Stories From The Genealogist: Why

 I’m a detective. I’m a history buff. Searching in the past requires detection skills like rooting out and sometimes solving problems. These skills I have always been good at. And I love it so much so that my main source of entertainment is mystery shows and books. I’m in tune with the amateur detectives and can ferret out a bad guy before the show is over. (Though I admit I’m not always right.)

As for searching out my family history many might ask, why would anyone want to search the past; those people we came from?

Kids on my Dad’s side of my family, from around 1800 to 1910.

I recently found a World War I draft card for my great grandfather showing me what he looked like. He was stoutly built, with black hair and had gray eyes. And on a passenger ship from Italy that my husband’s great grandfather was dark skinned, brown eyes, and 5 feet tall.

I started searching out my family when a friend ask me to accompany her to the New Jersey Archives in Trenton, New Jersey where she was going to continue her own family tree. Her mother had started their family history before her death and my friend decide to go on with it. I helped her with her until we came to a loll in the subjects we could root around in. We where were I myself could already in the place where my family history would be found since I come from Paterson, New Jersey, and the Archive in Trenton housed some much of the states history I was in the right place to start my family tree. I always loved research. Early on in school I found that to understand a subject I have to know much more than the basics to grasp any topic. I had to ‘see’ the subject to understand it. Though dyslexia wasn’t known at the time, I believe that was my problem and a major part of how I came to be such a good researcher. So I began ferreting around in the archive to see what I could find about my family. Which started my journey into genealogy.

You can find the exact place where your family lived and what their time period was like. How they traveled. What they wore. What type of jobs they had to work. What it took to keep the family going. Did they own their house and property. Or did they rent. What size house they lived in might be found when you see they amount their property was worth which can be found on some USA government census and how many people were in the family. See how much money they made. Census were taken, depending on where you are in the country, every 5 to 10 years through the 1800s. Many countries over the last few centuries have also kept records. 

With each new invention you could almost see the improvements to their lives and bring them closer and closer to us here in the present. The past is a look into how we got here. You can by searching find out the things that have happened to your ancestors. Some good, some really bad. 

Research puts you in their world.

If you are lucky there are photos and documents to be found from other individuals and their family trees who might be related to you whether closely or distantly on the many genealogy sites out there on the internet, both paid and free. Schools, churches, local governments and family history books can be accessed in the areas your ancestors lived.

The one thing you must know right up front you have to look through the records yourself. This will be a must to insure you are finding your real ancestors. People do not always do research correctly. So copying from other trees and the hints from genealogy sites is not enough. You need to find and read documents yourself to verify a relationship to you.

If any of this appeals to you below are a few sites I like that you can get started.

Paid sites to start a personal family tree:

https://www.ancestry.com

https://www.myheritage.com/

Free sites for searching and collaborative trees (meaning, anyone can change your information):

www.familysearch.org/

www.wikitree.com/

Some of many FREE SITES For Research:

https://books.google.com/ Find books and look inside them and copy and paste information you find.

www.findagrave.com Find your ancestors graves and more. Though sometimes some info is wrong there can be names and dates of their family members you didn’t know about.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/

http://www.searchforancestors.com/

https://catalog.loc.gov/

Free sites to search and videos for important information (I don’t have a subscription to any of these youtube sites):

https://www.youtube.com/@GenealogyTV

https://www.youtube.com/@GenealogyGems

https://www.youtube.com/@AncestryAimee

https://www.youtube.com/@FamilyHistoryFanatics

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MY books which I wrote and illustrated under J.D. Holiday.

MY books which I wrote and illustrated under J.D. Holiday.
My books are no longer available.

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A TRIBUTE TO EDWARD DAY ~ ENGINE 28, LADDER 11 NYC FIRE DEPARTMENT LOST IN THE WTC DISASTER OF 911

A TRIBUTE TO EDWARD DAY ~ ENGINE 28, LADDER 11 NYC FIRE DEPARTMENT LOST IN THE WTC DISASTER OF 911
Warm Humor, Frozen Shoes Edward Day did not just extinguish fires. He extinguished grouchiness. At Engine Company 28 and Ladder 11 on the Lower East Side, where Mr. Day, 45, was a firefighter, he kept a sharp eye out for grumpy colleagues. They got the Day treatment: smiley face stickers slapped on their helmets. Whenever he stayed at his mother's house in Newport, R.I., he would make the bed when he was ready to leave and then drop a dollar on it with a note, "For the maid." His mother liked to give what she called the last Christmas party of the year, held well into January. Mr. Day had a ritual at the parties: he collected all the bottle caps from exhausted beer bottles and deposited them throughout the house in her plants. His wife, Bridgitte, was a fervent Clint Eastwood fan, so he would sign his cards to her, "Clint Eastwood." "He was always ready to make you laugh," said Tim Day, his brother, "whether he knew you for 20 years or 20 minutes." The first time Eddy Day met Tim's wife, Essie, he asked if she wanted a glass of wine. Sure, she said. He brought it out and handed it to her. "Excuse me," he said, and bent over and slipped off her shoes. As she watched, mystified, he marched into the kitchen and put them in the freezer. Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on October 13, 2001.

From Online about The DAY Family Tree

The Day family has roots in Paterson, New Jersey, with documented connections to individuals such as Ruth Catherine (Dunn) Day, who was born in 1916 and died in 1971, and resided at 5 Lake Avenue, Paterson, NJ. She was the daughter of John Francis Dunn and Sara Veronica (Craig) Dunn and the mother of Jan Amenta, Ike Day, Doris Ann Day, and other children. Jan Amenta, a prominent genealogist and descendant of the Day family, has been actively researching and documenting the family history, particularly focusing on the Paterson area, including records from the NJ State Archives, the Church of Latter Day Saints, and the Paterson Library. Her research suggests that the Day family may have been part of the "poor" side of the family, which often resulted in fewer preserved records due to limited documentation. ABOUT THE Surname DAY: The Day surname has multiple origins, including occupational roots as a dairyman or dairymaid in English, and as a pet form of David or Ralph in northern England. In Ireland, it is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Ó Deaghaidh. The family's presence in Paterson is further supported by historical records, including census data from 1940 and 1950, and burial records from Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in Paterson. Additionally, genealogical resources such as WikiTree and Ancestry provide tools for tracing the Day family lineage, with connections to other families like the Dunn, Amenta, and Gaskill. Day family genealogies: The Day family tree from Paterson, NJ, is a rich and detailed genealogical record that spans several generations. The family's history is documented through various records and genealogical resources, including the NJ State Archives, Church of Latter Day Saints, and Paterson Library. The Day family has been a subject of genealogical research for many years, with individuals like Janice Day Amenta and others contributing to the understanding of the family's lineage. The Day family's history is not only a testament to the family's enduring presence in Paterson but also a reflection of the broader historical context of the area.