Ancestry Magazine

Discover the latest books available for your family history research.

One Tiny Twig
By Dan Rhema. Mesquite Tree Press, 2003. 30 pages, hardcover, $19.95. Order at www.onetinytwig.com.

One Tiny Twig, a children’s book written by Dan Rhema and illustrated by Michael Leonard, shows how exciting it can be for children to solve family history puzzles. When Emily Twig receives a family heirloom for her fourteenth birthd ay, she becomes enchanted with the mystery that surrounds the birthplace of Thomas Twigg, her great-great-great-grandfather, the first sheriff of her town.

With the help of her grandfather, Emily searches for information about Thomas Twigg at the cemetery and the courthouse. With her parents, Emily discovers the name of the ship on which Thomas Twigg landed at Ellis Island. Throughout her travels, Emily learns how to build her family tree, one twig at a time.

One Tiny Twig can inspire children to begin tracing their own family tree. The book’s website at www.onetinytwig.com includes information about ordering the book and a downloadable learning packet geared toward elementary school teachers. Many of the suggested activities in the packet could also be completed in families or other groups.

Family Tree Guide Book to Europe
By Erin Nevius and the editors of Family Tree Magazine. Betterway Books, 2003. 288 pages, softcover, $22.99 plus s/h. Order at www.familytreemagazine.com/store.

The Family Tree Guide Book to Europe is divided into subsections based on common cultural and political geographic regions. Each subsection discusses the people in the countries of the region, including their dominant religions, the factors that led to migrations, and their likely points of relocation in the United States. Readers then learn what records are available for the region and where to find them. The chapters end with a list of resources, including books, organizations and archives, periodicals, and websites for every country mentioned in the chapter.

Each chapter also offers maps of the profiled countries with major cities and geographical features. Photos illustrate many of the pages, along with simple historical timelines for each chapter. The book also has an appendix of names and addresses of Family History Centers throughout Europe, and an index, which prima rily lists names of places (especially countries) and record types.

Finding Your Roots Online
By Nancy Hendrickson. Betterway Books, 2003. 226 pages, softcover, $19.99 plus s/h. Order at www.familytreemagazine.com/store.

Readers new to online genealogical research will appreciate author Nancy Hendrickson’s clear definitions and easy-to-follow instructions in Finding Your Roots Online. Her book discusses research basics such as e-mail etiquette, computer definitions, and records that are available online (e.g., military rosters, land and cemetery records, maps, etc.). Her brief review of family history basics includes tips to conducting interviews with relatives, using genealogical forms, and providing source citations.

Hendrickson uses her own research experience on the Internet as an example not only to show what is available but also how to make the most of the information once it’s been located. The author walks readers step-by-step through four search strategies: using free lineage-linked databases, networking, search engines, and online databases and transcripts.

Starting with FamilySearch.org, the author shows users how to get the most from the IGI, Pedigree Resource File, and Ancestral File. Each search strategy uses examples from Hendrickson’s experiences with message boards, mailing lists, search engines, and other online resources.

Creating Junior Genealogists: Tips and Activities for Family History Fun
By Karen Frisch. Ancestry Publishing, 2003. 120 pages, softcover, $12.95. Order at Ancestry.com.

Author Karen Frisch offers a veritable feast of ideas for parents and grandparents who want to give young family members an appreciation for their ancestors in Creating Junior Genealogists. Since children respond to things they can see and touch, sh e suggests using tangible items that can connect them to the past, like photographs, heirloom jewelry, even furnishings that were valued by our ancestors and can therefore connect us to them.

Other ideas include telling family stories, creating scrapbooks and photo albums, and writing a family newsletter, which allow family members to spend time enjoyably with one another and also create a bridge to the past. Visits to museums, ancestral homes, even cemeteries, can involve children in an exploration of days gone by. Frisch shows how the Internet, too, can be an irresistible vehicle to transport children into the past with maps, photographs, children-friendly websites, and plenty of family trees to climb.

A bountiful buffet to share with young and old, Creating Junior Genealogists is designed to help create a whole new generation of genealogists.

Quick Tips for Genealogists
Edited by Juliana Smith. Ancestry Publishing, 2003. 167 pages, softcover, $6.95. Order at Ancestry.com.

Genealogists occasionally hit brick walls in their research and feel that their family history techniques need to be revitalized. Quick Tips for Genealogists offers helpful hints from fellow researchers that can pull family historians out of their research rut.

Sharing findings with other researchers is a guiding principle of genealogy. Those who find a new obituary record source or photograph collection are eager to pass on their new knowledge. Quick Tips for Genealogists, as a compilation of many researchers’ favorite family history tips, takes this principle to the next level.

The book contains more than 150 tips that are organized by subject, including living sources, safety and storage, census records, organization, and photographs, and many more. The tips are extracted from those submitted to the popular Ancestry Daily News newsletter.