Genealogy Research
Explore genealogy research tips designed to help you get the most out of your research. Find tutorials and in-depth posts on all things genealogy. Successful genealogy research requires solid research skills. Don't let that thought overwhelm you! [We're not in high school anymore. No grades will be given.] Like you, we all want to connect to our past through our ancestors. We want the current generations of our family to be grounded in their family history. We want to build and document the family tree for future generations to come. Let Are You My Cousin? take you through tutorials and teach you how to find your ancestors and build your family tree. You will find articles on research strategies, where and how to find the records your ancestors generated, and how to analyze those records. I want to make sure you are not missing out on potential genealogical clues to finding your ancestors. Most importantly, I want to help you not be overwhelmed! You will also learn about uncommon genealogy resources and how to think "outside of the genealogy box". Solving brick wall ancestor problems can require uncommon strategies. You will find a mixture of guides and tutorials on the website. Learn from tutorials such as:
- How To Do Free Genealogy Research on Ancestry.com Yes, genealogy does not have to be expensive.
- How To Determine Your Ancestor's Birth Date (Even When No Birth Records Exists)
- Your Guide To Cemetery Research – Are You Missing Important Genealogical Clues? [One of our most popular posts!]
-
Find Hidden American Ancestors in British Records
Should you research overseas records for your American ancestors? Yes! Explore how to find “hidden” American ancestors in British records! Jen Baldwin of FindMyPast joined me recently to discuss finding “hidden” American ancestors in British records. What better way to spend time than learning about new places to look for our ancestors! Did you miss it? No worries! You can catch the replay at the bottom of this post. 😀 Jen’s Best Tip for Using FindMyPast To Find Your Ancestors I have a strong British heritage, and have been using FindMyPast for quite a while now in my genealogy research. I now realize I have been underutilizing its records.…
-
Help! My Genealogy Research Is Stuck!
Is your genealogy research stuck? Just can’t find your ancestors? Learn why you are not finidng your ancestors and what you can do. One of my genealogy brick walls is Joanna Barrett. If you are a long time reader here at Are You My Cousin?, you’ve likely learned a bit about her already! Joanna is my Irish 3rd great grandmother who arrived in America around 1851 and somehow ended up married to William Richard Wimouth and living in Surry County, North Carolina. Oh,….and she could “cuss like a sailor” according to family lore. I have come to recognize part of the reason I struggle in my research of her,…
-
How To Start Researching Your African American Female Ancestors
How to start your genealogy research into your African American female ancestors. Researching female ancestors is challenging, but possible! Genealogy research comes with many challenges, especially with regard to researching certain subsets of our ancestors. Once such group is women. Researching our female ancestors can require even more effort when it comes to those who are of African descent. In this post, I’ll offer a few suggestions for documenting the lives of our African American female ancestors. Like researching any female of days gone by, we often begin with learning everything we can about the men in their lives. Often, women will be mentioned in the records of their husbands,…
-
Photographing Cemeteries: Telling the Story of Your Ancestors
Cemeteries tell stories of your ancestors you may be missing. Learn how photograph a cemetery to capture and preserve your family’s history. Welcome Diane Evans of PhotoFluent as our Guest Poster today! Diane is a photographer extraordinaire sharing the best way to to capture photographs in the cemetery where you ancestors are buried. I’ve always been fascinated by cemeteries. If you’re reading this then you probably understand that fascination, and might even have it yourself. There’s something so…eerie, beautiful, sad, and somehow comforting. There’s this connection to those who have gone before us that literally lies beneath us, as we wander around observing the markers of our ancestors. I’m also…