From Jersey Shore to Postiglione: Finding Italian Ancestors You never know when and where your Italian ancestors will show up. How one genealogist found her Italian ancestors on a most unusual family vacation. It was the summer of 2016. As was my extended family's tradition, we rented a house at the Jersey Shore for a week in the summer. As is the goal of all family vacations, the hope is to create new memories and forge stronger connections between members. That is why my family … [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...]
4 Eastern European Archives Growing Through Citizen Archivists
Eastern European archives have historically been difficult to access. Searching these archives were often met with frustration because these collections could only be accessed onsite or not at all. While many have utilized the collections from the FamilySearch catalog to find key records, a large group of researchers were left with little to no records access because filming didn’t capture records from their ancestral village/town. Today, genealogists around the world enjoy the efforts of … [Read more...]
Where to Test? Genetic Genealogy Testing Options
Paul Woodbury is a DNA team lead and professional researcher at Legacy Tree Genealogists where he has helped to solve hundreds of genetic genealogy cases. In this article, a reprint from an issue of NGS Magazine, Paul discusses four major DNA testing companies’ tools and their benefits. The article is published here with permission. Four major DNA testing companies offer genetic genealogy testing—23andMe, AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, and MyHeritage— and there are several smaller testing … [Read more...]
Looking Back: The 1950 U.S. Federal Census is Coming Soon!
Legacy Tree Genealogists' Sarah Gutmann talks about the soon-to-be-released 1950 United States Federal Census and how it can be used to further genealogical research. She also explains when and how the database will be available online and searchable. Put on your poodle skirt and throw on an episode of I Love Lucy because we will soon be able to look back at the 1950s! On 1 April 2022, the National Archives will release the 1950 Census to the public. As is standard practice, precisely 72 … [Read more...]
Using Newspapers Around the World to Make Family Tree Connections
One of our genealogists discusses how newspapers worldwide can connect family lines and associate ancestors with particular places, especially when vital records are not available. Newspapers! Газети! A window to the Past Newspapers can be invaluable in proving family connections in periods when birth and death records might not exist. They can also show relationships between two different places. And most importantly, newspapers are found throughout the world. Those with roots in the … [Read more...]
Using Facebook to Research Family History
One of our researchers explains how Facebook can be used to find hidden gems in the form of videos, photos, and information for your family research. Your family history can be found in the most unlikely places. I’d like to share a few success stories I’ve found locating my family and also learning about the lives, times, and locations they come from. A great place to start is Facebook. It is the perfect place for the local historian who is looking to share their work or for those who are … [Read more...]
Online Resources for Researching Your Norwegian Ancestry
Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers, located in Norway, to share his favorite online archives and record collections for researching Norwegian ancestry. There are about as many descendants of Norwegians worldwide as native Norwegians. Easy access to Norwegian record collections are therefore important for family history researchers worldwide. In this article, we share our favorite online archives and … [Read more...]
This Is Not a Drill: Pennsylvania Military Records Can Be Found Online!
Documenting military service is a goal for many genealogical researchers. For those with Pennsylvania ancestry, many military records are just a click away on the ARIAS website run by the state’s official archives. What Is ARIAS? ARIAS is an acronym for the Archives Records Information Access System, a website created by the Pennsylvania State Archives to enhance free access to databases showing the service of thousands of the state’s residents in various military outfits, tied to service in … [Read more...]
Top 3 Online Resources for Finding Colonial Ancestors
Discovering colonial American ancestors is a frequent request we receive at Legacy Tree Genealogists. Colonial ancestors pose a unique challenge to the genealogist in that they often appear in many online family trees, but those trees frequently lack sufficient documentation. Eliminating the purely speculative and identifying verified relationships and accurate data is the goal. Here we share three of our favorite online resources for finding colonial ancestors. 1. AmericanAncestors.org This … [Read more...]