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!

15 Steps to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestors

November 28, 2022 by Marissa - Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher 2 Comments

Immigration ancestor research can be very rewarding as you discover the story behind your ancestor's journey across the pond. In this guide, we share 15 steps to discovering your ancestor's story of their journey to the United States and help you retrace their steps to find the records and data to verify your heritage. If you live in the United States and your ancestors aren’t Native American, then your ancestors crossed the pond at some point. Depending on the time period and proximity to a port, they might have walked, ridden on the back of a cart, traveled by train, or even taken a small river boat to get to the port city. They got word from a family member or friend telling them exactly how to travel, the best places to stop along the way, the best merchants to do business with (and some to avoid), and the best ticket agents from which to buy a ship ticket. Your immigrant probably knew exactly which shipping line to book passage with, and maybe even the exact ship they should …

How Genealogy Research Provides Comfort After a DNA Surprise

November 21, 2022 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 4 Comments

A DNA Surprise is an event in a person's life where they find out their parentage is not what they had always believed. In this article we talk with Right to Know founder Kara Rubinstein Deyerin about her own DNA Surprise and how genealogy research and other tools can provide comfort during this challenging experience. Tell us how you felt when you had a DNA surprise. I felt like a unicorn. Who grows up thinking they are half Black and learns they're not? I felt very much alone when I made that discovery through DNA testing. I cried all the time. I told my children and my family right away. I don't know how some people keep it to themselves. I wear my emotions on my sleeve, and I knew I had to explain why I was not doing well. I had a tough time even looking in the mirror because I had no context for what I saw—I was not the person I had believed myself to be. What is misattributed parentage (MPE), and who does it affect? Misattributed Parentage Experience refers to …

Legacy Tree Mystery: Miss Mamie – a daughter lost and found

November 11, 2022 by Kristin W - Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher 2 Comments

Genealogy adoption mysteries are found in many family trees, with stories and legends about ancestors passed down for generations. Like any good genealogy adoption mystery, the path to discovery can be long and difficult, but is always easier with an expert genealogist on your team. In this Legacy Tree Mystery, we reunite a family torn apart for decades and solve the case of the Mysterious Miss Mamie and her disappearance at the young age of six.The MysteryMamie's mother died just weeks after her fourth birthday. Her father, in desperate circumstances, placed his five young children into orphanages for care. Separated from her siblings and parents, little Mamie Hornberger lost everyone and everything she knew in the fall of 1908. In April 1910, she was still a Lancaster County Children's Home resident.And then, according to her father, she disappeared and was gone without a trace. Mamie's younger twin brothers, adopted in a neighboring state, managed to find their …

5 Keys to Researching Your Irish Ancestors

November 2, 2022 by Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

Are you researching your Irish ancestors? Or were your ancestors part of the Irish diaspora worldwide? Five key things to know before you begin your research. 1. North and South Since 1921, the island of Ireland has been separated into two countries – the Republic of Ireland in the south and Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, in the north. It’s essential to know the distinction between the two before you begin. Northern Irish records are held in the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in Belfast, whereas Irish records are held by the General Records Office (GRO) in Dublin. Some online databases are split between the two countries, but others include the whole island. To ensure you are researching your Irish ancestors in the right place, try to find out which region (e.g., county) in Ireland your ancestors came from first. Then you can focus on the most recent Civil records available from that country. 2. The Brick Wall of Irish Ancestry Many …