Heartland Genealogy

Do you have ancestral lines going back to the settlement of New Netherland ? I knew that my husband's SEBRING line could be traced back to New Netherland. However, it wasn't until recently, when I connected my third great-grandmother, Rachel Harris Currey, to her parents, that I uncovered several Dutch lines in my own tree. Suddenly, New Netherland research became much more relevant to my genealogy. Thus, when I recently saw a Facebook post from the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B) about its New Netherland Settlers project, I immediately clicked to learn more. The project has an ambitious goal: to develop detailed, peer-reviewed biographical sketches of the people who resided in New Netherland prior to 1664. The first completed sketches were released online in July 2025, and additional sketches are being added as research is completed. What makes these sketches especially valuable to genealogists is their scope. Depending on the records available for...

Have you ever unlinked a child from parents in your family tree? If so, did you stop to consider all the different places where that relationship—and your reason for changing it—might need to be updated? Recently, I made the difficult decision to unlink my second great-grandfather, Albert Hutchinson , from the parents I had long assigned to him: Aaron Hutchinson and Sarah Merry . Why I Questioned the Relationship My recent research into the descendants of Aaron and Hannah Hutchinson , combined with a closer look at my autosomal DNA matches, has caused me to question whether Albert was actually their grandson. The problem is fairly simple: I have not found evidence directly connecting my Albert Hutchinson of Iowa to the Hutchinson family of Livingston County, New York. I do have records stating that Albert was born in Fulton County, New York . That location does not prove he wasn't related to the Livingston County family, but it adds to my concerns about a relationship that was alre...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It’s Saturday Night again — time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!): Have you found an unusual, chilling, amazing, or fascinating newspaper article about your ancestors? If so, please share the article and what you learned about your ancestor(s) from it. Provide a source citation too! In 2023, I found a fascinating newspaper item connected to my great-great-grandfather, Washington Marion Crawford . It wasn’t a typical newspaper article, but a poem he had written about his experiences during the Civil War. Titled “My Capture and Imprisonment” the poem was published in the Williamsport Warren Republican on 13 April 1865. In my 27 February 2023 blog post, also titled My Capture and Imprisonment , I transcribed the poem and provided a complete citation for the newspaper item. The poem is particularly meaningful because Washington Marion Crawford had experienced exact...