January 14… Read the full story