Genealogy Tip of the Day

If there was a court case after a relative died, make certain you have looked up every name of every heir in the court indexes. The estate b...

Do not assume something that looks incorrect is. It may be right. The image that is a part of this post comes from a marriage record in Un...

Did your ancestor have a spouse to whom they were married for only a short time (perhaps because the spouse died young) and had no children?...

We've just uploaded our 25th webinar to our site with recorded copies for download. Today use coupon code twenty5 and save 25% on your o...

Deeds in states that used metes and bounds description of property (generally the US colonies and those states that bordered them) often inc...

While preparing for an upcoming conference, I fired off a response to an email--answering the question the way it "usually" was an...

We've added one new webinar to our March 2012 series--and we're really excited about it. Our new session is "Searching on Fol...

If your ancestor was an early settler in an area, do you know where the names of the county, township and nearby villages were obtained? Tho...

Have you read through something more than once? Did you jump to any conclusions that were incorrect? Did you overlook anything? This is a ...

Always consider the possibility that that child born when a female ancestor was 55 years of age might not have been the ancestor's child...

Those handwritten copies of the deeds in big ledger books at the records office are not original copies. Chances are your ancestor got back ...

For our new fans and as a reminder to ones who have been around a little bit longer, I have the following blogs--all are free. Posting frequ...

Is there a chance that one of the people you think are your ancestor's parents is not actually their parent? Is it possible that the wom...

Our March 2012 Genealogy Webinar schedule has been posted. Topics are: Probate Process Proving Benjamin Genealogy Proof Standard  (res...

The US federal government did not begin keeping passenger lists of arrivals until 1820. Any surviving lists in the United States were either...

When you find someone on a census or any other digital image of a record, make certain you read the entire thing---not just what shows up in...

If you have "lost" your ancestor at a certain point in time, put yourself in their shoes and see if it generates any ideas or lead...

If great-grandpa's first marriage was in his late twenties or early thirties or even later, keep yourself open to the possibility that h...

Your ancestor who supposedly "divorced" may never have bothered to go through the legal process. It was not as difficult as one mi...

Recently I was reviewing some estate records I viewed several years ago at the Family History Library. A second look at the handwritten inde...

If you're weary of the 1940 census hype, pick another year--say 1925. For that year, think about where each ancestor or relative would b...

When names are listed in an estate settlement or any similar record, don't change the order in which the names are listed as there may b...

Did your married female ancestor use her middle name for her middle initial in one record and her maiden name for her middle initial in anot...

Making and Proving Your Case . Geared towards advanced beginners and intermediate researchers, this presentation discusses things to thin...

French records dated from 22 September 1792 and 1 January 1806 follow the French Revolutionary Calendar. There is more about the calendar ...

Use ssdi as the coupon code on our webinar page and get a 60% discount on orders. Offer expires at 9 AM 10 February 2012 A list of webinar...

We've run this tip before, but it is a good one to repeat. Do you have backups of all your data in separate places? Are there document...

Occasionally bodies are exhumed and moved to other cemeteries, perhaps where a spouse or children are later buried. Whole cemeteries are som...

Years ago a fellow researcher located a baptismal entry for a family who had their child while living a distance from other family members. ...

If you have estimated a year of birth for someone, include "estimated" or "about" to let others know that you are uncert...

Who vouched for your ancestor when he naturalized? Not all naturalization records mention someone who vouched for your ancestor's reside...

Did your ancestors have three children christened at once? Don't immediately assume that it was a multiple birth. Even in denominations ...

We have just released recordings (and handouts) of my two latest webinars, "Yet More Brick Walls from A to Z" and Using DeedMapper...

My children's great-great-grandfather apparently disappeared around 1920. In a renewed attempt to find him, I  have decided to look for ...

We rarely get "newsy" on Tip of the Day, but we're making an exception for this issue. If you use the Social Security Death In...