When we move beyond the basics in our search to know our ancestors, we often have to conduct research in less familiar places. If you feel certain that your great-great-grandmother was able to read and write, you may be able to find letters and/or diaries that she left behind. If your ancestor was a commissioned officer in a state militia, you might be able to find a copy of his commission.
It’s been over a year since Ancestry.com unveiled its popular Ranked Search to add to its traditional Exact Search. If genealogy is like finding a needle in a haystack, you can think of Ranked Search as a way to dig through less hay and find more of those precious needles.
It is an exciting moment to look at an ancestor’s original signature on a document. For a moment in time, it is as if we are standing there with them, pen in hand, imagining the land to be bought or sold, the will and the properties to be divided, the marriage that will join two lives.
In searching for valid documentation, even experienced family historians risk making conclusions, based on certain irrefutable facts, that appear to be true but are not. Expressed in mathematical terms, these erroneous solutions occur because at least one relevant factor has been omitted from the equation. In order to illustrate this point, three case studies will be examined and discussed here.
I have come to believe that there could be a message in those missing pieces. Maybe our ancestors who cherished these delicate cups understood something we haven’t quite figured out.
Have you ever noticed that it’s often the cups and saucers that are missing in old sets of china? I have come to believe that there could be a message in those missing pieces.
Ritual and tradition are important elements of human life. Traditions connect the participants in a common endeavor (such as being a family) with a common goal.
Every year for Thanksgiving, each member of Debbie and Stas Mintowt’s family writes a short speech about what he or she has been thankful for during the past twelve months.
Family historians must balance their need for contact with their need for privacy.
Genealogists approach the Internet in a schizophrenic manner. Their trusting, giving side wants to share their contact information with every potential cousin on the Internet in hopes of furthering their research.
Thorough family history research depends on the ability to find and evaluate all the evidence available to document a particular ancestor and his or her family.
To do this, you need to step outside the normal routine of collecting documents and begin to harvest other important information by exploring the history surrounding an individual and a particular family.
In this article, we will examine the basics of gathering family history information from this most fundamental research tool.
Nothing brings genealogy to the surface of everyday life like the passing of a loved one. That was exactly our situation this past summer when we each lost a parent w ithin a two-week time span.
The basics of family history research couldn’t be made simpler than with this continuing series of beginning genealogy steps from Ancestry Magazine. Learn everything from starting with home sources to choosing the best federal and state sources to accomplish your research.