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...]
How Do I Determine Genetically Equivalent Relationships?
An understanding of genealogical relationships is necessary before diving into genetically equivalent relationships in your family history. This article will provide an overview of both concepts.Correctly evaluating shared DNA within the context of genetically equivalent relationships first requires mastery of genealogical relationships. Here we review important genealogical relationships based on some of the pertinent variables. For the sake of simplicity, we limit our analysis to biological … [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 HistoryAs 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...]
Super Human? Magician? Freaking Miracle Worker? Close…We’re Genealogists!
Have you hit a brick wall in your genealogy research? Have you considered hiring help? We share 4 tips for managing expectations when hiring a professional genealogist.As Legacy Tree’s high client ratings can attest, hiring a professional genealogist can be a deeply rewarding and exciting process. In fifteen years of service, we have helped thousands of clients learn about their heritage, identify biological parents, join lineage societies, break down brick walls, trace their immigrant … [Read more...]
Decoding Property Records: Genealogy and the Base and Meridian
Property records are full of genealogy information! Here's how understanding the baseline and meridian in land records can help in your genealogy research.Back in 1855 when the state of Utah was getting organized, the Salt Lake Meridian was established and it was from this very point that the entire state of Utah was surveyed. The stone post in this photo is essentially the center of Utah, and the baseline (or latitude) and meridian (longitude) is still surveyed from here. This was an … [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...]
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...]
