Avoid these common research pitfalls that many beginning genealogists fall into! If you’re looking for ways to improve your research skills, it’s always best to take a personal inventory of your research practices and habits. Following are some errors that many beginners and hobbyists make which, if eliminated, could save time and increase accuracy immensely. Collecting Ancestors This is one of the most common mistakes. Simply copying down someone else’s tree or taking their … [Read more...]
When Pension Files are Genealogy Treasure Troves
Pension files can provide a wealth of information for genealogy research. We'll show you details pension files can contain to extend your family history. As a genealogist, I enjoy working with military records and documents and really like it when a client is interested in their ancestor’s military history, too. Tracing an individual from his enlistment, through his actual service and on to his discharge can provide a thrilling – and occasionally sobering – glimpse into the life of an … [Read more...]
Using Historical Context to Learn About An Ancestor
Understanding the historical context of the stories of your ancestry can provide important insight into your personal family history. I recently had a project come across my desk where the client wanted to learn more about his father’s life during a 5-year time span that he was in the United States. Unfortunately he arrived and departed between census records, so there was no way to locate him in the U.S. that way. However, by locating him on a passenger list we were able to learn the … [Read more...]
Keeping House in the 19th Century
The occupation of "keeping house" in the 19th Century, was no easy task! Here's a look at what such an occupation may have entailed for your ancestors. Fanny Belle Kough was eighteen years old when she began her vocation of keeping house, as noted on the 1880 United States Federal Census: Becoming the wife of Hatch Harman on 16 December 1879, Fanny Belle kept house for a man more than twice her age and his eight-year-old son from a previous marriage. Eventually, Fanny Belle would also keep … [Read more...]
Robin Williams – Genealogy and the Whole Person
A younger Robin Genealogy affects each and every single person who has ever and will ever, live on Earth - including the beloved Robin Williams. Although a celebrity, Robin William's family history is rich just like each of ours. We love that genealogy celebrates people as whole individuals - not just people in their vocations or locations but as people who had parents and ancestors, people who were born, grew up, married, and experienced life. Robin Williams made a significant … [Read more...]
Exploring Your Genealogy: The Ordinary and the Extraordinary
When exploring your genealogy, you may come across ordinary aspects of our ancestors day-to-day lives, yet these details can seem extraordinary to us. Genealogy is hot. In 2012, ABC News ran a headline that said, “Genealogy Becomes $1.6B Hobby.” One reason for this trend is that we seem to have an innate need to know what extraordinary things our ancestors accomplished - even those who may be considered ordinary on a large scale - and we learn that through genealogical research. Look … [Read more...]
Celebrating Pioneer Heritage
Celebrating pioneer heritage is more than just Mormon's trekking across The United States to settle in Utah. What pioneers are in your family history? Last week in Utah we celebrated our annual State Holiday – Pioneer Day. Though the celebration began in honor of the first Mormon pioneers who arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 24 July 1847, it is now in honor of everyone (regardless of faith or nationality) who came to the Salt Lake Valley between 1847 and about 1869, when the … [Read more...]
Small-Town Newspapers: Windows to the Past
Using local newspapers in your genealogy research can provide important glimpses into the lives of your ancestors. Here's how we used a small-town newspaper to uncover details about a client's ancestor not found anywhere else. Turn-of-the-century small-town newspapers are treasure troves of genealogical information. Offering so much more than just cold, hard facts, these small-town papers reported on the social lives of their citizens, retold the drama at city council meetings, or … [Read more...]