Genealogy Tip of the Day

Indexes are generally only used to get the researcher to the record that was used to create the index. A recent posting to Rootdig.com   mak...

Genealogists use digital scans of out of copyright books all the time. If the scan you have located online has pages or areas that are diffi...

We've put four webinars on our upcoming schedule: Using the ELCA records at Ancestry.com FamilySearch  search techniques Court Re...

This is a bare-bones chart I have made in my attempt to learn as much as I can about my Benjamin Butler who was born about 1819 in New York...

Hasty research increases the chance that incorrect conclusions are made and that we include records for our "person of interest" w...

click on photo to see larger image Do you include some of your analysis as a part of the digital image you make from pictures? We've...

For the next 24 hours, I'm giving away my "Final" Brick Wall from A to Z webinar for free--just hit "check out with PayPa...

Not all couples who took out a marriage license were actually married? Make certain the marriage license was returned or that there is some ...

Periodically I send out updates on old blog posts, upcoming genealogical events, and a summary of what's been going on with my other blo...

check it out. I almost had an image ready to go on a blog post when I realized that I am always mixing up the name of the county and cou...

Tip of the Day  is meant to be fairly short and to the point. My Rootdig  blog contains longer, more detailed posts and it can be viewed he...

When encountering stones with incomplete inscriptions, don't automatically assume that the person with the incomplete inscription is a...

Never assume that someone died in the city or county where they are buried. It's always possible that the person died in another city, c...

We don't often share posts from other blogs here, but this one from Rootdig  about FindAGrave  may be helpful to some Tip of the Day  re...

Those with an interest in a group trip in August of 2015 to the Allen County Public Library may wish to check out our announcement. Join me ...

In the United States, heirs are usually defined by state statute. The following scenario is usually true, but readers are referred to contem...

When my parents were married in 1967, they received a congratulatory card from Ola Howes. The name did not ring a bell to me and I concluded...

Your ancestor may have had no idea of the "right" way to spell his last name. Correct spellings are a somewhat recent affectation ...

For whatever reason, one branch of your family may choose to change the spelling of their name. Sometimes changes were done to hide ethnic b...

Researchers often utilize records of baptisms, marriages, and funerals when accessing church records. Some churches may keep records of whic...

When interviewing a relative, consider asking them for names of people they remember and how they knew those people--neighbors, relatives, c...

American passports in the early twentieth century provide significant genealogical detail, including in many cases information about the fat...

Fold3.com  has added to their War of 1812 pension files --which can be searched for free on their site and which include images. But many se...

We've brought back this popular class for May 2015. Details are available here .

Many troubleshooting approaches to database usage focuses on the spelling of the relative's name and other details about the relative in...

Every database, index, finding aid, etc. has one "pitfall." There may be a small portion of records that are missing. There may be...

A relative died in Illinois in February of 1888 and a newspaper account indicated that relatives from out of town attended the funeral a few...

When using any "index" or finding aid, determine exactly what it indexes and what it does not. Ancestry.com  recently released an ...

We'll be starting my Mother's funeral as this blog post runs live. The timing is intentional. We all have relatives of whom we negle...

Documents are not necessarily recorded immediately after they are created. Deeds may be recorded decades after they were signed when it was ...

Special Offer Ends on 30 April! Genealogy Tip of the Day  is proudly sponsored by GenealogyBank. Explore what newspapers they have her...

Vital records are recorded in the location where the event took place, not where the person was living. If the nearest hospital was in an ad...

When my Mom was in the nursing home, my father met a 93-year old man whose memory was excellent. He knew details about just about everyone i...

I know two brothers who will buried next to each other--with their wives on the "outside." One may be tempted to conclude that the...