Central Kansas Library System

"Contending that the U.S. was the earliest western country to embrace genealogy on a mass level, Francesca Morgan traces Americans' fascination with tracking family lineage from the early republic to the present day, showing how it evolved from a largely elite phenomenon practiced by white men of western European descent to a commercial enterprise reaching people of diverse backgrounds. In the first half of the book, Morgan examines how specific groups...

Anyone who has ever tried to write a family history knows that it can be overwhelming. Writing the Family Narrative offers a clear and concise explanation of how to write your history in a way that entertains as well as informs. Using his experience teaching creative writing, Lawrence P. Gouldrup, has outlined a process that is tailored not for the serious novel writer, biographer, or essayist, but for the serious genealogist who wants to record his...

This in-depth guide will help you use Family Tree Maker 2010 to create a family history that you and your family will treasure for years. Start building your tree by entering what you already know. Then follow the author's step-by-step instructions to locate more information about your ancestors online, add photographs and rich media files, and design charts and reports to display and share. Learn the why, how, and when of using its most popular features;...

"In Shaking the Family Tree, Jackson dives headfirst into her family gene pool: flying cross-country to locate an ancient family graveyard, embarking on a weeklong genealogy Caribbean cruise, and even submitting her DNA for testing to try to find her Jacksons. And in the process of researching her own family lore (Who was Bullwhip Jackson?) she meets legions of other genealogy buffs who are as interesting as they are driven?from the boy who saved...

Telling the stories of those who quietly conducted the business and built the livelihoods that made their societies prosper or fail this account shows how one Scots-Irish American family, the Hammills, millers, wagon makers, and blacksmiths, lived out their lives against the backdrop of the American Revolution, the Civil War, and westward expansion. Spanning three centuries from the shores of Ireland to the Chesapeake Bay Area to the Pacific Northwest,...

"Richard Hill's true and intensely personal story of how he pieced together the long-kept secret of his own origins. This highly suspenseful book is a page-turning saga of personal detective work that will appeal to anyone who loves a good mystery. But this isn't fiction. It's an engrossing account of an adoptee trying to reclaim the biological family denied him by sealed birth records. This fascinating quest, including the author's landmark use of...

"Genetic genealogy is one of the hottest topics in genealogy today. This expanded, updated guide will walk readers through the benefits of DNA testing for genealogists as well as outline the most frequently used tests and services. Discover the answers to your family history mysteries using the most-cutting edge tool available to genealogists. This plain-English guide, newly revised and expanded, is a one-stop resource on genetic genealogy for family...

"After 30 years, Detective Jim Scharf arrested a teenage couple's murderer-and exposed a looming battle between the pursuit of justice and the right to privacy. When Tanya Van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook were murdered during a trip to Seattle in the 1980s, detectives had few leads. The murder weapon was missing. No one witnessed any suspicious activity. And there was only a single handprint on the outside of the young couple's van. The detectives assumed...

Master quilter Sylvia Compson discovers a stash of letters in the attic of Elm Creek Manor and traces a tale back to 1859. An escaped slave, Joanna, spent a brief period at Elm Creek Farm until she was captured and returned to bondage, leaving her son in the care of the Bergstrom family. If Sylvia is to determine the fate of Joanna and her son, she must rely on one important clue-- the meticulous heirloom quilt Joanna stitched and left behind.

Twenty-five year old Billie Romano is struggling. She is grieving the death of her beloved dad and nothing in her life is going right. Her mother has remarried with indecent haste, so when her grandfather presents everyone in the family with a DNA testing kit for fun, Billie couldn't be less interested in playing happy families. The test results are shocking, and Billie finds herself caught in a turmoil of emotions as she is faced with a reality she...