Genealogy Tip of the Day

One of my ancestors wrote his original will approximately fifteen years before he died. As time went on instead of writing a new will, he ex...

Genealogy Tip of the Day  is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank  . We thank them for their continued support. They are offering an annual su...

Your ancestor and their spouse may have had more than one child with the same name. In some families it was common to "reuse" name...

We've mentioned it before, but... There is still a great deal of genealogical data and information that is not available in digital fo...

In some local records offices the mortgages are kept in a separate series of books and not in the same volumes as the actual deeds. A mortga...

It's not always practical or possible to completely transcribe every record used in your genealogy. However any extraction should always...

Due to popular demand, we are re-opening our $5 webinar sales until 11:59 pm. on 31 October .

One place to get signatures of family members is in the estate case files of papers that were used in the settling up of estates. Court fili...

Documenting your research is also about including in your notes why a record caused you to reach the conclusion that you did. Some records s...

Here is a summary of freebies we have: My Brick Walls A to Z Webinar (and handout)-- click here to process order . Coupon code is "br...

When coming across a "new" location for a person or an event, consider that the new place may not be so new after all. The ref...

When writing about ancestors whose names were spelled in a variety of ways, I tend to use just one spelling when writing about them (see our...

[note: this post was also posted on Rootdig.com  today as well] Variant spellings are frustrating for many genealogists, including mys...

Sometimes the best way to get help with county level records is to ask someone who has actually researched in that specific county. A person...

Do not assume that because a child has a guardian appointed for him that the parents of that child are dead. A Maryland relative in 1817 gav...

Genealogy Tip of the Day  is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank  . We thank them for their continued support. They are offering an annual su...

We've mentioned it before, but.. Never delay asking that relative questions about your family history. That person may not be able to ...

If the marriage license is the only information indicating that a couple married, keep your mind open to the possibility that the marriage m...

I was having difficulty transcribing a rather difficult to read 18th century will from Massachusetts. Instead of typing it on my computer, I...

Your relative may not have mentioned all his children in his will. Some wills will include a statement naming specific children who have bee...

What do you know about the tools of your ancestor's trade or occupation? Learning what tools were commonly used in your ancestor's o...

These are the ten most popular tips since Genealogy Tip of the Day  was started in December of 2008: Grantor versus Grantee ...

When you find a person of interest in a census, do you look at all the contexts in which that person appears? There are not as many details ...

Are you using an abstract or a summary of a document? Abstracts and summaries by their nature leave out details. The 1716 will of Thomas Sar...

This is the 1716 signature of Lydia Sargent of Malden, Mass., There are times when comparing signatures can help to connect two individuals ...

Registration for the 2015 CSI-Genealogy being held at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois, begins on 13 October. Registration detai...

Did your ancestor speak more than one language or is it possible that he spoke the language you didn't "expect him to?" Politi...

In addition to documenting the lives of your ancestors, have you written down information about yourself? Not just the bare dates and facts,...

Two of my wife's ancestors immigrated to the United States as adults with young children, settling in Chicago. For some reason, I never ...

When was the last time you checked the appropriate state or provincial website to see if they had compiled indexes or finding aids to reco...

Some families use "senior" and "junior" to distinguish between older and younger individuals with the same name. Don...

Date:  Tuesday, May 31, 1932   Paper:  San Francisco Chronicle; digital image from   GenealogyBank Some newspapers published pictur...

Pension files for American Revolutionary War and War of 1812 veterans frequently contain letters from descendants looking for information on...

Genealogy Tip of the Day  is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank  . We thank them for their continued support. They are offering an annual su...

When considering the reliability of information in any record, court testimony, deposition, or affidavit, consider what aspect of the inform...