Author: James Tanner

Understanding MyHeritage’s Smart Matching™ Technology

 Editor’s Note: This article was published in the Genealogy’s Star blog site by James Tanner and is used with the author’s permission. As I teach classes about MyHeritage.com, I find a lot of confusion about the differences between the website’s Smart Matching™technology and the Record Matches. Once users understand the differences, they begin to see the tremendous power in both technologies. Here...

Introducing The Family History Guide: Exploring Genealogy Series #12

Editor’s Note: This blog article by James Tanner was originally posted on the Genealogy’s Star site and is used here with the author’s permission. You can click the YouTube video below to watch the presentation as well. Introduction to The Family History Guide Exploring Genealogy Series #12 This is #12 in the Exploring Genealogy Series on my YouTube Channel. Although...

The Google Goldmine for Genealogists

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series of blog posts written by James Tanner and is used with the author’s permission. Getting the Rest of the Gold out of the Google Goldmine for Genealogists Part Seven https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/extensions Google Help Google Search Google Newspapers Archive Google Drive Google Docs including Sheets, Slides, Forms, Draw and more Google Keep Google...

The Next 5 Steps to Improving Your Family History Experience

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by James Tanner in his Genealogy’s Star site and is used with the author’s permission. If you are wondering about the first 5 steps, see “5 Steps to Improving Your Family History Experience.” Here are the first 5 steps: Focus on the places Learn about the places Identify the types of records that...

5 Steps to Improving Your Family History Experience

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by James Tanner on the Genealogy’s Star blog site and used with the author’s permission.   When you are working on researching your family history, you can easily get sidetracked by failing to focus on the fundamentals of historical research. Sometimes finding an obvious match for your ancestor will send you off on...

A DNA Test May Not Automatically Overcome a Brick Wall Situation

Editor’s Note: This article was previously posted on the Genealogy’s Star blog site by James Tanner and is used with the author’s permission. The term “brick wall” as used in the genealogical sense refers to an end-of-line situation where the next generation ancestor or even some other relative cannot be easily found. Of course, this could be the researcher’s parent...

Searching through Layers of Sources to Find Your Ancestors

Editor’s Note: This article, written by James Tanner, was originally published in the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. It is probably evident that all sources are not created equal. Some are much more equal than others. (Attribution to George Orwell). As I have been doing research, I have noticed that source records are often...

What Is The Family History Guide?

Editor’s Note: The following article by James Tanner was originally published on his blog site “Rejoice and Be Exceeding Glad” on January 23, 2019 and is used with his permission. thefhguide.com This past week, I presented at a very well organized and well-attended genealogy conference or seminar in Yuma, Arizona. Besides having fabulous winter weather, Yuma is a small, mainly...