As original as a child’s first name might seem, it often offers clues into a family’s near and, sometimes, very distant past. Given names link generations of family through repetition and can be a powerful tool to push our research to greater depths. To shed an even brighter light on this research opportunity we must understand the influences behind naming traditions.
Abbreviations are frequently found in genealogical research, but they can be incredibly confusing. This guide will help you make sense of them, with definitions for more than 300 commonly found selections.
We’ve just created a fun, quick quiz to help you test your family history knowledge in our newly updated Course Center! How many of the questions can you answer correctly?
This special checklist contains nearly every major record type that could hold detailed information about your ancestors. Use it as a reference to help you discover more about their lives and overcome stubborn brick walls.
It’s every family historian’s dream to devote all of our waking hours to genealogy. Unfortunately, many of us don’t have the luxury of unlimited time – work, family, school, and other obligations often leave little room for hobbies. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pursue our goals with gusto. Here’s a plan to help.
Do you have boxes upon boxes and albums upon albums of old photos sitting somewhere at home? Whether they are prominently placed on a living room shelf, or tucked away and collecting dust in storage, it’s time to get those treasures digitized. And we’re here to make it easy.
Every family has one great champion, and mine was Minnie Doyle. Had it not been for her story my family history might still be a mystery. Yet, Minnie was not my great-grandmother…she was my great-aunt.
Genealogy is a lot of things. It’s fun. It’s addictive. It’s time-consuming, engaging, and irresistible. It exercises your sleuthing skills, introduces you to new people and places, and occasionally gives you the satisfaction of really hard work paying off. But it can also lead you astray if you don’t keep your goals in mind.
Having a hard time finding an ancestor, or two, or three? Some individuals can be nearly impossible to locate, but there are strategies that will make your job easier. Expert Bridget Sunderlin shares her ten favorites.
When you are new to family history research, it’s easy to imagine that every ancestor will fit neatly into a perfect family group: married father and mother – and their children. It doesn’t take long to discover, however, that our ancestors’ lives were as complicated as ours are today.