Blog Content
-
Tips for Planning a Family History Trip
Nov 6
There have been several popular television shows that inspired people to start digging into their own family history. Some of those shows include travel. A celebrity is taken to a location where his or her ancestors lived or worked. Have you ever wanted to do a genealogy trip of your own? Here are some tips to help you make the most of it. G...
-
Old Phone Books
Nov 5
When searching for cousins, great aunts, or grandparents, it can be very helpful to find an address of where they did or presently live. The online site titled 'Old Phone Book' can take you back 20 years to 1994 and allows you to search across the United States for individuals who were listed in a phone book. Keep in mind the family or person you ...
-
Ways to Use Social Media for Family History
Nov 4
Many of us spend time on Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of social media chatting with friends and family. Did you know that you can use social media for family history? Social media is a tool that can be used to connect with a target audience. This means you can use it to connect with your family members in ways that are efficient and fun! F...
-
NC Confederate Pensions
Nov 3
Being able to view pension records for ancestors who served in the military can prove to be very enlightening. Just as important, filled with information, can be widows' pension applications. The North Carolina archives have the Confederate Pension records available online with the '1901 Confederate Pension Applications'. The law was passed in N...
-
Pronounce That !
Nov 1
So many family surnames, it can be headache to keep them all straight. It could be even more difficult to pronounce the name correctly. Using the online site 'Hear Names', you can hear the pronunciation for most surnames and given names. Not only can you hear a name spoken in English, but you even have it said in another language. There are seve...
-
Scary Surnames & Halloween
Oct 31
There have been and still remain some unique surnames and given names throughout our history, and each one tells a great story. Maybe some of the most unparalleled ones are those that can be associated with Halloween. Of course the name may not have started out that way, but through traditions, it relates to something scary with Halloween. Here ...
-
Familypedia
Oct 29
Just like having an encyclopedia on family ancestors, the online site of Familypedia, is a web site with 167,770 online articles about deceased individuals plus another 277,546 genealogy-related pages and growing! People are encouraged to create a new web page for any individual at any time. The best is that any user can also edit each existing ...
-
The History of the Jack-O-Lantern
Oct 28
There are many families who celebrate Halloween with a tradition that has been going on for a long time. They carve pumpkins to use as decoration. When you stop to think about it, it may seem strange to carve up food and put a candle inside it. Have you ever wondered how the tradition of carving pumpkins for Halloween got started? Every year,...
-
Madison Co., Ill – Immigration & Naturalization Documents, 1850-1959
Oct 27
This database is searchable by names of individuals, alias names, spouse or child names, specific years and type of documents for Madison County, Illinois. All together there are 122 volumes. This is an important collection because the full documents cover over the general St. Louis area, right at the Missouri/Illinois state line. The details in...
-
Land Records on Ancestry.com
Oct 25
There might be one of your ancestors that appears in the U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796–1907 database on Ancestry.com. One this fee-based site, there are about 2.2 million land patents (applications for land - homesteading). Most do cover the 19th century (1800s) when the majority of land paid with cash or homesteaded property was acquire...
-
New Biographical Resource from Australia
Oct 23
Any ancestors who lived or were native to Australia, the newest database, 'Biographical Database of Australia', (BDA) may be just what you need. It has half a million names and it is just starting. Some of the early records used come from convict, muster, census, baptism, marriage and burial manuscript records for most of the New South Wales pop...
-
Why You Can’t Find Your Relative’s Records. Four Helpful Tips:
Oct 22
You've spent hours searching through your favorite online genealogy resources. You dug through old copies of family photos and asked relatives to email you with their memories of family stories. Despite this, you still can find records for Aunt Agnes! Why not? The answer to that frustrating question might be found in these four helpful hints: ...
-
Soldiers – Civil War Graves
Oct 21
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) now has created its National Grave Registration Database Project. It is a searchable database available online and is free for everyone to use. Individuals can also submit information on Civil War ancestors. They didn't need to die during the war, so long as a veteran of the Civil War - Union or C...
-
DNA Tests May Reveal the Skeletons in the Family Closet
Oct 20
DNA testing can be a bit of a “Pandora's Box”. Once you open it up, you cannot ever put back the information that you learned about your family tree. A DNA test can unintentionally reveal the skeletons in the family closet. Those that learn about family secrets through DNA testing can experience a shock. Some feel that the news is dropped up...
-
California Court Records
Oct 19
You may not have thought of checking about your ancestors using county court record, but it could prove to be a good resource. Court records can deal with criminal and civil cases and including probate court. A good deal could be learned on relatives and properties of an ancestor this way. A good place to start is the online site 'California Cou...
Search Blog
Search Surnames
More Resources
Genealogy 101
The study of birth, marriage and death records to discover family relatives. more »
Genealogy Dictionary
Definitions for the most common terms and expressions for the field of Genealogy. more »
Genealogy Site Reviews
Reviews of top genealogy and family tree sites, with feature comparisons. more »
