Genealogy Research Tips and Tricks Archives

Confusing Military Terms from the American Revolution and Civil War Period Explained

As you dive deeper into your family history you will likely run across terminology that you have not seen before or that you may not fully understand. Even those of us who have made history a profession will sometimes run across terms that are no longer used or that have a specific application that’s unfamiliar. This guide explores confusing military terms from the Civil War and the American Revolution to help you with your genealogy research.

How to Find a Cause of Death When You Don’t Have a Death Certificate for Your Ancestor

Genealogy research often has a domino effect. Locating one new piece of information can open new paths to explore and can knock down brick walls you have been pounding on for years. In this article I will discuss how a person’s date of death and/or last known location can help you reveal the cause when you don’t have a death certificate.

Why You Should Stop Your Research and Reexamine Every Single Genealogy Record You Have

If you have been working on your family history for years and have never gone back over all of the documents you have accumulated, you are probably stalling your research progress. But, it’s never too late to blow off all the dust, open that squeaky file cabinet drawer and make sure you are getting all you can out of your records.

How to Use Your Existing DNA Test to Get a Low-Cost Genetic Health Report

Here at Family History Daily we’ve covered DNA testing for genealogy research pretty extensively, but we’ve always focused on ancestry reports, not health reports. This is because we’ve always felt that the genetic “health” information provided today, which is still very much in its infancy, could be taken out of context and possibly cause distress and confusion to some users. In fact, some data offered by certain websites seems designed to mislead.

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.

A Gravesite Can Reveal Remarkable Details About Your Ancestor, IF You Can Find It

Have you taken the time to find the gravesite of each of your ancestors? If you haven’t, you could could be missing a key part of your genealogy puzzle. Although we may spend years trying to find records that were created throughout our ancestors’ lives, it is sometimes the information about their deaths that can be the most revealing.

How to Easily Move Your Family Tree From (or To) Ancestry, MyHeritage or FindMyPast

Although this information may seem simple, it is not always obvious to beginners how this process works. Kimberly Tucker has taken the time to go over how to download your tree from the big three subscription sites – Ancestry, MyHeritage and FindMyPast – and has also provided links to some additional instructions for other programs.

Why You Should Start Using Pinterest for Genealogy Right Now (and How to Do It)

If you’re one of the 175 million people around the world who use Pinterest every month, you probably already know that there’s a lot to love. Maybe you think of Pinterest as a great place to collect clever home decor ideas or as the best spot to peruse beautiful images of tasty food (who doesn’t?) – but did you know that Pinterest is so much more than that? It may be the free genealogy tool you’ve been missing.

Serious About Genealogy? Here are 10 Books to Read This Year

While there are plenty of other good options that could be added to this list, I consider the following selection of books must-reads for any serious researcher, professional genealogist, or anyone who wants to become a professional genealogist (with one exception because all learning must be fun). In fact, they are a must for anyone who wants to improve their research. These books will certainly take you more than a year to work through, but the effort will be well worth it.