Christmas Day - Paid Holiday??

 

Here's a link to Judy G. Russell's latest blog on "The Legal Genealogist" www.legalgenealogist.com where she describes the following law enacted in...where else...Massachusetts in 1659.

 



 

For those who are squinting, here's what it says:

 

For preventing disorders arising in several places within this jurisdiction, by reason of some still observing such festivals as were superstitiously kept in other countries, to the great dishonor of God and offence of others, it is therefore ordered by this Court and the authority thereof, that whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way, upon such accounts as aforesaid, every such person so offending shall pay for every such offence five shillings, as a fine to the country.

 

She includes the following citation:

 

Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, M.D., editor, Records of the Governor and
Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, vol. 4, part 1 (Boston:
William White, public printer, 1854), 366; digital images, Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org : accessed 25 Dec
2013).

 

I highly recommend Judy's blog and would highly suggest that you follow her.  She writes on genealogical issues AND she writes in English...not "lawyer-speak".  As an added bonus, she has a great sense of humor which makes her blogs easy to read in addition to being information and educational.

 



[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300"] Acts and Laws, of His Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England. Boston: printed by Kneeland and Green, 1742. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

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SSDI Locked Down for 3 Years!! YIKES!

Part of the historic budget deal is a clause that is causing a collective shudder throughout the genealogical research community.  Here's a link to a Newsweek article that lays out the details.  Call you Congressman!!  The article points out very clearly that the new regulation will not prevent or curtail fraud.  But rather, it seems the new regulation will allow more fraud.  I'm not a computer programmer, but it seems logical that if the government is worried (or BEGINS to worry) that they're sending billions of dollars in refunds to the dead, that they should be able to electronically cross-reference the Social Security numbers of the claimant with their own SSDI!  Makes sense to me!  What do you think??

You may also like to read this blog from the Legal Genealogist.  You may also consider following her blogs!  She's bright, witty, knowledgeable and has a unique sense of humor...which I, for one, appreciate!!

Was this shot taken in 1936 or yesterday??

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] A scene from the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA)'s early accounting operations in Baltimore circa 1936. The issuing of Social Security numbers and the creation of earnings records on all Americans covered by Social Security was the largest bookkeeping operation in the history of the world. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

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One Family, Two Photos, Eight Generations!

I'll let the article in the Deseret News speak for itself. (You may have to click "Continue reading" to activate the link to the Deseret News.)  It's an amazing story of 8 men (and kids), all are first born and all in the same family. This doesn't happen every day!

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300"] English: This historic printing press, which once printed the Deseret News, is located in the Territorial Statehouse in Fillmore, Utah (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

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