Holidays with Your Family
With Christmas fast approaching, families near and far are preparing to gather together to participate in holiday festivities. It is the perfect time for you to gather genealogical information and...
View ArticleVisiting Cemeteries
Cemeteries are not only a rich source of genealogical information, but they can also offer us an intimate connection with our ancestors. Tombstones often provide dates, birth places, maiden names,...
View ArticlePhotographing Gravestones
Last week, we gave tips on visiting cemeteries. We reminded you to take lots of pictures during your visit. This week we offer tips on how to take great gravestone pictures. While some genealogists...
View ArticleDeciphering Old Handwriting
Reading old documents can be a great challenge for genealogists. Overtime, language conventions and handwriting styles have significantly changed. Time and patience are required when trying to...
View ArticleDiscovering Your Female Ancestors
If you are trying to trace your female ancestors, chances are you’ve hit some road blocks and difficulties locating them in documented records. Before the 20th century, law and tradition focused record...
View ArticleSearching Through Old Newspapers
You may be thinking that your ancestor wasn’t famous or “important” enough to get their name mentioned in the press. However, you might be surprised at what you can find about your ancestor in print....
View ArticleClues in Historic Maps
Historic maps can offer you a wide variety of clues and new leads to investigate. A great genealogical tool, maps help us to locate our ancestors and follow their path as they moved. Maps let you...
View ArticleA Look at DNA in Genealogy
Although DNA testing has been around for a while, only recently have genealogists started using DNA to help trace the origins of their ancestors. While DNA testing cannot give you specific information...
View ArticleResearching African American Genealogy
February is Black History Month in the U.S., where we celebrate and remember the past and present achievements of African-Americans. If you are researching your African-American heritage, finding...
View ArticleMaking a Tombstone Rubbing
Making tombstone rubbings is an easy and fun activity to preserve the headstones of your ancestors. Before embarking on your adventure to the cemetery, make sure to first get permission from the proper...
View ArticleGenetic Ancestry: Intro to Personal DNA Tests
Our DNA holds the answers to a lot of questions. Ancestry is one of them. When we have our genome analyzed, we can compare our data to the community aggregate as well as known-relations. DNA testing...
View ArticleGenetic Ancestry: Viewing Your Results
So, now that you’ve ordered your kit, taken your test, and received your results, how do you put them to good use in your genealogy research? Well, it depends on which company you decided to do your...
View ArticleFinding Church Records
Although church records may not have been kept with genealogy in mind, these records can provide genealogists with vital information to help fill the gaps in their research. Even if your ancestor was...
View ArticleLooking Through Land Records
The purchase and sale of land is one of the most well documented sources you may find in your genealogy research. In the U.S., the sale of public land can be traced back to the beginnings of westward...
View ArticleCleaning Up Documents Digitally
Documentation is extremely important to genealogy. Sadly, the documents we find are often in pretty bad shape. First thing we need to do is get them scanned. Once we have a digital copy of the original...
View ArticleCourt Records in Genealogy
While court records may be a little more difficult to research, they may yield some unique information you may not find anywhere else. Before you jump into these documents, you will first need to have...
View ArticleGenetic Ancestry: Sharing Your Results
With the latest version of their product, 23andMe tests over one million SNPs all over your genome. That’s a million points of data about what makes you who you are from a biological standpoint. That’s...
View ArticleThe Social Security Death Index and Genealogy
The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is a wonderful resource to locate the genealogical information of your ancestors. This enormous database holds records for over 77 million people. In 1935, the...
View ArticleFinding Your Irish Ancestors
Due to Ireland’s tumultuous history, many vital historical records have been destroyed. Although researching your Irish heritage may prove to be very difficult, take heart in that it’s not as hopeless...
View ArticleAmerican Civil War Records and Genealogy
If you have ancestors who fought in the American Civil War (1861-1865), finding their military records may provide you with valuable genealogical information. Let’s take a look at how military records...
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