Genealogy Tip of the Day

Don't always assume that "adopted" children were unrelated to the family. There could have been some relationship between the ...

Sometimes we need to be persistent in our research--like the dog that just won't let go of a bone. However there is a flip side to tha...

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

Inventories of your ancestor's estate can not only give you an idea of his worth at the time of his death, but they can (among other thi...

View every document or record that you find as an iceberg where the item you have located is only that portion which is viewable. Underly...

We are very excited about the release of our webinar that had the largest online attendance ever: "Online Search Strategies." The ...

This site is one of the few that will allow you to enter in a list of surnames and generate a table of codes for those names. Neat little p...

"I give this property to John Smith and his heirs and assigns forever." The phrase "heirs and assigns forever" means ...

When looking for possible relatives of your ancestor who appears to have simply been dropped off of a UFO into Ohio in 1814, keep yourself o...

In current genealogy terminology, we say that information is primary or secondary. Generally speaking primary information is provided by som...

Do you pay close attention to the informants listed on death certificates and other records that include this information? Many times the in...

On your "brick wall" problem, have you written down things which you have assumed and those things for which you at least have one...

Two dimensional maps have the limitation of being two dimensional. Would your ancestor have gone to do business in the town that was closest...

When working in locations with which you are unfamiliar, make certain you have the names of places spelled correctly. In some states, partic...

Not everyone who took out a marriage license got married. It is possible that the couple had a change of heart and didn't follow through...

Do you learn about the records that were used to create a database or finding aid before you use that database or finding aid? If you don...

We've added two new webinars to our schedule for next week: Using the "New" Search at Ancestry.com--26 March 2014 Structur...

Have you considered the possibility that the first letter was dropped off that last name for which you are looking? Sometimes this is more l...

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

Only have 15 minutes to work on your genealogy? Transcribing a census or other short document or filing materials are good tasks that can be...

If you had difficulties with downloading the free brick wall A to Z webinars that we gave away , please email me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com an...

Try to download personal use copies of all data you can. What was free may suddenly not be or you may choose not to renew a subscription to ...

If you are using a transcribed copy of a document, it is possible that the transcription contains errors or omissions? All it takes is one...

Through midnight (11:59 PM Central) on 17 March 2014, I am giving away copies of my "Brick Walls A to Z" presentations. Details he...

Be careful assuming who is who when children have similar names. Just because the names "sound close" does not mean that they are ...

Some genealogical discoveries aren't being made because something is in the way. Sometimes it is an assumption you've made that is i...

Do you know how many grandchildren and great-grandchildren your great-grandparents have? Do you know what happened to each of them? Is there...

Research before 1850 in the United States presents special challenges--particularly in those areas that were a part of the frontier. If yo...

Due to popular demand, we've added a second section of this class--which will meet for discussions on Sundays beginning on 16 March. Det...

If you are searching for newspapers to learn more about your ancestor's military unit, try searching for the name of his commanding offi...

If you are stuck and at a complete brick wall on your problem ancestor, walk away and work on leaving something for your descendants. Take y...

If your Revolutionary War or War of 1812 ancestor received a pension, there still may be a separate application for bounty land based upon h...

This has been a tip before...but since I just had to be painfully reminded of this myself: think about every assumption you've made. Wha...

Do you keep track of those people who are "close" to being your ancestor, but someone you've eliminated as being your actual a...

Please feel free to post comments about any of the tips that we suggest. For those who get these messages in their email, please make cert...