Breathing new life into old photos since 2012.

Tag: Archive.org

Command Line Genealogy: Filtering City Directories from Archive.org

The 1848 Philadelphia City Directory, filtered on the Linux command line to show all entries that include the word 'Montgomery'.

The 1848 Philadelphia City Directory, filtered to show all entries that include the word ‘Montgomery’.

Fear not! It’s easier than you think!

☞ Background: I want a concise list of everyone who lived on Montgomery Avenue in Philadelphia in 1848.

I have a cemetery return for a baby girl named Mary Pickersgill, who died in 1848 and was buried in the now-defunct Mutual of Kensington Cemetery, in the then-newly consolidated city of Philadelphia. I suspect she is a lost sister of my great-great-great-grandfather, who was born William Harrison Pickersgill in February of 1846. The parents of these children, especially their father, is mysterious.  Continue reading

52 Ancestors, No. 21: Clyde C. Kitch, the Man Who Gave All

Clyde C Kitch

Today is Memorial Day, a time to honor the fallen soldiers of the United States military. I must say that I’ve been fortunate not to have too many military veterans who never returned from duty. There have been a few, but they are generally distant in my family tree. My paternal grandfather, I believe, had a cousin who died in combat, as did my maternal grandmother, I believe. These are lines that I have not yet fully investigated, and they will receive their due consideration in time. Today I’m honoring a man even more distant in my family tree, but one for whom I happen to have a photograph to show you. The photograph comes courtesy of Archive.org’s scan of Bloomsburg State Teacher’s College’s 1935 yearbook. The man is Clyde C. Kitch.  Continue reading