Genealogy Tip of the Day

Do not forget that your ancestor might have had military service outside the major conflicts. He could have easily been a volunteer soldier ...

If you ask another genealogist for their advice, remember that they are one person and they can make a mistake. However, if four independent...

You can get two free samples of my genealogy subscription newsletter Casefile Clues , by "ordering" them here . Click "checko...

I first worked on my children's Belgian ancestors years ago. When using the vital records from the 19th century, I used them the way I h...

We have released details of our August 2012 group research trip to the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, 1-5 August. Join u...

Records related to an ancestor's involvement in the military may take the form of service records or benefit records. Service records we...

This is just a test tip to see if things are fixed after Facebook messed up on me yesterday--there's not really a tip here.

Don't take "the courthouse burned" to mean that every record before that point in time was destroyed. It might be that in r...

For the next few days, I have been banned from posting to Facebook. I tried to enter in the "security capture" code and it kept te...

Every census has an official census "date." This is the date, as of which, all questions are to be answered. The problem is that s...

Do you know how to make your genealogical software give you a list or report of all people in your database born in a certain location in a ...

Is there a distant cousin you have not researched? Consider spending some time researching them in various records. You may learn some new r...

Season's Greetings from Genealogy Tip of the Day!

Remember that as your research moves from one state to another, laws governing estate settlements, property rights, ages of consent, etc. ma...

Our series of January 2012 genealogy webinars have been announced: Illinois Research Using Archive.org Newspaper Research Tips and Tri...

If a document refers to your ancestor as the lessor on lease--he owns the property that is the subject of the lease. If your ancestor is ref...

Ever consider the possibility that the place name simply changed instead of something moving?

Remember there are several United States censuses that provide evidence of ownership of real property. Some ask for values of real property,...

Remember--no site has every record, every file, and every index. Don't do all your research via one website, one repository, or one li...

Remember that if someone truly died at the age of 30 in 1900, they could have been born in 1869 or 1870 depending upon when their date of bi...

Remember when reading any foreign language material that is handwritten, that not only are the words in a different language--the script may...

Keep in mind that information contained in court records is only as accurate as the individuals providing the information. This can be true ...

Keep in mind that the spelling of last names was not standard for a long time. The main concern when trying to determine if a last name coul...

Local court cases usually only index the name of one defendant and one plaintiff, regardless of how many people are involved in the case as ...

A derivative citizenship is one that is derived from the citizenship of the parent, usually the father. In the easiest of cases, foreign bor...

Remember that just because your ancestor appears on a 1830 real property tax list for Coshocton County, Ohio, it doesn't mean he lived t...

That family story may clearly be incorrect or greatly exaggerated. Before you throw the story out completely, think about what sources or re...

You may have several different records on your ancestor, various census enumerations, city directory references, an obituary, a mention in a...

Some smaller libraries will search specific items for specific people for a nominal charge or just the cost of copies. It can be a good way ...

If you cannot locate relatives who are interested in your ancestor, have you at least tried and contacted other genealogists who are researc...

In some cases the latest transcription of something might not be the best. If you've seen a published book of tombstone inscriptions fro...

I will be one of two featured speakers at the annual  National Societies of Palatines to America conference in Indianapolis from 14-16 June ...

Way back in 2003, I thought I had "figured out" an 1860 census entry with a few irregular entries. I even had a list of reasons wh...

Are there tombstones you have not seen, photographed, or tried to get photographs of? Tombstones are one of the most fragile genealogical so...

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