The Genealogy Biography Writer

This Interactive Map Shows Which Indigenous Lands You Live On The nonprofit behind the tool wants people to learn the history of the spaces they inhabit Jacquelyne GermainUpdated: November 1, 2023 | Originally Published: October 13, 2022 A screenshot of Nativ…

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In honor of Election Day, please tell us about a woman -- either famous or someone you know personally -- who you are grateful for fighting for women’s rights in the past or present.

You can honor her memory by voting today. To find your polling place, visit https://bit.ly/2eMpAaE

To teach children about the women who struggled and sacrificed so much for women's right to vote, you can find books and films about leading suffragists in our blog post, “How Women Won the Vote: Teaching Kids About the U.S. Suffrage Movement” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11827

You can also find books for children and teens that celebrate women's contributions to politics today and in the past in our blog post, “Remember the Ladies: A Tribute to Women in Politics” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11162

The dark day in Florida's history escalated after one Black citizen tried to exercise his right to vote at a polling location but was turned away on Election Day.

Mose Norman, who had been part of the voter registration drive in Orange County, decided to vote in the national election on November 2. When he attempted to do so, twice, he was turned away from the polls.
When Norman was driven away the second time, a white mob, then numbering over 100 men, decided to hunt him down. Concluding he had taken refuge in the home of another local Black resident, Julius “July” Perry, they rushed Perry’s home hoping to capture both men there. Norman escaped and was never found while Perry defended his home, killing two white men, Elmer McDaniels and Leo Borgard, who tried to enter through the back door. The mob called for reinforcements from Orlando and surrounding Orange County. Eventually they caught and killed Perry and hung his dead body from a telephone post by the highway from Ocoee to Orlando to intimidate other potential Black voters. Perry’s wife, Estelle Perry, and their daughter were wounded during the attack on the Perry home. They were sent to Tampa by local law enforcement officers.
The mob then turned on the Black community of Ocoee.
Homes and properties of Black families were scorched, burnt to the ground. At least four Black individuals were confirmed killed -- one of which was lynched, his body hanging from a tree limb for all to see.

On June 21, 2019, a historical marker honoring July Perry and others killed in the massacre was placed in Heritage Square outside the Orange County Regional History Center.
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🚂🌄 Step back in time with us in our Jan 2023 IGS Live, where Kaye Ford illuminated the trails of early migration to Indiana before the railroad era. https://i.mtr.cool/cdlmftfmby

https://www.facebook.com/share/uzN3MJmvvdbDG4LJ/

Elizabeth Francis, Texan and oldest living person in U.S., has died at 115 Texas resident Elizabeth Francis, the oldest living person in the U.S., has died at age 115.

Half of all U.S. states, 25 to be exact, carry Native American names. Today we will be taking a look at the 25 states and the meanings of their names. They will be listed in alphabetical order.
1. Alabama: Named after the Alabama, or Alibamu tribe, a Muskogean-speaking tribe. Sources are split between the meanings 'clearers of the thicket' or 'herb gatherers'.
2. Alaska: Named after the Aleut word "alaxsxaq", which means "the mainland"
3. Arizona: Named after the O'odham word "alĭ ṣonak", meaning "small spring"
4. Connecticut: Named after the Mohican word "quonehtacut", meaning "place of long tidal river"
5. Hawaii: Is an original word in the Hawaiian language meaning "homeland"
6. Illinois: Named after the Illinois word "illiniwek", meaning "men"
7. Iowa: Named after the Ioway tribe, whose name means "gray snow"
8. Kansas: Named after the Kansa tribe, whose name means "south wind people"
9. Kentucky: Origins are unclear, it may have been named after the Iroquoian word "Kentake", meaning "on the meadow"
10. Massachusetts: Named after the Algonquin word "Massadchu-es-et," meaning "great-hill-small-place,”
11. Michigan: From the Chippewa word "Michigama", meaning "large lake"
12. Minnesota: Named after the Dakota Indian word “Minisota” meaning “white water.”
13. Mississippi: Named after the river which was named by the Choctaw, meaning “Great water” or “Father of Waters.”
14. Missouri: Named after the Missouri tribe whose name means "those who have dugout canoes

Heman Bekele's research focuses on developing a soap that can help treat and prevent skin cancer:

Soap: Bekele's soap uses nanoparticles to deliver imidazoquinolines, which can reactivate dendritic cells and enhance the immune response against melanoma. The active ingredients remain on the skin after washing, allowing for sustained therapeutic effects. Bekele believes the soap can be used to treat early-stage cancers and as a complement to existing treatments in advanced stages.

Accessibility: Bekele hopes the soap will be a more accessible way to deliver medication to treat skin cancers. He envisions a future where the soap is affordable, costing around $0.50 per bar.

Nonprofit: Bekele hopes to start a nonprofit to distribute the soap in the future.

Bekele's research has been recognized by the 3M Young Scientist's Challenge and Time magazine, which named him their 2024 Kid of the Year.

Introducing our Kid of the Year, Heman Bekele: The fifteen-year-old invented a soap that could one day treat, and even prevent, some skin cancers https://ti.me/3Asbszu

Did you know the world’s most popular snack, the potato chip, was born out of frustration? The tale begins in 1853 in Saratoga Springs, New York, at the Moon's Lake House, where George Crum, a brilliant chef of African American and Native American descent, was making a name for himself with his culinary skills.

One fateful day, a particularly picky customer complained that Crum's fried potatoes were too thick and soggy. Determined to teach this guest a lesson, Crum sliced the potatoes paper-thin, fried them to a crisp, and heavily salted them. To his surprise, the customer loved them, and soon, everyone wanted a taste of Crum's "Saratoga Chips."

What many don't know is that George Crum never patented his creation, nor did he make a fortune from it. Instead, the potato chip became a local sensation, spreading beyond New York, and evolving into the snack we know today. Despite this, Crum continued to work at Moon's Lake House, eventually opening his own restaurant, where the rich and famous would come to enjoy his chips.

Crum's contribution to culinary history is a reminder that even our small acts can have a lasting impact. The next time you crunch into a potato chip, remember the ingenious chef who turned a complaint into an iconic creation that’s still loved worldwide, over 170 years later. George Crum’s legacy lives on in every bite.

𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝗺 (𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲),𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 1853

𝗔 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗕𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛
The most learned woman of the 17th century was undoubtedly Anna van Schurman, a polymath who spent her life arguing that women should receive an education as long as it did not interfere with their domestic duties. Other scholars called her the 'Star of Utrecht', the 'Dutch Minerva', the 'Tenth Muse', 'a miracle of the gentler sex', the 'Incomparable Virgin', the 'Oracle of Utrecht' and the 'Jewel of Learned Women', all of which sounds pretty outstanding for a time when the vast majority of women were thought to be intellectually inferior to men.

But then she was different, a prodigy whose brain could not be contained.

A Dutch Calvinist, she was born in Cologne in 1607. Her family was wealthy, pious, educated, well-connected and modern, as her father broke the conventions of the time by teaching her along with his sons.

He may have had no choice, for Anna was so curious and clever that she could read by the age of three. By the age of eleven she had read Seneca in Latin and was fluent in German, English, Italian, Spanish and French, as well as being proficient in mathematics, astronomy and geography.

She was also artistic, creating intricate lace-like paper cut-outs at the age of six, detailed embroidery at ten, and a wax self-portrait at eleven so lifelike that her friend pricked one of the jewels to see if it was real. During this period she also taught herself calligraphy and glass engraving, all of which merged into a passion for wood engraving that she later developed by studying with the daughter of a renowned engraver and publisher. Her work was so good that she became an honorary member of the Painter's Guild.

The family settled in Utrecht when she was nineteen, following the death of her father. Her neighbour was a professor of theology and Eastern languages at the city's main university, and he was soon taken with her linguistic and intellectual abilities. He introduced her to two other professors, who in turn introduced her to the city's poets and philosophers.

Her living room became a meeting place where intellectuals discussed all sorts of issues. Some fell in love and proposed to her, writing poems to convince her, but she could afford to be celibate and chose to remain independent.

She would have liked to further her academic interests by studying at university, but women were excluded on the basis of three fundamental beliefs: that they lacked the natural ability to study, that it was unseemly for a Christian woman to do so, and that it would be a waste of time as women could not hold public office.
So when she was asked to write a Latin poem in honour of the University of Utrecht, she decided to use the opportunity to complain about the exclusion of women. The university authorities listened and allowed her to attend lectures behind a curtain so as not to distract the male students.

She became the first Dutch woman to enter such a prestigious institution and used it to gain a law degree, while also learning Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, Arabic, Syriac, Samaritan Hebrew, Persian and Ethiopian, which enabled her to read the ancient texts in the original language, including the Bible and the commentaries of the Fathers of the Church.

Emboldened, she wrote a dissertation in Latin arguing for the education of women. It was printed and distributed throughout Europe, and soon she was receiving letters from all the learned women of her time as well as from important cultural figures such as René Descartes, Marin Mersenne and Constantin Huygens.
Towards the end of her life, she became involved with a contemplative religious sect founded by the Jesuit Jean de Labadie. Labadism was a mystical offshoot of Catholicism that preached the importance of communal property, an austere lifestyle and daily communal Bible study, which allowed her to pursue her theosophical interests. Crucially, Labadie also believed in the equality of all believers, including women, who were allowed to hold leadership positions within the movement and were encouraged to participate in all religious activities.

Her intellectual peers were shocked and opposed her, but she stood by her new faith and eventually renounced the Reformed Church through a public pamphlet arguing for another reformation. She gave up all her possessions and became co-leader of the group. They eventually founded a Labadist community on the outskirts of Amsterdam, where she continued to correspond with a variety of people on theosophical subjects until her death.
Through her radical ideas and linguistic skills, she successfully challenged the prescribed roles of women in 17th century Europe and planted the seeds for our equality, access and inclusion.

Self-portrait, 1633, Museum Martena, Netherlands

Simonnetta Gatto

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"Elizabeth Francis celebrated her 115th birthday in Houston with her family. Francis was born in 1909 in Saint Mary Parish, Louisiana. She lives with her daughter who is 94 years old."

Oldest person in US celebrates her birthday The oldest person in the United States just got another year older. She celebrated her birthday on Thursday.

🌟🇺🇸 Honor Your Civil War Ancestors! 🎖️ If you're an Indiana Genealogical Society member and a descendant of an Indiana Civil War Union soldier or resident, you can join the Society of Civil War Families of Indiana (SCWFI). Visit www.indgensoc.org for more info. 📜🔍

This Day In History July 20 1969 - First Moon Landing, Apollo 11
On this day in 1969, the Eagle lunar landing module, carrying U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin, landed on the Moon, and several hours later Armstrong became the first person to set foot on its surface.