Martin

Soothing Saturday: The Great Snow Showdown Big snowfall overnight, and the neighborhood is out in full force. Snowblowers roar, shovels clash, and snowbanks rise like fortresses. Join me for this week’s Soothing Saturday — The Great Snow Showdown. Soothing Saturday — is my little corner for slowing down and stepping away from my usual genealogy deep dives. Think of it as a gentle exhale at the end of the week — a space for reflections, small joys, and simple stories written just for the pleasure of it.We woke up this morning to silence — that soft, heavy kind that only follows a proper snowfall.

Soothing Saturday: The Great Snow Showdown

Big snowfall overnight, and the neighborhood is out in full force. Snowblowers roar, shovels clash, and snowbanks rise like fortresses. Join me for this week’s Soothing Saturday — The Great Snow Showdown. Soothing Saturday — is my little corner for…

#Genealogy #FamilyHistory #FREE I'm excited to present a live webinar on March 24 hosted by the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center: "Free Genealogical Resources for New York (and Beyond)" - Please mark your calendar, watch for registration soon! acpl.libnet.info/event/15848150

Gentle reminder: it’s okay to not be productive with your research when you’re stressed or overwhelmed. It’s okay to take a break. Closing the laptop is sometimes the most productive research choice. #Genealogy #FamilyHistory

The Black Death in Norway (Svartedauden): population collapse, social change—and how we glimpse it in the sources The Black Death is often described as a single, terrible event. In Norway, it was both an event and the beginning of a long, uneven era of recurring plague. The Black Death reshaped Norway's population, land, and power in profound ways.

The Black Death in Norway (Svartedauden): population collapse, social change—and how we glimpse it in the sources

The Black Death is often described as a single, terrible event. In Norway, it was both an event and the beginning of a long, uneven era of recurring plague. The Black Death reshaped…

Friday Finds – Week 8, 2026 Here are some articles I have read over the last week.

Friday Finds – Week 8, 2026

Here are some articles I have read over the last week.

Norske Gaardnavne (Oluf Rygh): the old master key to Norwegian farm names If you do Norwegian genealogy for any length of time, you’ll meet the same problem again and again: the place is there in the record, but the spelling is… creative. Norske Gaardnavne (Oluf Rygh): the old master key to Norwegian farm names, is an indispensable resource for untangling these tricky place names.

Norske Gaardnavne (Oluf Rygh): the old master key to Norwegian farm names

If you do Norwegian genealogy for any length of time, you’ll meet the same problem again and again: the place is there in the record, but the spelling is… creative. Norske Gaardnavne (Oluf Rygh): the old master key to…

Norwegian Administrative Units Through Time When you research Norwegian ancestors, “where” can change depending on the year. Norway’s local identity is stable, but the official administrative units—both civil and church—shifted over time. Understanding Norwegian administrative units is crucial, as archives and indexes are usually organized by the administrative unit that created the record.

Norwegian Administrative Units Through Time

When you research Norwegian ancestors, “where” can change depending on the year. Norway’s local identity is stable, but the official administrative units—both civil and church—shifted over time. Understanding Norwegian administrative units is crucial, as…

From Name Collector to Careful Researcher: Embracing the Genealogy Do-Over A “genealogy do-over” is precisely what it sounds like: deciding to start your family history research again from the beginning – on purpose – so you can do it better this time.

From Name Collector to Careful Researcher: Embracing the Genealogy Do-Over

A “genealogy do-over” is precisely what it sounds like: deciding to start your family history research again from the beginning – on purpose – so you can do it better this time.

The big Norwegian encyclopedia martinroe.com/blog/the-big...

When Two Oles Share a Birthday Avoiding the wrong ancestor in your family tree can be harder than it looks, even when you feel you have “solid” facts in front of you.

When Two Oles Share a Birthday

Avoiding the wrong ancestor in your family tree can be harder than it looks, even when you feel you have “solid” facts in front of you.

Norwegians in the Boer War: A Small Nation in a Distant Conflict When we think about Norwegian emigrants, our minds usually go to the American prairie, not to the dusty battlefields of South Africa. Yet during the Second Boer War (1899–1902), a small but colorful group of Norwegians found themselves in the conflict – as volunteers, medics and, eventually, prisoners of war.

Norwegians in the Boer War: A Small Nation in a Distant Conflict

When we think about Norwegian emigrants, our minds usually go to the American prairie, not to the dusty battlefields of South Africa. Yet during the Second Boer War (1899–1902), a small but colorful group of Norwegians found…

Soothing Saturday: When the Light Comes Back (And We All Pretend We’re Fine) If you live in Norway, winter teaches you a very specific kind of patience. Not the heroic, mountain-trek patience. More the everyday kind where you put on your jacket, look out the window, and think, “Ah. Darkness again. How original.” Soothing Saturday — is my little corner for slowing down and stepping away from my usual genealogy deep dives. Think of it as a gentle exhale at the end of the week — a space for reflections, small joys, and simple stories written just for the pleasure of it.And yet—every year—something small happens that lifts the whole country’s mood: the days start getting longer.

Soothing Saturday: When the Light Comes Back (And We All Pretend We’re Fine)

If you live in Norway, winter teaches you a very specific kind of patience. Not the heroic, mountain-trek patience. More the everyday kind where you put on your jacket, look out the window, and think, “Ah. Darkness again.…

Norwegian church books: a practical, traditional guide for genealogists If you research Norwegian ancestors, Norwegian church books are where most solid proof begins—and where many good family stories become verifiable history.

Norwegian church books: a practical, traditional guide for genealogists

If you research Norwegian ancestors, Norwegian church books are where most solid proof begins—and where many good family stories become verifiable history.

Forgotten Women Article One of our team, Margaret Roberts, has written a beautiful article about A Few Forgotten Women and the work we do. It features Sarah Wildblood, who Margaret researched for our 1819 Forgotten Women Fri...

A Few Forgotten Women article by Margaret Roberts in this month's Really Useful Bulletin www.fewforgottenwomen.com/post/forgott... Do check it out #WomensHistory #FamilyHistory #Genealogy

24 Jan 2026 When a birthdate is blank #genealogy

Free Online United States City Directories

An excellent source of #genealogy info is Historical City Directories. They provide substantial info between censuses, such as addresses, occupations, spouse's name, etc.

For the country, there are 27,870 Free City Directory Collections

buff.ly/vVGxIYr

YouTube video by From Paper To People Podcast & Ancestors Alive! Using ChatGPT to make a table of data from a handwritten document from 1842!

Tonight's #genealogy - using ChatGPT on old documents
youtube.com/watch?v=9u0Y...

Old Photograph Railway Station Dalnaspidal Scotland

Old Tour #Scotland #Ancestry Travel Visit #Genealogy #Scottish Family #History Blog #photography of a steam train in the railway station in Dalnaspidal in the Highlands. This intermediate station was opened in 1865 tour-scotland-photographs.blogspot.com/2015/05/old-...

Your 4-Day Genealogy Outlook
#winterstorm #GenealogyForecast

Friday Finds — Week 4, 2026 Here are five reads I’ve bookmarked this week, chosen to be both useful and thought-provoking.

Friday Finds — Week 4, 2026

Here are five reads I’ve bookmarked this week, chosen to be both useful and thought-provoking.

The Dear Paul column is looking for two kinds of hidden gems this year: newspaper stories and parish register curiosities. Did your ancestor make the headlines for something unusual. Plus what did you discover hidden in those parish registers. If you’ve uncovered a story, I’d love to hear from you.

21 Jan 2026 Not everything is on Google Maps. Sometimes you need a satellite view. #genealogy

Digitalarkivet Search Guide: Which Search Should You Use? Digitalarkivet is wonderful… but also capable of making a sensible person stare at the screen as if it personally offended them.

Digitalarkivet Search Guide: Which Search Should You Use?

Digitalarkivet is wonderful… but also capable of making a sensible person stare at the screen as if it personally offended them.

Soothing Saturday: The Blog You See… and the Blog Gremlins You Don’t Soothing Saturday is usually where I slow things down a bit—coffee in hand, shoulders unclenched, and a gentle reminder that not every problem needs solving today.

Soothing Saturday: The Blog You See… and the Blog Gremlins You Don’t

Soothing Saturday is usually where I slow things down a bit—coffee in hand, shoulders unclenched, and a gentle reminder that not every problem needs solving today.

Introduction to the Digitalarkivet If you do family history in Norway, Digitalarkivet for Norwegian genealogy is one of the best places to start. It’s Arkivverket’s (the National Archives of Norway) public publishing platform for digitised and transcribed archive material, and it’s free to use. What is Digitalarkivet? Think of Digitalarkivet as two things in one: Searchable databases (transcriptions) where you can search names, places, dates, and roles.

Introduction to the Digitalarkivet

If you do family history in Norway, Digitalarkivet for Norwegian genealogy is one of the best places to start. It’s Arkivverket’s (the National Archives of Norway) public publishing platform for digitised and transcribed archive material, and it’s free to use.…

Old boathouses #Norway ##photography #black/white

Mothers and Daughters — Immigrant Secrets It’s been ten years since the passing of my sweet mother-in-law, Nancy Sowers Mutter. Nancy was a truly kind soul. Even the rising dementia in her later years -- “Did you talk to my mother today?” (He...

#genealogy - www.searchformygrandparents.com/home/mothers...

Hello. I am not sure what you mean 😀

The SRS is a scholarly publishing society, taking transcriptions of Scottish manuscript records and publishing them to disseminate them around the world. Each year a new volume comes out, with copies sent to members. Why not join us?
www.scottishrecordsociety.org.uk/membership/

Genealogy for beginners: start the right way Genealogy for beginners can feel overwhelming: names, dates, places, websites, family stories, old letters, photographs. Before you know it, everything is in a heap on your desk or scattered across folders on your computer.

Genealogy for beginners: start the right way

Genealogy for beginners can feel overwhelming: names, dates, places, websites, family stories, old letters, photographs. Before you know it, everything is in a heap on your desk or scattered across folders on your computer.