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...]
Google Books: An Untapped Genealogy Resource
If you've done any work on your family history, chances are at some point you've tried using a Google search to see if it would come up with information you didn't already have. However, there is a lot more to researching your ancestors on Google than just typing in their name. One very useful resource is Google Books, and if you haven't tried using it, you should! Google Books is essentially a public library right at your fingertips. It's a collection of digitized books and magazines from … [Read more...]
3 Essential Websites for German Family History Research
If you have German ancestors in your family tree, or if you have worked on German research for anyone else, you may have noticed that Germany is a country that doesn't include national indexes to their records. In order to conduct research for your German ancestors you need to know the specific town or city where your family lived, and also usually the parish they attended. Since parish churches could cover several nearby towns, the parish where your ancestors' records are located might be … [Read more...]
All in a Day’s Work: Using Apprenticeship Records to Trace Your Ancestors from the United States to England
Making the leap backward from the United States to England during colonial times can be difficult. There aren’t those lovely modern passenger lists to use to determine the identity of the family left behind, places of birth, and family or friends who have already immigrated. But, if you are fortunate, and know one or two key pieces of information about that colonial ancestor, Findmypast has some great databases which can help you to make that leap across the pond. Let’s imagine your ancestor … [Read more...]
Why YOU Should Join a Facebook Genealogy Group
There are myriad websites, historical societies, and other resources for the would-be genealogist to get help when starting out, or for experienced researchers to continue learning new things from their peers. One of the easiest options that may not occur to you is to join a Facebook genealogy group. Because any user can create a group, there are options for almost every subset of genealogy (geographical, linguistic, ethnic, etc.) you could think of. Click here to download a comprehensive … [Read more...]
Civil War Pension Files Research Tips
The Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861-1864, and approximately 622,000 Americans served on either the Union (Northern) or Confederate (Southern) side. Afterwards, a provision was set up for Union soldiers or their surviving dependents to receive pensions from the federal government, though the qualifications to receive one varied through the years. Until the 1890s, only those soldiers who had incurred an injury or permanently debilitating illness as a result of their military … [Read more...]
German Evangelical Church Records Online: Archion.de
If you have German ancestry, this resource is for you! Archion.de is an online resource for German evangelical church records. Church records, which can include baptisms, marriages, burials, confirmations, and in some areas family books, are some of the most commonly used resources for German genealogical research. For those with German ancestors of the Protestant Evangelical faith, accessing church records from many areas of Germany has gotten easier over the last several years. In … [Read more...]
Why You Should Never Neglect the Newspapers
One underutilized genealogical source of information that can aid in extending family pedigrees is newspapers. It is well known, for example, that obituaries can provide family names and often maiden or married names of females that might otherwise be difficult to trace. However, obituaries are not and should not be the only sorts of articles sought. Newspapers in general add historical context to the lives of ancestors and report on other non-vital events – some significant, and some more … [Read more...]
MyHeritage Name Translation – A Useful Tool for Worldwide Research
Imagine for a moment that a man named Jean Joseph Casanouve was born in France in the early 1800s and had five sons. One immigrated to Mexico, another went to Italy, the third left for Brazil, one remained in France, and the last immigrated to the United States. Today, Jean Joseph has many descendants who revere their French ancestor - Juan José, Giovanni Giuseppe, João José, John Joseph and Jean Joseph Casanouve. Although all of these names refer to the same individual, the descendants of … [Read more...]