Genealogy Tip of the Day

To celebrate getting really close to 11000 fans of Genealogy Tip of the Day on Facebook, we're offering a special on my genealogy newsle...

If you've made a chronology for that ancestor and have a ten year gap in their life where you know absolutely nothing, consider research...

My ancestors are pretty much from rural locations. When they moved, they settled where they had kin or kin arrived a few years after they di...

If there is a family or person you are "stuck" on, consider putting them aside for a day or a week and working on an entirely diff...

Remember that when dealing with some record agencies, government offices, churches and private businesses, helping you with your genealogy m...

If you have a listing of the children of an ancestor, how certain are you that they are actually listed in order of birth? The ordering may ...

Before going to the library, courthouse, or other research facility, considering creating a short "cheat sheet" of key terms you w...

This 1790 era deed from Harford County, Maryland, contains a clue in the "fine print" at the very top of the record copy of the ...

If a guardian was appointed for your minor ancestor, the guardian usually was just to oversee the child's inheritance or estate. The min...

Some who have ordered webinars for download have had issues playing them. The "codec" that is needed can be downloaded here: ...

I had a really good tip for today, but I didn't write it down and now it's lost. So that's today's tip--don't rely on ...

In some families relatives may have remained in contact decades after they last lived in close proximity to each other. I'm researching ...

Have you looked at university libraries near where your ancestor lived and those a slight distance or a few counties away? Some may have spe...

We are proud to announce the release of the recorded version of my two latest webinars: Tips and Tricks for FamilySearch    - ( NEW ...

You have a genealogical problem. It does not really matter what it is. Have you interacted with another human being on that problem? Either ...

Remember in some cities, street names have changed in the last 150 years, houses have been renumbered, interstates have been built, etc. Mak...

For every political jurisdiction in which your ancestor's residence is located, do you know the bordering places? Do you know the townsh...

Amended certificates, typically ones for birth, are typical "corrections" filed where the original was incorrect or incomplete. Bi...

We are excited about our webinar offerings for February of 2012. Our topics are: Creating Your Own Genealogy Blog Yet More Brick Wall...

Early registration for my Family History Library research trip ends tomorrow (17 January 2012). More details are here:  http://rootdig.blogs...

In the 21st century in many countries, it is difficult to function without a birth certificate. Settling up an estate may be difficult witho...

Different records on your ancestor will provide different information. Sometimes the differences are slight, like an age off by a few years....

Some genealogists fail to completely research spouses of their ancestor from whom they do not descend, particularly spouses the ancestor mig...

If you missed it last night...we've just extended it for the next 24 hours (until 9 PM Central on 14 January 2012) Get the "MORE...

If the records you are trying to find can't be located in their original location or were destroyed, is it possible that duplicate copi...

Keep in mind that relationships stated in letters, diaries, and other "unofficial" records may not be crystal clear or as specific...

Keep in mind that in some parts of Europe, when a family moved to a new farm they got the last name that was associated with the farm. That ...

If you see that your ancestor is listed in a document as "choosing" their own guardian, it typically means that they have arrived ...

Last week I had my first webinar on Using Archive.org. We talked about the basics of file types and formats, but I'm not the sort of pr...

Keep in mind that some documents may have several dates, each of which serve a separate purpose. A land record may have a date of execution,...

In some church registrations of vital records, christenings of children born out of wedlock may be recorded at the end of the year of entrie...

In some denominations, if it was believed an infant was in immediate danger of dying, a family member could baptize the child in place of a ...

We've just released the recorded version of my Illinois Research webinar which discusses research in local records in the state of Illin...

A complete discussion of copyright is beyond Tip of the Day. However, you cannot copyright the fact that James Rampley was born in Harford C...

Don't immediately conclude that just because your ancestor left his daughter a dollar in his will that he was "on the outs" wi...