Finding details on the everyday lives of our ancestors is always a bonus to genealogy research. Hopefully they had more happy times than tragedies, but if tales have been passed down about bad times, the website GenDisasters.com might prove worth a visit.

With the tagline “Events That Touched Our Ancestors’ Lives,” the website is further described as “a genealogy site, compiling information on the historic disasters, events, and tragic accidents our ancestors endured, as well as, information about their life and death.” It features articles (some with photos) from disasters in the U. S. and Canada dating as far back as 1755, when an earthquake shook Nutfield, New Hampshire. The articles themselves often mention individuals living in the areas where disasters struck. The sources of the articles are also noted.

Besides earthquakes, categories include: accidents, air disasters, animal accidents, auto accidents, boating accidents, building collapses, drownings, explosions, fires, floods, horse and buggy accidents, hurricanes, mining explosions and accidents, panics, ship disasters, storms and lightning, tornadoes and train wrecks and accidents, among others.

Many of the articles are posted by website users who must create an account (free) to participate.  Members are also able to post comments to articles, and utilize the site’s message board. The site is also freely searchable for all visitors.

GenDisasters.com is also RSS enabled for anyone who wants to stay up-to-date with items posted there, and provides several RSS reader options ranging from Google and Yahoo to Bloglines and Newsgator.