October is such a great month. The first autumn chill, the beauty of the changing leaves, college football, the excitement of Halloween, and the prelude to the holidays are just a few reasons to love this time of year. For genealogists, however, there's one more reason: October is also National Family History Month in the United States! Many of our readers have used the research services of Legacy Tree Genealogists and/or have spent countless hours themselves uncovering their family’s history. … [Read more...]
Immigration: An American Heritage
Immigration has once again become a hot topic in the United States lately, but this isn’t the first time. In fact, it has been a common part of the historical and political discourse since the founding of the nation, largely because immigrants make up such an enormous part of our history and heritage as Americans. Many of the research requests we receive at Legacy Tree involve helping a client identify his or her pre-American origins and immigration story. Some of them are more recent – … [Read more...]
7 Things To Understand About Professional Genealogists
Most people don't have a lot of experience working with professional genealogists. These seven tips will help you make the most out of your genealogy research experience. One of our most popular blog posts to date has been 7 Reasons to Hire a Professional Genealogist. As a refresher, here are those seven very good reasons to let us at Legacy Tree investigate your family history: You don’t have the time or the skills to do it yourself. You need a fresh perspective on your “brick … [Read more...]
Bringing Danish Ancestry To Life
This personal experience from a genealogist at Legacy Tree shares how finding records from her family history brought her Danish ancestry to life. In a town close to where I live is a humble little 14’x18’ log cabin built in 1855. It was one of the first permanent structures in its community, and, as it happens, was the home of my great-great-great-grandparents, Wilhelm and Laura Amelia Knudsen. Laura gave birth to six of her thirteen children in that house. While over the years the log … [Read more...]
Hidden in Plain Sight: A Guide to Image-Only Record Collections
For the countless hours spent looking for records to prove or provide a family relationship, Image-Only Records collections that have not yet been indexed may hold the hidden answer to century-old questions. Here is how to use these records, and tips on maximizing your time. If you’ve plugged your family names into the search databases of the major genealogical websites and didn’t find the answer you needed, consider that your search is not done! Did you know that there are millions of pages … [Read more...]
Meet Paul Woodbury, Outreach Manager for Legacy Tree Genealogists
We are happy to announce that Paul Woodbury has joined our team as Legacy Tree's Outreach Manager. In addition to being well-connected in the genealogy industry, Paul is also an internationally recognized Genetic Genealogy expert and a genealogist with varied geographical interests, including Spain, France, and Scandinavia. Paul’s first introduction to genealogy was a family history binder he received from his grandparents for Christmas when he was 8 years old. Several years later, he was … [Read more...]
Legacy Tree Onsite: A Look at the National Archives of South Africa
Legacy Tree Genealogists works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our researchers in South Africa to talk about the National Archives and Record Service in Cape Town. When the Dutch East India Company arrived at the Cape in 1652, they left a legacy of fine record keeping. From the moment Jan Van Riebeeck left Holland, he began his diary recording every event of his journey. These diaries continued for some years and this is where the history … [Read more...]
Jewish Family History Research Tips, Part 3: Conclusion
This post concludes our three-part series on Jewish family research for genealogy. Click here for part one and part two in the series. Record Types Jewish families appeared in a variety of records throughout their time in Eastern Europe. When conducting ancestral research for Jewish families, the following resources for their town, district, and region should be considered: Civil Registration: government-kept records of births, marriages and deaths. Synagogue Records: Jewish-specific … [Read more...]