Legacy Tree Genealogists' Sheri Bennett provides some personal insight into how the love for genealogy can spread from one generation to the next. What starts as an interest shared by family can become an incurable obsession that spreads from one generation to the next. Genealogy begins as an interest, becomes a hobby, sometimes continues as a vocation, takes over as an obsession, and finally becomes an incurable disease. I have seen this in my own life and now in the lives of my children and … [Read more...]
Top 3 Resources to Trace Your Ancestry in Guatemala
Legacy Tree Genealogists works with researchers from across the globe to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers located in Guatemala to share an overview of the top 3 resources for tracing your Guatemalan ancestry. A journey through Guatemala history is essential to understand the nature of Guatemala genealogy records. Guatemala, like the rest of the Central America countries, was colonized by the Spaniards, who arrived in 1524 and conquered the native … [Read more...]
The Genealogy Research Process: 5 Steps to Maximize Your Research
We outline the 5 steps in the genealogy research process that will help you maximize your research efforts. When researching your family history, have you ever asked yourself: “Where do I even start?!” Or, in the thick of researching have you ever thought: “What do I do next?” or “How do I know what I’ve found is correct?” These are questions we’ve all asked ourselves in one form or another at some point. Genealogy can be overwhelming and sometimes that feeling of being overwhelmed turns … [Read more...]
Putting the “Story” Back in Family History
Whether you want to build your family history with as many names and dates as possible, or choose to instead focus on discovering the stories and details of your ancestors' lives, there's no right or wrong goal. It's about choosing what's important to you. Choosing How to Build Your Family History As project managers, one of the questions we ask our clients is whether they want us to build their family trees as quickly as we can, only including biographical material if it is of unusual … [Read more...]
Untangling a Varied Pedigree
On a recent client project, we untangled a varied pedigree consisting of Chinese, Japanese, and Southern American heritage. Here's how we dissected a complicated family history! As a Project Manager with Legacy Tree Genealogists, one of the best parts of my job is seeing the amazing things we are able to do for our clients. Clients come to us with questions, genealogy tangles, and often with a pile of old documents they don’t even know what to do with. We take these muddled ingredients and turn … [Read more...]
Analyzing Your Family Tree: Decoding Conflicting Evidence
When analyzing your family tree you may encounter conflicting evidence. We share our top tips for resolving conflicts in your family tree. As you search for your heritage, you may notice that sites such as Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and others might contain numerous family trees with information about your ancestors. In addition to this, your grandma, great-aunt, and other various family members may also have their own versions of your family tree. You could also find a book published … [Read more...]
Genealogy by the Numbers
In a world where genealogy is increasing in popularity, we thought you'd be interested in a breakdown of genealogy by the numbers! Genealogy by the Numbers You have two parents, four grandparents, and eight great-grandparents. If you count just the direct line ancestors, by the time you go back ten generations, you have 1,024 ancestors. Assuming that a generation is about 25 years, ten generations means going back 250 years to 1761. Then, if you figure that each family had an average of two … [Read more...]