Non-Traditional Family Trees: Adoption in Ancestry

This tutorial is about adoption. In this case, adoption refers to when a child is raised by someone other than their parents, whether or not their last name was changed or any official adoption process was carried out in the court system. (In many cases, especially going back to the 19th century and before, officialContinue reading “Non-Traditional Family Trees: Adoption in Ancestry”

Getting to Know Hannah Lathrop Keith: Online Sources

This is a continuation of my previous post about my ancestor, Hannah Lathrop Keith. She lived for a short time and did not show up by name in census records or vital records. I had a few family sources about her, but I wanted to see what else I could find online.

5 Ways to Get the Most for your Money out of Genealogy DNA Testing

So you shelled out $60 – $200 dollars on a genealogical DNA test. You’ve looked at your DNA ethnicity pie chart. It gave you something interesting to bring up at the dinner table. But now what? The number of things you can do with your DNA to help solve mysteries on your family tree areContinue reading “5 Ways to Get the Most for your Money out of Genealogy DNA Testing”

Non-traditional Family Trees: Homosexual Relationships

Non-traditional family trees are increasingly common. No matter how unusual or un-traditional, genealogists should record all family events and relationships accurately. In this series, you will learn how to record these complex family situations clearly in your family tree. In this post, you will learn about recording homosexual relationships. Regardless of whether you believe thatContinue reading “Non-traditional Family Trees: Homosexual Relationships”

Non-Traditional Family Trees: Step Families on Ancestry

Non-traditional family trees are not uncommon. Although many of us wish for a traditional family, divorce, death, out-of-wedlock births and other circumstances happen to many families. No matter how you feel about what happened or how you feel about the people involved in these events, they belong in your family tree. Your step family genealogyContinue reading “Non-Traditional Family Trees: Step Families on Ancestry”

Researching Civil War Ancestors, Part II: What Was Your Ancestor’s Military Unit?

This is Part II of a series on finding and researching your Civil War ancestors. See “Part I: Did Any of Your Ancestors Fight?” here. Once you have set aside ancestors of yours who are likely to have fought in the Civil War, the next step is to discover their military unit. When you haveContinue reading “Researching Civil War Ancestors, Part II: What Was Your Ancestor’s Military Unit?”

Genealogy Links: Closet Skeletons and Untold Stories

I often run into interesting articles and videos on genealogy research while perusing the web. I like to share them with you here on the blog from time to time. For more links, check my Pinterest and Youtube pages.

The Record Exists! Part I: The Internet and Repositories

(This post is the first in a multi-part series about the different places you can find records.) I teach an online genealogy class for BYU-Idaho. I grade a lot of genealogy research papers. One thing that new students often write in their research papers is the phrase, “all the records were searched, but nothing wasContinue reading “The Record Exists! Part I: The Internet and Repositories”

5 Tips for Using Online Family Tree Sites

The existence of online family tree sharing sites such as Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org has made family history research easier than it has ever been before. I wrote a post earlier about how sharing your family tree online can help you find your ancestors. Online family tree sharing sites have helped many people make amazing discoveriesContinue reading “5 Tips for Using Online Family Tree Sites”

Why You Should Share Your Family History Online

Martha Bryan was the one ancestor my grandmother could never find. Her great-grandmother on her direct maternal line, and she only knew her married name. After my grandmother passed away and I caught the family history bug at around twelve years old, I was determined to break down the brick walls she had left behind.Continue reading “Why You Should Share Your Family History Online”