Sheri’s passion for genealogy shows up in her DNA ancestry results—along with her pilgrim and pioneer heritage. Working with her grandmother at a young age, she helped her grandmother complete their family’s four-generation pedigree chart. This experience of bringing the names to life with each personal history and story left a lasting impact on Sheri and her approach to genealogy. It was this same grandmother who guided Sheri to change her major to Family History when she went back to college … [Read more...]
Meet Marie, Project Manager for Legacy Tree Genealogists
Meet Marie, one of Legacy Tree Genealogists talented project managers! Marie’s interest in genealogy began when she unexpectedly uncovered her grandfather’s secret past, which included a name change, a previously unknown family, and several other shocking surprises. This experience, from research to discovery, to meeting new family, and sharing family history, inspired Marie to turn her passion for genealogy into a career. She previously earned degrees in engineering and education, as well as … [Read more...]
Legacy Tree Onsite: 7 Overlooked Irish Genealogy Resources You Should Be Using
Legacy Tree Genealogists works with researchers from across the globe to access records for our clients. We asked one of our researchers located in Cork, Ireland to share an overview of overlooked Irish genealogy resources that you may be missing. Irish genealogy research has a reputation for being difficult, due to the substantial loss of material in the 1922 Public Records Office fire. Fortunately, in recent years this has changed, with many online resources becoming available. When people … [Read more...]
Details in the Graves: Using Tombstone Symbolism to Unlock your Ancestor’s History
"What does the symbol on my ancestors' gravestone mean?" Our guide to gravestone symbols may just contain the answer you're looking for! This time of year, cemeteries hold a certain appeal due to their association with the macabre, but for the dutiful family historian, the tombstones of our ancestors can provide leads to untapped records. If you have yet to go and search for the physical gravestone of an ancestor and know where they might be buried, the effort spent locating them could be … [Read more...]
Guarding Against Presentism: How Historical Facts (Should) Affect Your Research Strategy
Understanding social and historical context can be critical at guarding against presentism and inaccurate assumptions in your genealogy research. Understanding Social Context Last year, I attended a genealogy-oriented writers’ workshop where we discussed crafting family histories and biographies. As a case study on which to practice, our instructor, Dr. Amy Harris (check her out on Instagram, @familyhistoryprof), presented us with her research into Mina, a Scottish woman of 1905 who had … [Read more...]
Legacy Tree Once Again Named to Utah100 List of State’s Fastest-Growing Companies
Legacy Tree Genealogists has once again been named to MountainWest Capital Network’s (MWCN) 2020 Utah 100, the annual list of the state’s fastest-growing companies. This marks the fourth year in a row the genealogy research firm has been recognized. MWCN’s exclusive awards program brings together investors, entrepreneurs and professional service providers while recognizing Utah’s 100 fastest-growing companies and the economic and business impact they bring to the state. In addition to … [Read more...]
Shocking Ethnicity Estimate Leads to Life-Altering Discovery
A surprising ethnicity estimate leads Tom to explore the possibility that the father who raised him was not his biological father. Sometimes, genetic genealogy test results don’t fit with what you might expect given what you know (or think you know) about your family tree. These anomalies can sometimes be explained by the way in which estimates are generated. Other times, surprising ethnicity results are instead due to cases of recent misattributed parentage. Such was the case with Tom. We … [Read more...]
Diving into English Records: An Essential Guide for Tracing English Ancestry
Do you have English ancestry? We review the most requested English records and tips for using these records to build an accurate family tree. When seeking to extend your English ancestry, it is essential to first understand the records that are available. Following are examples of the most requested English records that are vital to researchers when building your family tree, and tips for using these records to help build an accurate family tree. General Registry Office for Births, … [Read more...]