Ancestry Magazine

Locating Union & Confederate Records
By Nancy Justus Morebeck. Heritage Quest, 2001. 152 pages. $14.95. To order, call (800) 760—2455.

Where do you go when you’re really stuck on a family history problem? Experienced and professional genealogists depend upon scholarly genealogical publications for reliable and pertinent information. Novice genealogists often ignore them, perhaps because they can be a bit intimidating.

When it comes to getting back to basics, published family histories are among the most basic for family history research. Unfortunately, published family histories represent the proverbial good news/bad news dilemma. The good news is that a well-done family history is loaded with excellent clues that can help you piece together your own family’s history.

Your Aussie ancestor may or may not have a convict background, but you’ll never know until you check out the vast record sources available “down under.”
For many people, associations of Australia include the outback, herds of horses running along the open country, kangaroos, and more.

The much-anticipated release of the 1930 U.S. Federal Census is giving every family historian a boost up in his or her research goals.
When the enumeration of the Fifteenth Decennial Census of the United States occurred in 1930, the 87,756 enumerators (at a cost of $40 million) wrote the names and statistics of over 137 million individuals.

As I write this note to you, I am attending the American Library Association Conference.

Grantsville is one of those sleepy old towns that seem to echo the sounds of pioneers building a new life. It lies in a windy, sun-bleached landscape west of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. There are signs of modern-day progress everywhere, but herds of sheep still feed in pale green pastures next to the old highway and cows wander among century-old sheds.

Searching the vast resources of the Internet for genealogical information is made easier with a few Boolean tips.
The Internet is an incredible resource for finding information; but it’s particularly effective for family history research. When you have a question, the Internet can very often answer it for you. But to find the answer most easily, go first to a search engine.

You don’t have to be man and wife to go tandem, but like Daisy and her beau, you can peddle down the road of life and get more out of your genealogical journey when you go tandem. After all, families and friends have known for years how enjoyable a tandem bike ride can be: increased pedal power, companionship, and reaching your destination all the more rapidly.

The physical characteristics of your ancestors may be difficult to determine without a photograph, but some sources you wouldn’t normally consider might hold the answers.
John Ring was a good-looking man of dark complexion. He stood five and a half feet tall, was stocky in build, and had an oval face. His nose and mouth were regular but rather large, imbuing his countenance with openness.