Every family has a few scandals in its past and there usually tends to be a few black sheep out there somewhere. Family historians run across family secrets on a regular basis. These secrets, if looked at closely, can often do much more than bring hidden things to light. The records produced by illicit events [...]

When it comes to verifying a birthplace for an ancestor, even an exact town in Europe, many genealogists have never considered the Enlistment Books of the U.S. Army. The federal government has compiled the records of all men who enlisted in the United States Army (1798-1914) into one set of registers. These registers include, name, [...]

Would you like to have a fascinating vacation experience? Try a “Follow an Ancestor” vacation. Pick an ancestor. Preferably one for whom you have done a lot of research, but you have not yet traveled to the sites where he/she lived. Pull together all your data on that person and their immediate family and determine [...]

When you finally get on the road for your research trip, plan on visiting seven locations in every area where your family lived. Those seven places are: The Local Library – Most libraries have a “local history” collection. They may vary in size dramatically. I’ve been in some that had extensive collections and dedicated over 1000 [...]

The success or failure of your next genealogy trip can depend on your preparation. Being fully prepared to search for your ancestors can make a huge difference. First off, get organized. If you still have piles of photocopies from the last trip – stop, organize them and add the data to your family history. These [...]

Did your ancestor move west along one of the major migration routes? If so, you might want to attempt to follow the trail yourself. Most of the migration routes are well marked with historic markers and things to see along the way. Document Your Family’s Route Take a close look at your family history. Do [...]

What do I mean by Mega-City? Principally, I’m writing about the major cities or areas where the genealogist can do large amounts of research in one area. A few of these are: Salt Lake City, Utah; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Washington, D.C.; and virtually any State Archives and/or Library. Preparations for the trip should be very [...]

Locating living relatives has always taken a different set of skills than chasing down dead ancestors. The one thing that both types of research have in common is that the genealogist is looking for the “place” where an ancestor resided. Researchers doing pedigree research work backwards in time, looking for clues that typically tell where [...]

I’ve been tromping through cemeteries for many years. Occasionally I’ve even been known to stop and talk to a headstone or two. A lot of genealogy can come out of the cemetery. A lot of records are produced at the time of death. A number of those records are found at the cemetery. You will [...]

Patty and I spent seven years traveling the continental United States by R.V. We did genealogy research in almost every state and lectured on the subject in all of them – often numerous times. While on the road we learned a lot about traveling and doing on-site genealogy. We traveled in a 37 ft. Safari [...]

Yesterday, I wrote about the usefulness of records created by death, touching on Death Certificates, Death Registers, Church Records, Fraternal Records, the Social Security Mortality Index, and Obituaries. Today, I will continue by listing some other records that are created at the same time. Death and Funeral Notices – These notices are found in local [...]

Genealogists very quickly realize that at no other time during a person’s life are there typically as many records created as at the point of the ending of that life. There seems to be a myriad of records created at a person’s death. I would like to list just a few of those records, and [...]

When people get involved with genealogy, they are often told that they should first check out Grandpa’s death certificate, then get a copy of his birth certificate and so forth. However, most typically find out that Grandpa may have had a death certificate, but maybe no birth document at all. And if the researcher attempts [...]

I’ll admit it. I’m addicted to eBay. I’ve found all kinds of family memorabilia while on line and expect to find much more. If you haven’t taken the time to check out the online auctions, you should do so now. There’s a wealth of family artifacts just setting out there waiting for you to bid [...]