Genealogy Tip of the Day

If you use Google Reader to view your Genealogy Tip of the Day, be aware that Google Reader goes away on 1 July. Only Google Reader users ...

If you have a chronology for an ancestor and, during their adult lifetime, you have five year gaps where you are not certain where the ances...

When research in the United States gets back beyond a certain point, records are fewer and less likely to make direct statements. It is impo...

Keep your mind open to the possibility that an ancestor was married before what you think was the "first marriage." The reason det...

Any last name can be spelled more than one way. Some alternate spellings are "obvious." Some are not. Have you made a list of the ...

If your elusive female ancestor had a "late in life" marriage to a Union veteran, determine if she qualified for a widow's pen...

Years ago, when I began my research I obtained a copy of the 1867 marriage license of my relative. I thought that was the entire record. Las...

Have you visited all nearby university, public, and other libraries to determine if they have access to databases that could be helpful in y...

Despite numerous searches, the 1912 packet of estate papers for my ancestor Samuel Neill cannot be located. Occasionally files are taken and...

Through the month of June our sponsor, GenealogyBank , is offering a discounted rate on a subscription and a free book on using newspapers t...

Is it possible that your ancestor John Van Der Hagen became John Hagen? Prefixes attached to surnames can easily be omitted, either accident...

Everyname indexes to records are wonderful finding tools, but they occasionally have their limitations. An 1826 deed in Kentucky mentions a ...

Whenever I'm stuck on virtually any genealogical problem, I make a chart or a table. It forces me to sort out the key pieces of informat...

Is that last child your great-great-grandparents had really a "surprise child" or was it a "surprise grandchild?" It may...

Do you read through the subpoenas and notices to appear that are in a packet of court case papers? Those notices are usually directed to the...

Years ago while reading a mid-19th century christening record, the name of one village was nearly impossible to discern. In reviewing the re...

Have you paid close attention to those accountings in the estate records of your ancestor that may list to whom payments were made from the ...

Printed books are not the only ones that can have prefatory material. Handwritten record books in the courthouse may also have prefatory mat...

Through the month of June our sponsor, GenealogyBank , is offering a discounted rate on a subscription and a free book on using newspapers t...

Witnesses to a will can be related to the person signing the will, but they usually are not to be heirs of the estate. Witnesses can be rela...

Never assume that "you'll remember it." Write it down, record it. You will not remember it. The recording of any information n...

Is there any chance that your relative was enumerated more than once in a census? People who moved around census time, were working a distan...

Copies of materials that genealogists use in local courthouses are considered record copies of the original document. All of those deeds in ...

Spelling variants are the bane of the genealogist. Research does not progress very far for the family historian who insists that the only wa...

If you are contemplating donating your "genealogical papers" to a library, historical society, or other facility, discuss this wit...

There is information on our Summer 2013 "Organizing Genealogical Information" on our sister website. Check it out .

Several have expressed regret at missing our "Brick Walls from A to Z" $5 discount--so we've extended it through noon 9 June 2...

Querying databases and search engines and using other digital media  are an integral part of genealogical research. However, there are answe...

In some areas of the United States, there are independent cities that have a separate set of records from the outlying county. The City of S...

A big thanks to our sponsor  GenealogyBank . We appreciate  their continued support  of  Genealogy Tip of the Day !

If you come across an "estray book" at a courthouse, it is a book where residents could register lost property they had located, u...

A land transaction may be between father and son, sister and brother, or group of siblings and a remaining sibling. The document itself may ...

When was the last time you cleaned out your assumptions? For years I never really researched a widowed ancestor who went to Iowa in the 1860...

When using microfilm at the Family History Library (or actually any library) remeber that occasionally catalog descriptions of an item may b...

Do you have an aunt or uncle who was "sent away" because they were developmentally disabled? There was a time when individuals wit...