Arab American Public History I’m excited to share a professional milestone: I contributed a chapter to the upcoming book Arab American Public History, edited by Edward E. Curtis IV, which will be published by Temple University Press in February 2026. This important book explores the many ways Arab Americans are shaping, sharing, and protecting our narrativesContinue reading “Kicking Off 2026 with a Chapter in a New Book”
Category Archives: Research
When an Ancestor Isn’t an Ancestor
As I continue researching one of my brick-wall ancestors, I am reminded of why we must carefully correlate and analyze information each time we add someone to our family trees. For many years, I’ve seen family trees attaching a father to my ancestor, William Taylor, that I have confirmed through research is not his parent.Continue reading “When an Ancestor Isn’t an Ancestor”
Snapshots in Time: Finding My Father in a College Yearbook
Several years ago, while attending the Sacramento Archive Crawl, I stopped at a table hosted by archivists from Sacramento City College, the college my father attended when he first immigrated to the United States. After learning more from the archivist, I was excited to hear that the college had school yearbooks. I made plans toContinue reading “Snapshots in Time: Finding My Father in a College Yearbook”
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2025 Challenge
I am starting 2025 with a genealogy challenge – Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge. I tried to meet this challenge in 2021, but many things got in the way, and I did not get very far. This year is the year. I am planning on following the prompts and sharing storiesContinue reading “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2025 Challenge”
Recent Interview in Family Tree Magazine
I was recently interviewed by Sunny Morton of Family Tree Magazine and discussed with her my Palestinian family history research, which inspired the foundation of NSAB, the National Society for Arab & Arab American Genealogy (arabamericangenealogy.com). The article was published in the September/October 2024 issue of Family Tree magazine, and I was happy to shareContinue reading “Recent Interview in Family Tree Magazine”
Using Ottoman Records in Arab and Arab American Genealogy: Nüfus Basic Register Header Translation
Greetings, marhaba and welcome. Continuing with my series on using Ottoman records in Arab and Arab American genealogy research, we take a closer look at the Ottoman registry or census headings. Looking at an example of a basic registry or census heading, we see the topics of interest include biographic and status information. Using theContinue reading “Using Ottoman Records in Arab and Arab American Genealogy: Nüfus Basic Register Header Translation”
Using Ottoman Records in Arab and Arab American Genealogy: Palestine Nüfus Registers on FamilySearch.org – Part I
Greetings and Marhaba. Welcome back to my series on using Ottoman records in Arab and Arab American genealogy research! Using an example of Ottoman records, we will look at FamilySearch.org records for “Nüfūs registers (Ottoman census and population registers of Palestine), 1883-1917.” These records are primarily in Ottoman Turkish, with some in Hebrew. According toContinue reading “Using Ottoman Records in Arab and Arab American Genealogy: Palestine Nüfus Registers on FamilySearch.org – Part I”
Arab and Arab American Genealogy Research Resources
Greetings, marhaba & welcome! Kicking off this year, I have updated my Arab and Arab American genealogy research resource pages. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to work on updating this resource for those of you are working on your Arab or Arab American genealogy research. If you don’t find what you are lookingContinue reading “Arab and Arab American Genealogy Research Resources”
Using Ottoman Records in Arab and Arab American Genealogy: Where to Start
Greetings and Marhaba! Welcome to my series on using Ottoman records in Arab and Arab American genealogy research. Installments will be added disbursed along with my other ongoing series installments and stand-alone blog posts. First, it is important to understand the historical context when researching your family history. In the case of many Arab identifiedContinue reading “Using Ottoman Records in Arab and Arab American Genealogy: Where to Start”
West Sacramento, Yolo County, California
Greetings, marhaba & welcome! While my family and I took a walk on the West Sacramento River Walk, I realized many who do not live in the area would be surprised to know that West Sacramento, California, over the river from Old Sacramento, is located in Yolo County, instead of Sacramento County. To some thisContinue reading “West Sacramento, Yolo County, California”