Oct 7
On the Internet, a search engine is essential. The most well-known and maybe most used is 'Google'. There is even now the saying; 'Just Google it'. To be more effective in your searching for your family history, here are a few tips or ideas to use the search engine more efficiently. Maybe you need to find a specific phrase or saying, first use q...
Jul 27
You have tried and still can't seem to locate a specific ancestor. You have tried the various spellings for the surname and still no luck. It just might be that all documents, records, census papers, certificates, etc. the individual used one or more nicknames rather than their birth proper name. Or there is a combination of nicknames and proper ...
Mar 1
This website, FamilyTree.com can be of real assistance for any level family history researcher. If you are just starting, the basics are explained in clear and easy to follow formats. If you have been working at the research for awhile, there are informational sections to help you move even further. For the long-time and advanced genealogis...
Jan 23
Many things can become endangered or eventually extinct. Many species of animals from the dinosaurs (from over 100 million years ago) to a specific type of lizard today can decrease in numbers so they no longer exist. However, did it occur to you that family surnames could also become extinct? If a family name has approximately less than 200 pe...
Jan 17
Direct lineage on your family tree is just that - you - your parents - your grandparents - great grandparents - great great grandparents, etc. You do not count aunts, uncles, cousins as direct ancestors but rather as extended family line, just as important but just examining direct lines can be sometimes a bit overwhelming. Look at the num...
Jan 13
This can be a fun project to work on a cold day this winter. Even if you do not have your family complete (and who does?), you do a long list of given names and / or surnames to create your own word cloud. Using the Wordle web site, it can be easily achieved. The more names you can add, especially repeating a surname, such as Johnson - say...
Jan 11
Yes, PBS has the New Season of the American Genealogy Roadshow beginning on Tuesday January 13, 2015 at 8:00 pm EST and runs through Tuesday February 24, 2015. This season visits three important cities in the history and development of the United States: New Orleans, Louisiana; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and St. Louis, Missouri; with ordinary pe...
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 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 ...
Nov 12
One important thing to know about your ancestors is their surnames. Knowing a last name, and how it is spelled, can help you to find a vital record. It can also be really interesting to learn what the surname of a particular ancestor actually means. Surnames can give you clues about your family's history. Many Jewish surnames have meanings that...