Genealogy Research
Explore genealogy research articles and how-to tutorials designed to help you trace your ancestors and grow your family tree.
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Sports Memorabilia & Athletes In The Family Tree
Athletes in the family tree? Sports memorabilia can tell ancestors’ unique stories. Baseball cards and news articles can be genealogy records, too! Sports are an enjoyable past time of many individuals both today and in the past. Whether playing a sport for fun, cheering on our favorite team or perhaps even enjoying a sport as a professional athlete, sports were a part of our ancestors’ lives. Sports were important to our ancestors. Because of this, sports are important to us as genealogy researchers. Hold on to your baseball hats, this is going to be fun! ⚾🏈🎾 Was your ancestor a professional sports player or athlete? Whether at the minor or…
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15 Places to Find the Genealogy Records You Need
This post contains affiliate links. See full disclosure policy here. Has this happened to you? You are ready to begin researching your ancestors and have created a research plan. You have determined the types of records you need. You may even know the specific record you need to research. You are ready to begin. But…… Where Do You Find the Genealogy Records You Need? What records are available online? If online, are they on a free or subscription site? Do you need to travel to a repository housing the records? Do you need a subscription to one of those genealogy sites? Many of you recently told me this was one…
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Back to Genealogy Basics – Wills and Estate Records
Wills and estate records are a rich source of information when researching your genealogy. Wives, children and other family members can be found among the records. A glimpse inside the lifestyle of your ancestor is found among the records. Did your ancestor’s family members get along? Did your ancestor have any wealth? The potential to find all of this and more is there. Wills Wills are some of the best records to start your genealogy research. Types of information found include: The date a will is written and then probated narrows down the death date range for your ancestor. The location of your ancestor. Was a wife mentioned? Oftentimes…
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Back to Genealogy Basics – The 1800’s Census, Part 2
Genealogists often divide the 1800 census records into 1850 and beyond and pre-1850 census records. Beginning with the 1850 census record, all members of the household were named. Census records from 1790-1850 only named the head of the household. Other family members were simply noted with a mark in an age category. So, what’s a genealogist to do? How do you find your ancestor hidden among the tic marks. Let’s take a look first at the head of households. Peruse an pre-1850 census list and you will find most of the names listed are men. You will, though, come across the names of women. This indicates the female is a…