Family History Daily

How to Look Up Military Records About Your Ancestors

Wondering how to look up military records for an ancestor that served in a U.S. conflict? These important records can contain unique insights into your family’s life, and even fill in the gaps when you are missing information in your tree. This quick guide will help you make sense of locating these one-of-a-kind collections online.

Are You Making the Direct-Line Mistake in Your Family Tree?

One of the most common research mistakes that family historians make when building their tree (especially for the first time) is also one of the most limiting and potentially detrimental. We like to call it the Direct-Line Mistake, and its affect on your research is pretty huge.

The Hugely Valuable Records Many Family Historians Forget About

Most genealogists use federal census records on a regular basis. Few resources are, after all, as packed full of information and as easy to access as a census. And, while we all know that the details found in a census can often be incorrect, this helpful record collection has become a family history staple for good reason. No other resource recorded details about our ancestor’s lives in such a frequent and predictable way and, often times, the federal census may seem to be the only method we have to explore our ancestors’ lives between birth, marriage and death. However, a recent comment by a Family History Daily reader reminded us that there is another related resource group that many people researching US ancestors are either unaware of, or regularly underuse. And it’s a very valuable one.

13 Reasons You Can’t Find the Genealogy Information You’re Looking For

Searching for and locating records about our ancestors is seldom a simple process. Of course, we all have those easy to find individuals that seem to appear in every single record at just the right time — but many of us spend most of our time searching for those elusive members of our tree that appear to have avoided being recorded on purpose.

If you’ve hit a brick wall in your research, check our list of 13 common reasons why people fail to find the genealogy data they’re looking for. These are not the only reasons a person might hit a brick wall or miss information (some circumstances, like adoption, provide even greater challenges) but in the vast majority of cases one or more of these observations apply. If you feel that something on the list describes your research take the time to address it and you might find that you tear down your family history obstacle once and for all.

Here’s How to Find Tens of Thousands of Family History Books for Free

One of the most exciting things about doing family history research is moving beyond names and dates to begin exploring the stories of our ancestors’ lives. There are many ways to do this. Records like pension applications, wills and obituaries can provide details that allow us a special glimpse into the important events and personal relationships of our forebearers.

But there is one type of genealogy resource that often stands above the rest when it comes to providing unique insights. And this same resource also happens to be a wonderful place to locate names and dates, land ownership information, occupations and much more.