Tag: Margaret Ryan

Some Notes on the New FamilySearch AI All-Text Search Tool

August 1, 2025

In my posting here two days ago, I noted that this past April, the quarterly newsletter of the Tuscaloosa County Alabama Genealogical Society published an article I had written discussing the new FamilySearch all-text search tool. The article was entitled “A.I. & Genealogical Research: FamilySearch Full Text” and was published in Roots and Branches 50,2 … More Some Notes on the New FamilySearch AI All-Text Search Tool

A Woman’s Lot: Three Generations of Maternal Forebears

March 11, 2025

Or, Subtitled: “A Woman’s Lot“ The collage above, which shows the three generations of female ancestors prior to me, happened to be on my Ancestry page when I opened it on International Women’s Day (8 March). Ancestry had prepared this collage from photos in my tree, and, though I doubt that Ancestry did this to … More A Woman’s Lot: Three Generations of Maternal Forebears

New Information re: the Family of Mary Brooks (d. 1787) of Frederick County, Virginia – & New Wrinkle

October 13, 2024

“The Last Will and Testament of James Brooks Deceas’d was … Ordered to be for further proof” There’s a Murphy’s law in genealogical research that I’ve found proven true over and over – at least in my own research. Maybe your research hasn’t yet encountered this law. I hope that’s the case.

Family Stories and Surprising Ways New Documentation Can Confirm Them: The Story of Robert Allen Sumrall and Margaret and Catherine Ryan

August 6, 2024

Or, Subtitled: “May her soul rest in peis.” This posting tells a story. It tells a story about a story, one told to me in my formative years. It also tells a story about how sudden genealogical surprises can either confirm or disprove our long-cherished family traditions. So that we do well to keep ourselves … More Family Stories and Surprising Ways New Documentation Can Confirm Them: The Story of Robert Allen Sumrall and Margaret and Catherine Ryan

Bridget Tobin Ryan (1818-1873) of Co. Kilkenny, Ireland: Records Possibly Pointing to Her Family Members

April 16, 2021

Or, Subtitled: In the Absence of Records Necessary to Prove Genealogical Connections, One Goes A-Fishing In a previous posting, I explained my reasons for concluding that my ancestor Bridget Tobin, who was born in 1818 in County Kilkenny, Ireland, and who married Valentine Ryan, son of John Ryan and Margaret Oates, in Kilmacow parish on … More Bridget Tobin Ryan (1818-1873) of Co. Kilkenny, Ireland: Records Possibly Pointing to Her Family Members

Family of Valentine Ryan and Bridget Tobin of County Kilkenny, Ireland, and Grant County, Arkansas: New Information (3)

April 8, 2021

Or, Subtitled: Interesting Connections Between 19th-Centutry Ryans, Costellos (and Tobins and Walshes) in Buckstown (Killahy Civil Parish, Inchacarran Townland), County Kilkenny, Ireland In my previous posting, I shared how I have used early 19th-century Catholic parish records (which are often sparse) of baptisms, marriages, and deaths to tease out some new clues regarding possible relatives … More Family of Valentine Ryan and Bridget Tobin of County Kilkenny, Ireland, and Grant County, Arkansas: New Information (3)