Genealogy Tip of the Day

I am a big believer in studying migration chains. Your ancestor did not just arbitrarily move from point A to point B. Chances are someone e...

Did you do any thinking to reach that genealogical conclusion about a parentage or a date? Did you analyze several documents to reach a deci...

While it is not really a genealogy tip, it is a good one anyway. When doing your research, consider turing "off" the email and som...

One of the best ways to organize information and see what is lacking in your research is to write up the information you already have. Prove...

Keep in mind the difference between the date a document is executed and the date it is recorded. The date a document is executed is usually ...

When interpreting a deceased ancestor or relative's actions, consider that they probably operated from a slightly different prespective....

When using any published compilation, abstract, or finding aid, read the preface (or introduction, etc.). This is where the author should in...

I don't normally mention websites here on "tip of the day," but will mention Archive.org as there is a great deal of free mate...

There are times when I need to chart out relationships within a family--without printing the entire tree or even the entire family group. I ...

One of my "spare time" activities is finding well-known individuals in United States census records. There are several potential d...

I was the teller at the recent annual meeting of our church congregation. A somewhat controversial matter came up and a member called for a ...

Is great-grandpa's will confusing? Are the relationships unclear? If so, make certain you have accessed all accountings of the estate th...

Have you looked for a relative's probate only to not find it? Are you certain that he or she owned land when he died? If you are, look f...

Most of us have at least one ancestor who was married more than once. Normally we do not descend from each of their spouses and we tend to f...

Sometimes a clue is not a clue the first time you see it. I had used a deed as a sample in my early years of teaching genealogy classes. Aft...

Do you have pictures with individuals who are not identified? Work on locating someone who might be able to help you name those people. The ...

If Grandma or Grandpa "evaporates" after the death of their spouse, make certain you have searched for all their children, not jus...

When was the last time you read a research guide or how-to book about genealogy or an area where you are researching? It is easy for even th...

Always prove dates given to you by family members, especially early generations of the family. They may not be correct, for several reasons....

An ancestor of mine was John Rucker. In some records he is listed as "Captain John Rucker." In some cases "captain" ends...

If you are looking for someone in the census and cannot find them, try reversing the first and last name. Perhaps the census taker did not k...

When a document gives the name of an informant, consider how likely they are to know the information they are providing. Sometimes the infor...

Some genealogists throw out an entire family tradition. While stories passed down from generation to generation may be exgaggerated and Gran...

Not all records or sources are created equally. That is why knowing where you obtained something is crucial. If you have a copy of great-gre...

Genealogists frequently look in the newspaper nearest to where their relative died for an obituary. That is a good place to start, but the s...

State statute determines who can be a witness, but there are some general tendencies that genealogists need to be aware of. A witness to a d...

Remember that the use of the word "late" on a document does not necessarily mean that the person was dead. In many legal documents...

Always make certain you have the dates correct. An attendee at a computer workshop wanted me to help them locate an ancestor in the 1880 cen...

Several years ago, I sent transcriptions of documents to a distant relative. She posted them to US GenWeb archives. Her submission contains ...

Obituaries are a notoriously secondary source. As such, they can easily contain errors or omissions. Sometimes this is done intentionally, s...

Locations can create all kinds of problems for genealogists. For this reason it is necessary to be as precise as possible. Some locations ar...

Remember that your ancestor might have been known by several different first names. This can be especially confusing when a researcher is ...

If some piece of information given by your ancestor in a record does not make sense, consider the possibility that he lied. People lied for ...

Many times genealogists look for a will of an ancestor and stop there--especially if they find it. But records of financial accountings may ...

Do you know where all the lines are on the map of your ancestor's neighborhood? Property lines, county lines, state lines, they all play...