Share More Than A Turkey Dinner With Family

For most of us, the word "family" brings to mind holidays, reunions, summer vacations and visits to Grandma and Grandpa. But for many of us, that word - family - takes us no further. Few of us have memories of great-grandparents and we may not even recognize the names of ancestors before that. When our experience with our families is limited to only those we've met and known in person it is unfortunate - and unnecessary.

Our families, even those members who lived generations before us, are the stuff we are made of. They are our roots, our beginnings and they influence our lives in ways we may not even understand. This year your family celebration could mean so much more by working together on a gift for future generations: your family tree.

We would like to help you give your loved ones the precious gift of learning more about themselves by finding out more about their family history. For this reason we have decided to extend the "Get 3 Months Free" promotion until November 26th.

Take advantage of this promotion where you can become a member with all the benefits of a subscriber for only $5.00 a month!

At OneGreatFamily we have strong feelings about the joy and family unity that can come from working together on your family tree. Invite your family and friends to join you as well at OneGreatFamily to get excited about their genealogy.

As a guest of OneGreatFamily, you already know the benefits of collaborating with other genealogists from all over the globe in locating your ancestors and merging your own family tree with the world's first true global family tree - found at OneGreatFamily.com. Now you can experience these benefits all year round with our annual subscription.

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There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays!

That statement is true in so many ways, and one of those ways is when it comes to researching your family history! Spending time in your old home town for the holidays will do more than bring back happy memories. It will be a great chance for you do a little digging for treasure about your own family's past.

The holidays are a wonderful time for listening to the memories of older members of the family, hearing about how the generations that proceeded you spent their holidays. Many grandparents or great-aunts and uncles will also be able to share the memories their parents told them. Take good notes - or better still, tape these visits so that you can refer back to them for information and for the fun of listening to some of the more colorful stories again and again. And don't forget to preserve them for your own posterity!

Open the old family Bible or photo albums and get everyone involved in remembering events like births, christenings, baptisms, and funerals. Often, just reminiscing about these events will bring up long forgotten facts that can help put the puzzle of your family history together.

Spend a quiet afternoon at your hometown library, newspaper, courthouse or even take a stroll through a local cemetery and see if you can locate any names, dates or documents that might fill in some of the gaps in your family's records. It's surprising how much of a paper trail is there for the asking if you just go looking.

The holidays have always been about family. Be sure to spend time with the loved ones who are gathered around you during this wonderful season. But don't forget those who have come before and marked the way for you. Find out who your ancestors were, where and how they lived. When you get home and start the fresh New Year, you can enter all these wonderful new facts into the OneGreatFamily database and perhaps begin another branch on our great global family tree!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ONEGREATFAMILY

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America At War

by Lisa South, Certified Genealogist

The following article was written in the December 22, 2005 OneGreatFamily newsletter. Since Lisa is no longer writing for us, we are featuring some of our favorite articles written by her.

“Your great-great grandfather fought in the Civil War!”  “You can be proud of your Revolutionary War ancestor!”  These types of statements passed down through families, help you know you should search military records, but the lack of this type of family tradition should not stop you for searching!  As you evaluate each new name on your family tree, think about what was happening historically at that time. Did that ancestor live in a time and place that might have propelled him into the military?  Knowing about America at war helps you in this evaluation process.

Years ago, during one of my college courses, I received an excellent calendar of the American Wars and Campaigns.  Unfortunately, there was no name
listed of the compiler, so I cannot give credit where credit is due.  It is however an excellent list to have available as you evaluate where to go next in your genealogical research.  Honesty requires that I tell you I added the Gulf War to this list, it happened long after my college experience!

American Wars and Campaigns

1689–1697   King William’s War.  French and Indian attacks on the New England colonies bordering Canada.

1702-1713   Queen Anne’s War.  A dispute between England, France and Spain against the English forces in North America.

1744-1748   King George’s War.  Fighting broke out between the French and British colonists as part of a European conflict called the War of the Austrian Succession.

1754-1763   French and Indian War.  Ended French and British disputes over North American territory.

1775-1783   Revolutionary War, April 19, 1775 to April 11, 1783.

1782-1787   Pennamite-Yankee War.  Fought between the colonists of Connecticut and Pennsylvania for possession of the Wyoming Valley.  This period also included many Indian disturbances.

1790-1794   Warfare with Northwest Indians, Miamis, Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Pottawattamies, Ottawas and Chippewas.

1791-1794   Whiskey Rebellion, Pennsylvania.  A whiskey tax imposed on the farmers of western Pennsylvania who made rye whiskey was the spark that fired the rebellion.

1798-1800   War with France, July 1798 to September 30, 1800.

1799-1808   Fries Insurrection in Pennsylvania 1799, Aaron Burr Conspiracy, 1806; Sabine Expedition, Louisiana, 1806; Navies in Chesapeake Bay, 1807; Embargo at Lake Champlain, New York,  1808.

1811-1813   War with Northwest Indiana, November 1811 to October, 1813.

1812-1815   War of 1812 with Great Britain, July 18, 1812 to February 17, 1815.

1812-1812   Florida or Seminole War, August 15, 1812 to October, 1812.  Peoria Indian War in Illinois, September 19 to October 21, 1813.

1819-1827   Yellowstone Expedition, July 4, 1819 to September 1819;  Bleckfeet, Arickaree Indian Campaign, Upper Missouri River, 1823; Winnebago Expedition, Wisconsin, September 6, 1827.

1813-1814   Creek Indian War in Alabama, July 27, 1813 to August 9, 1814.

1817-1818   Seminole or Florida War, November 20, 1817 to October 31, 1818.

1819-1827   Yellowstone Expedition, July 4, 1819 to September 1819; Blackfeet, Arickaree Indian Campaign, Upper Missouri River, 1823; Winnebago Expedition, Wisconsin, September 6, 1827.

1831-1832   Sac, Fox Indian clashes, Illinois; Black Hawk War, April 26, 1831 to September 21, 1832

1833-1839   Cherokee Removal.

1834-1836   Pawnee Expedition, Indian Territory, June 9, 1834; Toledo War, Ohio and Michigan Boundary dispute, 1835-1836.

1836-1837   Creek Indian disturbances in Alabama. May 5, 1836 to September 30, 1837.

1837-1838   Osage Indian troubles, Missouri; Heatherly Indian troubles in Missouri and Iowa; Mormon problems in Missouri.

1837-1838   Second Seminole War.

1846-1847   Doniphan's Expedition from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Chihuahua, Mexico.

1846-1848   Mexican War, April 24, 1846 to May 30, 1848; New Mexico Expedition June 30, 1846 to February 13, 1848; Cayuse War, Oregon volunteers, 1848.

1849-1861   Navajo Troubles, New Mexico; continuous disturbances with Comanche, Cheyenne, Lipan and Kickapoo Indians in Texas.

1850-1853   Pitt River Expedition, April 28, 1850 to September 13, 1850; Utah Indian disturbance,

1851-1853   Yuma Expedition, California, December 1851 to April 1852.

1851-1856   Indian Wars in Oregon and Washington; Snake Indians, Oregon, May 24 1855 to September 8, 1855; Sioux Indian Expedition, Nebraska Territory, April 1855 to July 27, 1856; Cheyenne and Arapaho troubles, 1855-56.

1855-1858   Seminole or Florida War, December 20, 1855 to May 1858. Kansas border problems,

1857-1895   Western States Indian Uprisings, disputes expeditions and campaigns.

1859           John Brown's Raid, Harper's Ferry, Virginia, November-December, 1859.

1861-1866   Civil War or War between the States, April 19, 1861 to May 1865.

1898-1899   Spanish American War, April 21, 1898 to April 11, 1899. (Actual combat did not cease until August 13, 1899).

1899-1902   Philippine Insurrection, Philippine Islands, February 4, 1899 to July 4, 1902.

1900-1901   Boxer Rebellion, China, May 1900 to May 1901.

1914-1918   World War I

1939-1945   World War II

1950-1953   Korean War

1965-1973   Viet Nam Conflict.

1991           Gulf War

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Olive Tree Genealogy

The Olive Tree Genealogy, created by Lorine in February 1996, is committed to bringing you free genealogy records. The Olive Tree Genealogy site is very large with more than 1,700 pages of free genealogy to help you find your brick-wall ancestors. Search for your family origins and immigrant ancestors! Free searchable databases are at your fingertips. Adding another branch to your family tree has never been easier.

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