Family history research makes the perfect Christmas gift! Here are 4 ideas to create a memorable and enjoyable holiday season with your family. With Christmas coming up, you may feel the desire to give the gift of family history research. But how can you compete with the shiny toys and brand new things that Santa will undoubtedly bring to your family? Here are a few fun ways that you can share your genealogy with those you love around the holidays. Give The Gift of Research If one of your … [Read more...]
Google Searching Tips for Genealogists
In the digital age, searching for your ancestor's records is easier than ever. Read our 5 tips on using Google to navigate your genealogy search. You may be surprised what amazing genealogy finds you can discover using just Google alone! Thousands of photos, scanned books, and online genealogical collections are available that aren't at the usual big websites like Ancestry or FamilySearch. A reasonably exhaustive search should include a plunge into Google. Most know that you search for an … [Read more...]
Meet Carolyn, Project Manager for Legacy Tree Genealogists
Meet Carolyn, a passionate Project Manager for Legacy Tree Genealogists. Carolyn has an extensive family history of genealogy work and has been involved in various research opportunities around the country. Learn more about Carolyn! Carolyn Tolman comes from “one of those” families whose pedigree goes way back, thanks to diligent great-grandmothers who were passionate genealogists. She grew up hearing stories of her ancestors’ immigrations from Northern Europe and settlement in the untamed … [Read more...]
5 Great Records About Your Military Ancestor
Are you looking for a way to honor your American military ancestors this upcoming Veteran’s Day? How about using historical records to learn about them and their service? Throughout various repositories and websites, there are many different collections spanning many conflicts that you can use to find your soldier-ancestor. From the Revolution to World War II, chances are you had a family member that served – and you can find record of him! Here are some quick – but by no means comprehensive – … [Read more...]
Dealing with Shifting County Boundaries
Maps can be the very tool for breaking through your brick wall... or causing one. County boundaries that have changed over time can be overwhelmingly frustrating in your genealogy research. Here's a deeper look at understanding and dealing with shifting county boundaries. As anyone who has ever delved very deep into American research knows, the shifting boundaries of counties and even states can complicate research. You want to get right to the source, to know where to look for records of … [Read more...]
Finding the Owner
I love getting a bargain. Because of this, I’m a member of several local Facebook yard sale pages, and I check them regularly for things I need for my home or my children. However, this weekend there was a different kind of ad that drew my attention. A woman posted that she had gone to a yard sale where the people were selling the contents of a storage unit they had purchased. At this yard sale she found a folded up flag encased in a wooden frame, with a plaque that gave the name, birth date and … [Read more...]
Genealogy Research in the Southern United States
Quite often Southern records do not provide direct evidence of relationships and links between one generation and another. This is both a curse and a blessing. The curse, of course, is that without those explicit statements, there is always room for doubt about a relationship when we want total confidence in our tree. Therein lies the blessing as well. Because of the uncertainty, we must build a case for the proposed line through a preponderance of evidence. This requires an accumulation of … [Read more...]
Hereditary Societies and You
“My great-grandfather fought in the Civil War.” “I’ve always heard we were related to George Washington.” “We’re supposed to be descended from the Pilgrims who came on the Mayflower.” Family history and lineage societies aren’t just for the elite. There are literally hundreds of organizations offering membership to those who can trace their ancestors to a specific individual or event. From early settlers to presidential relatives, these groups span events covering the length of American … [Read more...]