An Introductory Guide to Scandinavian Naming Patterns
Welcome Jenny Hansen of My Favorite Ancestor as a guest writer today! One of the biggest challenges for research in Denmark, Norway and Sweden is understanding the Scandinavian naming patterns. I have an experiment I like to conduct when I teach groups about Scandinavian research. I ask, “Who here is related to Hans Jensen?” Usually the majority of the room answers in the affirmative. This question would be similar to asking if anyone is related to John Smith, except multiplied by about 100! Scandinavian Naming Patterns Our Scandinavian ancestors, like many other cultures, used patronymic surnames. The term patronymics refers to the practice of using the father’s given name as…
Explore Ancestry.com’s ThruLines – A NEW DNA Tool!
At RootsTech 2019, Ancestry announced their new DNA tool ThruLines to use and you evaluate your Ancestry.com DNA results. Thrulines caused a lot of excitement and buzz among the conference goers and with good reason. It is an exciting new tool designed to show how you may be related to a DNA match. Remember, just like Ancestry’s new MyTree Tag tool, ThruLines is also still in Beta. Ancestry is looking for feedback from its users. How To Find Your ThruLines on Ancestry.com 1. From the Ancestry.com homepage, click “DNA” in the very top menu. 2. From the…
How To Use Ancestry.com’s NEW MyTrees Tags Tool
Last week at RootsTech 2019, Ancestry.com announced three new exciting tools genealogy researchers can use in their research: MyTree Tags, ThruLines and improved DNA matches. These are all still in beta. Try them out and see what you like and what you don’t like. Ancestry welcomes your feedback as they put the finishing touches on these tools. In this post I want to focus on the MyTree Tags tool which I was immediately drawn to. With MyTree Tags, Ancestry.com has given users the ability to tag (or label) individual ancestors for better organization and genealogy research project management. I’m all about genealogy organization and better project management. Consider this example: …
Simple Tips For Reading Old Handwriting in Genealogy Documents
Reading old handwriting in genealogy documents can be tough for a variety of reasons. Faded ink. Poor penmanship. Unusual script. Add in unfamiliar language and new-to -you abbreviations and interpreting your ancestor’s document just got more tedious. Don’t panic! I’m here to help with tips for reading old handwriting! With practice you will become more skilled and confident when you read that old handwriting. Simple Tips For Reading Old Handwriting in Genealogy Documents 1.Read the document out loud. This may sound simple, and really it is. Think phonetically. Words might have been spelled differently or simply spelled at they sounded to the writer. This is especially true if you are…
Join Our Mailing List & Receive This FREE Genealogy Research Resource
5 Things You CAN Do If You Cannot Find Your Ancestors In Census Records
We take your privacy seriously! See our privacy policy