Many family historians have a collection of unidentified old family photos they're not sure what to do with--but can't bear to throw out. In this article, we'll share tips for helping you accurately date old family photos.Photographs are one of the treasures of genealogy. There is something about being able to look an ancestor in the eye—we make a connection to the people we can identify by both name and face. We search for traces of ourselves in their faces. We wonder what they were thinking … [Read more...]
Genealogy Records and Resources
Our team of professional researchers have combed the world over compiling genealogy records and resources to help you find your ancestors. Many researchers limit themselves to basic sources: the census, vitals (birth and death records), and those documents indexed online. For a brick wall, creativity and fully exhaustive searches are required, and these are strategies usually beyond the means of the average hobbyist. As professional genealogists with academic degrees and credentials, our collective experience has led to our finding answers through DNA testing, estate files, the social columns of newspapers (not just obituaries), county histories, tax records, deeds, funeral home data, social history, court cases, religious rites, civil and criminal court records, divorce proceedings, guardianship papers, military service records, and the like.
Legacy Tree Onsite: Top 3 Record Collections for Researching Jewish Genealogy
Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers, located in Lviv, Ukraine, to share the top 3 record collections for Jewish genealogy research at the State Central Historical Archive of Ukraine.The State Central Historical Archive of Ukraine holds the largest Ukrainian collection of historical Jewish documents. This includes Jewish populations that were part of the Polish Kingdom (before 1772), the Austrian … [Read more...]
Evidence Analysis Explained Part II: Evaluating Genealogy Information
This post is the second in a three-part series focusing on the concepts of evidence analysis as used in genealogy. The first post provided an overview of the evidence analysis process and discussed the concept of sources. This post picks up with evaluating genealogy information, which is the second category in the process.Understanding the Types of Genealogy InformationAfter the source (the document itself) has been examined, the next category to consider is “Information.” Information is … [Read more...]
Evidence Analysis Explained: Digging Into Genealogical Sources
This article is the first in a three-part series that explores evidence analysis concepts through easy-to-understand definitions, probing questions to be utilized while researching, and real-world examples to illustrate the concepts that will help you analyze genealogical evidence like a pro! What does a genealogist do, anyways?When I talk with those unfamiliar with genealogical research, they are often surprised by all that goes into what we do as professional genealogists. Rather than … [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...]
Legacy Tree Onsite: Beginner’s Guide to Jamaican Ancestry Research
Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers, located in Jamaica, to share her experiences with researching Jamaican ancestry.Jamaica is a multi-racial society. Though African ancestry occurs in eighty-five percent of the population, there are a large number of persons who also have European ancestry, East Indian Ancestry, Chinese ancestry, Jewish ancestry, and Middle Eastern ancestry. The first mistake made … [Read more...]
“Was My Ancestor an Orphan?” Understanding Guardianship in Genealogy
Who is considered an orphan? Someone with no living parents? Not until the late 1800s. In this article we'll explain what guardianship really means.Genealogists may encounter references to orphans in guardianship or probate records. However, researchers shouldn’t assume both parents were deceased. Those who had lost only one parent, especially a father, were termed “social orphans.” In colonial times, children were considered assets in which their fathers had property rights. Widows could even … [Read more...]
“Am I Related to Royalty?” Researching Gateway Ancestors in Your Family History
Do you descend from royalty? Determining if your pedigree contains a gateway ancestor will help prove or disprove a royal connection!Many Americans of colonial descent believe they are connected to royal or noble European lineages. While in many cases those lineages are accurate, most often they are not. Separating the fact from fiction of royal and noble pedigrees can ensure your genealogy is accurate and well sourced.Gateway Ancestors of Royal and Noble DescentA gateway ancestor is a … [Read more...]
“Burned County” Research – Mission Impossible or Possible?
“Burned County” is a phrase that many genealogists dread running into during their research and is something that many Southern researchers are more than familiar with. Whenever I hear that phrase, the scene of Atlanta burning in the movie Gone with the Wind comes to mind and I picture the ashes of all those records that burned floating around in the air. But the Civil War isn’t the only cause of burned counties.What does "burned county" mean?The phrase “burned county” may have been … [Read more...]
How to Use Fire Insurance Maps for Family History Research
Fire insurance maps can be a useful resource in helping you learn more about your family history--we'll show you how!At the time of the 1880 census, 44-year-old stonemason Frederick Richter and his 41-year-old wife Wilhelmina were living on Beecher Street in Indianapolis. Also in their household resided daughters Matilda (age 17), Anna (13), and Rosa (7) and sons Frederick (age 10) and Harry (5). Their oldest daughter, Louisa (21), and her husband, John Heimbeck (23), were also living with … [Read more...]
