Like detectives, we approach family history by gathering all of the clues and making a case for who our relatives were: their names, when and where they were born, pushing through all of the activities of their lives until their deaths. Pulling all of the facts and clues together helps us rediscover who each... (Read More)
During this October week in American history three giants—one quite literally—died who had a big impact on America: Robert E. Lee, American soldier and Confederate general, died at 63 on 12 October 1870 John Denver (Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.), American singer-songwriter, died at 53 on 12 October 1997 Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player, died... (Read More)
A growing number of states in the U.S. are putting their vital records online, making it easier for genealogists to obtain these records. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is a prime example of how these state projects are revolutionizing family history research in the 21st Century. West Virginia has put up... (Read More)
I recently wrote the article Top Genealogy Websites, Pt. 3: Burial & Cemetery Records, which included a discussion of BillionGraves.com. This handy website provides an app that can be used to find the burial site of a relative. Let’s look into this a little more. BillionGraves is a free Internet site that encourages genealogists,... (Read More)
New Mexico Governor Susan Martinez is pushing to increase the number of federal military cemeteries in her state from two to ten. New Mexico is the fifth largest U.S. state in land mass, with 122,000 square miles. Given the long distances most state residents must travel to visit the two existing federal military cemeteries,... (Read More)
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary discusses 9 common mistakes made when doing family history research, and suggests ways to avoid them. Family history researchers are often frustrated by the mistakes of others—particularly when there is an obvious error in... (Read More)
Continuing our series on the top genealogy websites that will save you time and get you 24/7 access to the data you need and will rely on in your family history research, our next category is the best websites for cemetery and burial records: National Gravesite Locator, Find-A-Grave, and BillionGraves. This important website, created... (Read More)
Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this guest blog post, Mary looks through newspaper articles to find stories about the oldest people to have ever lived—and issues a challenge to readers to find even greater claims of longevity in the newspapers. With the Baby Boomers... (Read More)
Old newspapers provide the stories of our ancestors’ lives, helping to flesh out the names and dates on our family trees. What kind of family history can be found in historical newspapers? Let’s pick a typical, ordinary family and find out. For example, what can I discover about the Crofoot family that lived in... (Read More)
Get Helpful, Usable Tips for Your Genealogy Research.
Get Helpful, Usable Tips for Your Genealogy Research.