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...]
Research Spotlight: Colonial New Jersey Family History Resources
One of our genealogists shares insight into two Colonial New Jersey family history resources you may not be aware of!Because the New Jersey colonial census records and the U.S. Federal census schedules of 1790 through 1820 for New Jersey were destroyed, early genealogy research there can be especially challenging. Building off of an earlier blog post - Two Excellent New Jersey Resources - here two more resources that should not be overlooked if you are researching colonial New Jersey family … [Read more...]
Legacy Tree Onsite: A Visit to the Mid-Continent Public Library – Midwest Genealogy Center
Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our researchers to share her experiences with family history research at the Midwest Genealogy Center located in Independence Missouri.Genealogists are in for an amazing surprise when visiting the 52,000 square foot Midwest Genealogy Center (MGC), part of the Mid-Continent Public Library system in Independence, Missouri. This unique library located just outside of Kansas City is focused … [Read more...]
Midwives, Menus and Meteors: Using Government Reports for Genealogy
Using government reports for genealogy can add valuable social and historical context to our research.Have you ever wondered what the weather was like the day an ancestor was born? Or what the conditions were in the orphanage where Grandma lived? Was there an epidemic that could explain your great-grandfather’s early death?As family historians, we frequently have questions about the “why” and “how” of our ancestors’ lives. Answers to these questions and more can be found in one often … [Read more...]
Picking Up the Trail: Following Your Ancestors West
Have you ever wondered how or why your ancestors came west? Has finding their path of migration proven extremely difficult? Legacy Tree Genealogists has a team of specialists very experienced in answering the questions that arise while following your ancestors west and can help you reconstruct the details of their journey westward.Why the West? Settlers headed west for many reasons, among them were land, gold, religious freedom, military service, and perhaps to escape the law. Whether … [Read more...]
The Key Records You Need for Southern U.S. & Mid-Atlantic Genealogy
Some of the most difficult genealogical research problems filter down to us through the poor record keeping, burned depositories, and social customs of our ancestors who lived in the Mid-Atlantic and Southern United States. Notoriously challenging, many of the requests that we receive at Legacy Tree Genealogists are to assist others in discovering their Southern ancestors. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some of the key record types we use when solving a Southern State or Mid-Atlantic genealogy … [Read more...]
Genealogy Research at NARA: Top 5 Tips from Professional Genealogists
Many of the record collections that genealogists most frequently use when researching families who lived in the United States were created by local governments, either at the town, county, or state level. The documents these jurisdictions generated are indispensable to our research, but they were not the only jurisdictions to create crucial record collections—the federal government also created many useful documents. Some of these documents (like the federal censuses) are readily available to … [Read more...]
The WPA and Its Impact on Family History
What do the Bryce Canyon Airport Hangar in Bryce Canyon, Utah, the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California, and the Norfolk Botanical Garden in Norfok, Virginia, all have in common? They are all Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects, created to ease the financial burdens of millions of unemployed Americans affected by the Great Depression. But did you know this initiative also included projects that have greatly impacted family history research?In 1933, President Franklin … [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...]
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...]