If you’re among the 49% of Americans who have never listened to a podcast, there’s never been a better time to start – especially if you love learning about family history research. In this article we’ve gathered together a list of eight incredible genealogy podcasts we love.
You don’t have to have murderers or famous outlaws in your family tree to make use of criminal records in your research. If you have ancestors who lived in England in the last three and a half centuries you do not want to miss the vast (and free) collections of The Old Bailey Online and its sister site the Digital Panopticon.
Ever had an expert look at your tree? Professional genealogists often run family trees through a set of standard diagnostic tests and tweaks to improve them. We have created a list of the most important ones so you can apply them yourself. Use this list to examine your own genealogy research and see where you can make big improvements.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see what’s really on all those old family photo negatives or slides you’ve been carefully collecting and storing? If so, you might be ready to try out a negative scanner app (also known as a film scanner app). These free apps are designed to quickly scan old black and white and color film negatives and positive slides and turn them into digital photos.
Collaborating with others is one of the most cherished aspects of genealogy. While it’s entirely possible to make great progress conducting your family history research completely on your own, working and sharing with like-minded folks can be both helpful and a whole lot of fun.
Surnames are a critical piece of our genealogical research, and learning where a surname originated — geographically and etymologically — can not only enhance our research but add another chapter to our family history stories.
Everything you need to build the ultimate genealogy research travel kit for $25 or less. Whether you plan on traveling to an archive or a cemetery you’ll want to bring along these items every time.
Considering a vacation? Worried that you might miss a genealogy research opportunity if you leave your computer? Well, why not incorporate genealogy into your trip? Before the days of online genealogy research, family historians traveled everywhere in search of their ancestors, and you can too!
Genealogy is our personal history, a deep dive into the events, decisions, and twists of fate that brought a family to its current place in time. But studying history in a broader sense provides fascinating context to our research. Political and economic change, war, and technology advances influenced our ancestors to leave their homes, start families, change careers, and even change their names.
Can you trace your ancestors back to Colonial America? If so, you may find that searching for your family during this time period is more challenging than you expected. But there is hope of discovering new insights – you just need to know where, and how, to look.