The Legacy Tree Genealogists Blog

Hand-picked, tested and trained, our professional genealogist team knows how to find your story. We search the world for answers. Find the un-findable. And we’re experts at everything from tracking down rare international records to analyzing DNA test results. Based near the world’s largest family history library in downtown Salt Lake City, we also work with researchers and archives around the globe. Contact us today if you would like help discovering your ancestors!

Legacy Tree Onsite: Navigating Italy’s Archives for Family Research

June 4, 2021 by Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

Legacy Tree Genealogists works with researchers from across the globe to access records for our clients. We asked one of our on-site researchers in Italy to explain how to navigate the complex maze of archives in Italian Research.It is incredible to me that America, as a country, is older than Italy!Between 1859 and 1870, the various territories in the peninsula came together to unify the country, but it would be another 76 years before a constitution was written and Italy declared a Republic.All of the above dramatically affects the organization and archiving of documents. In Italy, this comes under the direction of the Ministro per i beni e le attività culturali e per il turismo (Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities and for Tourism) except the Vatican Archives, as this is technically a different country.Vatican Archives The Vatican Archives includes documents from the former Papal States and the current Vatican government archives. It has 50 miles of shelving …

Was Your Ancestor a Outlaw in the Wild West?

May 27, 2021 by Melissa - Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher 2 Comments

Legacy Tree researcher Melissa Finlay takes you back to the old west to find your "Most Wanted" ancestors to determine if they were outlaws, bandits, or rustlers. Did your ancestors ride with notorious outlaws or did they obey the law of the land in the old west?Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid. You may have heard about some of these famous outlaws of the Wild Western United States. But have you ever wondered if your ancestor was a criminal in the Wild West? Or perhaps they were a victim of a crime or a lawman fighting for law and order in the Wild West? There are records available to find out if your ancestor was involved!Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. Federal District CourtMen and women living in western Arkansas, the Indian Territory, or any part of the 74,000 square miles covered by the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas were tried for their crimes at Fort Smith, Arkansas.[1] The fort sat just across …

Tips for Researching Ancestors Who Migrated Alone

May 20, 2021 by Katy - Legacy Tree Genealogists Senior Researcher & Editor Leave a Comment

One of our researchers, Katy Barnes, provides valuable tips on how to research an ancestor who migrated alone. Katy traces the migration of David Trout, an unmarried laborer, who migrated to Dallas County Texas in the mid-1800s. Dallas County, TexasThe population of Dallas County, Texas, in 1880 was just over 33,000 (notable, since the 2020 figure is now above 2.5 million). A query of the 1880 census shows (in rough numbers) over 3,000 Dallas County residents that year were reportedly born in Tennessee; 2,100 were born in Kentucky; and 1,900 were born in Missouri, with 1,400 born outside the south in Illinois. In contrast, just 400 New Yorkers had made their way south to Dallas County during the post-Reconstruction period.Then there was David H. Trout, who was one of just 179 Maryland-born transplants in the area that year. And he came alone.David was born in 1846 in Woodsboro, a town in Frederick County, Maryland, that would have been considered small even by …

From Spit to Screen: The Journey of a DNA Sample

May 12, 2021 by Paul - Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher 1 Comment

One of our researchers, Paul Woodbury, describes the journey of a DNA sample from the instant the sample is taken until it is analyzed in the laboratory. The following article is a reprint from the July-September 2020 issue of the National Genealogical Society Magazine and is published here with permission. How does DNA testing actually work? How can spitting into a tube result in an ethnicity estimate, a list of genetic cousins, and other DNA data? This article reviews the technology that enables genetic genealogy and the five-step process that transforms a saliva sample into a comprehensive genetic report: collection, extraction, amplification, testing, and data analysis (1).CollectionComplete copies of the human genome are carried by most of the trillions of cells in the human body. While red blood cells and some skin, hair, and nail cells do not carry nuclear DNA, nearly any other type of cell can be sampled for DNA analysis.In the early days of genetic genealogy …