Latin American ancestry can be challenging to research due to the lack of comprehensive and easily accessible records. Available and surviving records can be challenging to access due to their location or language or because they have not been digitized and made available online. Because of these challenges surrounding the availability of records, many people in Latin America and of Latin American descent turn to genetic genealogy and DNA testing to learn more about their ancestry and … [Read more...]
5 Keys to Finding Scottish Ancestors with Genealogist Jamie Kay
We sat down to learn more about finding Scottish ancestors with one of our professional genealogists, Jamie Kay. Here's what we learned about Jamie and how to research your own Scottish heritage. The Challenges of Finding Scottish Ancestors I grew up around the corner from Aunt Dorothy, our family genealogist, and loved to hear our stories and see the photographs she had collected. My great-grandparents came to the United States from Scotland in the 1870s, so a quarter of my heritage is … [Read more...]
How To Use Mexican Marriage Records for Genealogical Research
While researching Mexican marriage records, have you ever wondered, "Why is there more than one marriage record, and why do they have different dates?" Early Mexican marriages are primarily found in Catholic church records. Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths began in the 1860s. Many marriages in Mexico in the 1860s and later are found in both civil and church records, but typically with different dates. Civil registration records will sometimes include more then one … [Read more...]
Irish Family History: Online Resources to Help Find Your Irish Ancestors
Until recently, Irish family history research was considered problematic. But in recent years, individuals can do the bulk of their research online with many digitized records available from private and public entities. Getting Started with Irish Family History Online The first step to Irish research is to document all the information you know about your ancestors and check with older family members who are still living to get as much detail as possible from them. Finding the maiden … [Read more...]
3 Tips and Tricks to Kickstart your Portuguese Genealogy Project
Want to know more about your family history in Portugal but need to know how to get started? Our experts at Legacy Tree Genealogists pulled together a simple research guide to help you discover your Portuguese ancestors and begin your Portuguese Genealogy project now. 1. Finding Your Ancestral Hometown Because Portuguese records are kept at the local level, it is imperative to know the ancestral hometown beforehand. [1] If you already know your ancestral hometown in Portugal, jumping into … [Read more...]
The Bread and Butter of Latin American Research: Church and Civil Registration Records
Whether your ancestors lived along the U.S./Mexican border or the southernmost tip of Argentina, all Latin American genealogical research is heavily dependent on two main record sets—Catholic Church records and civil registration records. Grasping at least a basic understanding of these record types—including their history, the information provided in them, and where to find them—is imperative to discovering your Latin American roots. Catholic Church Records As the Spanish Crown colonized … [Read more...]
Legacy Tree Onsite: Belarus Archives and Records Collections
Legacy Tree Genealogists’ Dennis Baranov has conducted research in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine for more than 15 years. His wife Mariya is his research helper and translator. In this article, they provide detailed information about Belarus archives and records to research family histories, especially in an area where many documents have been destroyed. Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, surrounded by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. Minsk is the capital and … [Read more...]
Tying the Knot: Ancestral Marriage Records and Where You Might Find Them
Marriage records are a major source of genealogical information since they mark the merging of two families and provide what may be the only source of a married woman’s maiden surname. Searching for maiden names in marriage records is one of the first priorities of all genealogy research. One maiden name brings a whole new set of ancestors and their stories into play. Marriage has always been a very public covenant, since two people were vowing to care for each other and their children, … [Read more...]
Unlocking the Genealogical Treasure of the Parish Chest
Family historians with ancestry in England will almost certainly be familiar with Church of England parish registers. These registries of baptisms, marriages and burials provide the trunk on which most pre-1837 English family trees are built. Even after the 1837 implementation of civil registration, parish registers continued to be a significant source of useful genealogical information. What is less well-known, however, is that the Anglican parish created more than just baptism, marriage and … [Read more...]
A Genealogist’s Guide to Using Catholic Records in Genealogy Research
Where extant, church records can be an enormous boon to genealogical research. Catholic records in particular are some of the best in the world for three reasons: first, because of the level of family detail they tend to include; second, because of their far reach into the past—sometimes as distant as the late 1500s; and third, for their generally high level of accessibility to researchers today. We at Legacy Tree Genealogists have traced Catholic ancestors for our clients in places like Latin … [Read more...]