Hello PA friends!

I visited a law library this week to double-check details of the law for my upcoming book on Pennsylvania Vital Records. The laws will be in the book, so you'll know exactly what our ancestors were supposed to be doing. You'll discover in your research if they followed the rules, or not!

🥨 The Newest Discoveries

If you haven’t caught the latest Your Pennsylvania Ancestors episode, it is all about fraktur. You might be able to make use of fraktur in your research for your early German ancestors. What is fraktur, anyway?

The word fraktur usually refers to a type of German script. In Pennsylvania, fraktur also refers to a type of folk art produced between 1740 and 1850 by German immigrants. It marked life events such as taufschein (birth and baptism), marriage, and graduation from school.

Fraktur provides evidence of family relationships which genealogists are always searching for, particularly in early Pennsylvania. It was used by Revolutionary War soldiers and War of 1812 soldiers as proof of their wives and children, and so was found in pension applications submitted to the federal government.

​Read more about fraktur​

👉 Links Worth Clicking

Along with Family History Month, it’s also American Archives Month. Do you have any good events happening at archives near you - either in-person or virtually?

​Mercer Museum is doing a program on early Buck County records. I'll be there (virtually)! Maybe I'll see you there!

Check out the events for Archives Month Philly. Some events are in-person, some virtual, and some hybrid.

​Ancestry DNA updated their ethnicity groups and regions back in August. Your profile updates automatically, so be sure to log-in and see what's new. (Also a reminder to take a screen of yours when you log-in to track the changes.)

🍬 Just for the Inner Circle

There were no questions submitted this past week for the Research Q & A, but a wonderful discussion was had on our research. This week's Research Q & A is on Wednesday so members can attend the Mercer Museum event on Bucks County records. You'll find a new way to register for all upcoming events. Hopefully simpler!

You'll find your exclusive member's benefit a guide to digital fraktur collections in the members website. Next week I'll start releasing the first parts of the new course: Research Pennsylvania County Records with Confidence. This course is included free with your membership!

Waitlist for the next opening of the Inner Circle is available.​

Follow me at any of these place for daily updates

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