While Legacy Tree Genealogists has long been known as the world's highest-rated genealogy research firm, our full-service research projects are now an even better value, including a free 8.5"x 11" printed family history chart with each full-service order placed after February 1, 2018. In addition to including a printed family history chart in each custom client binder, a digital version of the chart will also be made available on clients' personalized web pages, offering a beautiful way … [Read more...]
Top Tips for Researching Your Scots-Irish Ancestry
What does Scots-Irish mean? Researchers use the term “Scots-Irish” to identify a people who went back and forth between Scotland and Ulster, Ireland. The North Channel—also known as the Straits of Moyle—connects the west coast of Scotland and the Mull of Galloway at the narrowest part of the strait. There, the strait spans only 13 miles. This short distance between Northern Ireland ports and the western Scotland ports made trade and commuting quite common between Ireland and Scotland. In … [Read more...]
Legacy Tree Genealogists to Sponsor DNA Innovation Contest at RootsTech
Legacy Tree Genealogists, the world's highest rated genealogy research firm, will be a sponsor of the upcoming DNA Innovation Contest at RootsTech. Additionally, Legacy Tree's Senior Genetic Genealogist, Paul Woodbury, has been invited to participate as a panel judge to assist in determining the winning entry. "I'm honored to have been invited to participate in this capacity," said Woodbury. "At Legacy Tree, we are excited for developing technologies in genealogy and particularly those … [Read more...]
Beginning German Genealogy Research: “What does ‘German’ really mean?”
My great-grandmother Erika was German. She was adamant about the fact that she was German. After her arrival in the United States, when she was asked to fill out information about her place of birth, she indicated that she was born in Germany. Erika was born in 1921 in Waschulken. Today, this small town is located in northeastern Poland, however at the time it was part of Germany. Although borders have since been moved, she never stopped claiming she was German. In the United States, many … [Read more...]
Legacy Tree Onsite: The Archdiocesan Archives of Białystok, Poland
Legacy Tree Genealogists works with researchers from across the globe to access records for our clients. We asked Adam, onsite in Poland, to share his experiences researching at the Archdiocesan Archives of Białystok, Poland. The city of Białystok became a temporary seat of the Vilnius Roman Catholic Archdiocese in 1945 when the Archbishop Romuald Jałbrzykowski was forced to leave the city of Vilnius once it was incorporated into the Soviet Union. After World War II, Białystok became the … [Read more...]
Setting SMART Genealogy Research Goals for the New Year
With the start of each new year, many of us think about and set new goals to accomplish, to live by, to achieve. It is never too late in life to set these goals and look to better our lives and those of our families. Each new day presents new opportunities to reach these goals, and if we fall short one day, we can always strive to do better the next. With the new year upon us, you have likely considered goals you would like to achieve, but have you considered including genealogy research-related … [Read more...]
Ordering Records from the General Register Office of England and Wales
If you have British ancestry and have done any research on those family lines, you've probably noticed that the index information for vital records doesn't provide you with a lot of details - usually not even the exact date of the event. However, the actual records themselves can contain quite a bit of helpful information, and are almost always worth the time and effort to obtain them from the General Register Office (GRO). In this article, we'll share how to request these records in order to … [Read more...]
Unexpected DNA Match Leads to Life-Changing Discovery
*This story is shared with client permission and with consent of individuals involved. Through DNA analysis we are able to gather information regarding individuals’ shared heritage, far beyond the basic haplogroup. DNA testing, combined with thorough genealogy research, has helped clients break through genealogy brick walls including difficult-to-trace ancestors, determining an ancestor’s ethnicity, and solving family mysteries that would otherwise be impossible to investigate due to lack of … [Read more...]