This month’s Fortitude post is a little different. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I love exploring history—especially the moments where a family ancestor crossed paths with it. Sharing those stories has always been a passion of mine. As a grandfather of five, I also enjoy passing these stories down to theContinue reading “Bringing Family History to Life for Kids”
Tag Archives: Family History Research
Beneath the Symbols: Meanings Behind Colonial-Era Gravestones
Before I jump into this month’s post, I’d like to take a moment to celebrate a little milestone. This month—November 2025—marks four years since I launched The Fortitude Blog! I’m deeply grateful to my readers and subscribers who have been along for the ride and shared in the stories and history we’ve explored together over these past fourContinue reading “Beneath the Symbols: Meanings Behind Colonial-Era Gravestones”
The Enduring Mark: Exploring Ancestral Signatures
Throughout human history, few things have remained as personal and powerful as the signature. Whether written with ink, stamped with a seal, or typed with digital encryption, a signature stands as a testament to identity and agreement. But where did the idea of signing your name come from and how did it evolve? In thisContinue reading “The Enduring Mark: Exploring Ancestral Signatures”
The Arrival Debate
This is the immigration story of my 9th great-grandfather, Edward Spalding (1601-1669), the progenitor of the Massachusetts branch of the Spalding/Spaulding family, and the first to bring the surname from England to the New World.1 Arrival Theories Historical and genealogical research is exhilarating, challenging, and yes at times, frustrating. New evidence is discovered each year,Continue reading “The Arrival Debate”
Are You Related to a U.S. President?
A cousin of mine recently asked if our family was related to any U.S. Presidents. Great question – right? In this month’s Fortitude post, I share what I discovered when diving deeper into that question and how you can unearth your family connections to former presidents. The 2024 population of United States is over 337 million.1 AccordingContinue reading “Are You Related to a U.S. President?”
Exponential Multiplication in Genealogy
This month’s Fortitude post is all about ancestral mathematics. Now you’re excited, aren’t you? Let’s take a look backward and forward in time at the sheer volume of our ancestors and descendants in terms of exponential growth. Exponential growth is a mathematical process that increases quantity over time – but at an ever-increasing rate. Exponential growthContinue reading “Exponential Multiplication in Genealogy”
Crafting a Family History Narrative
As 2024 was approaching, I spent some time thinking of an appropriate topic to begin the new year. If you are a follower of my blog, you know I have a passion for discovering and preserving family history. So, I thought a post on how to craft a family history narrative would be a greatContinue reading “Crafting a Family History Narrative”
The History of Names
Have your ever wondered about the story behind your given (or first) name? Perhaps you were named after an ancestor, or someone that your mother and father admired or respected. Have you ever considered when your given name originated? Were you named after a biblical character from long ago? In today’s post, I’ll first exploreContinue reading “The History of Names”
Questions I Wished I’d Asked My Father
Each year, we celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June. Father’s Day was first acknowledged on June 19, 1910. Sonora Louise (Smart) Dodd (1882-1978) is credited as the founder of Father’s Day. Sonora held her father, Civil War Veteran, William Jackson Smart, in high regard. One Sunday at church in Spokane, Washington, Sonora heard aContinue reading “Questions I Wished I’d Asked My Father”
The Small World Phenomena
I’ve been watching the fascinating, albeit slow moving, The Curse of Oak Island on the History Channel. This reality television series chronicles a team of treasure hunters and their search for legendary treasure on Oak Island, on the coastal area of Nova Scotia, Canada. In one of the episodes, a theory was presented that treasure was buried on Oak IslandContinue reading “The Small World Phenomena”
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