As family history researchers we often get caught up exploring the people in our family tree and we forget to take into consideration the impact locations had on these people’s lives. But, often, location research can reveal as much or more about an ancestor as the vital records you’ve likely already collected.
Back before the days of welfare, food stamps, and long-term disability insurance, people who were unable to support themselves financially sometimes had to live in these places. This article will explain what poor houses and poor farms were and how to find your ancestors who may have lived there.
Have you been wondering what you should buy for the family historian on your list this year? We’ve gathered some of the most secretly wished-for genealogy gifts – plus some surprises your roots researcher may not even know she or he wants.
These days, millions of people have family trees online, with facts and sources gathered from the many online databases that are available. But, be aware, some of these sources could just disappear. No warning, just gone – because online record collections are not guaranteed to stay online, or publicly accessible, forever.
Photo scanning apps do a surprisingly good job of preserving old photos and records on the go. See how these three free options helped us reveal long hidden details in an old family photo.
Often, when we first begin our research, we really don’t know what we’re doing and make a lot of mistakes. We forget to verify connections between generations, we don’t always add sources, we copy from other people’s trees… And then, somewhere down the line, we aren’t exactly sure what’s fact and what’s fiction anymore. Here are 3 signs it’s time to start over.
Cousinship, or the relationship two cousins have to one another, is one of the most confusing concepts in genealogy and genetic genealogy. Today, we want to share with you some very simple tricks for calculating these relationships without the aid of a chart.
From basic vital statistics to your ancestors’ occupations – have you gathered these 10 important facts for every individual in your family tree?
In mid 2017 we announced that genealogy subscription site MyHeritage would begin providing free ethnicity reports and cousin matches to anyone who uploaded their DNA. But good things can’t last forever, and MyHeritage is ending the offer Dec 1st.
As more and more people choose to test their DNA in an attempt to better understand their family’s past, a lot of questions are popping up about what a genetic test can and can not tell you about your ancestry. In this article we’ll go over some things you will learn by testing yourself, or your family members, and some things you won’t be able to uncover unless you combine your results with traditional genealogy research.