Genealogy Tip of the Day

A participant on my Salt Lake City research trip found a deed that indicated the grantor was selling an undivided 1/4 interest in a piece of...

Even if you think you've tried it, try it again. I can't remember the number of times that someone has told me they had "search...

We have set the dates for our August 2010 trip to Ft. Wayne...if you can make our "last minute" trip, we'd love to have you jo...

Don't just copy the page on which your relative's name appears. Copy sufficient preceding pages so that the information is not viewe...

Don't assume those stories about having "no relatives" are true. One family insisted our branch was the only one to come out w...

Did your immigrant family have a temporary landing spot when they immigrated? Even if they lived in one state for thirty or forty years afte...

Abbreviations should be used in your records and transcriptions very very rarely. Will anyone else know what they mean? Will you remember th...

Just remember that what is obvious to you might not be obvious to everyone else. And that what is "obvious" to you might not even ...

Is the last name you think is your ancestor's last name the last name of his father or his step-father? Perhaps the mother's remarri...

If you are looking for when an ancestor died in an era before good death records, consider looking at property tax records if the ancestor o...

Keep in mind that there are a variety of records that might mention your ancestor and that are not everyname indexed. Court records, estate ...

Some information lends itself to making charts--some doesn't. Regardless there may be some way to organize information in table format. ...

If you are stuck on an ancestor, are you using the "same old sources" you always use? Are there records you avoid because you don...

If the last name is MacDonald, look for Donald. If the last name is DeMoss, look for Moss. If the last name starts with an "O," dr...

A wife's dower is that portion of a man's estate or possessions that the law assigns to his wife. Typically a third, it was determin...

Historically a woman who was authorized by law to manage her own affairs. She might have been single, a widow, an abandoned wife, or in very...

A femme covert is a married woman whose rights are incorporated into those of her husband. She doesn't have legal rights of her own.

Of the things to do when visiting that distant courthouse-remember that the purpose of the office is to do the daily business, which often i...

Is it possible that two individuals who were first cousins were actually cousins on another side of the family as well? It happens. Keep in ...

Do you really know how your ancestors said their last name? I always thought I knew how my grandmother's maiden name was said, until I s...

When a record is located, try and compare it to other records of the same type or in the same series. How is the record for your relative di...

If you enjoy "Genealogy Tip of the Day" please let others know about it. Tip of the Day is free and suggestions are welcomed. ...

Did any of your ancestor's siblings receive or apply for a military pension? If so, there's a chance your ancestor provided testimon...

Filing quickly is good--things get misplaced. However rushing to do you data entry may not be a good idea. Some records do not clearly indic...

Do you want to use a tip or two from "Genealogy Tip of the Day" in your newsletter or publication? Doing so is easy, just be certa...

If you cannot find an older relative in a census, make certain you have looked with all their children. They may be hiding there, perhaps wi...

Don't correct an original when making a transcription. Copy it as it is written. If you know spellings, etc. are wrong--comment on them ...

While you should always keep looking, keep in mind that there are times when no record exists for an event. The earlier in time you get, the...

Have you been working for too long on one family or one problem? Let it sit for a while, perhaps a week or two and work on something else. ...

It is possible that there may be more than one way to get at the same information. This can happen in two ways--copies of the original were ...

NARA M850--Pension Payment Cards are completely online at www.archive.org . Great free resource--I blogged about it here, with details on ho...

Keep in mind that you can never be one hundred percent certain that any one record is one hundred percent correct. There is always the chanc...

Anglicization is the process of translating a name into English. Many immigrant Anglicized their names after arrival--but rarely at Ellis Is...

Did your ancestor live in a county in the first years after it was formed? Is it possible the boundaries were somewhat in flux in those earl...

Remember that a "one-letter" typo can make all the difference. An "a" at the end of Johann can make it Johanna, not only...