I had high hopes of locating my husband's cousin (twice removed), Leslie Archibald Powell, in the new Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificates database at Ancestry.com and was a bit disappointed not to find him there. A photo of him would have been so nice! Yet there are many such resources for locating WWI-era aviator ancestors (especially those who flew in the military), so I have been able to learn quite a bit about my husband's pioneering relative over in England.

I say pioneering because those aviators who flew the skies during World War I were just that - brave, independent, not afraid to try something new... The first powered, piloted flight in history (Orville Wright, 17 December 1903) had taken place just about a decade earlier, and it lasted just 12 short seconds! The year 1909 marked the world's first military airplane (Signal Corps Airplane No. 1). It's hard to believe that just a few short years after that, miltary aviators were flying across the skies of Europe during WWI.

Leslie Archibald Powell was one of many such earlier aviators, serving in the British Royal Flying Corps in England during WWI. According to the Aerodrome (cool- a photo has been added since the last time I visited the site!), he was awarded the Military Cross in Sep 1917 for "distinguished and meritorious service in battle." His actions, which prompted the award, appeared in the London Gazette:

"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on several occasions in attacking enemy aircraft in superior numbers at close range, destroying some and driving down others out of control. He has also done excellent work on photographic reconnaissances, and has, in every instance, displayed the greatest gallantry and splendid offensive spirit."

--Supplement to the London Gazette, 9 January 1918

Read more...

One thing that many beginning genealogists don't realize is just how much family history can be discovered at home - in the attic, in the back of a closet, stuffed in a drawer... It doesn't seem possible after 20+ years of researching my family history, but my grandmothers are still finding little treasures to share with me; everything from funeral cards to old family photos.

No matter how much family history is hidden in our homes, most of us can never hope to find something as magnificent as the four centuries worth of documents recently uncovered in the attic of a Maryland plantation. The Emory family that lived there were obviously pack rats - Family bibles from the 18th century (complete with handwritten genealogies) and an original War of 1812 muster roll were discovered alongside bills for laundry and political campaign posters. There are also financial records (including bills of sale for slaves), maps, war accounts, family letters, and even a lock of hair from a letter dated Valentine's Day 1801. What an amazing find!

The family letters also bring the Civil War to life in a very realistic way, according to the AP article; as with many families living in the states that straddled the area between the plantation economy of the south and the industrial north, the allegiances of the Emory family were torn. They owned slaves, but some also signed an 1832 petition to the Maryland legislature calling for a gradual abolition of slavery. Two sons also fought in the Civil War - one for the Union and one for the Confederacy.

Archaeological students from nearby Washington College have been excavating the grounds of the former Poplar Grove plantation for several years, but only recently discovered the treasures mouldering away in the attic and outbuildings. For the curious, they are documenting their work and discoveries on a new blog - Poplar Grove Project.

It's almost enough to make me start knocking on doors of every house my ancestor ever lived in to ask if I can take a peek at their attic ;-)

Leland Meitzler, editor of popular genealogy magazine Everton's Genealogical Helper, wrote this week to let me know that it is debuting a new Online Edition this July - hosted by FamilyLink.com. This new digital edition will be available for free to subscribers of the traditional print magazine, and will also be available as a separate, online-only subscription at a reduced subscription rate of $12.00 per year for the monthly magazine (the print version has a current subscription rate of $27.00 per year). The rate for the online-only version is discounted still further -- to $10.00 -- for subscriptions made before July 1.

The new Online Edition of Genealogical Helper will be available in PDF format which is fully-searchable. Hopefully, there will be no restrictions on downloading/saving these PDF files to your computer, as it's always nice to be able to go back articles you read months and even years ago

I currently subscribe to the Digital Genealogist, solely available in a digital version, and find myself torn when it comes to whether I prefer print or digital editions. Read more...

Many years ago my mother spent a wonderful summer day getting lost on back country roads in North Carolina looking for old family cemeteries. It was hot and sticky (welcome to N.C. in the summer), many of the cemeteries were hidden in the middle of corn fields (again, welcome to N.C.), and we spent as much time retracing our steps as making progress. Yet, it was a wonderful day filled with those "Wow!" discoveries. We stopped in small towns where relatives still live and met new family members, while catching up with others my mother remembered from her childhood. We did discover a few family cemeteries and received clues to a few others which still remain on the missing list. And we bonded with our shared history in a way that census records on the Internet just can't provide. And every year we keep talking about doing it again!

Whether you plan to visit a cemetery or archive, or walk on your ancestor's homestead, combining a summer vacation with a genealogy research trip can be not only rewarding but fun for you and your family. The key is planning. If you plan to visit a research facility, then ask the right questions in advance of your visit; believe me, it's frustrating to drive for hours to visit a courthouse only to find it closed for renovations. You'll also want to scout out the location of any cemeteries or family homesteads, perhaps plotting them on a map using a free service such as Google Maps. A navigation system is also handy for these trips - I wish we had one for those back country roads all those years ago!