Genealogy Tip of the Day

It never hurts to look at a record yourself. A cousin years ago told me they had read a church record of a baptism and that it indicated the...

When using census records--both searching and interpreting--think about that word got to your screen. Your ancestor said it. The census e...

If Grandma's house is still standing (or even if it isn't), have you considered drawing a map showing the rooms in the house, the ...

Double and triple check your transcriptions and conclusions. This is always true, but especially a concern if you are publishing something o...

Never discount the possibility that your ancestor was married more times than you think he was. An unknown (to you) spouse could have died v...

There are several ways an informant on a record can get confused. If a name on a document is totally incorrect, be open to the possibilty th...

There are regions of Europe where last names were not passed from father to child. In some regions, particularly Scandanavia and parts of no...

That last name you've located for your grandmother, was it really her maiden name? Is it possibly the last name of her step-father or of...

The 1796, "An Act for the Relief and Protection of Seaman" was signed into law. This act authorized the issuance of certificates c...

Did your relative die in the Civil War and leave minor children behind? If so, the child (via his or her guardian) may have received a pensi...

Double check everything Aunt Myrtle wrote in the family history in 1952. While most of it may be correct, it is possible that the renegade r...

Our sponsor, GenealogyBank , will give new subscribers a free e-book: Getting Started: Easy Steps for Climbing Your Family Tree . We appre...

When visiting a cemetery, always compare the "stone of interest" to other nearby stones? If the dates are within the same era, doe...

If you cannot find a tombstone for your ancestor in that cemetery where you know they are buried, ask yourself how certain you are of their ...

In 1873 a man named Habbe Agena immigrated to the United States with my ancestor Fokke Goldenstein. The two 16 year olds are listed adjacent...

The United States has been in wars besides the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War and the two World Wars. Is it possible ...

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

Malissa McCormick signed her name in 1891. She made the upper-case "M" in two ways. It is always possible that a writer made t...

Laws change. What was true about intestate probate inheritance in a state in 1870 may not have been true in 1950. Make certain your conclusi...

The next time you read an old obituary that you think is not helpful, stop at the end of every sentence. Ask yourself: would this fact ha...

Are there any works of historical fiction written about the area or time period in which your ancestors lived? Fiction is fiction admittedly...

When searching online newspaper content, don't ignore content from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. For a variety of reasons, y...

I'm trying to connect a couple to a woman that I think is their daughter . The potential daughter has actually been tacked down most of ...

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If your ancestor was a member of a denomination with which you are not familiar, have you learned something about their beliefs and what rec...

Our sponsor, GenealogyBank , is offering fans/followers an annual rate that is less than $5 a month . Now might be the time to give Genealo...

I've been doing this on my Rootdig blog, but I think it can be a good exercise for anyone to pick a year in their research and try and a...

If your genealogy "problem" is during a period when railroads were in operation, do you know where the nearest train station was f...

Are there conclusions that you reached quite some time ago that you've not looked at in a while? Is it possible that the conclusion was ...

I almost failed to locate the immigration to the United States of a widowed ancestor. Nanke Albers Bruns "hopped on the boat" when...

If you see a single line over one letter in a name in a document, it usually means that the letter was actually used twice in the name and n...

Genealogy Jump Start 2014! Need to jump start your genealogy in 2014?? Note date change. To help get your genealogy new year off to a gr...

In working on my list of immigrants with dates , I discovered a potential reference to an ancestor on a passenger list that I had never loca...

In some local jurisdictions, during some time periods, there may have been multiple courts that each heard specific types of cases. Make cer...

If your female ancestor married again after her husband's death and that second husband was a Civil War veteran, your female ancestor ma...