Our team has completed thousands of hours of writing client biographies. Review our tips for writing family biographies that will help make your ancestors come to life! Recently, we published a post on tips for writing a family biography that others would want to read. Perhaps that article inspired you to begin your own, or to dig up an unfinished manuscript and take a closer look. Maybe you’ve got the organization part figured out, but your writing itself needs some polishing. At Legacy … [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...]
Research Pitfalls of Beginning Genealogists
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...]
Google Searching Tips for Genealogists
In the digital age, searching for your ancestor's records is easier than ever. Read our 5 tips on using Google to navigate your genealogy search. You may be surprised what amazing genealogy finds you can discover using just Google alone! Thousands of photos, scanned books, and online genealogical collections are available that aren't at the usual big websites like Ancestry or FamilySearch. A reasonably exhaustive search should include a plunge into Google. Most know that you search for an … [Read more...]
6 Valuable Resources for Tracing French Ancestors
These are the resources you've been searching for to trace your French ancestry! Use the tools professional genealogists use to break through century-old brick walls. One of the greatest challenges in tracing immigrant ancestors is determining their town of origin in the home country. Some records may provide clues of their nationality or ethnicity, but narrowing the search further can be difficult. Though this article deals specifically with tracing French immigrants, these principles … [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...]
Free World War I Records Through the End of July and Beyond
One of the best things to hear as a genealogist is, "Free records!" World War I records have been offered free from MyHeritage through the end of July. Enjoy! 100 years ago, Serbia was invaded by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The date was July 28, 1914. This act marked the beginning of World War I, one of history's deadliest conflicts and the impetus of many political changes worldwide. In memory of this event, MyHeritage is offering free access to its World War I records through the end … [Read more...]
State Land Grants or Patents for Genealogy
Using state land grants or patents to obtain vital genealogy documents is one way to help tear down your family history brick walls. We've recently been helping a client discover more about an ancestor who lived in North Carolina in the mid- to late-1700s. Southern U.S. research that's this early requires a careful look at existing documents, especially since often there aren't nearly as many documents available as there are for the mid- to late-1800s. We were happy to find that this … [Read more...]