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Archiver > APG > 2008-08 > 1219615335


From: "Elissa Scalise Powell, CG" <>
Subject: Re: [APG] 1850s Weather
Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:02:15 -0400
References: <E8A407E8542F9744A59AD8DDC605458F10EB90CF60@ex01.myfamily.int>
In-Reply-To: <E8A407E8542F9744A59AD8DDC605458F10EB90CF60@ex01.myfamily.int>


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chad Milliner
> Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2008 5:41 PM
>
> Weather records have obvious value in adding details to barebones
genealogical facts --
> what was the weather like at the place where your great-grandparents
married on 12 Nov
> 1882? Was it a cold day when the baby was buried on 2 Oct 1876? Did the
immigrants get
> rained on when they arrived at Ellis Island? Could it have been too foggy
for them to have
> seen the Statue of Liberty? Etc.

I love to see this type of real information get into our family histories. I
will add that the "Marine Intelligence" columns for NYC and other ports will
relate the conditions of the voyage of ships either as reported when they
arrive or when a passing ship arrives at that port. Icebergs, heavy storms,
no wind were all things of note.

For those who want to see an example of incorporating newspaper accounts of
weather into a family story, John Colletta's _Only a Few Bones_ makes
interesting reading -- and is a murder mystery too!

-- Elissa

Elissa Scalise Powell, CG
www.PowellGenealogy.com
CG and Certified Genealogist are Service Marks of the Board for
Certification of Genealogists used under license after periodic evaluations
by the Board.

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