family stories
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Things to Ask Your Older Relatives. Four Interview Prompts.
Apr 2
There are a lot of families that have a collection of stories that are handed down from one generation to another. In addition, there are stories that haven't been as wildly shared, but are also important to record. It can be difficult for family historians to figure out where to begin or how to learn more. Start with these four questions that...
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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Favorite Photo
Apr 1
Looking for an interesting way to add some photos to your family history blog? The No Story Too Small blog has an creative way to do it. It is part of their “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” project. The “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” project gives genealogists and family historians some wonderful ideas that will help them write about 52 different ...
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Need a Reason WHY to Research Your Family Tree?
Feb 21
You may have been asked on more than one occasion why you are bothering to spend time and money to gather information on your family lineage. Of course genealogy, family research is a very old practice and was very necessary at one time just for specific families to determine property ownership and royal lineages. Really over the last 150 years h...
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How to Know What NOT to Share
Feb 18
Genealogy research can be exciting! You could uncover family history that tells stories of bravery, deception, secret love affairs, or “madness”. It can be very tempting to post everything onto your genealogy blog or social media. But, is that really a good idea? Before you share what you discovered, take a moment to view this list of things yo...
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52 Weeks of Ancestors
Jan 8
Would you like some motivation that would make your genealogy research a bit more exciting? Sometimes, all it takes is a set of pre-planned goals that several people are doing at the same time to make that happen. You can get a weekly “prompt” from the No Story Too Small website. The project is called “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks”. The 2015...
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History of the Polaroid Camera
Dec 8
The things that you grew up with, and look back upon with nostalgia, are probably foreign objects to your children. The games you played outside with the kids in your neighborhood have been replaced by video games (played with kids across the world). Today, teens get out their smartphones so they can take “selfies”. They might not quite underst...
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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...
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Nazi Poster Baby
Aug 15
You never know what might turn up in your family history. For one woman, the fascinating turn of events was not about a grandmother or great aunt, but rather her own childhood. Jacob and Pauline Levinsons (originally from Latvia) of Berlin, Germany on May 17, 1934 were proud parents of a baby daughter, named Hessy. At age six months that had the b...
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Family History is More than Names and Dates
Aug 6
What do you know about your ancestors? Many genealogists can rattle off a series of facts like full names, birth dates and death dates. All of those pieces of information are important to know, especially if you are still in the process of searching for vital records. However, if you really want to have your ancestors “come to life”, you nee...
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Small Town News
Jul 31
Related FamilyTree.com genealogy blog links: New York Newspapers Various Hometown Newspapers The printed newspapers are going by the wayside with media being in digital form now, but luckily the print newspaper was a steady staple of most hometowns for decades. Those reporters wrote about the community, its people, society events, good a...