Blog Content
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The Most Common Surname in the United States
Apr 16
One of the clues genealogists use to track down information about relatives and ancestors is the person's surname. If your family has a unique surname, it won't be too difficult to find people who share it. However, if your family surname happens to be the most common one in the United States – you're going to end up with a lot of “false posi...
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Our Female Ancestors’ Beauty Tips
Apr 15
The ladies have always known how to look their best over the decades. Most beauty routines learned from their mothers and grandmothers. Here are a few such suggested beauty secrets from our ancestors. Rinse your hair with cool water and vinegar to exfoliate your scalp. Use the charred end of a cooled burnt matchstick to darken your eyebrows. Ma...
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How to Combine a Birthday with a Family Reunion
Apr 15
Do you have a relative that is hitting a milestone birthday? It is common for families to gather to celebrate the birthday of a loved one who is turning 70, 80, or 90 years old. It is possible to combine that birthday celebration with a family reunion. Get a Birthday Cake The focus of the celebration should be the person who is having a birth...
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How Birth Order Affects Personalities
Apr 14
Why does your sibling (or other relative) behave the way that he or she does? It may have something to do with birth order. There are certain personality traits that tend to show up in a first born child, a middle child, or the “baby” of the family. Of course, there are exceptions to this pattern. The First Born First born's tend to be l...
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Nationalizations Records – FamilySearch
Apr 13
Nationalization (becoming an American citizen) was an important event to many immigrates. The process of naturalization started in 1790. Some of the rules included the naturalization of a man could also include his wife becoming a citizen (that last only up to 1922). The man's children (those under the age of 21) were made citizens when the father...
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Tips for Backing Up Your Genealogy Research
Apr 13
Genealogists spend hours doing research about their ancestors. It takes time to track down vital records, figure out tricky family connections, travel to graveyards, and build a family tree. It would be a nightmare to suddenly lose all that information because you failed to properly back it up. Here are some tips for backing up your genealogy re...
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Add Your Recipe Story to FamilySearch
Apr 12
Your family probably has at least one recipe that has been handed down from one generation to the next. Perhaps the recipe was created by your grandmother, and your kids are old enough now for you to pass it down to them. Or, maybe the recipe goes back even farther in your family tree. FamilySearch would like for you to "Savor Your Family's Stor...
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National Death Registers
Apr 11
In the 19th century censuses, there were mortality schedules during 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 U.S. censuses. Here individuals were asked questions regarding those in the family who died in the twelve months prior to the enumeration. This database is an index to several of these schedules. The schedule lists the deceased name, sex, age, color, whet...
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FDA Allows 23andMe to Sell Genetic Tests for Disease Risk to Consumers
Apr 10
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 23andMe authorization to offer ten genetic health risk reports. Those reports include late-onset Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, celiac disease, and a condition associated with harmful blood clots. You may recall that in 2013, the FDA ordered 23andMe to stop marketing its personal gen...
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How Your Ancestors Celebrated Birthdays
Apr 9
The cake, candles, and party we typically have today to celebrate someone's birthday go back farther than you might think. Your ancestors celebrated a person's birthday differently than you do today. In ancient Egypt, only the Pharaohs celebrated their birthday. There is a Bible reference to the birthday of a Pharaoh. The Pharaohs were not ...
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Celebrate Siblings
Apr 9
On April 10th is recognized as 'Sibling Day'. The learning of who were the siblings for each of your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents is an important aspect of researching your family tree. Not only do you want to celebrate having any siblings and how you all grew up together, but it is important to know more about the siblings your relat...
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The Reason Why You Keep Family Heirlooms
Apr 8
Family historians know that it is important to keep family heirlooms. Some of those items may have financial value, but many heirlooms have little or no monetary value at all. The reason why people keep family heirlooms is because of nostalgia. Nostalgia is defined by Merriam-Webster two ways. One definition is: “the state of being homesic...
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Family Heirlooms – Lost and Found
Apr 7
Family heirlooms are precious. Although a specific item might not have much monetary value, it is still very important to your family. These items are irreplaceable. Once in a while, someone finds another family's heirloom that has been lost. A Bible from 1881 William Sherman found a small Bible in the trash bin outside a $1 million home i...
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National Beer Day
Apr 7
One of the oldest beverages in the history of mankind is beer. So any of your ancestors may have had a pint or two of beer. Similar beverages are pale ale, lager, stout, and wheat beer. Yes, there are many individuals who never had any form of alcoholic beverage but for many people having a beer might be their only pure, safe to drink liquid since ...
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Tips for Finding Your Female Ancestor’s Passport
Apr 6
Finding a male ancestor's United States passport is easier than finding one for your female ancestor. The reason has to do with social mores and the way that passports were issued. In some cases, your female ancestor's name wasn't actually listed on the passport she traveled with! The United States first issued passports during the American Re...
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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
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