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Tips to Identify Women in Historical Records

August 13, 2021 by Jessica - Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher 8 Comments

Women around the world

Legacy Tree Genealogists' Jessica Howe specializes in finding unknown ancestors. In this article, we discover some tips for identifying women in historical records by learning how cultural differences worldwide affect names and naming practices. Suppose you have searched for female relatives in online databases. In that case, there is a good chance you've come across an alternate spelling of their name or found that they went by a completely different name throughout different records. Here … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asian Genealogy, Genealogy Tips & Best Practices, Immigration, Irish Ancestors, Vital Records

Tying the Knot: Ancestral Marriage Records and Where You Might Find Them

February 7, 2020 by Carolyn - Legacy Tree Genealogists Project Manager 7 Comments

marriage records

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...]

Filed Under: Church Records, Vital Records

What If the Vital Record Doesn’t Exist? 3 Vital Record Substitutes You Can Use in Your Genealogy Research

April 12, 2019 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 1 Comment

vital record substitutes in your genealogy research

In this article we explore several vital record substitutes you can use in your genealogy research when vital records are not a research option. Today, the United States Legislature governs US vital record-keeping including registering births, marriages, and deaths. These vital records make it easier to follow a paper trail from parent to child and extend our genealogies back several generations. However, some states did not mandate vital record recording until the 1900s. Because of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vital Records

Using the Records of the Social Security Administration

November 20, 2017 by Christy - Legacy Tree Genealogists Editor 5 Comments

Social Security Administration records for genealogy research

Records of the Social Security Administration are extremely valuable when completing genealogy and family history research for individuals who lived into the twentieth century. They can provide full name, birth date and place, parents, and spouse information, and are almost always well worth the investigative time needed to find and obtain them. Three records sets are of particular interest and will be discussed in this article. The first is the Social Security Death Index, the second is the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Genealogy Records and Resources, Vital Records

Legacy Tree Onsite: Finding Lutheran Ancestors at the Church Registry Office in Hanover

May 2, 2017 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 4 Comments

Legacy Tree Genealogists works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked Sylvia, onsite in Germany, to share her experiences using the Kirchenbuchamt Hannover (Church Registry Office of Hanover) to find ancestors in the 19th century. Many descendants of German immigrants will be all too familiar with the problem: you’re trying to find that hometown in Europe, but passenger lists or documents give only "Hanover" or "Hannover" as the birthplace. (The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Archives & Repositories, Church Records, Germany, Vital Records

Disease, Epidemics, and Your Ancestors

March 20, 2017 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 2 Comments

It does not take long delving into the world of genealogy to see that death and high mortality rates were more intimate and frequently encountered facts of life for our ancestors than for us in modern times. Lacking much of the knowledge and technological advancements of later eras rendered even everyday life more dangerous, and learning about disease and its impact on history can provide great insight into our ancestors – their habits, fears, superstitions, diets, religious beliefs, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Genealogy Tips & Best Practices, Vital Records, Writing a Family History

Divorce and Your Ancestors: Tracing the Split

October 4, 2016 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 6 Comments

Marriage records are a core, basic record type in American genealogy, and one that even the most beginner of researchers usually knows to look for. Useful for creating a timeline, learning a woman’s maiden name, identifying family members, and a host of other possibilities, marriage records are also the most common and oldest type of American vital record in most parts of the country. Though statewide registration of births and deaths did not begin in most states until the early 20th century, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Genealogy Records and Resources, Genealogy Tips & Best Practices, Methodology, United States, Vital Records

Death Certificates: Both a Primary and Secondary Source

April 24, 2015 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 11 Comments

When conducting genealogical research, it is important to remember that some documents are considered a primary source, and some are considered secondary. Our article, Evidence Analysis Explained: Digging Into Genealogical Sources discusses the nuances between the two, but suffice it to say that a primary source is one created as close to the actual event as possible with participants in that event providing the information. A secondary source was created after the event took place and by … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vital Records Tagged With: advice, ancestry, certificate, death, genealogy, help, primary, resource, resources, secondary, source, tips

Denied Access to a Vital Record? Try the Newspaper!

December 30, 2014 by Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

When privacy laws prevent researchers from finding genealogy records, newspaper records may provide the information you're searching for!  Strict privacy laws, designed to protect both the living and the dead from having their identities stolen, can create some serious problems for a genealogist. Some states permit the acquisition of birth, marriage, or death records when the individuals named in those records have been dead for 50 years, or 100 years after the event was recorded. Other … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Newspapers, Vital Records Tagged With: archives, family history, genealogy, genealogy resources, genealogy tips, newspapers, research

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