Whether you are writing a genealogy report for your family or you aspire to become a professional genealogist, thorough and accurate documentation is an essential skill. Legacy Tree Genealogists’ Robert Call provides six core components that professional genealogists use that can help make your research more organized and enjoyable for others to read. Writing is an important part of the genealogy pursuit. In genealogy, the simplest form of writing we might do is data entry—entering the names, … [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...]
Evidence Analysis Explained Part III: Evaluating Genealogical Evidence
This third and final installment in the evidence analysis series considers the concept of genealogical “Evidence” and then overviews the Genealogical Proof Standard which allows for defensible conclusions in genealogy. The purpose of genealogy is to reach defensible conclusions about our ancestors. This is done through proper analysis of the evidence. When we consider the sources, the information, and the evidence we can reach conclusions which are reliable. Evidence Analysis in … [Read more...]
Evidence Analysis Explained Part II: Evaluating Genealogy Information
This post is the second in a three-part series focusing on the concepts of evidence analysis as used in genealogy. The first post provided an overview of the evidence analysis process and discussed the concept of sources. This post picks up with evaluating genealogy information, which is the second category in the process. Understanding the Types of Genealogy Information After the source (the document itself) has been examined, the next category to consider is “Information.” Information is … [Read more...]
Evidence Analysis Explained: Digging Into Genealogical Sources
This article is the first in a three-part series that explores evidence analysis concepts through easy-to-understand definitions, probing questions to be utilized while researching, and real-world examples to illustrate the concepts that will help you analyze genealogical evidence like a pro! What does a genealogist do, anyways? When I talk with those unfamiliar with genealogical research, they are often surprised by all that goes into what we do as professional genealogists. Rather than … [Read more...]
Top 3 Online Resources for Finding Colonial Ancestors
Discovering colonial American ancestors is a frequent request we receive at Legacy Tree Genealogists. Colonial ancestors pose a unique challenge to the genealogist in that they often appear in many online family trees, but those trees frequently lack sufficient documentation. Eliminating the purely speculative and identifying verified relationships and accurate data is the goal. Here we share three of our favorite online resources for finding colonial ancestors. 1. AmericanAncestors.org This … [Read more...]
The Key Records You Need for Southern U.S. & Mid-Atlantic Genealogy
Some of the most difficult genealogical research problems filter down to us through the poor record keeping, burned depositories, and social customs of our ancestors who lived in the Mid-Atlantic and Southern United States. Notoriously challenging, many of the requests that we receive at Legacy Tree Genealogists are to assist others in discovering their Southern ancestors. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some of the key record types we use when solving a Southern State or Mid-Atlantic genealogy … [Read more...]