This is almost a coffee-table book, which is interesting, since it actually mentions what was probably the first “coffee-table” book, although I’m not sure people even had what we consider coffee tables in 1861. The subtitle is Early American Photography, and while this book does discuss photography – a bit of the history, a little Read More
Tag: Ancestry
How the Scots Made America, by Michael Fry
While this is not a comprehensive survey of American history, it definitely covers quite a bit of it. And all of it in relation to Scots, or the descendants of Scots, who came to America. The author makes the point that the unique Scottish personality helped make Americans and America who and what we are Read More
Encountering Ellis Island, by Ronald H Bayor
This slim book is part of the “How Things Worked” series, and is subtitled “How European Immigrants Entered America”. However, the author describes not only Ellis Island and its predecessor Castle Garden, but also compares Angel Island, the West Coast entry point for many Asian immigrants. When I first started working on my family tree, Read More
Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson
This fictional story of a teenage slave girl is set during the British occupation of New York in the American Revolution. When their mistress dies, Isabel and her younger sister Ruth are sold to a Loyalist couple, and end up in New York City, not long before the invasion of British troops. Isabel’s urge to Read More
Fourteenth Colony, by Mike Bunn
The subtitle of this book is “The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South During America’s Revolutionary Era”. We have all heard about the original thirteen colonies of the northeast and eastern coast, but we forget that West Florida was occupied by the British at this point in time, as well. While residents of this colony Read More
Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather
After the Treaty of Guadalupe ended the Mexican-American War, the area that would become the state of New Mexico became part of the United States. It had been part of Mexico, and before that, part of New Spain. Which means that there had been Catholic missions to the area for many years. However, after Mexico Read More
1812 The War that Forged a Nation, by Walter R. Borneman
We’ve all heard of the war of 1812, but outside of the fact that the capital was burned by the British, we probably don’t know very much about it. This book discusses the issues that led up to the War, the political implications and realities, and also describes the strategy and outcome of the battles. Read More
About Geneature
Why am I calling my blog “Geneature”? I plan to combine two of my favorite things – books and genealogy (I couldn’t figure out how to work in chocolate!). When you do genealogy, you learn some things about your ancestors. You learn where and when they were born, got married, lived, and died. But the Read More