Dec 17
Maybe you have searched the numerous categories of genealogical resources listed on Cyndi's List. But if you have not in the last six months, you are long overdue. The list of categories and topics keeps expanding and being updated. A link that was active 2 years ago could have been changed or even shut down. The addition of new links is the most i...
Dec 13
Did it ever occur to you that families could have a surname associated with Christmas traditions? Some you wouldn't be as surprised by like, 'Claus' has in the USA over 1,300 or 'Santa', has 370 individuals. The name 'Christmas' has 1,499 people with that surname, which is quite a few. The most with the Christmas surname, based on the Crestleaf dat...
Dec 11
Many methods to store one's digital photos and using a couple different ways is the preferred and safest avenue. You have the scanned and digital photos on your computer. Also have them on a disc and / or thumb / flash drive. Use the 'Cloud' method as an alternative method also. One of the recommended 'cloud' storage services is with Amazo...
Dec 7
An ancestor having a nickname can prove to be a handicap during your research. A nickname is a substituted for the proper name of a person. It is often considered desirable, symbolizing a form of acceptance, but can sometimes be a form of ridicule. Some nicknames are given by the parents, grandparents or later by school friends. That nickname could...
Dec 3
Be careful now to produce mistakes in your family history research or in turn to place mistakes (unknowingly) into your family database. A major problem is when you locate a whole family tree lineage online and accept / copy every person with every date because some it matches what you know about your family line. Too many times, just about all ...
Dec 1
Think you searched every official document -- well there just might be some other records you didn't think to try. First, your ancestor may have owned a dog and the hometown they lived in required a dog license. On that official form could be information (address and names) you didn't know about. Another overlooked resource are other census reco...
Nov 29
The online shopping site of Amazon just might have some items to add to your family information and artifacts. If you had a relative who served in a specific US military branch and you know the unit and / or regiment he served in, you might find something related to it. Putting in the Amazon search 'military units' showed over 53,000 items. For exa...
Nov 27
Newest item available for research are the California State Library digitized collection of about 10,000 old sepia-toned 3-D photos, those done during the mid to late 1800s. These are stereoscopic photos viewed through hand-held viewers that turned the side-by-side double photos into a single 3-D image, a most unusual feature for 1890s. Not all 10...
Nov 26
To get an idea of what your ancestors might have had for their Thanksgiving meal go to the local newspapers. Using Chronicling America (free), Newspapers.com and NewspaperArchives (both with a free trial and fee based) and plugging in a specific year or range of years and locations can producing some interesting information. Use some key words...
Nov 23
The territory of Oklahoma was where many of the country's Native American Indians were resettled. Some did come on their own and others were forced. Mixed in were former African-American slaves who intermarried with the the Indians, plus European settlers looking for land they could homestead. The Oklahoma University Western History Collections ha...