The Blackwell's Kinfolk Family Tree highlights two prominent members. Arthur Ashe Jr.'s name is in gold, right. Family genealogist Thelma Short Doswell is highlighted in yellow, left .  Photo from Library of Congress, blog September 28, 2023 Have you checked out "our" library recently? By "our" library, I don't mean the library branch in your neighborhood, although it is definitely a place that should be very familiar to you. I mean the library that belongs to all of us--the Library of Congress.   At our fingertips we have the ability to  search millions of items in many formats and languages; to explore a growing treasury of digitized materials .  This is one of the most valuable resources available for enhancing our knowledge and understanding of the lives of our ancestors.  It's very easy to remember the URL--loc.gov.    Library of Congress Blogs | Blogs from the Library of Congress (loc.gov) And the collections and exhibits are constantly expa...

  If this has not happened in your research yet, it will! I came across a name in a half-brother's obituary: Upton McBee. I'd been avoiding looking at this half-brother because the father is unknown, and I thought the research would be messy . But I waded in anyway because Hamiltons keep popping into my McBee families, and here was another.  Part of the obituary wouldn't fit in the screenshot. Here is the entire text:  GEORGE W. HAMILTON, one of our oldest and most highly respected citizens, died at the home of his son, George, Saturday morning January 21, 1928, after a comparatively short illness. He was born in Pleasanton, Iowa, January 9, 1853, and was 75 years and 12 days old at the time of his passing.  On December 31, 1874, he was united in marriage to Miss Lilly Jane Henderson. To this union nine children were born, of whom two sons and one daughter prceded the father to the Great Beyond. The faithful wife preceded him in death some 15 years ago.  He was ...