Genealogy Tip of the Day

If late in their lives, you can't trace one of your older relatives, consider the possibility that Grandma moved in with one of her chil...

Even if no one mentions it, even if people insist it did not happen, consider the fact that a widow married again after her husband's de...

The document refers to John as Tom's brother? Keep in mind that the actual meaning may be full brothers, half-brothers, step-brothers, o...

If your relative lived through a war, try and determine how that war might have impacted their life. Did they serve? Were they drafted? Did ...

Family members may have taken in the child of a relative to raise as their own. That child, in various records, may be listed as "adopt...

If you locate a deed in the United States where a number of related individuals (and their spouses) are selling real property, it is reasona...

Topics for my March 2013 webinars are: No Will. No Problem! GenealogyBank (rescheduled) Using Internal Revenue Assessment Lists 1862-18...

Genealogy Tip of the Day  is sponsored by GenealogyBank. GenealogyBank offers a variety of digital images and databases by subscription, i...

Researched in "burned" counties can be difficult. Try and think of what sources were not present "at the burning." Feder...

If your handwriting looks like a scribble, print clearly when identifying people in photographs, making handwritten notes, etc. Any part of ...

If you are having difficulty reading an old document, consider typing the word the way it looks into Google. You might be surprised to find ...

A relative had the middle name "Amos." I could not determine where the family had gotten this name as it was not a name used in th...

Constructing Database Searches: A Short Course With Michael John Neill February-March 2013 (scroll down for specific schedule) Ty...

A "brother-in-law" could easily be the husband of your sister, your wife's brother, or your wife's sister's husband. I...

We are again offering our "short" courses this February and March: Organizing Genealogical Information --now in the evenings! ...

If your ancestors were married by a Justice of the Peace and the only location on the marriage record is the county, try and determine where...

Owning property in Coshocton County, Ohio, does not mean your ancestor lived in Coshocton County, Ohio. Your ancestor may have been a specul...

When searching for names with  prefix like McNeill, MacNeal, O'Neill, DeMoss, Van Der Hinderman, etc. consider searching without the ...

Why was that document created? Why was the informant the informant and not someone else? Why did they get married where they did? Why was th...

When having difficulty transcribing or reading a specific word on a document or record, focus initially on words and phrases you know. Many ...

I recently found an affidavit witnessed by an ancestor in Nebraska in the 1880s. In looking at the names of the other four witnesses on the ...

If you are fortunate enough to have another genealogist to work with on one of your families, try to initially analyze information separatel...

It's possible that a family bible, set of letters, or other artifact from your family is housed a significant distance from where your a...

Genealogy Tip of the Day  is sponsored by GenealogyBank. GenealogyBank offers a variety of digital images and databases by subscription, in...

Even if you need to do your research remotely, try and make some sort of contact with a "local." In many areas, particularly rural...

We've set the dates for our 2013 Family History Research Trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City in May. Join us for a wee...

We've just released our Fold3.com webinar recording which was completed yesterday afternoon. This presentation discusses the basics of...

If you are stuck on your own family, read a genealogical study of a family in a similar time period and location as yours--even if they are ...

If the "version" of a document or record you are looking at is typed, ask yourself if the original was probably typed as well. If ...

Many fee-based genealogy websites have annual and monthly subscription plans. While usually an annual plan is most economical in the long ru...

If you are searching digital vesions of newspapers, you my want to browse the images for the time period of interest. If the paper was a wee...

Events are rarely listed on documents in the order in which they took place. Chronologies have been discussed in "Tip of the Day" ...

Have you made your own map of the neighborhood or area where your ancestor lived, putting names of key locations (churches, places of employ...

Don't assume that a bride or a groom was only married one time. That marriage when great-grandpa was 24 might not have been his first. A...

Tract book entry from Ohio--1821 The Bureau of Land Management Office tract books are a good source for additional information on your ...