Category Archives: Genealogy

Just Shelved: Regiments and Other Interesting People

The Scott County Genealogy Society has added several new items to the Special Collections Center this month.  We’ve been trying to acquire at least one history of each Iowa Volunteer Regiment, and these three books are welcome additions to our … Continue reading

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The 1940s Census is here! And it works!

Ancestry Library has finished uploading all of the 1940 Census images to its database.  They are now working on indexing—at this posting, Delaware was finished and everything else is pending. Meanwhile, you can find your relatives by browsing the right Enumeration … Continue reading

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Coffee & Census!

Six Days until the complete 1940 Census is released! Why are we so excited about this? Because we’ve waited 72 years for the personal data—or ten since the 1930 Census—and the anticipation has been terrible. Because this Census includes 1935 … Continue reading

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Real Midwives of Scott County: Celia Horst

Every once in a while we notice things that have been right in front of us (that hmm moment). Then curiosity takes over and the research begins! I recently had one of those moments. While looking through local birth records I … Continue reading

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The 1940 Census — a two-for-one!

 One of the questions asked on the 1940 Federal Census was the location of the person in April of 1935.    A decade is a long time and people didn’t always stay put—and some moved more than once.  The Census Bureau wanted to … Continue reading

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Uncovering the past: African-American Genealogy

Are you having trouble researching your African-Americans ancestors before the 1870’s?   Here are some tips for tracing hard-to- find ancestors back to the Civil War and earlier: The first suggestion is to locate your family in the 1870 Census. … Continue reading

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Say (and spell) What?: Tricky research words

Genealogy words can be tricky—ahnentafels, anyone?—and words that look or sound alike don’t help much. In order to facilitate communications and understanding—and humor, of course—we’ve collected a few of the most frequent mix-ups we’ve encountered, with definitions and examples: ____________ … Continue reading

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Auld Lang Syne . . .

2011 has been a good year around here. We’ve received many new resources from family histories to land records, Shakers to Palatines.  We’ve even added a few new databases to our arsenal. We’ve had great programs, like our Specifically for … Continue reading

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Patience, No — Time, Yes!

The two things a genealogist can’t do without are patience and research time.  True patience comes from within, but we can offer you some extra time! Starting next Sunday, October 2nd,  the Main Street location of the Davenport Public Library … Continue reading

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Truth in Advertising: The Last Giraffe

    The Ringing Brothers Circus, with or without Barnum & Bailey, has been a Davenport tradition for more than a century. These famous brothers were the sons of August Ringling, a harness maker born in Hanover, and his wife Salome, … Continue reading

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