Terra Costin grew up listening to interesting stories about her family history from various family members, and always wondered which were true and which were embellished. Did her great-grandmother really run away with the circus in the 1930s, never to be seen or heard from again? Was her great-great-grandfather really the founder of Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho)? Did her ancestors really own a farm that provided potatoes to the Lays potato chip company? And more importantly, she always wondered … [Read more...]
Meet Laura, Project Management Manager for Legacy Tree Genealogists
Laura’s journey into genealogy didn’t come from family tradition—it came from a longing for connection. Born in New Jersey but mostly raised in New Mexico, she grew up largely detached from extended relatives, with no one in her immediate family showing much interest in tracing their roots. But Laura was different. She wanted to understand where she came from, who her ancestors were, and how their stories shaped the life she knew. That curiosity became a lifelong pursuit. Her greatest … [Read more...]
How To Use Clues from Family Stories in Genealogy Research
Image source: Library of Congress How can family stories lead you to accurate genealogy research? Think about the story that repeatedly comes up at family gatherings. Yes, that story! Did you realize this anecdote, passed from generation to generation, can be used to enrich your family tree? In just a few steps, you can pull research clues from these long-told stories to further guide your ancestral discoveries. Here’s how: Documenting and Preserving Family Stories Our families share many … [Read more...]
Searching, Sorting, and Filtering DNA Match Lists
This article was written by Paul Woodbury, a member of our Legacy Tree Genealogist Research staff. It was originally published in NGS Magazine, a National Genealogical Society publication. Source: NGS MAGAZINE ∙ APRIL - JUNE 2024 ∙ VOLUME 50, NUMBER 2 Lists of DNA matches and genetic cousins can be overwhelming. How can genealogists begin to make sense of hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of DNA matches and how they might be related? How can they hope to narrow their focus in … [Read more...]
How To Create Locality Guides for Genealogy Research
Learn how locality guides can significantly improve your genealogy research success. As we journey to discover our ancestors, we often find ourselves researching in unfamiliar places. It's tempting to jump right in and gather whatever information we can. However, this is not necessarily the most efficient way to start research in a new area, especially if it's an area where we will be conducting a lot of research. Creating a locality guide can keep us organized, save time, and uncover … [Read more...]
10 Best Genealogy Research Articles of 2024
We’ve compiled a list of our best genealogy research articles for the entire year of 2024 based on your interests and needs. Every week, one of our professional genealogists writes an article to help you navigate your family history research and get through any brick walls. From DNA to AI to regional archives, our genealogy articles cover every nook and cranny! Here are the most popular articles of 2024! 10. When Your Relative Does Not Appear as a DNA Match Genealogy can be fun and … [Read more...]
How To Use Catholic Christening and Baptism Records Around the World
Catholic christening and baptism records are an important resource for genealogical research in timeframes before the advent of government-sponsored civil registration. However, practices surrounding baptism, christening, and the creation of records documenting those events vary between religious traditions. In this blog series, we explore some of the varied practices and content of christening and baptism records in different Christian traditions. This article explores baptism and christening … [Read more...]
Holiday Genealogy Gift Guide 2024
Many of our most cherished memories are made during the holiday season as we gather with family to participate in traditions both generational and new. Gift-giving is central to many family holiday traditions, and it can be difficult to find the perfect gift for those you love year after year. We hope this year’s gift guide helps you delight the family historian in your life as well as all of your family members who will be surprised at how much they love experiencing family history stories in … [Read more...]