RootsWeb.com Mailing Lists
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    1. [MD-BALTIMORECITY] Baltimore Sun paper digitzed and genealogybank.com
    2. I have subscribed to this new offering through a special offer that they gave at the Enoch Pratt genealogy seminar. I made several major break throughs that I would not have been able to do without this service. I found a death notice finally for my 3nd great-grandfather, William Griffin, who died in 1895--the first fact I didn't know. Although his name is not paricularly common, I still needed to know if I had found the right William Griffin. The death notice said funeral would be at the home of his daughter, Mrs. A. M. France. This was Laura Griffin who married Ambrose France hence Mrs. Ambrose France. I wouldn't have know this fact without researching all the children of William Griffin and knowing whom they married even though they are NOT my direct. But the real break through came when sweet Laura added a detail not typically found in a Baltimore Sun Death Notice for a 78 year old. She said "William Henry Griffin eldest son of Jacob and Catherine Griffin." Now I have his parents and their Baltimore Sun Death Notices in the 1850's. And their marriage notice in 1815 from ancestry.com. What a break through! I have notice some short comings with the system like not matching Given name and Surname within a few words. I got too many hits with William and Griffin just being in the same list of death notices. Also you get a few wrong matches. But with my family having unusal surnames and with them being all Maryland, I narrowed down the search to just Maryland papers. I can't wait until they get more recent Baltimore Sun paper (post 1900) because I have many more searches I want to do. One of the surprises I found was my great-grandparents marriage notice. It was more like today's announcements. It gave where the wedding took place, what the bride wore, and who the guests were. Both William Griffin and Mrs. Ambrose France were there as were several others I am now matching up. If you are having trouble with searches use the advance search and add the location or a keyword. Also I recommend a high speed connection. NOTE: any one can search for free. The search result is a very brief clip from the paper that may or may not show you the exact information you want. To see the entire clip requires a subscription. My searches typically didn't show the detail information I needed. Although I guess I have been blessed with unusual surnames and a steady location, I still have had sometimes 500 matches. If I hadn't gone through them all, I wouldn't have had the treasures I found--news articles, advertisements, social news. These tidbits have really fleshed out my family. Jane Thursby Thursby, Stinchecum, Seward, Claggett, McNamara, Muckelroy, Barnes, Watkins, Kennard, Cullison, Oldner, Griffin, Benson, Snyder, Beall--and many more

    04/05/2007 07:08:03