Genealogy research is rarely easy or straightforward, and African American genealogy research adds a whole other layer of complexity when you’re looking for enslaved ancestors. We’ve compiled some of our best tips and information with links to help you get started on your genealogy journey with confidence. FINDING AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN YOUR GENEALOGY RESEARCH Researching women in history is already quite difficult, but it can be even more difficult to find African American women … [Read more...]
How Knowing Family Stories Helps Overcome Challenges
Embracing Your Family Stories The genealogy journey is one fraught with unexpected discoveries and stories. As you delve deeper into family history and past stories, there can often be positive and negative surprises that shift your perspective of yourself and the world around you. As you learn about the past, you can choose to create a future that your descendants can be proud of and, in so many ways, come to understand yourself better and grow as an individual. Growing From Your Ancestor's … [Read more...]
The Best Family History Activities
October is Family History Month, and we’re here to help you find motivation to get started on any piece of your family history that you’ve been hoping to start. Family History isn’t just sitting at a computer looking through archives and search engines. Family History includes learning more about your ancestors’ cultures, and then weaving them into your own family traditions. It’s gathering family around to tell stories and share wisdom. This month, we hope you’ll find a bit of time to … [Read more...]
Latin American History Month: Intro to Latin American Genealogy Research
Do you have Latin American heritage and want to know more about your ancestors? Latin American history and traditions are rich, complex, and full of life. In this article, we’ll give you an introduction to Latin American genealogy with resources to help you get started with confidence. Here are a few things you’ll want to know to set yourself up for success. Record Sets for Latin American Genealogy Research Whether your ancestors lived along the U.S./Mexican border or the southernmost tip … [Read more...]
Why You Should Create a Family Office and Succession Plan
Many think they have unlimited time to organize a will, structure finances for descendants, and transmit the most important life details to their children and grandchildren. But sometimes, life gets in the way - illness, incapacity, and death come sooner than expected and can leave descendants to unravel the complications left behind. That happened to Josh Kanter, son of tax lawyer and venture capitalist Burton Kanter. "When my father passed away from cancer in 2001, I was in the room, and … [Read more...]
Australian Aboriginal Genealogy
As you begin Aboriginal genealogy research, it's important to realize that the connection that Australian Aboriginal people have to the land is a concept that is sometimes difficult for non-Aboriginal people to understand. The term ‘Country’ is used to describe the area a family or community came from, and once this is established, the connections can be shared, and links to existing relatives can be established. Like many First Nations communities affected by invasion, genocide, and … [Read more...]
How GEDmatch Can Amplify Your Genealogy Research
How can GEDmatch help you to accurately identify DNA matches? We recently sat down with GEDmatch's Tom Osypian to understand how individuals can best use the GEDmatch tools to organize DNA matches and reach out to their relatives to create the most accurate family tree possible. How has GEDmatch evolved since its inception? Tom: GEDmatch started around 2010 as a Gedcom comparison site. As DNA testing took off, we started developing algorithms to compare DNA test results, and it's … [Read more...]
What It Was Really Like To Find My Biological Father: love and persistence find a way
The following is a personal account of one of our clients who shares her experience of finding her biological father. You can read her story below, and you can also watch her tell her story here on our YouTube channel. My name is Tiffany. This is the story of my journey to finding my father. I am 49, and I've never known my biological father or his family. My mom was 17 when she got pregnant, and they only dated or hung out for a couple of weeks; she went back to visit family in New … [Read more...]