Atlanta Genealogy

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Atlanta Genealogy Larry W.

Thomas of AtlantaGenealogy.com is a professional genealogist and nationally recognized speaker, providing research and educational programs for genealogical societies and private clients nationwide.

Posted 21 October 202621 OCTOBER 1797: USS CONSTITUTION LAUNCHEDOn this day in 1797, "Old Ironsides" was launched in Bos...
10/21/2026

Posted 21 October 2026
21 OCTOBER 1797: USS CONSTITUTION LAUNCHED
On this day in 1797, "Old Ironsides" was launched in Boston Harbor. She remains a commissioned U.S. Navy ship today.
Tracing a sailor? Ship logs, muster rolls, and crew lists may document service when Army-style records do not. Larry's presentation, "Correlation Strategies for Complex Genealogical Problems," explores how correlating records across branches of service can help build a clearer picture.
Research, heirship, and speaking engagements: www.AtlantaGenealogy.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onthisday

Posted 21 October 2026LAST CHANCE TOMORROW: TxSGS IN-PERSON REGISTRATION ENDS OCTOBER 22Larry W. Thomas presents "Correl...
10/21/2026

Posted 21 October 2026
LAST CHANCE TOMORROW: TxSGS IN-PERSON REGISTRATION ENDS OCTOBER 22
Larry W. Thomas presents "Correlation Strategies for Complex Genealogical Problems."
Saturday, November 7, 11:30 AM–12:30 PM Central, Riley Center, Fort Worth, Texas, livestreamed and recorded.
Register by tomorrow, October 22: www.txsgs.org/2026-conference-registration-2/

Posted 21 October 202621 OCTOBER 1805: TRAFALGAROn 21 October 1805, British forces under Admiral Nelson defeated the com...
10/21/2026

Posted 21 October 2026

21 OCTOBER 1805: TRAFALGAR

On 21 October 1805, British forces under Admiral Nelson defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets off Cape Trafalgar. Nelson died in the battle.

An ancestor’s paper trail may cross an ocean. British naval muster rolls, pay books, and pension records at The National Archives, Kew, may document a sailor who never appears in American records.

Larry’s presentation “America at 250: Patriots, Loyalists, and Revolutionary Families” explores how records cross borders and jurisdictions.

Research, heirship, and speaking engagements: www.AtlantaGenealogy.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onthisday

Posted 20 October 20262 DAYS LEFT: TxSGS IN-PERSON REGISTRATIONLarry W. Thomas presents "Correlation Strategies for Comp...
10/20/2026

Posted 20 October 2026
2 DAYS LEFT: TxSGS IN-PERSON REGISTRATION
Larry W. Thomas presents "Correlation Strategies for Complex Genealogical Problems."
Saturday, November 7, 11:30 AM–12:30 PM Central, Riley Center, Fort Worth, Texas, livestreamed and recorded.
In-person registration closes October 22: www.txsgs.org/2026-conference-registration-2/

Posted 20 October 202618 OCTOBER 1779: THE SIEGE OF SAVANNAH IS ABANDONEDOn this day in 1779, American and French forces...
10/20/2026

Posted 20 October 2026
18 OCTOBER 1779: THE SIEGE OF SAVANNAH IS ABANDONED
On this day in 1779, American and French forces lifted the siege of Savannah after a failed assault; Georgia remained under British control for nearly three more years.
Georgia's Revolution was long, messy, and full of divided loyalties. Patriot, Loyalist, and refugee records all survive in the same records. Larry's presentation "America at 250: Patriots, Loyalists, and Revolutionary Families."
Research, heirship, and speaking engagements: www.AtlantaGenealogy.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onthisday (link in bio on Instagram).

Posted 20 October 202620 OCTOBER 1803: THE SENATE RATIFIES THE LOUISIANA PURCHASEThe territory changed hands twice in th...
10/20/2026

Posted 20 October 2026

20 OCTOBER 1803: THE SENATE RATIFIES THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE

The territory changed hands twice in three years, but families stayed put. Spanish and French colonial records and New Orleans notarial archives may hold what American records do not.

Sometimes your ancestor did not move. The jurisdiction did.

Research, heirship, and speaking engagements: www.AtlantaGenealogy.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onthisday (link in bio on Instagram).

Posted 19 October 202619 OCTOBER 1781: YORKTOWN SURRENDERSOn 19 October 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis surrend...
10/19/2026

Posted 19 October 2026
19 OCTOBER 1781: YORKTOWN SURRENDERS

On 19 October 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown to George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau. The French fleet under Admiral de Grasse blocked escape by sea, while French troops made up roughly half the allied force.

That French alliance is a part of the story family historians often overlook. Thousands of French soldiers and sailors served in North America, and their service may be documented in records held in France: muster rolls, troop registers, naval records, hospital records, and notarial records. Meanwhile, a Continental soldier’s U.S. pension or bounty land file may name Yorktown as an engagement.

Two archives, one event. Larry W. Thomas’s presentations explore Revolutionary War research, military records and pension files, and “America at 250.”

Research, heirship, and speaking engagements: www.AtlantaGenealogy.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onthisday (link in bio on Instagram).

Posted 19 October 202619 OCTOBER 1781: BRITISH FORCES SURRENDER AT YORKTOWNCornwallis surrendered to combined American a...
10/19/2026

Posted 19 October 2026
19 OCTOBER 1781: BRITISH FORCES SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN
Cornwallis surrendered to combined American and French forces as de Grasse's fleet sealed the Chesapeake.
The genealogy twist: decades later, pension and bounty-land files became the records that preserved each soldier's story. That is the heart of my presentation on Revolutionary War pension records.
Research, heirship, and speaking engagements: www.AtlantaGenealogy.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onthisday

Posted 19 October 202618 OCTOBER 1775: PHILLIS WHEATLEY IS FREEDOn this day in 1775, Phillis Wheatley, the first publish...
10/19/2026

Posted 19 October 2026

18 OCTOBER 1775: PHILLIS WHEATLEY IS FREED

On this day in 1775, Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American woman poet, was granted her freedom.

Free Black ancestors left a different paper trail. Manumission papers, registers, and church records can carry the story. Larry's presentation "Tracing the Past: Overcoming Genealogical Roadblocks for African American and White Families."

Research, heirship, and speaking engagements: www.AtlantaGenealogy.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onthisday (link in bio on Instagram).

Posted 18 October 202618 OCTOBER 1898: U.S. FLAG RAISED OVER PUERTO RICOOn 18 October 1898, U.S. troops raised the Ameri...
10/18/2026

Posted 18 October 2026
18 OCTOBER 1898: U.S. FLAG RAISED OVER PUERTO RICO

On 18 October 1898, U.S. troops raised the American flag over Puerto Rico, ending Spanish rule on the island. Spain formally ceded Puerto Rico to the United States in December under the Treaty of Paris.

For family historians, a change in sovereignty can mean a change in the paper trail. Earlier research may lead to Catholic parish registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials, along with Spanish civil registers. After 1898, new U.S.-style civil, census, and federal record series began over time. Migration to the U.S. mainland can offer another trail of records connecting a family’s story across locations.

Many early registers were lost or damaged. Land records, notarial records, and other surviving sources may help fill the gaps. A boundary change is not a dead end: it is a reminder to search across record systems and correlate the evidence.

Larry W. Thomas’s presentations explore record loss and substitute sources, changing jurisdictions and boundaries, and Spanish colonial and Southeastern research.

Research, heirship, and speaking engagements: www.AtlantaGenealogy.com?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onthisday (link in bio on Instagram).

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