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...]
Denied Access to a Vital Record? Try the Newspaper!
When privacy laws prevent researchers from finding genealogy records, newspaper records may provide the information you're searching for! Strict privacy laws, designed to protect both the living and the dead from having their identities stolen, can create some serious problems for a genealogist. Some states permit the acquisition of birth, marriage, or death records when the individuals named in those records have been dead for 50 years, or 100 years after the event was recorded. Other … [Read more...]
5 Tips for Finding Female Ancestors
Are you struggling to find female ancestors in your family history? We share 5 tips for locating those elusive ancestresses! “The husband and wife are one, and that one is the husband.” – William Blackstone, English jurist and judge Such a quote sounds grating and out-of-place in our twenty-first century society, but it was the legal and cultural reality under which American women lived during most of history, due to our heritage of English common law. Blackstone’s quote above is in … [Read more...]
Give the Gift of a Family History Christmas
Family history research makes the perfect Christmas gift! Here are 4 ideas to create a memorable and enjoyable holiday season with your family. With Christmas coming up, you may feel the desire to give the gift of family history research. But how can you compete with the shiny toys and brand new things that Santa will undoubtedly bring to your family? Here are a few fun ways that you can share your genealogy with those you love around the holidays. Give The Gift of Research If one of your … [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...]
Biological vs. Cultural Heritage
Biological vs. cultural heritage, also known as nature vs. nurture, is a question withstanding the test of time. If DNA testing reveals surprises in your family tree, consider what "family" means to you. Genealogy is full of surprises. As I was wrapping up a large pedigree project for one of our clients recently, a couple of birth records that had been lost in the mail finally arrived. They revealed that the man the client had always known as her paternal grandfather was not actually … [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...]
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...]