When we hit the road these days for a trip to some unfamiliar destination, we often consult travel directories and guidebooks. These handy sources, whether online or on the printed page, are packed with information about a place, providing details for sightseeing and accommodations They were there in the 19th century too, filling the need…
1807 Gazetteer of Delaware and Maryland Helps Genealogists and Local History Researchers
In the decades before state directories and similar resources appeared, there were gazetteers or geographical dictionaries. These valuable titles, many over 200 years old, focused on geography as they examined an area in detail, presenting information about a community, its landscape, political economy, business enterprise, population, and natural resources. Today genealogists and local historians will…
Bringing Communities Together to Remember Tragedies: Southern Flight 242 in New Hope, Ga & Pan Am Flight 214 in Elkton, MD
This afternoon while driving home from the University of Delaware during a heavy downpour, I listened to Transom, a new public media show. The broadcast, “Southern Flight 242: Bringing My Father Home” by Will Coley, was the piece that had me attentively listening as the rain came down. In it, an audio documentarian digs deeply…
Links to High Quality Digital Content for Local & Family History Research on Delmarva
Since there is an enormous, rapidly growing body of research information available on the web, there is a need for a curated landing page, a place in the public commons on the net, to help someone digging into the past. This opportunity to help researchers is something I encounter often during public lectures and courses as…