Help and How-To

How to Save Money on DNA Testing: Get the Best Deal and Take Advantage of Free Reports

DNA testing for genealogy is more common than ever, but it’s also expensive. Although we’ve seen prices drop quite a bit in recent years the cost is still too much for many to justify. If you’ve been holding off on testing your own DNA, or on expanding your testing to relatives whose information may help your research, the information in this article will help you overcome this cost-hurdle.

How to Locate Any Offline Genealogy Record in 1 Minute

Unlike many of the resources we cover here on Family History Daily, such as these free US state genealogy resources, ArchiveGrid does not provide direct access to records online. Instead, it is a catalog of catalogs.

Can You Read the Text on This Old Genealogy Record? If So, Your Help is Needed

FamilySearch.org, which holds the largest collection of free family history data in the world, is currently recruiting genealogy enthusiasts for its online World Indexing Event 2017. And they want you. For 72 hours between Oct 20 and 22 thousands of family historians will gather together online to see how many records they can accurately index …

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250,000 Rode America’s Orphan Trains: Were Your Ancestors Among Them?

Thank you to Barbara Lockard for this article.  From The Robinson Argus, February 17, 1886, Robinson, Illinois:  A company of children, mostly boys, aged from seven to fifteen years from the New York Juvenile Asylum, will arrive in Robinson at the Robinson House, Thursday morning, March 4, 1886. Homes are wanted for them with families where …

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This May Be the Most Important Genealogy Research Trick You’ll Ever Learn

The first thing most family history researchers do when they encounter a genealogy website is to begin searching for their ancestors in the general (main) search form provided by the site – which is often located on the homepage or in another easily accessible area. All large genealogy research sites center around these main search forms which are designed, generally, to look for records in all searchable collections at one time.

General search forms that dig through millions, or even billions, of records are certainly handy. If you have never used a site before – or have not searched for a specific ancestor – these forms can be a great way to gather the low hanging family history fruit, so to speak. They provide a fast way to turn up easy-to-find records with little effort. But, despite this obvious convenience, they may often be stifling your efforts.