Genealogy Tip of the Day

Before you overly analyze that incorrect marital status in a census, before you get all "fussed up" over an incorrect place of bir...

Does your ancestor have a middle name that is also a last name? Is it possible that he cannot be located in a census or other record because...

Are you using a map when you search the census for your ancestor? If you don't have appropriate, contemporary to your census problem yea...

They are all over the internet. When using any document or record that refers to dates, particularly one that says last Thursday, two weeks ...

Whenever you are writing or talking about a person be specific. First names are rarely specific enough, particularly in some families. First...

If you are going to do any research in records where the use of terms is important, land records, foreign language church records, etc. take...

When using online search interface, make certain you are interpreting all the search boxes correctly. It is very easy to get "ahead of ...

Remember that newspaper accounts of events can easily be incorrect and that every detail should be verified with other records if at all pos...

Is there a census occupation you can't quite read or can read, but think someone dreamed it up? Google the word. You may find your answe...

Take care in transcribing documents and in using transcriptions. One missed word can make all the difference. While it is not a genealogy ex...

More and more unindexed records are going online every day. When was the last time you looked to see what was "new?" My most signi...

"Low is south and high is north." It was the essence of a misunderstanding another genealogist and I had. I referred to my "l...

Just remember that not every source genealogists use is online. Many books and materials have been digitized, but many have not. Make certai...

You ancestor could easily appear in records in the state archives for the state where he or she lived. Sometimes we forget that states kept ...

Anyone who wants to join me in Salt Lake at the Family History Library in late May...check out my group trip page: http://www.rootdig.com/s...

Do you really know the geography of the area in which you are working, or are you "working" from assumptions? Best to get maps, mo...

If you are using any reproductions of original documents, be it microfilm, digital images, or photocopies, do you know what images came from...

Are you doublechecking information as you enter it into your genealogical database? Are you making certain those transcriptions are done cor...

You should have some documentation, or at least a verifiable reason for every relationship between two individuals in your database. "T...

I will be making the following presentations at the following upcoming conferences/workshops over the next several months: Topeka Genealogy ...

Going to that local courthouse to do some family history research? Know what you are looking for and look presentable. Staff will take you m...

Don't look for just births, marriages, and deaths in newspapers. Were your ancestors married fifty years or more? Did one live to be hun...

If you are looking for that female relative in a death record, Social Security Death Index, probate record, etc. remember that you need to h...

Look at every age of your ancestor in every available record? How consistent are they? Compare each and every one of them, creating a range ...

Are there old pictures you have not "gotten around" to identifying? Are there people you haven't asked that might know who is ...

I was helping a high school classmate with her son's 5 generation genealogy project. In one communication with her, I asked her if her D...

A notice to our new followers and fans on Facebook---"Genealogy tip of the Day" is sponsored by Casefile Clues, my weekly genealog...

Whether or not there are "stupid questions" is debatable. However, if there is something about a record, a resource, or an ancesto...

Is there a one-day genealogy seminar or workshop near you? Consider going. Even if the topics do not necessarily seem like they will interes...

If you can't find an ancestor in a specific record, go back and review his entries in other records or consider searching in different m...

Remember that the date a document is signed is the date of execution. The date a document is recorded at the appropriate office is the date ...

Remember--census relationships are always given with respect to the head of household. In some cases, the wife may not be the mother of all ...

Just remember that in pre-1850 United States census records the oldest person might not necessarily be the head of the household. If a grand...

One of the biggest hangups for genealogists just getting started is working before the 1850 census. Try taking those pre-1850 enumerations a...

For those new to research, it is imperative to remember that last names are rarely spelled the same from someone's birth until their dea...