Have you ever had the occasion to visit a cemetery and noticed headstones that had coins left on them?  Here are some interesting reasons for the ‘tokens’ being left behind.

The Ferryman

By far the most popular…

Confusion over the term "family crest" probably arose from an understandable abbreviation of the terminology in heraldry for an important part of a coat of arms. One of the most respected sources for heraldry information is Fairbairn's Book of Crests of the Families of Great…

In our genealogy classes, we often investigate the origin of the surname.  In one case, this led to an interesting historical fact about the phrase “The Real McCoy.”

McCoy: “A common surname of Scottish origin in…

Except for brief periods during and after times of war, passports were not required of U.S. citizens traveling outside of the country until 1941. Many Americans, however, obtained one for their own security. Passports were and still are issued by the Department of the State, and…

There are 12 months in a year, 12 inches in a foot, 12 signs of the Zodiac, and most multiplication tables go up to 12; and so one more of any of these would make 13. The modern day fear of 13 is based on Norse mythology: 12 gods were dining at Valhalla (where gods go when they…

Deadlines were common forms of crowd control in military prisons of the Civil War era, especially open stockade type prisons. What constituted the deadline varied widely from prison to prison. At many prisons, such as Andersonville, Camp Lawton, Camp Douglas, and Florence, the…

I have a copy of a long will for those of you are interested. I cannot post - too lengthy.