Genealogy Tip of the Day

Some regular readers know that I spend a week in Salt Lake City at the Family History Library every year. The one thing to avoid are the sma...

If you are writing a family history (even a brief one), set yourself a deadline. While there are frequently new sources or items that can be...

Apparently a Tip fan had difficulty using the code "half" to purchase webinars at 1/2 off. If you had issues with the coupon, emai...

Are you stuck on a problem? Get off the computer. Write down everything you think you know about an ancestor. Don't refer to your record...

I'll admit it. The man that I'm 99% certain is my ancestor's brother had not been located in every census in which he should be ...

In August, I'll be leading a small research group at the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Our trip runs from 1-5 Augus...

If the amount of "consideration," or what was given for the real estate (often cash) is a token amount, determine if there was a r...

I was working with some deeds at the Family History Library in Salt Lake and for some reason instead of taking notes with the deed volumes a...

When transcribing a document--even in your software program--consider including a quick citation in brackets at the beginning of the transcr...

Before you work across the pond with your ancestor or even across the country, make certain you have done all your research in the area of s...

I spent a some time experimenting with a Chicago newspaper database recently, hoping to find a death notice for a relative there. The man wo...

We offered this to our Facebook fans yesterday and are repeating it here. You can get my webinar "Using the US Census at Ancestry.com...

Henry Smith leaves a widow and eight children when he dies in 1820. It is possible that she is the mother of all his children, some of his c...

Avoid making unplanned genealogy trips a distance from where you live--particularly if you are unfamiliar with the hours and the facility. M...

I have put two new webinars on the docket for later this month, based upon requests of attendees.  "Crossing the Pond (part 2)" wi...

If your ancestor died with a widow surviving with minor children, a guardian might have been appointed by the local court. This guardian fre...

To celebrate my annual trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake, we are running our $5 special from now until I depart for Salt Lake...

Keep in mind that before 1906, naturalization procedures were not consistent throughout the United States and it is always possible that you...

When was the last time you read up on a source or type of record that you know little about? When was the last time you read a how-to articl...

I will be making presentations at the following conferences over the next month. Northland Genealogical Society-June 2012-Kansas City, M...

If the estate records of your ancestor indicate she died "intestate" that means there was no valid will that was admitted to proba...

Have you written down those stories your grandparent or older record used to tell you? Have you written down those stories of things you did...

I have given four Brick Wall from A to Z webinars--and I'm not doing any more. These are titled: Brick Walls from A to Z More Brick...

My "Crossing the Pond" webinar was recorded today and has been uploaded for immediate download. This presentation discusses proble...

Always pay close attention to names of passengers that appear next to your ancestors on a passenger manifest. They may be names you encounte...

Some universities have local or regional historical materials in what frequently is termed a "special collection,"usually in the l...

Is it possible that your ancestor's name was spelled in a different way on a document, record, or tombstone because there wasn't roo...

Whether a name matches depends on more than the exact same spelling. It is only in recent times when consistent spelling has become importa...

If it appears that the "mother" of a child is in her mid-fifties or older and there's a gap of quite a few years between the l...

Naturalizations before the reform of 1906 typically provide little in the way of genealogical details. Records after the reform tend to cont...

If you can't find a person in a census index, try reversing their first and last names. It is possible the census taker (or other record...

In the United States, during the time before the Cable Act, a native born American woman would lose her citizenship status if she married a ...

In 1912, Miriam Pierce had a Presbyterian minister write a letter on his office letterhead to the US pension office inquiring about a milita...

Has it been some time since you conducted that unsuccessful search for an ancestor in a specific record? Perhaps a second look is in order. ...

We have just announced the remainder of our May 2012 genealogy webinars: Crossing the Pond--10 May 2012--for help with those immigrant ances...