Genealogy Tip of the Day

We are currently running a sale on the first 68 issues of my weekly how-to newsletter, Casefile Clues , which sponsors Genealogy Tip of the ...

I have been reading First Generations: Women in Colonial America  for the past several days. It has given me some insight into the Colonial ...

Think about your genealogy resolutions for 2011. Pick one small one that you can reasonably obtain. Write it down on a post-it note and put ...

When locating records and putting them in your files, make certain that just because the "name's the same," that you actually ...

Don't forget that Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by my newsletter Casefile Clues . Casefile Clues  discusses genealogy sources, m...

Remember that the children may not know their mother's maiden name and what they do know is not first-hand information. They may think t...

Just because your ancestor uses the phrase "my now wife" in his will, it does not mean he had to have been married twice. A man mi...

A relative claimed he was born in Fort Huron. The actual location was Port Huron. One letter makes a difference, even more noticeable at the...

It is important somewhere to keep track of your research logic as you progress. Otherwise you might not remember "why" you are res...

The man's name was Mel Verslius. His World War 2 draft card accidentally listed him as Melver Sluis before they made the correction. Any...

Season's Greetings from Genealogy Tip of the Day. Enjoy your time with the living relatives this holiday season. Your ancestors will sti...

If your ancestor's last name has a "t" in it, did the "cross" on the "t" over another letter and "cha...

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Always make certain you know what you are searching.  I recently wasted nearly fifteen minutes searching for someone in the 1900 census befo...

Most of us use chronologies in our ancestral research--consider making a resume for your ancestor. List what years he worked what jobs. Cens...

Don't forget today is the last day to vote for "Genealogy Tip of the Day" as one of the top 40 genealogy blogs. http://www.sur...

Some database search interfaces allow users to search on other fields besides names. If the site you are using allows this, consider searchi...

Before you spend hours searching an online database, determine how complete the database is. Some sets of data include all records in a spec...

Take a look at a perpetual calendar and see what day of the week your ancestor was married, died, etc. People might have avoided getting mar...

While state statute usually defines these terms, it is generally true that an heir of a deceased person is someone who inherits from the dec...

Don't forget if you have found that will in the packet of probate papers for your ancestor that there might be a "will record"...

Repeated names can be clues to names of earlier family members. Repeated names are not guaranteed to mean that any given ancestor had a part...

Genealogy Tip of the Day has been nominated for one of the Family Tree Top 40 blogs. Remember that Tip of the Day is not about being long-wi...

It does not matter how "odd" the name is, even if one detail fits. A very distant relative of mine claimed online that my aunt die...

While tracking a relative through census records, it appears that she left Missouri shortly before her first marriage. Forty years later, af...

Keep in mind that if your ancestor "translated" his or her name they might have used conventional translations others from their e...

Remember that Grandma is not considered someone who can provide primary information about her own date and place of birth. It's not that...

We often suggest to researchers that people move in groups and settle where they know someone. And most of the time people do. Keep in mind ...

Have you contacted the local library in the town/county where your ancestors lived? Is it possible they have access to resources that aren...

Don't assume that just because the names are "close" that they have to be a match. I was looking for information on a William ...

Don't get too hung up on using ages or years of birth in online indexes. A 8 can look like a 5, or vice versa. That can easily age someo...

Are you really reading, thinking about, and interpreting the information you have found? Or are your eyes merely passing over the words, loo...

When a child gives information on their parent, it comes from second hand knowledge. It also could be given decades after the event took pla...

When using a search option at an online database, do you know how that site implements wildcard searches, Soundex searches, and other search...

Are you spending too much time looking for a specific record that might not really even help your research all that much? There's a coup...