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Author: James Tanner

September 13, 2020

How Do Genealogically Significant Records Get Preserved? Part One

Note: This article by James Tanner was published previously on the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. Let’s suppose that your great-grandfather wrote a journal during his lifetime and you are the member of the family that ends up with the journal. You might have a couple of concerns: how do you preserve the document...

Memories/Research
September 6, 2020

When Is a Brick Wall Not a Brick Wall?

Note: This article by James Tanner was published previously on the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission.   As I have written and presented previously, the concept of a “brick wall” in genealogical research is not very helpful. Here is a video I did a couple of years ago about how to resolve the problem....

Country Research/Records/Research
August 30, 2020

The Genealogical Overburden of Duplicate Work

Note: This article by James Tanner was published previously on the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. The definition of “overburden” that I am using here refers to the “rock or soil overlying a mineral deposit, archaeological site, or other underground feature.” Google Dictionary. In doing genealogical research it is necessary to remove the “overburden”...

FamilySearch/Research
August 23, 2020

Blinded by a Pedigree Chart

Note: This article by James Tanner was published previously in the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. This is an example of the “standard” or traditional pedigree chart used by genealogists in this format and many other similar formats for hundreds of years, primarily, in Western European countries. Here is an example of one from...

Research/Training
August 16, 2020

Spotting and Correcting Errors in an Online Family Tree

Note: This article by James Tanner was originally published on the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission.   In this post, I will give an example from the FamilySearch.org Family Tree, of an entry that has some basic problems. I will then show how those problems can be identified and, if possible, resolved. This process of talking...

Case Studies/FamilySearch/U.S. Research
August 2, 2020

Will Computers Ever Change Genealogical Methodology?

Note: This article by James Tanner originally appeared in the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. I have been reviewing a few of the books from my collection of older genealogical publications dating back into the early 1900s. It is always amazing to me how much of what is written accurately reflects exactly what is...

Research/Technology
July 26, 2020

The Sixth Generation Barrier

Note: This article by James Tanner was previously published on the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. A complete pedigree of six generations, counting yourself as the first generation, would have a total of 62 people including your parents and not counting you. If you count your parents as the first generation the total number...

Country Research/Research
July 19, 2020

What’s Happening with Genealogically Oriented Publications?

Editor’s Note: This article by James Tanner was originally published in the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. As digitized books, newspapers, journals, and magazines became available online, there was a lot of speculation about the demise of paper publications. Despite claims to the contrary, genealogy has never been an overwhelming popular topic but the...

Learning/Research
July 5, 2020

Integrating Family History into Your Lifestyle

Editor’s Note: This article by James Tanner appeared previously in the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. Overson Family about 1915 enhanced and colorized by MyHeritage.com Genealogy can become an all-consuming passion but it is always best to have moderation in all things. Some of us spend an inordinate amount of time doing their own...

Family/General
June 28, 2020

Languages, Scripts, and Genealogy

Editor’s Note: This article by James Tanner was published previously on the Genealogy’s Star blog site and is used with the author’s permission. The United States is a nation of immigrants. About 1.6% of the population are Native Americans. If we persist in doing genealogical research we will all find ourselves trying to read difficult to decipher handwriting and nearly...

Country Research/Records/Research
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