The best Family History Finds this week:

Family Stories

It always gives me goosebumps when I walk through an ancestral town. Amy viewed Philadelphia with new eyes:
Walking in Their Footsteps AND

The Great Harry Coopersmith Mystery (Almost) Solved!, both by Amy Cohen on Brotmanblog: A Family Journey

The Widow’s Legacy by Judy G. Russell on The Legal Genealogist

A Presidential Greeting for an Enslaved Man’s Family – Mr. Ike Ivery by True Lewis on NoTeS To MySeLf

Dear Cousin, Will You Marry Me? by Dawsr on The Genealogy Corner

It’s a small genealogical world!
A Mystery to Solve by Margie Tolsdorf on Cousins

Research Resources

If you have early Californian ancestry, you should be following Sheri as she abstracts genealogical information from the CA statutes. This post covers approval of requests for name changes. Have you lost track of your ancestor Thomas Nelson in Triity County. If so, you should be looking for Lars Peterson after 1865-1866!
Selected Genealogical Abstracts from the California Statutes 1865-66 by Sheri Fenley on The Educated Genealogist

How to Search Historical Newspapers Online with Quebec Archives New Search Engine: Part 1 AND

There’s a Trick to Looking Up Names in Ten Toronto-Area Cemeteries, both by Gail Dever on Genealogy à la Carte

American Ancestors Opens New Mayflower Passengers Website AND

First Ever Public Copies of the Death Index for Buffalo, New York, for the Years 1852-1944, both b y James Tanner on Genealogy’s Star

Obtain Death Certificates from the NYC Municipal Archives by Melissa Finlay on Boundless Genealogy

Our Ancestors, Christmas and the Archives by Melissa Barker on A Genealogist in the Archives

Newly Digitized Toronto City Directories, 1927 – 1967 by Gail Dever on Genealogy à la Carte

Quick Tip – Reusing Images of Records by Yvette Hoitink on Dutch Genealogy

Elephind Update – December 2017 by Kenneth R. Marks on The Ancestor Hunt

For Australasian researchers:
Introducing the Ryerson Index by Shauna Hicks on The In-Depth Genealogist

Tech News

GENESIS from GEDmatch: the New Chip by Kitty on Kitty Cooper’s Blog

Randy is right on point – Be sure to read his post:
Ancestry Member Trees, Indexing Rules, Cousin Bait, Source Citations and Me by Randy Seaver on Genea-Musings

Genetic Genealogy

Not a blog post, but a really interesting story during WWII in London and the outcome today:
The Mystery of the Baby in the Box

Punching a Peephole in My Brick Wall – and Discounts to Help You Do the Same by Roberta Estes on DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy

Methodology

I have been looking forward to Yvette’s goal of documenting her line back to Eleanor of Aquitaine by today’s standards. It should be a really interesting journey:
Was Eleanor of Aquitaine My Ancestor? Generation 1: Yvette Hoitink by Yvette Hoitink on Dutch Genealogy

Clusters: What Do You Need to Research? by Anne Gillespie Mitchell on Finding Forgotten Stories

Sunday’s Hints by Esther Eley on Esther’s Roots and Ramblings

Education Is for Everyone

Fair Use for Nonfiction Authors by Liz Gauffreau on This Is Us

Keeping Up with the Times

The Vermont Country Store Catalogue Evokes Christmas Nostalgia by Helen Breen on Historic Ipswich

Family Memories: The Christmas Tree by Colleen Pasquale Brown on Leaves & Branches

Harsharger Line: Christmas Traditions by Janice Harshbarger on Happy Genealogy Dance

Twelve Days of a Genealogy Christmas – Randy’s  Version AND

Historical Records of an American Santa Claus, both by Randy Seaver on Genea-Musings

Christmas Memories by Eileen A. Souza on Old Bones Genealogy

Last Minute Gifts for Genealogists – Wishful Wednesday on the Fountaindale Public Library Genealogy and Research Blog