Genealogy Tip of the Day

There are things that researchers will not be able to pinpoint precisely. No record might exist that provides great-grandfather's exact ...

I've seen quite a few deeds in my genealogy research. Recently I located one where the wife was listed first, instead of the husband. Wh...

More material than ever is available in digital format, either free or on a fee-based site. Remember that a significant amount of material e...

Planning a trip to a remote courthouse or archives this summer? Do not assume they will be open just because you are coming. Offices have te...

You've found your ancestors in the 1850 census, but there appear to be gaps in the ages of the children. It is possible that some died a...

Just because someone is left out of an ancestor's will does not mean they were not the ancestor's child. They might have received pr...

Is it possible that the census taker got off a line while writing up the actual census that we are using? It is possible that he got the age...

Remember when transcribing any document items should be copied as is. If you see an obvious error, you may wish to insert [ sic ] after it t...

Think about all that you know about your "brick wall" ancestor. Now, cross one of those "facts" as being not true--even ...

When finding anyone in a census record, remember to read the entire page. There may be notations in the margin and at the very least those c...

Did any of your aunts receive a Civil War pension, Revolutionary War pension, etc.? Don't think it couldn't help you in your researc...

Don't just use one database when performing searches. If there is another site that indexes the same data, their index might allow for d...

If you see your ancestor as a party on a quit claim deed, pay close attention to whom he was buying land from or to whom he was selling it. ...

When analyzing any record, remember that it may be partially true and partially false. Most documents contain several statements. Rarely is ...

For those who like "Genealogy Tip of the Day," but don't want the clutter of Facebook, there are other ways to get the Tips. O...

Take a good look at that tax list or pre-1850 census on which you found your ancestor. Are the names written in rough alphabetical order? Th...

Assume your ancestor is correct when, on 5 January 1850, he says he is 50 years old. What does that mean? He could have just turned 50 tha...

Some descendants of Thomas Johnson Rampley assumed his middle name was his mother's maiden name. While sometimes middle names that are ...

If you cannot find a naturalization record for an ancestor, keep in mind that he might never have naturalized. If your ancestor did not want...

Remember that there might be more than one person who fits the details of the person for whom you are looking. I was working on a George But...

Remember that any relative, even the most well-meaning and reliable one, can occasionally tell you something that is incorrect. Verify every...

We all know that census records can contain incorrect ages. When searching online databases, besides having the years of birth for people I ...

In reviewing handwritten notes for an article, I looked at the way I had written the last name "Butler." If I had not known what t...

Always keep in mind that there may be multiple records that may provide information on the date of an event. The date of your ancestor's...

Just because names are the same does not mean it's one person with a variant name. My ancestor was Nancy Jane Newman. She had a first co...

Are you keeping track of the people who "weren't" the right ones and WHY they weren't the correct ones? Often a person wil...

Is there one or two "boarders" with your family in the census? Just because they are listed as a "boarder" doesn't m...

This has been a tip before, but it bears repeating. Sometimes in our haste to gather information, we fail to record why we did certain th...

Remember that in order to do certain things, get married, write a will, buy property, vote, etc. a person had to be a certain age. Is an e...

Years ago, I made an extract from a document and incorrectly typed the year as 1850. I've repeated that year numerous times. For an upco...

Don't forget that the 1860 US census asks individuals if they were married within the census year. This might be a clue if there are cou...

Consider a day (or two) of no actual research to locate new information. Instead, organize and enter into your database information you have...

The first time you use a database or website, make certain you know what you are using and understand where the data is from.  Titles can be...

Consider how much time you have spent trying to locate that one record. It might be time to work on something else. I have a relative for wh...

If the sources don't match, don't assume that the information they provide is incorrect. If you have two different dates of birth, i...