Encountering tragedy is common in family history research, and understanding the historical context can make the events even more personable to us. Learn how to research beyond names and dates to discover the stories of your ancestors. In doing genealogical research, it’s extremely important to look beyond the bare-bones names and dates of your ancestors, and learn about the culture, history, and events that took place during their lives. If we neglect this vital piece of the puzzle, there will … [Read more...]
Using Local Libraries and Historical Societies for Genealogy Research
One of our genealogists shares examples of how local libraries and historical societies can be a great asset for genealogy research. The Hoyt Public Library in Saginaw, Michigan In family history research, when it is discovered that a family lived in a particular town for an extensive length of time, contacting the local library and historical society can be a great investment of a genealogist's time and potentially yield great dividends. For instance, when we found … [Read more...]
Building A Family Tree: How Long Will It Take?
Are you wondering how much time it will take to build your family tree? Here's a breakdown of what to expect, and why it may help to hire a professional. As professional genealogists, a question we receive frequently is, "How long will it take to build my family tree back as far as possible?" If by, “as far as possible,” we mean as far back as the records go – which is usually considered around 1500 unless you connect into royalty – the answer is: a very long time! Putting In The … [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...]
Ancestry’s Cyber Attack and a Look at Perseverance
Ancestry's Cyber Attack, putting an outage to online records for a few days, really put things into perspective for how far genealogy records have come over the years. Last week, a new genealogy research project came across my desk and it was thrilling to delve into a 19th Century Mid-Atlantic States project and have instant access to a vast amount of records online through various online genealogy record websites. Within a few short hours of working on a census survey, I felt a great … [Read more...]