Latin American ancestry can be challenging to research due to the lack of comprehensive and easily accessible records. Available and surviving records can be challenging to access due to their location or language or because they have not been digitized and made available online. Because of these challenges surrounding the availability of records, many people in Latin America and of Latin American descent turn to genetic genealogy and DNA testing to learn more about their ancestry and … [Read more...]
How To Find Your Family Coat of Arms: United Kingdom and The Commonwealth
Are you curious if your family has a coat of arms that you may be entitled to use? Many people find a coat of arms fun to display at home or a family reunion. Although selling coats of arms by surname has become a popular business, in most cases, they were granted for individual use only. While a coat of arms could be inherited, it could only be transmitted from father to son. Have you ever wondered if your family has one? What is a family coat of arms? A coat of arms is a hereditary … [Read more...]
Autosomal DNA Test Results: Using Ethnicity Estimates to Generate Genealogical Hypotheses
The material in this autosomal DNA blog article was originally published in the October-December 2021 issue of NGS Magazine. It is updated and republished here with permission. Autosomal DNA test results at the major genetic genealogy testing companies (23andMe, Ancestry, Family Tree DNA, LivingDNA, MyHeritage) include two main elements: ethnicity admixture estimates and genetic cousin match lists. While genetic cousin match lists are the most helpful resource for solving genealogical … [Read more...]
Digging for Deaths: Understanding the Census Mortality Schedule
This is the first article in a series meant to introduce mortality schedules and the information contained within them. The follow-up article will include examples of interesting tidbits and intriguing stories that these records have helped to uncover. Across most of the United States, consistent, statewide registration of vital events, such as births, deaths, and marriages, did not begin until the twentieth century. For genealogists, this creates a gap that is sometimes difficult to … [Read more...]
15 Steps to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestors
Immigration ancestor research can be very rewarding as you discover the story behind your ancestor's journey across the pond. In this guide, we share 15 steps to discovering your ancestor's story of their journey to the United States and help you retrace their steps to find the records and data to verify your heritage. If you live in the United States and your ancestors aren’t Native American, then your ancestors crossed the pond at some point. Depending on the time period and proximity to a … [Read more...]
Technological Advances in Genealogy
Legacy Tree Genealogists’ Gretchen Jorgensen is a Research Teams Manager and specializes in genetic genealogy and DNA analysis. In this article, she discusses the impact of technology on genealogy with a particular focus on photographs, access to records, and DNA. Technological advances impact many facets of modern life, and genealogy is no exception. What has been considered traditional genealogy is changing dramatically, and technological advances are helping family history work become … [Read more...]
Setting the Record Straight: 6 Common Myths About Hiring a Professional Genealogist
One of our genealogists breaks down some of the myths about genealogical research and provides valuable insight into the process of hiring a professional. This article may answer some of the questions you have about hiring a genealogist to research your family's history. As professional genealogists, genealogy is our passion as much as it is our profession. We love nothing more than to sink our teeth into a juicy ancestral mystery, gather up all available evidence, and piece together … [Read more...]
Meet Tani, Project Manager for Legacy Tree Genealogists
Meet Tani, one of Legacy Tree Genealogists talented project managers! Tani began her love affair with genealogy as a young girl at sleep-overs with her maternal grandmother when together they would compile family history books. Later visiting the Family History Library with her mother and grandmother simply fanned the genealogy flame in her young heart. Both of these amazing women spent many of their final days and hours fully engaged in compiling records with sources and stories to pass on to … [Read more...]
Shocking Ethnicity Estimate Leads to Life-Altering Discovery
A surprising ethnicity estimate leads Tom to explore the possibility that the father who raised him was not his biological father. Sometimes, genetic genealogy test results don’t fit with what you might expect given what you know (or think you know) about your family tree. These anomalies can sometimes be explained by the way in which estimates are generated. Other times, surprising ethnicity results are instead due to cases of recent misattributed parentage. Such was the case with Tom. We … [Read more...]