The Legacy Tree Genealogists Blog

Hand-picked, tested and trained, our professional genealogist team knows how to find your story. We search the world for answers. Find the un-findable. And we’re experts at everything from tracking down rare international records to analyzing DNA test results. Based near the world’s largest family history library in downtown Salt Lake City, we also work with researchers and archives around the globe. Contact us today if you would like help discovering your ancestors!

Advances in Technology for Genealogy Research

Technological Advances in Genealogy

April 4, 2022 by Gretchen - Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher 2 Comments

Legacy Tree Genealogists’ Gretchen Jorgensen is a Research Teams Manager and specializes in genetic genealogy and DNA analysis. In this article, she discusses the impact of technology on genealogy with a particular focus on photographs, access to records, and DNA.Technological advances impact many facets of modern life, and genealogy is no exception. What has been considered traditional genealogy is changing dramatically, and technological advances are helping family history work become easier and more accessible.PhotographsPhotographs provide fond memories of ancestors no longer with us or of relatives not living nearby. They can also bring to life those ancestors we did not have the opportunity to meet personally. Unfortunately, old photos can decay over time if they weren't printed on high-quality paper or stored correctly. Digital images are not a replacement for original prints, but they can provide a backup and enable easy sharing.In February 2020, MyHeritage released …

Ask a Genealogist: Interesting Facts about Finnish Genealogy Research

March 29, 2022 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 6 Comments

Legacy Tree Genealogists’ Stacy Siirilä Johnson is a second-generation Finnish American and a native of Michigan. She is accredited for research in France, has bachelor’s degrees in history and French, and specializes in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Germany. We asked Stacy about her experiences in Finnish research to learn more about the nuances of researching ancestors from Finland. Q: What got you interested in genealogy and your areas of research? A: Everyone has a story to tell. My mother died when I was 15 years old, and ever since then, I have been interested in the past. History is fascinating to me, plus I just really loved learning about people's lives. I started out learning French and went to France when I was in high school. From there, a love for languages and other countries was sparked. I then wanted to learn about my paternal grandparents, who came to the United States from Finland. I also went to Finland and fell in love with the language, its …

Celebrate the Women in Your History

March 19, 2022 by Allison - Project Manager with Legacy Tree Genealogists 2 Comments

One of the challenges genealogists find when researching female ancestors is the lack of resources that document their lives. Legacy Tree Genealogists’ Allison McCord helps celebrate Women’s History Month by showcasing three women born in the mid-1800s, documented through the 1900 U.S. Census, which required more detailed information than any previous census. As Women’s History Month is celebrated in March, have you been wondering about the history of the women in your family tree? Women’s History Month fits like a glove with genealogical research. Who were your four great-grandmothers? What did the lives of these women look like at the turn of the 20th century?An excellent resource for discovering more about the women in your family tree is the 1900 U.S. Census. Available for searching the major genealogy databases such as MyHeritage, Ancestry, and FamilySearch, this enumeration required more information than any previous census. For the first time that census asked for the …

Brick Walls in British Genealogy Research

British Genealogy Brick Wall Breakthrough: A Case Study

March 8, 2022 by Jamie - Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher 2 Comments

Legacy Tree Genealogists’ researcher Jamie Kay shares a case study that demonstrates how she resolved a “brick wall” to extend the ancestry of a client’s British grandmother, who was sent to Canada in 1877. (Shared with client permission.)A client recently asked for assistance in extending the ancestry of her grandmother, Helen Lilley, who was sent to Canada in 1877 from an orphanage in Glasgow by her maternal grandmother, Helen Gray. Helen’s father had passed away and it was said that her mother was “leading an immoral life.”The client was an experienced researcher and had already documented the 1849 birth of Jessie Gray, the little girl’s mother, who was born in Tobermory, Argyll, Scotland, to master mariner Alexander Gray and his wife Helen MacLean. Copies of census records for the family were provided, including the 1871 Scotland census from Glasgow showing widowed Helen Gray with her two daughters, Jessie Lillie and Mary Gray, confirming their births were in …