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American Folklore in South Dakota Aug 10, 2026

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South Dakota joined the Union on November 2, 1889, the same day as North Dakota. South Dakota is traditionally listed as the fortieth state, but no one knows which Dakota was admitted first. President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the two statehood documents before signing them so neither state could claim it had entered the Union ahead of the other.

Native peoples lived, hunted, farmed, and traveled across the region long before European explorers arrived. The Arikara, Mandan, Crow, Cheyenne, Omaha, Ponca, Dakota, Nakota, Lakota, and other nations were connected to different parts of the land at various times. The history was far more complex than one tribe simply replacing another.

The first written record of European explorers reaching present-day South Dakota comes from 1743. French explorers Francois and Louis-Joseph de La Verendrye buried a lead plate near present-day Fort Pierre and claimed the region for France. The land later passed to Spain, returned to France, and became part of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

Today, South Dakota is known for Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, the historic town of Deadwood, and the prairie country described in several of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books. The state's forests, ravines, outlaw hideouts, mining towns, and Victorian buildings have also inspired plenty of strange stories.

Here are some of South Dakota's best-known legends.

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What Funeral Home Records Can Tell You About Your Ancestors Aug 08, 2026

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When an ancestor dies, most genealogists know the usual records to search.

There's the death certificate, obituary, cemetery record, gravestone, probate file, and perhaps a church burial record.

But there's another source that can be just as useful and is often overlooked.

The funeral home.

Funeral homes kept records for practical reasons. They needed to know who had died, where the person lived, where the funeral would be held, where the person would be buried, and who was responsible for the arrangements.

For genealogists, that paperwork can contain valuable family information.

What Might Be in a Funeral Home Record?

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American Folklore in Pennsylvania Aug 07, 2026

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Pennsylvania's history reaches far beyond the founding of the United States. Long before Europeans arrived, the region was home to the Lenape, Susquehannock, Erie, and other Native peoples. Rivers such as the Delaware, Susquehanna, and Allegheny served as travel routes, hunting grounds, fishing areas, and centers of trade.

Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, and English settlers later established communities in portions of the region. In 1681, King Charles II granted the land to William Penn, who planned a colony where Quakers and members of other religious groups could live with greater freedom. The colony eventually attracted German-speaking settlers, Mennonites, Amish families, Scots-Irish immigrants, Welsh Quakers, and people from many other backgrounds.

Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the United States Constitution on December 12, 1787. Its cities, farms, forests, mountains, mines, lakes, and battlefields have since produced an enormous collection of legends.

Some Pennsylvania folklore grew from the dangers people faced. Sailors feared sudden storms on Lake Erie. Families remembered soldiers who never returned from war. Old burial grounds inspired stories about spirits guarding the dead. In other cases, a frightening tale was repeated so often that separating history from fiction became difficult.

Here are several of Pennsylvania's best-known legends.

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American Folklore in South Carolina Aug 05, 2026

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South Carolina is one of the original thirteen states, but its history began long before the first European settlers arrived. Native peoples had lived throughout the region for countless generations, building communities along its rivers, forests, coastal marshes, and barrier islands.

The name Carolina comes from Carolus, the Latin form of Charles. The land was named in honor of England's King Charles I. South Carolina later ratified the United States Constitution on May 23, 1788, becoming the eighth state to join the new nation.

Many Native American nations lived in what's now South Carolina. These included the Catawba, Cherokee, Pee Dee, Waccamaw, Santee, Edisto, Kiawah, Yamasee, and several other groups. The Catawba lived primarily in the Piedmont region, while other communities made their homes along the coast and major rivers.

European explorers began visiting the coastline during the 1500s. A Spanish expedition attempted to establish the colony of San Miguel de Gualdape in 1526, although historians still debate its exact location. The colony failed within a few months because of disease, hunger, internal conflict, and resistance from the people who'd been enslaved there.

The French established Charlesfort on present-day Parris Island in 1562, but the small settlement lasted only about a year. Spain later established Santa Elena at the same location in 1566. Santa Elena became the capital of Spanish Florida before it was abandoned in 1587.

The first lasting English settlement in South Carolina was Charles Towne, founded in 1670. It was later moved to the area where Charleston stands today.

With Native American, European, African, and Caribbean traditions meeting in the same region, South Carolina developed a rich collection of legends and ghost stories. Some began with real people and historical events. Others came from spiritual beliefs, unexplained sightings, family stories, and warnings passed from one generation to the next.

Here are some of South Carolina's most memorable legends...

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10 "Must-Do" Genealogy Projects for August Aug 03, 2026

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August can be a funny month. Summer is still here, but it is beginning to wind down. The children and grandchildren are getting ready to return to school, vacations are coming to an end, and some of the hottest afternoons are still ahead of us.

That makes August a good month to work on family history.

Some genealogy projects are perfect for a quiet afternoon indoors. Others give us a reason to visit relatives, take a short trip, or spend time sharing family stories with younger generations.

You do not need to finish everything on this list. Choose one or two projects that fit where you are in your research. A few hours spent on a part of your family history that has been neglected can make a real difference.

You can also listen to the Ancestral Findings Podcast while you organize photographs, sort records, or work on your family tree...

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American Folklore in Rhode Island Jul 31, 2026

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Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the country, but it has never been short on independence or unusual stories. One of the original thirteen colonies, Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the United States Constitution. It finally approved the document on May 29, 1790, becoming the thirteenth state to join the new Union.

Rhode Island had already developed a reputation for going its own way. Colonial officials sometimes called it "Rogue Island," partly because smuggling was widespread in its busy ports and its merchants frequently resisted British trade restrictions. The colony was also known for religious liberty and for offering a home to people whose beliefs were unwelcome elsewhere.

Until recently, the state's official name was the "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." Rhode Island voters chose to keep that name during a 2010 referendum. Ten years later, however, voters approved removing "and Providence Plantations." Since 2020, the official name has simply been the "State of Rhode Island."

Roger Williams established Providence in 1636 after being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of his religious views. He reached an agreement with Narragansett leaders Canonicus and Miantonomi for the land where Providence was founded. The agreement was later recorded in a deed dated 1638.

Long before European settlement, the region was home to Native peoples, including the Narragansett, Niantic, and Wampanoag. Their communities, traditions, and conflicts with European settlers all became part of Rhode Island's history.

With colonial settlements, rocky shorelines, old cemeteries, and centuries-old homes, Rhode Island has collected a surprising amount of folklore. Some stories grew from documented events, while others have been passed down as local legends. Here are several of the best-known examples...

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Does the Same Last Name Mean You Are Related? | Genealogy MythBusters Jul 29, 2026

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Finding someone with your family's last name can be exciting. Maybe the name appears in an old census, a cemetery record, an online family tree, or even a DNA match list. The spelling is exactly right, the family lived in the same general area, and suddenly a new branch of your tree seems to be taking shape.

It is easy to think, "We have the same surname, so we must be related."

Sometimes that turns out to be true. A shared surname can be a valuable clue, especially when it is unusual and appears in the same place over several generations.

But a surname alone does not prove a family connection.

Different families often adopted the same last name independently. Related people may also appear under completely different surnames or spellings. To know whether two people truly belong to the same family, you must look beyond the name and follow the records...

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American Folklore in Tennessee Jul 27, 2026

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Admitted to the Union in 1796 as the 16th state, Tennessee has been inhabited by humans for at least 12,000 years, according to current archaeological evidence. The names of the tribes of Native Americans who inhabited the area before the first known Europeans arrived are not known, though the area has gone through several named cultural phases, such as the Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian. Hernando de Soto led the first known European expedition into what is now Tennessee in 1540, under the flag of Spain. The Muscogee and Yuchi tribes were living in Tennessee at that time, and are the first known named tribes of that area. Later, as European diseases and incursion on their territory drove these tribes out of the area, the Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Cherokee tribes moved in, with the Cherokee being the last to come to Tennessee in 1838.

The first permanent European settlement in Tennessee was built by the British in 1756. It was the westernmost British outpost to that date. European settlers gradually moved to the area in larger numbers, with most of them being of English, Scottish, and Irish descent.

Tennessee has a long and storied history with humans and plenty of folklore of its own. Here are some of the highlights of this wonderful folklore...

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American Folklore in Utah Jul 25, 2026

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In this addition, we are traveling through Utah, where one mysterious gravestone has puzzled visitors for decades, stolen pieces of a Jurassic forest return home with letters of apology, a grave robber disappears from an island in the Great Salt Lake, and a brilliant blue mountain lake is said to conceal something enormous beneath its surface.

Some parts of these stories are documented history. Others are legends that grew as they passed from one storyteller to the next. That distinction matters, but it does not make the folklore any less fascinating. In fact, the place where the records end and the legends begin is often where the most interesting questions are waiting.

Before we explore those stories, it helps to understand the remarkably deep history of Utah itself...

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American Folklore in Vermont Jul 19, 2026

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Today, we travel through Vermont in search of a family curse, a legendary lake creature, the ghost stories surrounding a terrible railroad disaster, and a group of mineral springs that seemed to resist every attempt to turn them into a business.

Some parts of these stories are supported by historical records. Others belong entirely to folklore. Together, they reveal how real people, places, and tragedies can become legends passed down for generations.

Long before Vermont had its present name or boundaries, Indigenous people lived throughout the region. Archaeological evidence shows that people were living in the Champlain Valley thousands of years ago. Over time, small seasonal camps developed into more permanent communities along the lakes and rivers.

The Western Abenaki were among the Native peoples whose homeland included what is now Vermont. Lake Champlain provided food, transportation, and spiritual meaning, while rivers such as the Winooski and Missisquoi connected communities throughout the region.

In 1609, Samuel de Champlain became the first European known to have set foot in what would become Vermont. Contrary to a frequently repeated claim, there is no reliable evidence that Jacques Cartier visited Vermont in 1535.

The French built Fort Sainte Anne on Isle La Motte in 1666, creating Vermont's first European settlement. France eventually lost control of the region to Great Britain in 1763. Vermont then declared itself an independent republic in 1777 before joining the United States on March 4, 1791, as the fourteenth state.

That long and complicated history created the perfect setting for stories in which fact and folklore are rarely far apart...

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