Genealogy Tip of the Day

In connecting names from different records or sources, make certain that the occupations and apparent social status implied by the occupatio...

Genealogists use maps of political and geographical features for many reasons, including to see where records might have been maintained and...

If you're looking for "something" genealogical to do, are there statements in your files for which you have no sources? Probab...

It's never ok to be rude in a courthouse, library, or archives, no matter how desperately you want your ancestors' records. The best...

When using any of the online versions of the "Social Security Death Index," remember that the location of the last benefit may not...

If you have been involved in genealogical research for some time, you may have old paper photocopies of documents or records. Photocopies ma...

If a set of relatives lived to have been married fifty or more years, have you searched for an announcement of their anniversary in the news...

If there is something in an estate inventory that is unfamiliar to you, do you determine what it is? Those items that "make no sense...

Just because two individuals have the same name does not mean that they are the same person. They could be first cousins, uncle and nephew, ...

For those of you who did not know, this is not my only genealogy blog. Here's list with the links. Enjoy! Daily Genealogy Transcribe...

Is it possible that your ancestor's death or other event was mentioned in a newspaper decades after it happened? Some newspapers would r...

If you have a death date for an ancestor and no information on cause of death, have you looked at newspapers for the era? Don't look jus...

Do all the chronologies you use in your genealogy research only focus on one person? If so, try creating a chronology that includes all even...

GenealogyBank is offering a special for Genealogy Tip of the Day fans who become new subscribers: A free copy of their latest e-book: Fam...

A reference to an ancestor as being "late of Harford County, Maryland," does not necessarily mean he was dead at the time of the r...

Try and get beyond the even that took place and think about the impact it might have had on the family. When a family member dies are there ...

When attempting to determine the reliability of information on a grave marker, try to also determine how likely it was the stone was carved ...

When posting an image to the Facebook page for Genealogy Tip of the Day, I was a little too hurried in creating the caption with the names o...

When searching newspapers for that obituary of an ancestor, consider newspapers in the town where he or she grew up, where he or she lived m...

If someone emails you a transcription of a document, do you try and get an image or a copy of the original? While it is not always possible ...

Do you create a list of research goals for yourself? It's ok to "see what you can find," but there comes a point when deciding...

Occasionally read something about a family that is similar to yours, but is unrelated to your family. The family being written about should ...

While often we really do not know how our marrying ancestors met, it can sometimes be a helpful "brick wall breaking" exercise to ...

In many records we use in our family history, the person providing information may not have been asked to clarify an answer or the clerk may...

Did that obituary confuse the half-siblings, step-siblings, and the full siblings? An estate settlement will be concerned about the accuracy...

The next time you are using a legal document, think about all the terminology in that document. Do you know what each word really means? Whe...

Those middle or first names of family members that appear out of the blue could be from relatives you do not yet know about, famous people, ...

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Names of children frequently come from family members. One additional place that people do not often think of is names of deceased spouses. ...

How familiar are you with the local geographical features (both natural and political) near where your ancestor used to live? It is not bad ...

A relative insisted an ancestor had a son named Jarvis. There was only one document that provided any evidence that this Jarvis existed--the...

If your relative died with small children and no estate, a guardian would not have to be appointed. But if the child was still a minor and a...

We have just posted our listing of August 2013 webinars. Topics include: Using Google Books Using Your FlipPal Library of Congress O...

In a year when your research is "stuck" on an ancestor, can you name five regional or national events, political movements, econom...

Are you looking at the "paper neighbors" of your relatives? The first declaration of intention shown here is for the person of in...