If your immigrant ancestor had a Social Security number, does that mean they were a United States citizen? Find out! Q: My immigrant ancestor had a Social Security number. That proves he became a citizen of the United States, doesn’t it? A: In the 21st century, we tend to view our Social Security numbers as evidence that we are U.S. citizens and assume that only other citizens can file an application for a Social Security number. In fact, many government and other entities use the card the … [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...]
Bringing Danish Ancestry To Life
This personal experience from a genealogist at Legacy Tree shares how finding records from her family history brought her Danish ancestry to life. In a town close to where I live is a humble little 14’x18’ log cabin built in 1855. It was one of the first permanent structures in its community, and, as it happens, was the home of my great-great-great-grandparents, Wilhelm and Laura Amelia Knudsen. Laura gave birth to six of her thirteen children in that house. While over the years the log … [Read more...]
The Basics of Tracing Your English Ancestry
Learn the basics of tracing your English ancestry with our tips and tricks. If you have ancestors from England, count your blessings. Thanks to that country's long history of early and consistent religious and government record-keeping, there are three major record groups for original research that are rich with genealogical information: church records, civil registration, and the census. While these documents were not originally designed with future genealogists in mind, they are … [Read more...]
Death Certificates: Both a Primary and Secondary Source
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...]
Where Do I Come From? The Joys of Genealogy
As genealogy gains in popularity, researchers young and old cannot help but ask, "Where do I come from?" Who are you? Where do you come from? More and more people are asking themselves these questions as they get bitten by the genealogy bug. Young people, old people, career people, stay-at-home moms and dads—it doesn’t matter who you are, you can become addicted to searching out your family tree. Find Your Ancestry Have you ever enjoyed certain family stories that have been passed … [Read more...]
10 Ways to Tell That…You Might Be a Genealogist!
Genealogy may not appeal to everyone, but those who catch the "bug" tend to get it bad! Do any of these 10 things sound familiar? * If you carry a “relationship calculator” card around in your wallet, you might be a genealogist. (Second cousin twice-removed, great-grandniece...) * If your Google home page displays the home pages to MyHeritage.com, FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, or FindaGrave.com, you might be a genealogist. * If every time someone mentions a major U.S. city, you … [Read more...]
Do Family Legends Have a Place in Genealogical Research?
Does your family history include a family legend (or two?) Here's some of the family legends we've encountered while conducting genealogical research. Every family has a storyteller or two – an uncle who brings out the same old stories at every family dinner or a great-grandma who shares cherished memories of her childhood with her grandchildren. The best stories, of course, are the ones that are passed down from generation to generation: reverent retellings of an ancestor’s importance in his … [Read more...]