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 ...
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 ...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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: ...
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...
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...
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...
Oct 18
Oh yes - family home movies - whether they are 8 mm, Super 8, 16 mm film, or the old VHS tapes, they can be the most cherished family memories and can not be replaced. It can show a time, event and people that can not be repeated. Some family movies can even date to the early 1920s. However, those memories can be played, relived and shared with gen...
Oct 17
An assortment of newspapers is still one of the best methods to uncover new information on ancestors. Just about everyone had their name in the local newspaper sometime in their life. Birth, marriage and death announcements are the most frequent, but also just everyday happenings. The purchase of property, a new business opened up, the illness...
Oct 16
Gravestones can provide a wealth of information to genealogists. This is probably why many genealogists enjoy visiting graveyards. It explains why so many people are willing to photograph gravestones and post them online in resources that can be shared with other genealogists. That being said, while some things about gravestones have remained th...
Oct 15
Sometimes people are worried they may find a 'black sheep', 'a skeleton in the closet' or some other shocking or upsetting information about an ancestor. This is sometimes referred to as finding the 'dark side' or 'sinister side' of the family tree. A few of such shocking news can be that your ancestors owned slaves, killed a person, was married...
Oct 14
You may have heard that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been making an effort in converting their paper files into digital ones. At first glance, this may sound like excellent news for genealogists. Unfortunately, these records will not be made available to genealogists. Even so, the story about the records is quite fascinating. The Fede...