Genealogy Tip of the Day

Your ancestors did not have to "prove" anything when the census taker came to the door. They could get by just answering the quest...

When was the last time you reviewed material or information you obtained in the early days of your research? Did you neglect to indicate whe...

Was your ancestor institutionalized for a short time or for the last few years of their life? If so, they might have died a distance from wh...

Genealogists usually never look for original deed records--instead we utilize record copies at the local county courthouse. If you can...

We're offering our half-off download sale for the next 24 hours--until 6:00 PM Central time 28 August 2012. Coupon code halfoff at ch...

Are there any relatives you have not talked to since you've made "discoveries?" Sometimes new information gives you ideas for ...

Might does not make right. The obituary appears in three newspapers. Just because his mother's name is the same in all three doesn'...

they promise to solve a problem--no matter what they guarantee an answer within a set number of hours they refuse to give any physical a...

Do not always assume that someone died near where they are buried. It is very possible that they died while travelling or living a distance ...

The more money a person had, the more records they tend to leave. An ancestor of mine appeared in several lawsuits, land records, and other ...

Your family might have emigrated to the United States over a series of generations. My ancestor's brother Tonjes Jurgens Ehmen immgirate...

Do not assume that an ancestor who has a surname as a middle name got it because that was his (or her) mother's maiden name. Henry Johns...

When identifying people on pictures, writing about them in your research notes, or asking someone about them, try and avoid only using a rel...

Even if you are certain about a transcription or an interpretation of something, it never hurts to let it "sit" and check it over ...

Deeds to seemingly small pieces of property may hold more genealogical clues than one realizes. A deed for a comparatively minuscule porti...

Based upon yesterday's tip about US passport applications, we've created the following blog post on our sister site-- http://rootdig...

Did any relative in the United States obtain an early 20th century passport? Applications for passports in this era frequently included info...

When personally visiting a cemetery, make certain you read the entire stone for clues--front, back, left, right. Sometimes there may even be...

Keep a running list of terms and definitions for those words you encounter in your research but cannot remember. It will save you the time o...

Blog readers, followers, and email subscribers to Genealogy Tip of the Day can get my second "Brick Walls from A to Z" webinar for...

Now through 17 August, save 25% on a subscription to GenealogyBank. GenealogyBank graciously sponsors Genealogy Tip of the Day and has milli...

If great-great-grandma "disappears" after her husband dies, search near all her children. There's a good chance she is living ...

Generally speaking, genealogists should give the most weight to the information or the evidence that comes from the source that is considere...

When was the last time you visited your local library? Are they able to subscribe to any databases that could help you in your research? Do ...

Do you always carefully read every document on your ancestor for potential clues regarding alternate spellings or pronunciations of the name...

Try and avoid as much as possible, interpreting your ancestor's actions in twenty-first century terms. Remember that your ancestor lived...

Just because something is handwritten does not always mean that it is the original. Many older courthouse records are handwritten transcript...

Are there boarders, hired hands, hired girls, etc. living with your family in a 1850-1940 census? Do you know who they are? Try looking for ...

It took me awhile to find this marriage record in Ancestry.com's database of Missouri marriages. The reason was that Harrison M. Kilgo...

If you need to copy and paste text from one program into another, consider pasting into a basic text editor (such as Notepad) as an intermed...

In some locations and time periods, it may be impossible to determine the precise date when someone was born. Records may only allow you to ...

If you're just getting started with a new software package or consider trying features of your current program that you've never use...

For some of us, paragraph after paragraph of names and relationships can be confusing. To help yourself and others with whom you are sharing...

We've said it before, but it is worth repeating: "Do not rely only on online sources or printed material. The solution to many pr...

Those of us looking for rural ancestors sometimes ignore the census information regarding addresses that's contained in the far left han...