‘Mayflower’ Genealogy Research Tip: Cast a Wide Net for Your Ancestor

With Thanksgiving just six days away, I thought I would search for any articles in GenealogyBank’s archives that mentioned Dr. Samuel Fuller—who was one of my Mayflower ancestors. I searched putting the terms “Mayflower Samuel Fuller” in the “Include Keywords” search box. Bang—GenealogyBank returned over 1,800 records. That’s great; I can spend a long... (Read More)

Family Tree Puzzle: Find the Faces

Here is a fun family tree puzzle shared with us by Get er Done. Do you see the faces? How many ancestors can you find in this family tree puzzle? Hint: people we’ve shown this to are reporting they can see from 8 to 11 faces. Tell us how many faces you find!  .. (Read More)

Got Burnout? Go Play in a Genealogy ‘Playground’

Introduction: In this article, Scott Phillips explains what he does to refresh himself when experiencing genealogy burnout after hitting a brick wall in his family history research. Scott is a genealogical historian and owner of Onward To Our Past® genealogy services. One of the most common concerns I hear from genealogists is burnout. It... (Read More)

Been on a Cemetery Tour Lately?

Genealogists and the curious have been touring cemeteries since time immemorial. Here is a newspaper article about a 1913 tour of Portland’s pioneers buried in the Lone Fir Cemetery in Oregon. That cemetery is still actively offering tours today: see Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery – 2012 Calendar of Events. Be sure to check... (Read More)

Obama & Romney Are Related! Genealogy Infographic

In time for the 2012 election countdown, I recently did some genealogy research to learn more about the background of both President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, and guess what—they’re related! What’s more: they’re also related to several former U.S. presidents, English kings, outlaws and celebrities. This is really huge! So huge in... (Read More)

She’s Been Workin’ on the Railroad! Researching Railway Records

Introduction: Scott Phillips is a genealogical historian and owner of Onward To Our Past® genealogy services. In this guest blog post, Scott discovers his centenarian cousin once worked for the U.S. Railway Mail Service—and delves into some railroad history. As a genealogical historian, one of the aspects of family history I love the most... (Read More)

Searching Family History: Old School Records in the Newspaper

Introduction: Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.” In this guest blog post timed with kids going back to school, Gena shows how valuable school records—in archives and in newspaper articles—can be in tracing your family history. Once again it’s that time of the year when children’s... (Read More)

Who Do You Think You Are? Sourcing GenealogyBank

Gather round the telly, grab some popcorn and let the kids stay up! Special alert to our GenealogyBank members in the United Kingdom and beyond: please pay careful attention to the next television episode featuring Samantha Womack on Who Do You Think You Are? being broadcast on BBC-TV in the UK. We received word... (Read More)

A Genealogist’s Family Story: A Blind Baby & Kind Strangers

This is a bittersweet family story, about an abandoned blind baby and the kindness of strangers. But it is also an interesting story about family history research, telling the tale of a genealogist finding the facts about her grandmother. Melissa Archibald wrote us about the brick wall on her family tree involving her grandmother—and... (Read More)