Family Story Finder
The sweep of family history across the generations
Arson! The Paechter family store is targeted
In 1898, Paechter’s Kaufhaus in Tiegenhof came under repeated anti-Semitic arson attacks.
In the Signal Corps in New Guinea
Stan strung transmission wires in the South Pacific during World War II.
Motives for mercy—the consuls of Toulouse
In July 1940, consular officials from three nations conspired to open an escape route for Jews out of occupied France. Why did they do it?
Sidney Kessler and American Spirits
Walter Ruby's boss in the liquor business became an influential figure in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
The corkscrew on eBay—sourcing family artifacts
Out of the files of the U.S. Patent Office and into the peculiar subculture of corkscrew collectors
The family secret behind grandfather's desk calendar
A surprising artifact discovered after a parent's death leads to a series of discoveries and a new pastime in genealogy
The physics experiment that went wrong
How and why did Stan Ruby's important post-graduate research go wrong, and what impact did it have on his career in physics?
Wild goose chase—an accident in Jersey City
A newspaper clipping placed Walter Ruby on the scene of an automobile wreck in Hudson County, N.J. Not every lead pans out.