2021-12-17 Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays: We hope you have a wonderful holiday season! We will return with more family history tips on January 3, 2022.
2021-12-16 Is That My Ancestor?: How do you know if a record hint or an online search result is actually about your ancestor, instead of someone else with a similar name, date, or location? In this short video by Family History Fanatics you'll get some tips on sorting it out, such as establishing family connections, determining occupations, etc. For more information on handling the evidences you find in your research, see Goal 7 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-12-15 Give the Gift of Family History: As the holiday season of giving is here, you may want to consider some gifts with a family history theme. This FamilySearch blog article has some good suggestions for affordable or free items that share your family history with those you love, and this article from Family History Daily has gift ideas for the genealogists you know. You can find additional service activities in the Family Activities section of The Family History Guide.
2021-12-14 10 Other Places to Look: When looking for ancestor information, there are the usual suspects for records to search—census, marriage records, death certificates, etc. This Ancestry article, 10 Places You Didn't Think To Look, takes a different tack and explores some places you might not have thought to search. The clues will get you thinking, and they may produce some unexpected—and positive—results for you. For more ideas on thinking out of the box in research, see Goal 7 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-12-13 International Research Tips: No matter which country in the world is your current place for research, there are some common practices and tips that can help you succeed. In the Vault for The Family History Guide, check out the International Research section. It has links to video series such as Foreign Language Research and Breaking through International Barriers, as well as a RootsTech video for Getting Started in International Research and other helpful articles and videos.
2021-12-10 Descendancy Research Tips: From FamilySearch: "Descendancy research is the process of identifying all of the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of an ancestral couple. Use descendancy research to expand the family, identify new names, and even connect with cousins." Easy Steps to Descendancy Research gets you started with the process, and it helps you find collateral ancestors who might be missing from the tree. For more tips on descendancy research, see FamilySearch Project 3: Descendants.
2021-12-09 Help with DNA Questions: Taking a DNA test for family history can open doors for research, but it can also raise questions at the same time. Getting help with your questions is just a few clicks away: check out Goal 8 in FamilySearch Project 8 (or the final Goal in any of the other DNA Projects). There are links to Facebook pages, blog sites, message boards and forums, where you can ask your questions and get help. To get familiar with basic DNA concepts and terms, see Goal 1 in Project 8.
2021-12-08 Google Apps: Free is good, and the collection of Google apps can be a great way to organize and track your family history information. In Project 7: Technology, check out Goal 3: Google Apps to learn how to use the following programs: Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Gmail. Handy articles, tutorials, and videos are included to make the learning come alive.
2021-12-07 Using the Ancestry App: When you're on the go, you can check on your family history information quickly and easily with the free Ancestry app. Instructions for downloading and using the app are found in the entry at the bottom of the Ancestry menu in The Family History Guide. Goal information for the Ancestry app includes navigating Ancestry trees, editing tree info, exploring hints, viewing ancestral places, and more.
2021-12-06 FamilySearch Calendar of Events: Every so often it's fun to look back in time and see family history events of the month for your ancestors. Using the FamilySearch Calendar, you can get a list of vital events—births, marriages, and deaths—for ancestors for the current month, view relationships or memories, and sign up to receive event notifications from FamilySearch. At the bottom of the Calendar, you can also open other months for viewing.
2021-12-03 Findmypast Features: The Findmypast site is well-known for its extensive collections of records and resources for the British Isles. If you are new to Findmypast, you'll want to check out this article about useful features on the site, such as adding photos, displaying timelines, and viewing family connections. For more tips and ideas on building and using Findmypast trees, see Project 2 in the Findmypast menu.
2021-12-02 Using Naturalization Records: A great way to discover your immigrant ancestor to the United States is through naturalization records, which document U.S. citizenship. This Findmypast blog article gets you started, as it discusses naturalization petitions, state record resources, and tips for exploring records. You can find out more about naturalization records in Goal D2 of the United States page, which also discusses researching passenger lists.
2021-12-01 Finding Civil War Records: If you have a male ancestor born in the U.S. between 1830 and 1850, he may have served in the Civil War. There are many Civil War records available online, and this FamilySearch article offers some helpful tips on working with dates, locations, and Civil War regiments. Goal E2 in The Family History Guide also has an Intro video for Civil War research, as well as links to many other helpful articles and videos.
2021-11-30 Reading Spanish Records: Many of us have a number of Latin American or Hispanic ancestors somewhere in our family trees. Knowing the basics of reading and understanding Spanish records can be very helpful. In the Hispanic Project, check out Choice C in Goal 1. You'll learn the essentials of the Spanish alphabet, handwriting tips, words and dates, and tips for the types of records you'll be using. For more about Hispanic research, see Goal 1 and Goal 2 in the Hispanic Project.
2021-11-29 Citing Sources: These two words—citing sources—can be somewhat intimidating to researchers at first. But as Diana Elder points out in her RootsTech address from 2018, "Source citations are how we can connect our ancestors to their source documents where we are learning about them." There is also a handy RootsTech blog article that summarizes the main points of the video, helping you to get a good understanding of sources and how to cite them well. See also Goal 9 in Project 1: Family Tree (Resources section).
2021-11-25 Happy Thanksgiving!: We wish you happiness and peace wherever you may be. The Tip of the Day will return on November 29.
2021-11-24 Saving Your Memories: With the holiday season now upon us, capturing family memories is certain to be fresh on our minds. Remember that what we save today becomes the family history of tomorrow. For some practical tips on saving and recording memories, check out 7 Easy Ways to Save Your Memories, a RootsTech blog article from a few years ago. You can find additional ideas for recording and preserving memories in Goal 1 of Project 2: Memories.
2021-11-23 Access to Archival Databases (AAD): The U.S. National Archives is well-known for its vast array of genealogical records. What you may not know is that there is a huge section dedicated to free, online records— it's called Access to Archival Databases (AAD). This article by Family History Daily gets you started exploring the occupational, immigration, military and other types of records that are found there. To learn more about online archives for U.S. research, see Goal F5 in the United States page.
2021-11-22 Finding Missing Marriages: As you trace your lines in almost any country, you will find that some ancestors married multiple times, such as when a spouse died or there was a divorce. This article in Genealogy In Time points out that missing a marriage can lead to assigning children to the wrong parents, or not having family lines filled out as well as they could be. The article also points out some great sources for finding marriage records. Learn more in Goal B4 in the United States page.
2021-11-19 When You Can't Find the Birth Record: One of the places we commonly think of when we're searching for our ancestors is birth records, but sometimes these are hard to locate or may not even exist. However, there are some good alternatives to birth records you can use, as explained by Crista Cowan in this Ancestry video. To learn more about birth record alternatives, including baptismal, christening, family bibles, etc., see Goal B2 in the United States page.
2021-11-18 Finding Your Ancestors in Cities: Ancestry Academy has a great collection of short videos titled Street Smarts: Finding Your Ancestor in the Big City. Sample video topics include Urban Ancestors on the Move, City Directories, and Getting to Know Your Ancestor's Community. (Note that Ancestry Academy videos require a free account to access.) To learn more about tracking your city ancestors, see Goal A2 in the United States page.
2021-11-17 Family Feed and Family Groups: FamilySearch is introducing new tools for family history collaboration: Family Feed and Family Groups. Using them, you can set up lists and groups to share memories, documents, and messages with each other. This comparison document by Kathryn Grant gives you a good overview of the similarities and differences between the two features. For more tips on collaborating with your family history, see Goal 3 in Project 6: Help.
2021-11-16 Geneopardy: From the BYU Family History Technology Labs, Geneopardy is a fast-paced family history game helps you learn about your ancestors, while enjoying a friendly competition with family or friends. The link above logs you in to FamilySearch on your account, where you can select categories such as Places, People, Dates, or Facts. Learn more about Geneopardy in this blog post.
2021-11-15 The Swiss Center: As you search for Swiss ancestors in your family tree, a good resource to keep in mind is the Swiss Center website. You'll find links to the Register of Swiss Surnames for finding Swiss names, and the Swiss Society of Genealogical Studies for help with research questions and documents. It also has a helpful section for Swiss genealogical links to help you in a variety of areas. For more information on Swiss research, visit the Switzerland country page.
2021-11-12 Finding Missing Persons in the U.S. Census: Let's say you suspect, or even have some evidence, that there could be missing family members for a set of parents. How do you go about finding them? This RootsTech article can get you started, with eight effective strategies for locating your missing people, using U.S. census records. For additional census tips and strategies, check out Goal C1 in the United States page.
2021-11-11 Reading Obituaries: *** We see them in newspapers, printed or online—obituaries can a good source of information for genealogists. Yet knowing how to interpret what's there, and even read between the lines, can lead you to more research clues. In this article by Judy Rosella you'll get some expert tips on what to look for in obituaries, including how they relate to death certificates, and how you can write your own obituary in advance. See also Goal B5 in the United States page.
2021-11-10 Free Genealogy Books on Google: Did you know that there are thousands of free eBooks related to genealogy, on Google Books? To get started, go to this link: https://books.google.com/googlebooks/about/free_books.html. Then use "genealogy" as the search term to find a list of genealogy books, including compiled family research, surnames, etc. You can click the Read button to see the text in the book, and you can click eBooks for download options, or use the "Search this book" field to find the text you want within the book. For more about free genealogical books, see Goal F5 in the United States page.
2021-11-09 Town Annual Reports: If you are searching for ancestor information in New England in the 1800's and 1900's, there's a little-known resource that's available for free. The article Genealogical Gold in Town Annual Reports describes the information you'll find in town reports for the government, including vital record information, names of town employees, records for the poor, and more, as well as where to find the reports online. See also Goal A4 in the United States page for info on local histories.
2021-11-08 500 Tips: The Tip of the Day (Today's Tip) has reached a milestone: over 500 tips have been published since January 2020. In addition to seeing them on the Home page of The Family History Guide, you can find them on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. They are also collected by date in the Tip of the Day page in the Misc. menu. Enjoy, and here's to the next 500 tips!
2021-11-05 Discovering Cemetery Information: Cemeteries are more than just a Halloween theme; they are one of the most overlooked resources for genealogy research. If you're looking to go beyond the typical headstone information in your ancestor searches, check out this Legacy Tree article. It explains how to find cemetery records, the role of cemetery registers, establishing ancestor relationships, and more. You'll find additional tips and guidelines for cemetery research in Goal B6 of the United States page.
2021-11-04 Writing Your Own Story: Finding your ancestors and documenting their life experiences can be a very rewarding activity. Remember that one of the most important people in your family tree is you. To help you capture interesting and important items about your life to share with your family and others, read 16 Things to Write Down about Yourself. It also includes a fun "Mad Libs" activity you can try for capturing family history memories. For more ideas, see Goal 9 in Project 2: Memories.
2021-11-03 Finding Elusive Records: Some records are fairly easy to locate, such as census records or parish records. Others are harder to find but may contain valuable information about your ancestors. A series of RootsTech articles has some useful tips for locating these records on FamilySearch: check out Finding Elusive Records in FamilySearch, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. To learn more about finding the records you need, see Goal A1 in the United States page.
2021-11-02 The Next Level: How do you move your research skills to the next level? What are the skill levels that people typically go through as they start looking for ancestors and move forward in research? The answers to these questions can be found in this interesting article by James Tanner. He uses census records as a starting point and then describes the challenges and opportunities that follow. For more tips on developing your family history research skills, check out Goal 7 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-11-01 Exploring the Timeline Grid: Using a timeline grid can be a great way to see how the pieces of your research fit together, as well as helping you with same-name and other family history challenges. The Timeline Grid: An Easy Way to Track, Organize, and Use Your Research by Kathryn Grant gets you started with the concepts you need to know. For more information on timelines, see Goal A4 in the United States page.
2021-10-29 Finding Clues with Insurance Maps: One of the overlooked treasures in United States genealogy is the Sanborn collection of fire insurance maps. The Library of Congress has over 35,000 of them online, arranged by location, with details on business and residences in each map. You can learn more about Sanborn insurance maps from the 1800's and 1900's in this RootsTech video, as well as in Goal A2 of the United States page.
2021-10-28 Tips for Web Searches: Sometimes the research info you need isn't on FamilySearch or Ancestry, etc., but it's somewhere out there on the internet. You can find that information quicker and easier with these tips from Lifewire.com. You'll learn how site searches, quotes, Boolean operators and more can get you the genealogy search results you need. For more tips and guidelines for successful online searches, check out Goal 6 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-10-27 Asking the Right Genealogy Question: At the heart of focused, effective research there are questions. These questions are specific and designed to help you gather needed information about an ancestor. This article from the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society does a great job of explaining how to ask the kinds of questions that will get results in your research. For more tips on questions to ask, see Goal 2 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-10-26 Getting the Help You Need: In 1966 Neil Diamond had a hit song "Solitary Man." Although genealogy may seem like a solitary pursuit, there is actually plenty of help available for research. Genealogical societies, Facebook groups, family history centers, and online communities have volunteers who are ready and able to collaborate with you on your research goals. To get started with getting help, see FamilySearch Project 6, or Project 5 for Ancestry, MyHeritage, or Findmypast.
2021-10-25 Organizing Your Genealogy: Sometimes managing your family history materials can seem like a daunting task. Diane Haddad has some simple suggestions to help, in her article titled 6 Baby Steps to Organize Your Genealogy Work. True to the title, these really are baby steps that are easy to understand and implement, with the result being more efficient and effective research. Check out additional ideas for organizing your genealogy, including binders, to-do lists and more, in Goal 1 of Project 4: Discover.
2021-10-22 10 Effective Strategies for Research: New to family history research? Or perhaps you'd like to make sure you are heading in the right direction. In either case, check out Ten Effective Strategies on How to Build a Family Tree by GenealogyInTime Magazine. You'll learn about focusing your research efforts, dealing with older documents, handling conflicts in the information you find, and more. You can find additional tips for research strategies in Project 4, Goal 3.
2021-10-21 Using Homestead Records: If any of your ancestors moved west across the United States in the late 1800s or early 1900s, there's a good chance they may have acquired land through the Homestead Act. This article by Ancestral Findings gives an overview of the homestead land process and how to find records for landowners on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management website. You can learn more about homestead and other types of U.S. land records in Goal F2 of the United States page.
2021-10-20 French Church Records: One of the best resources for doing research in France is using Protestant or Catholic church records. A good resource to get you started is a RootsTech 2021 video titled Using French Church Records. It gives a good overview of record types and essential French words to know for church research. You can also learn more about church research in the France country page, Goal 4, which also covers Jewish and Huguenot records, as well as cemetery records.
2021-10-19 Where to Start Researching: It may be tempting to randomly choose a family line to research, or to always start with your direct paternal line. However, choosing the best line to begin your research can pay dividends. In this Explore Genealogy article you'll learn some basic strategies for selecting a family line, as well as how to collaborate with others who may have done previous research there. See Project 4: Goal 2 for more tips and strategies on identifying lines to research.
2021-10-18 Give Me an Estimate: In your family history research, when is it okay to guess, and how is that different from speculation? This FamilySearch article by Joan Healey provides some great insights into the art of estimating in genealogy, as well as outlining solid research principles to make your findings more reliable. For additional tips on analyzing your research evidence, see Goal 7 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-10-08 Collecting Family Stories: Family stories are at the heart of family history. American diplomat Michael Cleverly decided he wanted to make a difference in his retirement years, so he has collected and shared family stories from the past thousand years. He shares his tips for collecting family stories in this brief RootsTech 2021 video. You can see more tips on finding family stories in Goal 8 of Project 2: Memories.
2021-10-07 Tips for Reading Old Documents: In addition to deciphering the handwriting, you may encounter a number of other challenges with reading old documents, such as picture quality, missing information, etc. In this article and video from Ancestral Findings you can explore a host of common issues with "ancient" documents and learn how to maximize your success in capturing the information you need. For help with old handwriting, see Goal 6 in Project 5: Indexing.
2021-10-06 Breaking through Brick Walls: Chances are that most of us can think of at least one branch in our family tree where we have run into a "brick wall" with our progress. Help is on the way, in a series of four BYU Family History Library videos by James Tanner: Defining the Objective, Exploring the Possibilities, Working through the Alternatives, and Resolving the Outcome. For more tips and strategies on breaking through brick walls, see Goal 7 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-10-05 FamilySearch Historical Records: You may have noticed that there have been quite a few changes lately in the Search Historical Records screens in FamilySearch. In The Family History Guide we have updated FamilySearch Project 1: Goal 4 with new instructions and screenshots to help you use the new features easily. Choice B and Choice C in Goal 4 have the new instructions: check them out to see what's new in the FamilySearch Historical Records screens.
2021-10-04 Discovering FreeUKGenealogy: As you explore research for your ancestors in the British isles, check out the FreeUKGenealogy site for some great resources. It includes FreeReg for parish records, FreeBMD for birth, marriage, and death records, and FreeCen for free census records, all in the United Kingdom. This video demonstrates FreeReg, and this video gives an overview of Free BMD. For additional help, see the British Isles entries in the Countries menu of The Family History Guide.
2021-10-01 Finding Collateral Ancestors: *** If you are researching only your direct-line ancestors, you are missing out on the full family history experience. Collateral ancestors, such as siblings, aunts, and uncles, can provide extra clues in your research as well as providing a wealth of stories and additional perspectives. This article by Genealogy Today explains how to get started with collateral research, focusing on census, deeds and wills, obituaries, city directories and more. See also Project 3: Descendants for additional approaches.
2021-09-30 Using the FamilySearch Catalog: Ready to go off the beaten path in your genealogy research? There's a lot to discover in the FamilySearch Catalog. Here are two brief but helpful videos to get you familiar with Catalog and help you find the resources you need: FamilySearch Catalog and A Brief Introduction to the FamilySearch Catalog. To learn more, check out the articles and videos in Goal 5 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-09-29 Scotland Vital Records: If you have ancestors in Scotland, or think you might, the Scotland'sPeople website is a great resource for finding birth, marriage, and death records. This 2021 RootsTech video, Getting the Most out of Scottish Vital Records on Scotland'sPeople, helps you get started with navigating the website and finding the records you need. To learn more about Scottish research, including Scotland'sPeople, check out the Scotland country page in The Family History Guide.
2021-09-28 Tips for Lost Ancestors: Some genealogy articles on the web have been around for a long time but are just as relevant today. That's the case with Diane Richard's article Tips To Help You Find Seemingly "Lost" Ancestors on the Archives.com site. Here she discusses strategies for name variations, census challenges, children without recorded parents, and more. You can find many additional resources for breaking down walls in your research in Goal 7 of Project 4: Discover.
2021-09-27 Think Like a Detective: One of the essential building blocks for your genealogy is a good research plan. To build an effective plan, you often need to "think like a detective." In this article by Kimberly Powell, you'll learn the steps to approach research problems like a detective would, and a case study is included to illustrate the approach. For more tips on developing and using research plans, see Goal 3 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-09-24 Ancestor and Homeland Research Tips: FamilySearch recently sent out an email to its RootsTech subscribers with a must-see quote: "The Family History Guide is a tremendously good resource for experiencing your homeland and connecting to your ancestors. Using information from sites like Ancestry and FamilySearch, discovering your story has never been easier." The email then links to our Ancestors and Homelands video, produced by FamilySearch and Scott and Angelle Anderson of The Family History Guide Association. We are honored to be a go-to resource for FamilySearch. Watch for a blog post on Monday with more details about our involvement in RootsTech.
2021-09-23 3 Tips for Ancestry Searches: If you'd like to get more effective search results in Ancestry while saving valuable time, check out this article from the Ancestry Help Center. It explains how to use the Card Catalog, filters, location searches, Soundex, and spelling variations in your searches. For more information and tips on searching historical records in Ancestry, see Project 4: Research, Goal 4 (Search Records) and Project 4: Research, Goal 5 (Search Collections).
2021-09-22 Exploring the Internet Archive: One of the largest repositories of internet information (and genealogical information) is the Internet Archive site. You can find books, photos, stories, histories, and much more, to expand your genealogy research. Check out this RootsTech video, as well as Goal F5 in the United States page, for tips on exploring and using the Internet Archive.
2021-09-21 Tracing Your Ancestry with Photos: Photographs are a wonderful way to capture and share memories of your family, but they can also provide you with valuable clues in your genealogy research. This article by Explore Genealogy provides some basic pointers on how to identify timeframes and locations in photos, leading you to more information about your ancestors. For additional ideas on using photographs in your research, check out Goal 7 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-09-20 England Research, Pre-1800: If you have been struggling to extend an English family line into the 1700s or earlier, this blog post by Tyler Stahle—4 Tips for Pre-1800 British Research—can make a difference. He discusses starting points for research, record changes, search tips, and research questions. There is also help for earlier English research in Goal 1 of the England country page, steps 4 and 5.
2021-09-17 International Research: It's a big (research) world out there. Being unfamiliar with languages, cultures, and history can make it a challenge to find your ancestors across the globe. Help is on the way in this RootsTech video by Lisa Ratzlaff. You'll learn a step-by-step process for navigating international records and finding your ancestors around the world. Be sure to visit the Countries page in The Family History Guide to unlock research tools and ideas for the countries you'd like to explore.
2021-09-16 Polynesian Genealogy: If you are curious about doing genealogy research in the Pacific, check out these RootsTech videos—Beginning Polynesian Genealogy and Oral Genealogies in Oceania—for some great suggestions and strategies. The Family History Guide also has a variety of helpful resources, including the Pacific Islands Project that covers Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, and additional islands.
2021-09-15 8 Common Genealogy Mistakes: One of the differences between beginning and experienced researchers is avoiding common mistakes. In this article by AncestralFindings.com, you'll learn about eight mistakes that are easy to make but can hold back your research progress, from not recording sources to forgetting to interview older relatives, and more. See Goal 7 in Project 4: Discover for additional tips on avoiding mistakes and bad habits in your research.
2021-09-14 Developing a Census Research Strategy: Are you spending time searching U.S. census records but not getting the results you need? This RootsTech article, 6 Tips for Developing a Census Research Strategy, could be a difference-maker for you. It has some great tips for finding hidden information in the census, as well as some cautions that can save you time and energy in your research. Check out other useful ideas for exploring U.S. census records in Goal C1 of the United States page.
2021-09-13 Using Google Chrome Shortcuts for Research: Tired of typing the same old search queries in Google Chrome? You can create shortcut links in Chrome to help you get more searches done in less time. In this brief RootsTech video, Richard Miller explains the ins and outs of Chrome shortcuts and what they can do for you. For more software tips on staying organized with your genealogy, see Choice C in Project 4: Goal 1.
2021-09-10 The Power of Photos: How can a simple photograph change what you know, or how you feel, about one or more of your ancestors? In her article The Power of Photos blogger and photo expert Helen V. Smith shares some interesting insights into how photos capture history and how to find clues about your ancestors' lives in them. In Project 4: Goal 7 you can find additional tips and strategies for using photographs in your research.
2021-09-09 25 Do's and Don'ts of DNA: DNA research can be a wonderful resource for filling in gaps in your family tree, but it can be quite involved and does have a learning curve. How do you avoid making common mistakes as you set out to do DNA research? 25 Do's and Don'ts of DNA by Melvin Collier has some useful tips, from working with Ancestry trees to handling DNA matches and more. To learn more about DNA research in genealogy, from basics to the latest tools, see the DNA Project for FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, or Findmypast.
2021-09-08 Finding Civil War Regiments: You may have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War, but unless the name is uncommon the chances are good that there will be multiple soldiers with the same name. This article by Amy Johnson Crow explains how finding a soldier's regiment can be the key to identifying which ancestor is yours. For more tips and resources on Civil War research, see Goal E2 in the United States page, Choice B (which also includes a Quick Research basics video at the beginning).
2021-09-07 New BYU FHL Video for The Family History Guide: The BYU Family History Library has just published a new video on their YouTube Channel: Teaching Family History with The Family History Guide. This video explains how to present The Family History Guide website and how to prepare and deliver a variety of family history topics easily and effectively using the website. Watch for a blog post about the video this coming week.
2021-09-06 Finding Death Records: In addition to death certificates, there are actually quite a few places where you can find death information for your ancestors. The Findmypast blog article titled 9 Places to Find Information About Your Ancestor's Death explores resources such as the Social Security Death Index, gravestones, probate records, church records, and more. For more about death records, check out Goal B5 in the United States page, or the Vital Records Goal in the country page of interest.
2021-09-03 Researching Protestant Church Records: In the Faiths menu, you'll see an entry for Protestant research. This page has Choices with links to articles and videos for the following denominations: Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Quaker, and others. In the header area there is also a link to the Research by Country page, which connects you with Protestant resources for a number of countries in the world.
2021-09-02 Presenting The Family History Guide: We have added a new page to the website. It's in the Trainers menu: Presenting TFHG (The Family History Guide). This page has tips for how to create a presentation of the website in a 50-minute session, using a combination of guidance slides and the website itself. These presentations can be used for family history fairs, genealogical societies, libraries, church groups, and more. For more ideas on training with The Family History Guide, see the Trainers menu.
2021-09-01 Hidden Stories in City Directories: City directories can be a great resource for finding ancestor information. This handout from RootsTech 2019, presented by the Family History Fanatics group, introduces you to directories and then explores ways to uncover stories about your ancestors that may be hidden in them. Examples of info to look for include job changes, name changes, moves, etc. To learn more about using city directories in your research, check out Goal A2 in the United States page.
2021-08-31 Netherlands QRB Video: We recently posted a new Quick Research Basics (QRB) video to our YouTube Channel: Starting Your Netherlands Research. This video gives a brief history of the Netherlands and gets you acquainted with important record resources for finding ancestors there. The video is also included at the beginning of Goal 1 of the Netherlands country page.
2021-08-30 The Gold Mine of Land Records: There is a great deal of useful genealogy information in land records, but typically legal jargon is mixed in, which can be confusing at times. How do you find the facts you need in land records? This article by Yourigins.com gets you started: it explains why land records are important in research, as well as the nuggets of information you can often find there. For more information on land records, see Goal F2 in the United States page or the corresponding Land Goal in the country page of interest.
2021-08-27 Access to Catholic Records: From Findmypast: "The Catholic church maintains a very strict protocol governing access to their records and how they might be digitized. Findmypast were uniquely able to fulfil their requirements and open the door for your access to these records." Check out this Findmypast blog article for details on the Catholic Heritage Archive and the resources it provides, as well as the Catholic pages in Faiths section of The Family History Guide.
2021-08-26 Passenger Lists—10 Things to Know: When you are on the trail of finding an immigrant ancestor or family, passenger lists can be a great resource for finding the information you need. Ancestry's 10 Things to Know: Passenger Lists provides a practical list of ways to get started with passenger research, including timelines and search tips. You can find additional tips and guidelines for using passenger records in Goal D2 of the United States page.
2021-08-25 Researching Irish Records: We recently added a new Quick Research Basics video on our YouTube Channel: "Researching Irish Records." In this video, James Tanner explains the necessary background information and the strategies you need for successful research in Ireland. Topics in the video include Irish record sources place names, genealogy websites, civil registration and church records, census and land records, etc. To learn more about Irish research, see the Ireland country page in The Family History Guide.
2021-08-24 What Is a Reasonable Conclusion?: Finding a new person in your family tree can be an exciting event. But if you don't have direct evidence for the person, such as a primary record source, what should you do? In this article by Ancestral Findings, you'll learn about the art of "reasonable conclusions" and how they can be used to substantiate your research, even when direct proof has not been found. For more info on analyzing evidence for people in your tree, see Goal 8 in FamilySearch Project 1: Family Tree.
2021-08-23 ***Interviewing with Informed Questions: One of the best ways to bridge the generation gap in family history is to interview those who have lived long lives. Interviews are more effective when you use informed questions, which can be open or closed in nature. This article by Genealogy Today explores informed questions and how you can use them to shape successful interviews with others. You can find more resources for family history interviews in Goal 3 of Project 2: Memories.
2021-08-20 U.S. Military Records: the Other Wars: When we think of U.S. military records, the ones that usually come to mind are for the Revolutionary War (although that pre-dates the United States), the Civil War, and World Wars I and II. But there are also records available for many other military conflicts, such as the Korean War, Indian Wars, Spanish American War, the War of 1812, and more. The Family History Guide can help you learn about and find these resources. In the United States page, see Goal E2, Choice F to get started.
2021-08-19 Types of Marriage Records: When you need to find a marriage record, what are you actually looking for? It may surprise you to know that there are a number of different types of marriage records, from certificates to applications to banns (intent to marry) and more. This article by Kimberley Powell gives a good overview of 10 types of marriage records and how to use them in your research. You can learn more about marriage records in Goal B4 of the United States page, or in the Vital Records or Civil Registration Goal for the country page of interest.
2021-08-18 Finding Elusive Records in FamilySearch: Are you finding the records you need in FamilySearch, or are your searches missing the mark? There is a three-part series of RootsTech articles titled Finding Elusive Records in FamilySearch that can help. It begins with FamilySearch maps, collections, and the Catalog, and finishes with using batch numbers in searches. For additional tips on doing record searches in FamilySearch, see Project 4: Discover, Goal 4.
2021-08-17 Getting Started with Obituaries: Newspaper obituaries can be a great resource for finding family history information. They often include vital dates, places of residence, military service, employment, etc. An obituary also may include insights into an ancestor's character and experiences, providing a unique perspective into that person's life. A good overview of how to find and use obituaries for research is found in this article by Price Genealogy. See also Goal B5 in the United States page.
2021-08-16 Collecting Previous Research: How would you like to discover a goldmine of family history information? There may be one closer to you than you think, when you explore research done by others in your family. This FamilySearch Wiki article describes where to look for home and family sources of information for your genealogy, as well as how to determine the reliability of the information you find. To learn more about gathering information from others, see FamilySearch Project 2: Memories, Goal 2.
2021-08-13 Starting Your Irish Research: We recently added a new Quick Research Basics (QRB) video to our YouTube Channel: Starting Your Irish Genealogy Research, by James Tanner. This video provides a good background of the key historical events in Ireland that affect research. It also provides tips and guidelines for finding your Irish ancestors and their families in a variety of records. Learn more about Ireland research in the Ireland country page of The Family History Guide.
2021-08-12 Good Citations: There are good vibrations, and then there are good citations. A citation is a detailed note you write to help others know where you found genealogical information for an ancestor. Having accurate, detailed citations helps everyone breathe a bit easier about what you have found in your research. This article by Legacy Tree Genealogists gets you started with citations and breaks down the essential parts of a citation. For more info on using citations, see FamilySearch Project 1: Goal 9 (Resources section).
2021-08-11 Vacation Time: The Tip of the Day is taking a break until Thursday, August 11. Happy summer to everyone, and thanks for the great work you do to support family history!
2021-07-30 Finding Female Ancestors: Sometimes, finding the female ancestors in your tree can be a challenge. Maiden names may be missing, and customs in the past focused more on men than women. In this article from Archives.com, Lisa Alzo offers five practical tips on finding your female ancestors, from census records to locating friends. Check out additional useful tips in Goal B4 of the United States page.
2021-07-29 Finding World War I Records: Over 4.7 million men from the United States served as soldiers in World War I, and additional millions served in support services. There is a good chance that someone in your family participated in the war effort, and their service was recorded. This brief video by James Tanner helps you get started finding records associated with World War I, to trace your ancestors. Find more resources for World War I research in Goal E2 of the United States page.
2021-07-28 Pass-along Cards—DIY: In the Media menu of The Family History Guide, select Media Resources and then Pass-along Cards, to order cards from The Family History Guide Association. But there is also a do-it-yourself option: scroll down to "Print Your Own Cards" where you can print a sheet of cards and cut them yourself. And there's more ... you can select other languages for cards, including Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, German, Italian, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese (traditional and simplified).
2021-07-27 Beyond the Census: After you have found an ancestor in the U.S. census and captured the information there, what's next? The census can be a great gateway to open more research possibilities. This article from Findmypast illustrates how to make the link from a person in the census records to other related records, such as military, immigration, city directories, land ownership and more. For more ideas on expanding your reach with the U.S. census, see Goal C1 in the United States page.
2021-07-26 Ancestry Projects: If you're looking for an easy-to-use help system for Ancestry.com, The Family History Guide has what you need. There's a collection of Projects, Goals, and Choices, with step-by-step instructions to help you set up your account, build and navigate your tree, find hints and records, take advantage of DNA testing and more. There's also a Vault section that handles a wide variety of topics, with links to articles and videos. Check out Project 1: Get Started and Project 2: Family Tree.
2021-07-23 Celebrating Pioneer Day: Tomorrow is Pioneer Day, celebrated by millions of Latter-day Saints in honor of the original Mormon pioneers who entered the Utah Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. If you have pioneer ancestors, whether Latter-day Saint or not, you can find some helpful resources in The Family History Guide for tracing their migrations and ancestry. In the United States page, check out Goal F1, Choice B for links to helpful articles and videos for your research.
2021-07-22 Reading Old Documents: In today's world there is far less emphasis on handwriting, but going back in time it was pretty much how everything was done. Reading old manuscripts, with strange letters, unusual script and forgotten words, can be a challenge. To get started, here are some tips for reading old genealogical documents, courtesy of AncestralFindings.com. You can find more tips and guidelines for understanding old handwriting in Goal 6 of FamilySearch Project 5: Indexing.
2021-07-21 Family History Do's and Don'ts: Every so often it's good to have a reminder about what to do, and what not to do, as we do our family history research. Here are The 12 Important Genealogy Dos and Don'ts You Need to Know, courtesy of Family History Daily. You'll learn about good habits to follow as well as common pitfalls for researchers. For additional tips on avoiding common mistakes in your research, check out Goal 7 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-07-20 Mortality Schedules - A Census Bonus: We usually think of the United States census records in the familiar 10-year editions, from 1790 to 1940 (and coming soon, 1950). But there are also special schedules of information that were published, such as the mortality schedules that list the deaths that occurred up to a year before the census. This article by Amy Johnson Crow gives a good overview of mortality schedules and how to use them in your research. Learn more in Goal C1 of the United States page, Choice B (near the end).
2021-07-19 German Words and Scripts: If you are doing any research on German ancestors, or plan to do some in the future, you may enjoy this new video on our YouTube Channel: German Records, Words, and Scripts. It provides good information on getting familiar with German words and names in records, and it includes a link to a German script generator so you can create examples of phrases in the German script you choose. To learn more about German words and handwriting in your research, see Choice D in Germany Goal 1.
2021-07-16 Organizing Your Family History: The more family history you do, the more information and materials you collect. How do you find a place for everything, and keep everything in its place? 9 Habits of Highly Organized Genealogists by Family Tree Magazine could be just what you need. This article provides great tips on managing paper, going digital, getting into a organization routine, and more. Also check out Goal 1 in Project 4: Discover for additional ideas on getting and staying organized with your family history.
2021-07-15 Now That's an Interesting Story! Some family history stories are a bit on the dry side, but others draw us into the lives and places of the characters we are reading about. The difference may be how well you are weaving history into the story. The RootsTech blog article Places to Look for Engaging Details about Your Ancestors shares some great tips for blending history and narrative, to help your family history stories come to life. For more tips on creating engaging family history stories, see Project 2: Memories, Goal 8.
2021-07-14 Keeping a Family Journal: How well do you remember the small, touching experiences that have happened in your family through the years? A good way to preserve those memories is to create and keep a family journal. In her article 24 Ways and Reasons to Keep a Family Journal, blogger Trina Holden shares tips for making journals a fun and meaningful family experience. You can find additional tips on creating and sharing journals in Project 2: Memories, Goal 9.
2021-07-13 What Does Your Surname Mean?: Have you wondered about the meaning of ancestor surnames in your family tree, or perhaps your own surname? This Findmypast blog article has some helpful examples for learning more about surnames, including factors such as geography, occupations, and family relationships. Learn more about using surname patterns in research in Project 4: Discover, Goal 3.
2021-07-12 The Other Half of Research is Writing: According to expert researcher Harold Henderson, we are often in such a hurry to find new genealogical information that we don't take the time to "put the meat on the bones." In his article Why We Don't Write, and How We Can, Henderson takes us through the process of breathing life into family history findings, while accomplishing the three "P's" ... Prove our conclusions; Propagate our findings; and Preserve our information. Explore more tips for writing family history stories in the Vault section of The Family History Guide.
2021-07-09 Searching Databases Like a Pro: ***Not happy with the database search results you're getting? Genealogy Today has a great article that offers tips for searching online databases. These guidelines help you decide how to enter ancestor names to get best results, as well as finding places and occupations in major databases. You can learn more about doing effective searches in Project 4: Discover, Goal 6 (Develop Search Skills).
2021-07-08 U.S. Immigration in the 1920s: Before 1920, immigration into the United States was pretty much "open door." However, immigration policies changed in the mid-1920s, affecting the flow of immigrants. This FamilySearch blog article describes what happened and how you can find clues for your ancestors who may have arrived in the U.S. after this time. Also check out Goal D1 in the United States page to learn more about immigration basics for research.
2021-07-07 Finding Vital Info in Newspapers: Sometimes it may be difficult locating vital information for an ancestor, such as birth, marriage, or death records. A research alternative you should consider is newspapers. This Findmypast article explains how to discover vital info in published newspapers, including additional content and perspectives that wouldn't appear in official documents. Learn more about newspaper research in Goal F4 of the United States page, or in corresponding Goals for various countries.
2021-07-06 12 Essential Skills for Genealogists: You may be thinking of essential skills as reading difficult handwriting, knowing where archives are located, etc. But this article by Genealogy Today focuses instead on the mindset of a genealogist: thinking outside the box, collaborating with others, organizing information, seeing the big picture of your family tree, and more. To review important research skills and objectives, see Project 4: Discover.
2021-07-05 Tips for Google Searches: It's pretty well known that you can use Google to search for ancestor information online. However, your Google searches might not be returning the information you need: too much, too little, or off track. In this ThoughtCo article, Kimberly Powell shares some handy tips for using search operators to get better results, as well as strategies that can keep you moving in the right direction. To learn more about using Google searches in genealogy, see Goal 6 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-07-02 Finding Ancestors in Church Records: In the United States, vital events in your ancestors' lives were often recorded in church records. Witnesses to these events also may include extended family members. Adding Branches with Church Records, by Price Genealogy, gives a brief history of U.S. church records and where to find them, and it provides several case studies showing how church, census, and other records can work together. For more information on discovering and using church records, see Goal F1 in the United States page.
2021-07-01 U.S. Census Search Tips: What do you do when your searches in U.S. census records are not turning up clues for your ancestor? This Findmypast article, 5 Tips for Searching Census Records, can help you make the breakthroughs you need. It explains how to vary your search parameters, why to look for other people, and how to refine your approach to using dates. Learn more about using the U.S. census to find your ancestors in Goal C1 of the United States page.
2021-06-30 Sharing Memories with Slideshows: A great way to share your family history memories with others is by creating simple slideshows, to capture photos or ancestors or living family members. This can be done with FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, or other software and platforms. In FamilySearch, first create an online photo album in Memories and then use the Slideshow option; instructions can be found in Choices C, D, and E of Project 2: Memories, Goal 11.
2021-06-29 Building a Family Tree: Whether you are working with FamilySearch, Ancestry, RootsMagic, or any other family tree software, there are some basic principles you'll want to follow as you build your tree. How to Build a Family Tree: Tracing Your Ancestors, from the National Genealogical Society, outlines a good path to follow, from gathering family information to recording to finding more records. There are additional tips for getting started with family trees in the Vault section of The Family History Guide.
2021-06-28 Getting Un-stuck in your Genealogy: Chances are good that at some point you've been stuck on one or more lines in your family tree. How do you get "un-stuck" and start moving ahead? This article from Findmypast has some practical suggestions for finding new records and getting help from others, to get past your genealogy roadblocks. You can find more tips for breaking through your brick walls in Project 4: Discover, Goal 7.
2021-06-25 ***Finding Misspelled Ancestor Names: Some of your ancestors may have spelled their surnames in multiple ways, even within the same family. So how do you sort out the variations? This article from Genealogy Today has some tips on how to approach name variations, from phonetic spelling to wildcard variations. You can find out more about name variations and spelling in Project 4: Discover, Goal 6, as well as in Section 32 of the Vault page.
2021-06-24 FamilySearch Source Box: The Source Box lets you reuse record sources instead of retyping them each time you need to use them. To view your Source Box, click your name in the upper right corner, and from the drop-down menu, click Source Box. With the Source Box you can store over 10,000 sources, organize your sources in up to 200 folders, and add sources of your own into Family Tree. For tips on using the Source Box, see Goal 8 in Project 1: Family Tree.
2021-06-23 Intro to Research: If you are getting started with family history research and would like to see what resources The Family History Guide has that can help you, a good place to visit is the Intro to Research page. You can find it at the top of the Countries menu. The page includes a brief introduction video and then points you to the research projects for FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast. Also referenced are the two Research Knowledgebases, one for general and United States, and the other for various countries.
2021-06-22 Getting Started with Google Earth, Part 2: What if you could see historical information about your ancestors, in a current Google Earth view? You can, and an article titled Google Earth for Genealogy, Part 2: Adding Historical Maps & Data shows you how to do that. You'll learn how to import historical maps into Google Earth, how to see land features of where your ancestors lived, and more. See also Goal A2 in the United States page.
2021-06-21 Getting Started with Google Earth: Google Earth is a free and fun way to map the locations where your ancestors lived. This article from NewYorkFamilyHistory.org provides a basic introduction to using Google Earth, including links to tutorials. It also shows how to add a U.S. census record to a Google Earth map, to integrate the information. For more about using mapping tools such as Google Earth and Google Maps, see Goal A2 in the United States page.
2021-06-18 City Directories by State:
City directories can provide many additional research clues about the people living in a town or urban area. The 
Ancestor Hunt website has a great collection of free city directories, arranged by U.S. state. Most of these are also linked from the state pages in The Family History Guide, in Goal 2, Choice B for each state. To learn more about using city directories, see Goal A2 in the United States page.
2021-06-17 5 Reasons for Documenting Your Family's Story: Here are five ways that preserving and documenting the story of your family—immediate or extended—can enrich and bless your life, courtesy of Frazer Consultants: 1) It keeps your family traditions alive; 2) You learn stories and life lessons from your ancestors; 3) Medical history becomes more clear; 4) It can create stronger relationships between family members; and 5) It can improve your sense of well-being and self-esteem. For more ideas on preserving memories, see Goal 1 in Project 2: Memories.
2021-06-16 People of Medieval Scotland: How far back does your Scottish ancestry go? Check out the People of Medieval Scotland website to learn about ancestors and documents from 1093-1406. You can search for people, facts, sources, places, and transactions, and you can filter by relationships. There is also a map that places pins for ancestors in geographical locations. To learn more about Scottish research by time period, see Goal 1, Choice C in the Scotland country page.
2021-06-15 Finding Irish Towns: When doing Irish research, you'll find that location is often the name of the game. The Irish Townlands website is a great resource for pinning down places in Ireland where your ancestors may have lived. Arranged from large to small, its entries include counties, baronies, civil parishes, electoral divisions, townships, and sub-townships, with corresponding maps and links to genealogy resources for the locations. For more info, see Goal 9 in the Ireland country page.
2021-06-14 Maximizing Your Research Time: If you're a busy person—and who isn't these days?— then you'll want to get the best results with the limited time you have for doing family history research. In this article on the Archives.com site, Lisa Alzo shares some useful tips for maximizing your research time, including calendaring, time management, using research plans and more. You can find additional tips for fitting family history into your life in the 15 Minutes page of The Family History Guide.
2021-06-11 Is Your Research Accurate?: The Ancestral Findings site has a great article that explains five ways to tell if your research is accurate. Although these are not guarantees, they are definitely helpful: 1) Find the same information in multiple sets of records; 2) Find research from others that matches yours; 3) Gather sources that provide evidence; 4) Look for secondary evidence to back up your assumptions; and 5) Get evidence from DNA test results.
2021-06-08 Finding Female Ancestors: An essential part of filling out your family tree is finding the female ancestors in your lines, whether direct-line or children in families. The Family History Guide has two great sections to help you get started and go farther in finding your female ancestors. In the United States page, go to Choice C in Goal B4 for some helpful tips and strategies. And in the Vault, you'll find plenty of additional resources, with links to over 20 articles and videos to explore for researching female ancestors.
2021-06-07 Tips for England Census Records: As you track your ancestors in England, you may find the 1841 and 1851 Censuses to be of great help. You can find a number of useful tips for using these census records in A Date Guide to English Genealogy, Part III from the GenealogyInTime website. It explains the types of information found in these census records, how to avoid incorrect assumptions, and how to find additional clues for research. To learn more about England census records from 1841-1939, see Goal 4 in the England country page.
2021-06-04 Tracing Ancestors in Voting Records: Family Tree Magazine has several helpful online articles about how to use voting records to learn more about your ancestors. The Document Detective: Voter Registration article reviews the types of information that typically appeared on voter registration cards, and it gives tips for how to use the information in your research. You can find out more about voter registration and research in Goal F3 of the United States page.
2021-06-03 Migration Clues: How do you track your ancestors as they moved from place to place? It helps to understand the motivations for moving and the common problems you may encounter when tracing ancestors on the move. This article by Diane Richard discusses reasons, problems, clues, timelines, and routes for migrating ancestors. See Goal F1 in the United States page for additional resources.
2021-06-02 The 1940 Census—Next Steps: After finding your ancestor in the 1940 Census, where do you go next to discover more information about the person? This article by James Tanner in LDSGenealogy.com suggests a wealth of record resources that are related to what you may discover in the 1940 Census, including city directories, voting records, land and property records, place of birth, and more. To learn more about what's in the 1940 Census and how to use it in your research, see Goal C2 in the United States page.
2021-06-01 Researching Local History: Learning about the towns or cities where your ancestor lived helps you better understand their lives, and it may open doors to new research clues. Kimberly Powell's article Resources for Researching Local History outlines six practical tips for getting to know the places where your ancestors lived, from reading local published histories to interviewing local residents. Find out more about using local histories in the United States page, Goal A4.
2021-05-31 Compiled Military Service Records: What's in a compiled military service record? Typically it will list a service person's rank, military unit, date of entry into service, and whether discharged or separated by desertion, death, or other reasons. Ancestry.com has a number of collections of these records, with some of them being included as QUIKLinks in The Family History Guide. For more information on using compiled military service records in your research, see Goal E1 in the United States page or watch this Ancestry Academy video (requires a free account).
2021-05-28 The Ellis Island Experience: According to this article in GenealogyInTime Magazine, about 1/3 Americans can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island, a small island off the coast of New York's Manhattan. The article explains travel patterns of families, cases where immigrants might be rejected, how names were recorded, and more. For additional tips on tracking immigration through Ellis Island and other ports, see Goal D2 in the United States page.
2021-05-27 U.S. Census: Next Steps: As you begin your search through records in the United States census, you may be wondering what information might be "hiding in plain sight." This FamilySearch blog article gives some helpful tips for finding additional research clues in census records, such as timelines, state census records, features by decade, and more. See also Goal C1 in the United States page and the Census Records: Next Steps section in the Vault.
2021-05-26 Labeling Digital Photographs: Scanning family photos is an important step in preserving and sharing them, but what about the background info: who is in the photo, where was it taken, and when? Check out How to Label Your Digital Photographs by Kimberly Powell for tips on using software, including your PC or Mac operating system, to add "metadata" (descriptive digital information) to each of your digital photos. For tips on scanning photos, see Goal 1 in Project 2: Memories.
2021-05-25 FamilySearch Catalog - Practice: The FamilySearch Catalog has online entries that enable you to find many genealogical items in the FamilySearch Library. To help you develop your search techniques for the Catalog with hands-on exercises, check out these articles: FamilySearch Catalog Class and Find - FamilySearch Catalog. For more about the FamilySearch Catalog, see Goal 5 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-05-24 Death Certificate Codes: Did you know that there are "secret codes" on many death certificates recorded in the United States? These codes link to a database for documented causes of death. This article by Family History Daily explains where to find them and how to look them up online. To learn more about using death certificates and other death records in your research, see Goal B5 in the United States page.
2021-05-21 Overlooked Genealogy Clues: In the Ancestral Findings article 3 Overlooked Clues in Genealogical Documents, these helpful information clues are discussed: 1) the year of immigration, in U.S. Census records; 2) the names of witnesses in deeds, wills, and other legal documents; and 3) death certificate informants, who are usually relatives of the deceased. For more information on the types of information you can find in various records, see Goal A1 in the United States page.
2021-05-20 New Quick Research Basics Videos: In our blog post last week we mentioned that three new Quick Research videos had been added to our YouTube Channel: Surname Maps, Using Mapping Tools, and Using Historical Maps. This week we have added two more videos: Spain Research Overview and Spain Research: Church and Civil Registration, narrated by James Tanner. These latest videos are also included in Goal 1 and Goal 3 of the Spain country page.
2021-05-19 Finding Ancestry Researchers: There may be a number of Ancestry users who are researching some of the same people you are. You can find these users with the Member Search feature in Ancestry, focused on research interest. You can also specify the Surname, Location, and Year for ancestor events you are interested in. You'll get a list of users with links to their public trees with names in common. See also Ancestry Project 5: Help for more collaboration tips.
2021-05-18 Ancestor Stories with "Meat on the Bones": At RootsTech 2019, blogger Rosemary Cantrell shared a presentation titled Put Some Meat on Them Bones: Telling the Stories. In it, you'll learn about narratives vs. individual stories, understanding what types of stories need to be told, basic writing tips, and more. in order to fill out the details of your ancestor stories. See additional tips on writing ancestor stories in Project 2: Memories, Goal 8.
2021-05-17 Guiding Children in Family History Activities: In the Kids Corner of The Family History Guide there is a Parents and Leaders link (just above the first video). When you open it, you'll find information on how family history awareness can increase self-esteem in children. You'll also see additional links for getting kids involved in family history, as well as coaching and motivation tips. Then be sure to check out the many fun and useful activities in the Kids Corner, great for kids 10 and younger.
2021-05-14 Finding a Genealogical Society: The National Genealogical Society is having its annual conference next week (May 17-21), which will be virtual. On their website, you can look up genealogical societies in the U.S. to get help from and collaborate with on your family history. The Get Help Goals in most countries also have links for international societies. To learn more about genealogical societies, see Project 6: Help, Goal 2, Choice B.
2021-05-13 Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor: The Ancestry video "Finding Your Immigrant Ancestors" narrated by Crista Cowan has been around a while but still has some great tips and pointers to resources. You can find her video embedded in The Family History Guide in United States Goal D1, Choice B. There is also an Info button above the embedded video: hover over it to see a list of sections of interest within the video that you can directly access.
2021-05-12 Surnames and Maps: From FamilySearch: "Sometimes it is possible to guess where a surname originated through surname distribution maps. These maps graphically display locations where surnames occurred at different periods in time. This strategy provides genealogists with a starting point for research in the birth country, when that information cannot be discovered through sources recorded in the new country of settlement." Check out this list of surname mapping resources on the Wiki.
2021-05-11 Immigration to and through Canada: Many people came from Great Britain to Canada in the 1800's, and a number of them continued on at some point to the United States. To help you track your ancestors' arrivals and migrations, check out Goal 5: Emigration in the Canada country page. In Choice A, note the resources for passenger lists and the article titled Finding Your Lost Ancestors in Canada. Naturalization records are discussed in Choice B, and additional resources are included in Choice C.
2021-05-10 This Is Family App: "This Is Family" is a free app for iPhone, iPad or Mac M1. Featured in the Kids Corner of The Family History Guide, it helps young people create a family tree, dress up ancestor avatars to see how they look, make pictures with different backgrounds, save the pictures, and more. You can also watch an overview video about the app to see its features, or look it up in the FamilySearch Solutions Gallery.
2021-05-07 Stories of Our Ancestors: From James Tanner: "The stories of the lives of our ancestors is not the side show, it is the show. It is the main feature. Sometimes we think we don't have time to spend on mundane things like the lives of our ancestors; we are too busy pushing back the years and marking off the check boxes on our pedigree charts to waste our time with stories." (Source: Going Beyond Just Names and Dates). To learn more about finding and creating your ancestor's stories, see Goal 8 in Project 2: Memories.
2021-05-06 Record Search Tips for FamilySearch: When you are ready to search for ancestor records on FamilySearch, there are ways to do that more efficiently and effectively. This FamilySearch Wiki article outlines best practices, field-specific search tips, advanced tips and tricks, and other places you can look when searches are not yielding the results you need. For additional resources to help with your searches, study the information in Goal 4 of Project 4: Discover.
2021-05-05 Organization Tips: Are you spending too much time hunting through your family history materials to find the documents, photos, or notes that you need? Check out this article titled Organizing Your Family History. It covers the benefits of good organization, how to get started, and helpful tips for sorting, storing, and locating your important genealogy information. To find additional tips and best practices for organizing your materials, see Goal 1 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-05-04 Will Your Genealogy Materials Survive? Most of us have uploaded some amount of genealogy information to an online source such as FamilySearch Family Tree, Ancestry, etc. But what about our original documents, our computer passwords and accounts, and family photos? Will they survive after we are gone, or will they be lost or discarded? This RootsTech article has some useful tips on how to address that problem, including a link to the video "How Not to Leave Your Genealogy Behind" by Amy Johnson Crow and Curt Witcher.
2021-05-03 To Do Lists to the Rescue: How do you keep from being distracted in your research, with all the bits of information floating by in the records, documents, and photos you find? Using a "to do" list might be the answer. You can create a list on your phone or tablet, or use a word processing document or spreadsheet to help you. FamilySearch has a built-in To-Do List in the right panel of its home page, and Ancestry has "My To-Do List" in the lower right of its home page. To learn more about To Do lists, see Choice B in Goal 1 of Project 4: Discover.
2021-04-30 Canadian Census Records: One of the best ways to find and track your recent Canadian ancestors is through census records. In Canada, national censuses have been conducted from 1851 to 1921, and some regional censuses are available from 1825 to 1926. In Goal 3 of the Canada country page, you'll find QUIKLinks to all these census records, plus resources that include articles and videos, worksheets, and more.
2021-04-29 GEDCOM Files and FamilySearch: If you have a family tree built in Ancestry, MyHeritage, RootsMagic, etc. you can create a GEDCOM version of your tree and upload it to the FamilySearch Pedigree Resource File. Although it's not merged into Family Tree, others can view important info such as names, dates, and relationships, using the Genealogies option in the Search menu of FamilySearch. Sources you have are not included, and if you want to make changes you will need to remove the uploaded file and create a new version. For more information on Genealogies and GEDCOM files, see Goal 5 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-04-28 Youth Apps for Family History: In the Youth menu of The Family History Guide there is a page dedicated to fun and useful family history apps. These include links to learning the FamilySearch, Ancestry, and MyHeritage apps, as well as using apps from the BYU Family History Technology Lab (Geneopardy, Wheel of Family Fortune, Pedigree Pie, etc.) and the FamilySearch Solutions Gallery (JoyFlips, Traditions of the Ancestors, Puzzilla, etc.)
2021-04-27 Using Burial Records in Research: What if you can't find the death record for an ancestor? In the 1800s, U.S. counties were not always reliable in keeping death records, while in the 1900s state record keeping made death records easier to find. The answer may be to look for burial records, which may contain additional information about family members who are buried near your ancestor. See this MyHeritage blog post for more information, or check out Goal B6 in the United States page.
2021-04-26 Getting Started with GEDmatch: GEDmatch is a free online site where you can upload results from your DNA testing (Ancestry, MyHeritage, 23andMe, etc.) so it becomes part of a larger shared database. You can then run a variety of reports and use handy tools to analyze your test data and see how it fits in with other users who have joined GEDmatch. For tips on getting started with GEDmatch, including instructions for uploading your test data, see this tutorial. For more info on GEDmatch, see Goal 4 in Project 8: DNA.
2021-04-23 England Probate Records: As you go farther back in your research in England, probate records (legal transfer of property, such as wills) can be a helpful resource. The BYU Discovering English Ancestors site has a page dedicated to getting started with English probate research. It covers both pre-1858 and post 1858 eras, with 1858 being when record keeping switched from church-based to civil-based. You can find more information in Goal 5 of the England country page.
2021-04-22 Article Quizzes: In addition to the Goal Quizzes available in the header area of selected Goals, there are now article-based quizzes in The Family History Guide. So far there nine of these, all in the United States pages; more will be added for other countries. Each quiz is short: just 5 questions, with 4 multiple-choice and one true-false. Check out the list of article quizzes at the end of the main Quizzes page, then study the articles and try the quizzes.
2021-04-21 Activities Planning Sheet: In the Activities menu of The Family History Guide, you can find the Activities Planning Sheet. It's a Google spreadsheet you can download and save in a variety of formats, to help you track the activities you have done or plan to do. The sheet lists all the family history activities on the site and has columns for date, planning notes, notes for next time, and a rating of 1 to 5.
2021-04-20 Deciphering Ancestor Nicknames: As you search through records and sources, sometimes you may find an ancestor listed with a nickname. Some are fairly common, such as Joey for Joseph (and sometimes what appears to be a nickname may actually be the given name). But what about names like Sadie or Tad— what would be the given names, if those are nicknames? Check out this article by Thoughtco that has an extensive list of nicknames and given names in English. You can learn more about name variations in Project 4: Discover, Goal 6.
2021-04-19 3 Tips for Breaking Brick Walls: When your research seems to have slowed or stopped on one of your family lines, here are three tips from Archives.com that can help get you going: 1) Explore information for collateral relatives (uncles, aunts, siblings, etc.); 2) Search online sources again and again for newly posted records; and 3) Take advantage of library and archive links, such as in The Family History Guide. For more tips on breaking through the brick walls in your research, see Project 4: Discover, Goal 7.
2021-04-16 City Directory Abbreviations: Using city directories online can be a great way to track your ancestors' whereabouts. However, sometimes you may run into some puzzling abbreviations on the pages. Fortunately, this article from GenealogyInTime has a solid list of descriptions to help out, along with links to abbreviations for first names and occupations. See Goal A2 in the United States page for more information on using city directories.
2021-04-15 FamilySearch Ancestor Surnames: Where does your surname fit in with the millions of others on FamilySearch? Check out Ancestors.FamilySearch.org and then click "Browse Surname Directory" to start exploring. There is also a screen to help you find the meaning and origin of surnames. You can find additional tips and instructions for using the FamilySearch surname directory in Goal 3 of FamilySearch Project 4: Discover.
2021-04-14 Brick Wall Case Studies: One way to learn about solving brick walls in research is to read examples of how it's done. There is a group of about 20 helpful brick wall solutions on LDSGenealogy.com, mostly for United States research, that show strategies for finding locations, records, and people. Most of these are also linked from The Family History Guide in U.S. state pages. For more information on solving brick walls, see Goal 7 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-04-13 Churches and Denominations: In The Family History Guide you can find resources for general U.S. church records in Goal F1. For Protestant resources, including denominations, and for Catholic records, see the Faiths menu. The Catholic and Protestant pages in that menu also include "Research by Country" pages with links to country pages that have additional information for church records. To find information on Latter-day Saint church records, see Choice B (scroll down) in Goal F1 of the United States page.
2021-04-12 Using Hints from Ancestry: Ancestry hints come from census records, vital records, and public family trees. This article from Ancestry Support explains where to find hints; how to handle new, undecided, ignored, and accepted hints; how to turn hints on or off; and what to do when hints become unavailable. To learn more about these hints and how to attach and use them in your Ancestry tree, see Project 2: Goal 5 in the Ancestry learning path.
2021-04-09 Getting Started with Maps: Maps can be some of the most helpful and most enjoyable family history resources. So what are the basic types, and how do you get started using them in your research? This article from Genealogy.com provides a good starting point, describing how to use political maps, county maps, historical maps, European maps, and more. For more information on understanding and using maps, see Goal A2 in the United States page, or the Maps Goal in each corresponding Country page.
2021-04-08 Closing & Opening Choices: In The Family History Guide, Choices are where you find the steps and resources you need for learning and research. We have recently changed how you can close and open (hide and show) the material inside Choices. At the top of each Project page, there used to be two separate buttons: Close Choices and Open Choices. Now there is a single button—Close Choices. Click it to close all Choices on the page, and then click the same button (now titled Open Choices) to open them all. Also, each Choice has a + or - icon at the end of the title, to remind you that you can click Choice titles to individually close or open them.
2021-04-07 Facebook Groups for Counties: When you are doing research at the county level in the United States, help is available in The Family History Guide. At the bottom of each U.S. state page is a list of counties with links to resources you can use (for example, here is the link to California counties). The latest additions are links to Facebook groups and genealogical societies for counties. These links are indicated by "F" on the page.
2021-04-06 Kickstarting Your Research: If you feel like you are in a rut with your genealogy research, this article from FamilyHistoryDaily can help you break free. It describes 10 strategies you can try, such as researching descendants and neighbors, doing photo research, trying new sites and databases, and more. There are also some helpful suggestions on breaking through brick walls in The Family History Guide—see Project 4: Discover, Goal 7, Choice G.
2021-04-05 Preserving Family Memories: This article from the New England Historic Genealogical Society gives some great tips and guidelines for preserving, handling, and storing your family history documents, photographs, and other objects. Examples include how to handle old books, how to unframe art, and how to reformat or copy important documents. For more information on preserving your family history keepsakes, see Goal 1 (Choice D) in Project 2: Memories.
2021-04-02 New Look for the Home Page: When you access the Home Page for The Family History Guide, you'll notice a new look. There's one cover photo now, with a centered layout for the text and buttons. On phones, the single photo makes for less scrolling. The photo may be changed occasionally for variety. The three buttons are numbered in suggested order of use: 1 for the Overview video, 2 for the Tour, and 3 for the Get Started page. The top menu works as before and is basically unchanged.
2021-04-01 Top "Headlines" for April 1: 1) Ancestry.com teams with Petco to provide DNA testing for your dog or cat's family tree; 2) The Family History Guide Association acquires FamilySearch, with help from Bill Gates; 3) Findmypast announces new chronology tool for time-travel, so you can literally find your past; 4) The BYU Family History Technology Lab develops a mind-reading feature for census enumerators and indexers. *Note: These headlines are intended for humorous purposes. Your results may vary.
2021-03-31 Scottish Genealogy Sites: In The 10 Best (Mostly Free) Scottish Genealogy Sites for Finding Your Ancestors from FamilyHistoryDaily.com, you'll discover ten of the best Scottish genealogy websites, most of which are free. Making the list are gems such as the National Records of Scotland, ScotlandsPeople, National Archives of Scotland, GenUKI (Genealogy for the U.K. and Ireland) and more. Also explore the Goals in the Scotland country page of The Family History Guide for more tips on Scottish research and resources.
2021-03-30 New Video—Introduction to The Family History Guide: We recently added a new video on our YouTube Channel: Introduction to The Family History Guide. It's just over seven minutes long, so it offers a more in-depth look at some of the features of the website than does the Overview video on the Home page. This new video is in the "Learn about The Family History Guide" playlist, and we will be adding links to it in several places in the site.
2021-03-29 Beginning United Kingdom and Ireland Research: Many of us have ancestors who were born in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, etc.) or Ireland. A good way to get an overview of doing research in these countries is with this article by FamilyHistoryDaily.com: The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Researching Your Ancestors in England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland. It covers history, online records, resources, and tips for research. For QUIKLinks to record collections, visit the United Kingdom page in The Family History Guide.
2021-03-26 Show Me Video: Browse Memories: Ancestor photos are a powerful and meaningful way to share and preserve family history. We've added a video in the Show Me playlist on our YouTube Channel. It's for FamilySearch Project 2, Goal 4: Browse Memories. This video walks through the concepts of finding and browsing photos and other memories for ancestors in Family Tree. You can also find the video by using the Show Me link, in the header area at the top of the Goal 4 page.
2021-03-25 Finding Historical Photos:
A great way to see into the past is with photos that were taken where your ancestors lived. This not only helps put your ancestors' live in context, but it may also provide research clues you can follow. The Ancestor Hunt website has state-by-state collections of free, downloadable images of people and places to get you started (scroll down to "State Articles"). Goal 1 in each state page of The Family History Guide has links to these photograph collections for the state, including cities, counties, and more.
2021-03-24 Seeing Patterns in Your Past: Genealogy is really all about patterns. Researching the historical, cultural, social, religious, and occupational background of your families helps you recognize these patterns. Looking at a family as merely a biological unit is like looking at the world in black and white rather than color. Instead of only looking for "standard" genealogical records, also learn about the history, geography, and culture of the places where your ancestors lived to begin seeing the patterns of how and where your ancestors lived. See also Pattern Recognition as a Goal in Genealogy by James Tanner.
2021-03-23 Tips for Using City Directories: City directories can provide a wealth of information about your ancestors. To get a good introduction to city directories, check out this FamilySearch handout that was produced a few years ago. In the section titled "Uses for City Directories" you'll find 12 ways to connect them with the research you are working on, such as identifying relationships within a family and determining dates for births, marriages, and deaths. See Goal A2 in the United States page for more information.
2021-03-22 England Civil Registration: There is a new Quick Research Basics video on our YouTube Channel for England Civil Registration. It's narrated by Kathryn Grant and covers topics such as the history, geography, and indexes for English civil registration. You can learn more in The Family History Guide in Goal 3 of the England country page, where this video is also available.
2021-03-19 FAQ Page for The Family History Guide: If you haven't seen it yet, there is a new page for FAQs. Topics include About The Family History Guide, Website Basics, Outreach and Use, FamilySearch and The Family History Guide, Language Support, Media, Presentations and Training, Records and QUIKLinks, and the Online Tracker. Each topic includes common questions and answers, with a number of helpful links as well.
2021-03-18 Getting Started with Findmypast: Findmypast has great record collections for research in the U.K. and Ireland, apropos as we just passed St. Patrick's Day yesterday. Read this blog article for tips on adding records, photos, facts, and hints to your Findmypast tree, and learn more in the Findmypast menu of The Family History Guide. You can create a free trial membership for Findmypast, or a free account if you're a Latter-day Saint: see this page for details.
2021-03-17 Researching U.S. Immigrants: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services site has tips for researching your immigrant ancestors. There are handy links to help you learn about arrival records, nationality records, and correspondence files, all sorted by time period. There is also a live chat feature on the page that offers help with immigration questions. In The Family History Guide, check out Goal D2 in the United States page for more information.
2021-03-16 FamilySearch Account Tips: In FamilySearch, where do you change your username or password? Or how do you control the emails that FamilySearch sends you, or stop an app or website from accessing information you added to Family Tree? You can do all of these things and more, using the Settings link found under your name or picture, in the upper-right corner of the Family Tree screen. There are tabs for Account, Notifications, and Permissions. For more information and tips, see Goal 13 in FamilySearch Project 1 in The Family History Guide.
2021-03-15 Using Map Overlays:
Overlaying historical maps onto Google Maps and Google Earth can be quite useful, as it helps you compare historical images with current maps and satellite images. But it can also be a time-consuming process. This article from Thoughtco.com provides links to ready-to-use map overlay collections, from David Rumsey, Historic Map Works, New York Public Library Map Warper, British Library Geo-referenced Maps, and more. To learn more about using maps in your research, check out Goal A2 in the United States page.
2021-03-12 Activities Planning Sheet:
As you select and carry out family history activities, this new Activities Planning Sheet in the Activities menu can be helpful. It's a Google spreadsheet with columns that list the titles of activities for families, individuals, youth, and kids; the date(s) you held the activity; planning notes as needed; notes for the next time the activity is held; and a rating from 1 to 5 (5=best). Once you open the sheet, use the File menu to make a copy to your own Google drive or download it as an Excel or OpenDocument spreadsheet. Then you can edit and customize it as you like.
2021-03-11 Research Help, U.S. States:
Need help with research in a particular U.S. state? Check out Goal 12: Get Help in any of the 50 state pages plus District of Columbia, or Goal 8 for Puerto Rico. These pages have links to Facebook groups, forums, message boards, genealogy societies and more, to help you collaborate and get your research questions answered. For example, here's the Get Help link for Massachusetts.
2021-03-10 Customizing Activities:
The Family History Guide has over 200 fun and meaningful family history activities for all ages. Once you've found an activity to do, here are three tips to help you customize the activities for your needs: 1) Select items within the activity to focus on, saving others for another time if necessary; 2) Personalize the activity by including material specific to your family members or friends; and 3) Plan the activity as needed, doing a practice run yourself to see if there are issues that need to be addressed ahead of time.
2021-03-09 Relative Finder:
The Relative Finder tool from the BYU Family History Technology Lab provides a way to see interesting and famous people in your family tree, from astronauts to presidents and more. It displays these relatives in a handy table you can sort and search. You can also create and join custom groups to connect with others and see the relationships you share with them. For more info, see Goal 4 in Project 3: Descendants.
2021-03-08 Sharing Your Ancestry Tree: You can give others the rights to view or modify your Ancestry tree. In the Trees tab, you can click the Share link and assign the role of Guest (view only), Contributor (add photos, comments, stories, but not edit tree info), or Editor (do all the above plus add, edit, or remove tree info). This feature helps families and friends work together on a shared tree. For more information, see Goal 4 in Ancestry Project 1: Get Started.
2021-03-05 Recording Names
When you record names in genealogy, 1) Enter them as they are spoken in the language they were originally given; 2) Record them as they were given at the time of birth, with variations in notes or alternative name sections; 3) Use the specific characters (available in Windows, Mac, etc.) used in the original languages; 4) Do not use Mr., Mrs., or other such designations, titles, etc. unless they were part of the name at the time of birth; and 5) Do not use abbreviations unless they were actually part of the name at birth. Learn more in this blog article by James Tanner.
2021-03-04 Making an Audio Documentary
Do you have a fun, interesting family tradition that you would like to record and share? Check out Family Activity F3-06: Make an Audio Documentary or Podcast in The Family History Guide. It has tips and ideas for creating recordings, podcasts, and documentaries that will make your family traditions come to life. You can also find a great collection of ideas in the Activities Index at the bottom of the Activities menu.
2021-03-03 When Did U.S. Vital Records Start?
Let's suppose you are doing some New England research, and you have ancestors in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Birth records were available in MA starting in 1841, but not in NH until 1920, and not in VT until 1955. You can get a handy comparison chart of vital record dates from Family Tree Magazine, with a free email signup. That will help you save time by not looking for records before they existed. Learn more about U.S.vital records in Goal B1 of the United States page.
2021-03-02 MyHeritage Deep Nostalgia™
My Heritage has developed a new feature called Deep Nostalgia that animates an individual face in a photo that you upload. The result is a short, high-quality video where the person's face in the photo can smile, blink, and move. The photos are enhanced prior to animation using the MyHeritage Photo Enhancer. For more information on how this feature works, and to see samples of these animation videos, read this blog post.
2021-03-01 Research with Google News: Would you like to browse old newspapers quickly and easily, looking for ancestor clues? It's easy to do at Google News, using the Newspapers section. You can browse through the long list or use the alphabet links at the top of the page. Select a newspaper issue, click the page, and start reading. You can also zoom the view. For more information on research with newspapers see Goal F4 in the United States page, or the Newspapers Goal in the corresponding Country page.
2021-02-26 New RootsTech Video—Ancestral Homelands: Here is the second video produced by The Family History Guide Association and sponsored by FamilySearch as part of their Beginners Track. (If you haven't signed up for RootsTech Connect 2021, now is a great time to do that!) https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/rtc2021/session/ancestors-and-homeland-research-with-the-family-history-guide
2021-02-25 New RootsTech Video—Family History Activities: This is well worth checking out at RootsTech. It was produced in a partnership with FamilySearch and Scott and Angelle Anderson of The Family History Guide Association. (If you haven't signed up for RootsTech Connect 2021, now is a great time to do that!) https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/rtc2021/session/the-family-history-guides-100s-of-activities-connect-families
2021-02-24 Geography Swings: If you find that the places for events in a family seem to swing widely back and forth, such as by hundreds of miles, you may be dealing with two separate families that have been incorrectly merged together. That can happen when surnames are the same or very similar. Using source records you can carefully divide the families into their proper forms. For more information on using geography and location as clues for research, see Project A2 in the United States page.
2021-02-23 RootsTech Tomorrow! We are entering a bold new era of RootsTech online, starting tomorrow at 5 p.m. Mountain Time for the Expo Hall and the next three days for the full conference. If you haven't registered yet, there is still time: click here to register. The latest count is over 430,000 attendees worldwide! Enjoy the online classes, and be sure to visit The Family History Guide online booth, watch our new videos, and say hello in our Chat room. We look forward to meeting you!
2021-02-22 The 1920 U.S. Census: From Ancestral Findings: "[In] the 1920 census, you will find street names and house numbers next to the heads of households on this census. It is valuable genealogical information that you can use to pinpoint exactly where your ancestors lived in 1920. Addresses may have changed over the decades ... but you can find the correct address with local city and town records. You can use the address to view it virtually on Google Maps. This is a wonderful way to have a look at things your ancestors saw every day, and get an idea of how they lived in 1920."
2021-02-19 U.S. Census Tip: A census record is not just a list of names with some added information, it is also a snapshot of a neighborhood and a community. Because census records are geographically compiled, knowing the location where your ancestors lived is necessary to identify the right person or family. So, look at the census pages both before and after the sheet you found for your ancestor. The enumerators would go up and down the streets, and it is common to find related families living in close proximity to each other. For more census tips, see Goal C1 in the United States page.
2021-02-18 Restoring Colors in Photos: Most of our online photo collections of family and ancestors have at least several where the colors are noticeably faded. Fortunately there is a great solution for restoring colors in photos: it's MyHeritage In Color™. Using this feature, you can restore the colors in one of your photos in typically between three to 10 seconds, depending on the level of detail. You can use In Color at the above link, or as a part of the MyHeritage Photo Gallery.
2021-02-17 European Archives: There are many useful, free online archive websites where you can search for your European ancestors. In the Quick Research Basics playlist on our YouTube Channel, we recently added a series of short videos by Miles Meyer that take you on a virtual tour through these archives and how to use them. In these videos you'll find helpful resources for countries including France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, England (British Isles), and Ireland.
2021-02-16 GenealogyLinks.net: A great resource for doing research in most countries is Genealogylinks.net. There are links to its resources in many places in The Family History Guide, most often in the Partners area beneath the large picture for the country page. There are also links for U.S. state pages, Canadian provinces, Australian states, and English counties. For U.S. states, the links also go down to the county level.
2021-02-15 The Review Process: There's a tendency to look at "completed" information as something we don't have to think about again, but reviewing information can lead to new discoveries. First, review documents, records, and sources that are already in place: they may have valuable clues for finding additional family members. Then review what you have already concluded about family lines, based on the additional information you have found in records and documents. See Goal 7 in Project 4: Discover for more ideas on evaluating and reviewing family history information.
2021-02-12 Documents from the Living: At times we may be so focused on searching for online records that we overlook documents that our living relatives have and could share with us. Not sure which family history documents to ask for? Check out this extensive list from FamilySearch that covers everything from family bibles to fishing licenses, and wedding announcements to wills.
2021-02-11 Black History Month and Family History: February is Black History Month in the U.S., and there are some great resources in The Family History Guide that can raise your awareness. In the African American section, check out Goal 4: Slavery Resources. Two of the items discussed there are the Freedmen's Bank and Bureau, and the Underground Railroad. Both of these have links to helpful articles and videos, to help you trace slave ancestors and shine a light on important events in Black history.
2021-02-10 Three Ancestor Mapping Tools: Interested in seeing where your ancestors lived on a world map, and events associated with their lives? Here are three FamilySearch-related tools to help you do that: 1) FamilySearch Places; 2) Map My Ancestors (on the Family Tree App); and 3) RootsMapper (a third-party program). Check them out to see your ancestors' lives in a whole new visual way!
2021-02-09 Discovering the Knowledgebase: One of the most useful features of The Family History Guide is the Knowledgebase for United States and general research. You can find it in the Learning Path menus (FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage and Findmypast), under Project 4. There is an alphabetical list of topic links at the top of the page, ranging from basic research to breaking through brick walls, and just about everything in between. Each topic opens up to individual nuggets of information to help you learn more about the area you are researching.
2021-02-08 Getting Started with Irish Research: The Family History Guide is a great place to begin your journey to discover your Irish ancestors. One of the resources is Irish Genealogy Research from the McClelland Library. It features a step-by-step checklist for the important things you need to know and do, such as identifying your research goals, finding records in the U.S. for Irish immigrants, and locating Irish jurisdictions for records. To learn more about basic research in Ireland, see Goal 1: Research and Records in the Ireland country page.
2021-02-05 Canada Archives and Libraries: The Libraries and Archives Canada site is a great resource for finding a wide variety of information about your Canadian ancestors. There is an A to Z Index you can browse, and you can also find information by topic or by type. To search for ancestors in their databases, use the Ancestors Search link in the Search the Collection menu. See also Goal 11 in the Canada country page.
2021-02-04 Webopedia for Tech Terms: An important part of doing family history is understanding technology basics, and a great way to get acquainted with terms used in technology is on the Webopedia site. There are tabs for Definitions, Insights, and Reference, each with many helpful examples. For more on technology terms and concepts, see the Computer Basics section in The Family History Guide.
2021-02-03 Linking Ancestors between Ancestry and FamilySearch: If you have a Church of Jesus Christ account, you can connect individuals between your Ancestry tree and your part of the FamilySearch Family Tree. That way, you can a) see FamilySearch information for them while you work in Ancestry; b) have certain updates made to an individual in FamilySearch reflected in your Ancestry tree, and c) add more relatives for a person, from Family Tree. To learn more, see Ancestry Project 1: Get Started, Goal 1 Choice E.
2021-02-02 Family Tree Contributions: As you work on adding and updating information in FamilySearch Family Tree, there's a handy way to see what you have accomplished. At the bottom of the Family Tree menu, select My Contributions. There are tabs for seeing yearly stats, people whose information you've updated, and private people (living) you are connected to in Family Tree. Learn more about the My Contributions feature in Project 1: Family Tree, Goal 6.
2021-02-01 5 Common Genealogy Mistakes: Here are five common mistakes of researchers, from Olive Tree Genealogy and Legacy Tree: 1) Collecting ancestors without sources; 2) Fishing for famous ancestors; 3) Focusing only on direct-line ancestors and ignoring complete families; 4) Stopping with just one record about an ancestor; and 5) Being disorganized, with papers or files scattered around. Learn more in Project 4: Discover, Goal 1.
2021-01-29 Finding Business Records: Business records are not usually thought of as genealogy records, but they can be quite useful. Here are three basic ways to track business records for your ancestors: 1) Newspaper articles about business activities; 2) City and phone directories that list your ancestor's business; and 3) Professional or trade organizations that publish journals or newsletters. Learn more in the U.S. Research Knowledgebase.
2021-01-28 Storytelling on Social Media: Using social media to share stories can be a powerful way to help family and friends feel connected to their family history. In the Activities section of The Family History Guide there are helpful ideas on how to do this. See Activity I5-03: Use Social Media for Family History Story-telling and see what speaks to you. For more ideas on sharing stories, see Project 2: Memories, Goal 9.
2021-01-27 New QRB Video: Explore Other U.S. Records:
Beyond the staples, such as census, vital, military, and cemetery records, what other United States records are waiting to be discovered in your research? This new Quick Research Basics video explores records for orphanages, schools, and businesses, and how they can provide additional clues for your ancestors' lives. Learn more in Choice C of Goal F1 in the United States page.
2021-01-26 Adding an Unconnected Person in FamilySearch: Adding a person who is not yet connected to you might make sense when you believe the person to be related to you, but records are not yet located to establish the relationship. In FamilySearch you can find this feature at the bottom of the Recents menu. For more information on adding an unconnected person to Family Tree, see Choice D in FamilySearch Project 1: Goal 7.
2021-01-25 Digital Storytelling, Google Earth: Need a different approach to your family history stories? You can create a fascinating digital landscape for your family history by combining places, photos, and words. Google Earth can bring your ancestors' places to life as you tell their life stories. Find out how it's done in this BYU webinar: Digital Storytelling with Google Earth.
2021-01-22 Hi-Five Live—RootsTech 2021: At 10 a.m. MST, the GATHERING series on Facebook Live has hosts Scott & Angelle Anderson joined by Diane Loosle and Mike Sandberg of FamilySearch to talk about the World's Largest Family Reunion— RootsTech 2021. Diane is a Senior Vice President at FamilySearch, and Mike is a Senior Product Manager. Scott is the Public Relations Director and Angelle the Marketing Director for The Family History Guide Association. Tune in live here or watch the video later on the Hi-Five Live Facebook page.
2021-01-21 History, Land, and Property: From James Tanner—"Doing genealogical research without a knowledge of history is like wandering in a forest without a compass or map. Land and property records are not generally classified as genealogical records; they are mainly historical records that contain information about your ancestors." You can learn more about land and property records in Goal F2 of the United States page, as well as in corresponding Goals in the Country pages.
2021-01-20 Using Cluster Research: Also known as FAN (Friends and Neighbors), cluster research is where you trace the people living near your ancestor, or those who knew your ancestor, to gain additional research clues. Local city directories and newspapers can be helpful in this regard. In Goal 7 of FamilySearch Project 4, Choice D has links to several articles and a video that explain how to get started with cluster research for selected ancestors.
2021-01-19 Delayed Records of Birth: If there was no record made at the time of a birth, some states will provide a delayed birth record, as a substitute for a birth certificate. These records may be even more valuable than the original certificates given at the birth, because the person applying for the delayed certificate has to provide proof of his or her own birth. For more info finding and using birth records, see Goal B2 in the United States page.
2021-01-18 New QRB Video: Travel and Migration Records: We've added a new Quick Research Basics video on our YouTube Channel: United States Travel and Migration Records. James Tanner discusses the how to use a variety of records to trace your ancestors as they moved across the country and settled in different areas. The video is also linked in Goal F1, Choice B of the United States page.
2021-01-15 "Aunts and Uncles": From Rog Gardiner in Scotland: "I have/had 4 'real' aunts in my family but 6 'other' aunts. There is a somewhat cultural habit of calling our parents' friends 'aunts and uncles'. Sometimes this endearment comes up in English Census records, where a friend of the family just happens to be in the household when the enumerator calls. In innocence, the person giving the information has sometimes labeled the friend as aunt or uncle, thereby causing me to try and track the person down on the presumption that they are a family member."
2021-01-14 New QRB Video: Church Records: There is a new Quick Research Basics video on our YouTube Channel: United States Church Records. James Tanner discusses the history of church records in the United States and gives tips for using these records effectively in your research. The video is also linked in Goal F1, Choice A of the United States page.
2021-01-13 Tips for Finding Obituaries Online: In her FamilySearch blog article, Kathryn Grant shares four things to know about an ancestor, to aid in finding an obituary online: 1) The death date, or range of dates; 2) The death place; 3) For women, the surname of marriage; and 4) Names or other information about family members. To learn more about obituaries and death records, see Goal B5 in the United States page.
2021-01-12 Interviewing Reluctant Relatives: Noted blogger and genealogist Sunny Morton describes six qualities an interviewer should emulate when interviewing a relative who is reluctant to open up: sensitive, caring, brave, curious (but respectful), and patient. She also provides tips on using each of these qualities in interviews. For more info on preparing for family history interviews, see Goal 3 in FamilySearch Project 2.
2021-01-11 Small-Town Newspapers: Once you find your ancestor mentioned in a rural or small-town newspaper, it's a good idea to search the rest of the issue for mention of other relatives, as they were frequently mentioned there as well. The Chronicling America site is a good place to start your newspaper searches; it has millions of free online newspaper records, from 1690 to the present day.
2021-01-08 Naturalization and Passenger Lists: We've added a new video to the Quick Research Basics series. It explains the history of naturalization (obtaining citizenship) in America and how records may be found. It also discusses the role of ship passenger lists for immigrants coming to the United States. You can view the video on YouTube as part of our Quick Research Basics playlist, or at the beginning of Goal D2 in the United States page.
2021-01-07 Research Around the World: At the bottom of the Get Started page in The Family History Guide there is a link for Research Around the World. It opens additional links for country pages for exploring research. This is useful for those new to The Family History Guide who may not be familiar with the Countries menu—they can find the research links they need on the Get Started page. There is also a section on the Get Started page for general research, as well as sections for learning FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast.
2021-01-06 Using Discrepancy Charts: When you are researching an ancestor, what do you do if you find a number of records with conflicting information? That's where a discrepancy chart may come in handy. For each record, make a table that includes the record name, event date, event place, age of the ancestor, and source for the record. This enables you to weigh the evidence and see which information is more likely to be correct. For more information, see this article and Goal 7 in Project 4: Discover.
2021-01-05 New Quick Research Basics Videos:
Here are the latest additions to our Quick Research Basics video series: United States Immigration, Beginning England Research, and U.S. Newspaper Research. This brings the total of videos in the YouTube playlist to 9. Videos planned for the near future will include Church Records, Military Records, Cemetery Records, and more.
2021-01-04 3 Tips to Find Migrating Ancestors:
From FamilySearch: "1) Rivers and mountains channeled migration trails into predictable patterns. 2) When you know where a family settled, you can often infer where they came from. 3) First settlers often named their new town after the place they left behind." To learn more about tracing your ancestors through migration patterns, see Goal F1 in the United States page.
2020-12-31 Happy New Year: The Family History Guide wishes you a Happy New Year tomorrow. May your 2021 be a safe, productive, and enjoyable year. The Tip of the Day will return on January 4, 2021.
2020-12-30 Three New QRB Videos: We've added three videos to the Quick Research Basics playlist on our YouTube Channel. These are United States Goal A2, Location and Geography; United States Goal B1, Understanding Vital Records; and United States Goal C1, Census Records. These videos are great introductions to essential research topics, and you can also access them in the individual Goals in The Family History Guide.
2020-12-29 Facebook Live with MyHeritage: On December 30, MyHeritage will be hosting an online conference of some of genealogy's top experts, using Facebook Live. One of the panel members is our own James Tanner, Chairman of the Board of The Family History Guide Association. Other participants include Thomas MacEntee, Lisa Louise Cooke, Roberta Estes, Diahan Southard, Daniel Horowitz, and Maureen Taylor. Don't miss this event! For more information, see this blog article on the Genealogy's Star website.
2020-12-28 Come, Follow Me Companion, 2021: A new year is almost here, and we have begun a new series of lessons for the Come, Follow Me Companion for family history. You can read this blog article about the new lessons, and you can see the Home page for the series here.
2020-12-24 Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays: The Family History Guide Association wishes you the best this holiday season. Thanks for all your family history efforts! Look for the return of the Tip of the Day on Monday, Dec. 28.
2020-12-23 Map My Ancestors: On your mobile device, check out the Map My Ancestors tool. It's part of the Family Tree app, and it provides a handy way to see locations for events that happened in your ancestors' lives. You can tap circles on a world map to zoom in and discover more ancestors and more events in FamilySearch. For step-by-step instructions on using the features in Map My Ancestors, see Goal 5 in the Family Tree App Project (bottom of the FamilySearch menu).
2020-12-22 Youth: Places and Cultures: One way that family history can come alive for youth is when they discover the places and cultures of their ancestors. In the Youth section of The Family History Guide, the Places and Cultures page offers three areas to explore: country pages, Geo/Culture/History Goals for most countries, and research basics, including knowledgebases for general and country-specific research. There are also links to FamilySearch activities such as Walk Where They Walked, Feel What They Felt, and Family Traditions.
2020-12-21 Conflicting Evidence: Here are six tips for handling conflicting evidence, from Archives.com: 1) Notice it (don't hide it or ignore it); 2) Make sure it matters (does it affect additional research?); 3) Keep looking (check out additional records and sources); 4) Analyze (evaluate each piece of evidence); 5) Correlate (organize the info for new perspectives); and 6) Write and record your conclusions. See additional ideas for working with conflicting evidence in Project 4: Goal 7.
2020-12-18 Social Media Ideas for Family History: Social media, especially Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, can be great ways to share family history stories and memories with others. In the Family History Guide, check out Activity I5-03 in the Activities for Individuals section. It has a link to a great overview article about storytelling on social media, as well as the 52 Stories Project, where you answer one question a week and create 52 stories for the year.
2020-12-17 Getting Organized: If you would like to spend more time doing research and less time going around in circles, it's time to organize your findings. This article by American Ancestors is a good place to start, as it covers research logs, to-do lists, and keeping organized as you go. It also has a link to a free research log template you can download. For more tips on organizing your genealogy research, see Goal 1 in Project 4: Discover.
2020-12-16 Immigration and Church Records: When you are researching an immigrant ancestor, don't forget to search for church records. It is sometimes possible that the immigrant transferred their membership in a church to the same denomination in America. The church priest or minister may have noted the congregation of origin. Learn more about working with church records and immigration records in The Family History Guide.
2020-12-15 South Africa Research: It's where English, Afrikaans, and Dutch all meet in one place—South Africa. You can find great resources for South African research in The Family History Guide, including Goals for getting started, vital records, emigration/immigration, culture and history, and more. Also included are QUIKLinks for record collections and links to South Africa provinces.
2020-12-14 Two More QRB Videos: There are two new videos in the Quick Research Basics series: Form a Research Strategy and Develop Search Skills. You can access the videos on our YouTube Channel. There is also an article on The Family History Guide blog site that provides more details about the series and what videos are coming next.
2020-12-11 Quick Research Basics: We are introducing a new series of videos in The Family History Guide: Quick Research Basics. The first one is for Goal A1 of the United States page—United States Records. You can access it on our YouTube Channel and in Goal A1, just above Choice A. These videos give you a quick introduction to the concepts that are in the Choices for the Goal. We will be producing more of these videos, so stay tuned and enjoy!
2020-12-10 Australia Research: If you have an ancestor that comes from the "land down under," the Australia page in The Family History Guide is worth checking out. You'll find basic resources in Goal 1, civil and vital records in Goal 2, immigration and convict records in Goal 3, and much more. There are also pages for Australian states, with their own research Goals and Choices, as well as QUIKLinks to record collections from FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast.
2020-12-09 The Family History Guide in Public Libraries: Most public libraries offer online learning programs, especially during these times of social distancing. The Family History Guide is a great resource for libraries and their guests, and we recently launched a new page on the website especially designed for them. A number of libraries have already contacted us about linking to our site or providing remote training using The Family History Guide. If you know of a library that could benefit from The Family History Guide, feel free to share the link above with them.
2020-12-08 Scotland Census Records:
From FamilySearch: "Census records are a valuable source of genealogical information for Scotland because they list names, relationships, ages, places of birth, and marital statuses. Starting in 1841, the census began listing valuable genealogical information, such as listing people by name. Currently, the censuses from 1841 to 1911 are available for public use. Census records are one of the best ways to locate ancestors at a given place and time." Explore Scottish census records in Goal 3 of the Scotland page.
2020-12-07 Family Stories & Family Myths:
Family stories passed down for generations usually contain kernels of truth, but they may also contain exaggerations and errors. How do you determine what's real and what's not? In her article Family Myths: Separating Fact From Fiction, blogger Sandra shares the valuable insights she learned while tracking down one of her own family stories of an immigrant ancestor.
2020-12-04 Beginning a Line:
From FamilySearch: "When you begin research on a new family, start by compiling a family group record showing everything you know about them. It is important to list every known event in each person's life. The more events you list, the better. It is also important to cite the sources of your information. Some of your names, dates, and places may be guesses or estimates. Your sources for this data should explain how you arrived at the estimates." See Project 4: Goal 2 for info on identifying lines to research.
2020-12-03 Family History Is Everywhere: An activity from the Kids Corner: Have a scavenger hunt in your house (or at a relative's home) to see how many things you can find that are about your family history. You can look for birth certificates, a family bible, old pictures and scrapbooks, or anything that reminds you of the past. If the items are moveable you can make a display, and if not, you can take and print pictures. Create a name for your "family history museum," and have your mom and dad (or grandpa and grandma) tell you stories about the items. Remember to have someone record the stories as they are told.
2020-12-02 Wildcards in Searches:
If the name or place you're looking for may be spelled with variations, then wildcard searches are for you. Use ? to search for any one character at that position in the word, or * to search for a range of characters in the word. For example, Ja?on finds Jason, Jaron, and Jadon, while Ja*on finds those names plus Jamison, Janson, etc. For more information on using wildcards in record searches, see these slides.
2020-12-01 Who's Missing?:
Ever wonder which ancestors might be hiding out in plain sight, waiting to be found? Here are three simple tips from Kathryn Grant to help you recognize who might be missing in the family tree (whether FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, etc.): 1) Look for adults without spouses; 2) Look for couples with few or no children; 3) Look for gaps between the births of children. For more tips on using basic strategies in your research, see Goal 3 in Project 4: Discover.
2020-11-30 Family Heirlooms:
Family heirlooms are a great source of family memories and stories. What should you do with them to preserve their value? This series of articles from HowStuffWorks.com has some great ideas to help you manage and protect heirlooms for the next generation. You can find additional tips in this RootsTech article and in The Family History Guide.
2020-11-26 Happy Thanksgiving!: The Tip of the Day will return on Monday, Nov. 30.
2020-11-25 Castle Garden Immigration: Before Ellis Island, Castle Garden in New York was America's first immigration center. The Castle Garden website makes available eleven million records of immigrants who arrived at the Port of New York from 1820-1892. Today more than 100 million Americans can trace their ancestry to this early period of immigration. You can use the Search tab on the site to explore records. For more information on passenger lists, see Goal D2 in the United States page.
2020-11-24 Death Certificates: Did you know that death certificates can be both a primary and secondary source of information about ancestors? Details about the death, such as location and time, are recorded by a medical professional at or near the time of passing. Other information on the certificate, such as name and address of the deceased, and names of parents, would be secondary information, relying on the family member or friend making the statement. For more information on death certificates see Death Certificates: Both a Primary and Secondary Source and The Family History Guide.
2020-11-23 Indexing Skills: Looking to improve your skills at indexing records online? In The Family History Guide you can learn how to get started with indexing in Project 5, Goal 2. Then you can work on indexing techniques and get answers to your questions in Goal 4. This Goal also includes tips for learning how to index records in other languages, with handwriting charts included from FamilySearch.
2020-11-20 Latter-day Saint Youth Pages: We have added a new series of pages in The Family History Guide for Latter-day Saint youth. You can find the link to the pages at the bottom of the Youth menu, and in the Faiths menu (Church of Jesus Christ). Topics for the pages include Gathering Israel; Take an Ancestor to the Temple; Temple and Family History Activities; Family Heritage; Come, Follow Me Companion for Youth, and Service.
2020-11-19 Ancestry Hints: In Project 2: Ancestry Tree, Goal 5 helps you understand how to work with Ancestry record hints. The following Choices are included: A) Find hints for individuals; B) See all hints; C) Review and attach hints; D) Get tips for viewing records; and E) Provide alternate information. In the Goal list (top of the page) there is a link to a Show Me video you can watch to see how use record hints on screen.
2020-11-18 Misindexed Records: If you hit a dead end in your research, it may be that one or more records are not indexed correctly in a record collection. Here are three solutions to try, courtesy of Ancestral Findings: 1) Check all of the spelling variations for your ancestor's surname; 2) Search by just the first name (if you also know the place of birth and age of the person); and 3) For surnames that might include spaces, try the search with and without the spaces. For more tips on working with records, see Goal 7, Choice B in Project 4: Discover.
2020-11-17 England Census: Census records were gathered in England every 10 years, from 1841 to 1911. Additionally, the 1939 Register was taken shortly before World War II. These records can be great resources for tracing your recent English ancestry. In the England country page, check out Goal 4 for helpful tips and strategies for using census records in your research. You'll also find QUIKLinks to records for each of the census collections online, and a section on using electoral roll records.
2020-11-16 Using Maps for Research: From FamilySearch: "Maps are also helpful in locating places, parishes, geographical features, transportation routes, and proximity to other towns. Historical maps are especially useful for understanding boundary changes. Maps are published either individually or as an atlas (a bound collection of maps). Maps may also be included in gazetteers, guidebooks, local histories, historical geographies, encyclopedias, and history texts." To learn about helpful strategies for using maps in research, see Goal A3 in the United States page.
2020-11-13 FamilySearch Catalog: The FamilySearch Catalog contains additional records that may be helpful in your searches. From FamilySearch: "The Catalog is a guide to birth, marriage, and death records; census records; church registers; books; periodicals; family histories and many other records that contain genealogical information. These records may be searchable online, on microfiche or microfilm, in a book or in a computer file." In Project 4: Discover, check out Choice B of Goal 5. You'll find a wealth of articles and videos about how to get the most out of the FamilySearch Catalog in your research.
2020-11-12 Boundless Genealogy: Check out the YouTube Channel for Boundless Genealogy, hosted by Melissa Finlay, AG. You'll find over 60 videos, with topics such as using city directories, finding marriage records, and busting through brick walls in your research. A number of these videos are now linked in The Family History Guide in various Choices.
2020-11-11 A Variety of Military Records: On Veteran's Day, we remember those who have served in the U.S. Military, to protect our freedoms. The Family History Guide can help you learn about and find a wide variety of military records, for each of these major conflicts: Revolutionary War, Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and others such as the War of 1812. Check out Goal E2 in the United States page to get started with articles, videos, and QUIKLinks to U.S. military record collections.
2020-11-10 Citing Sources: Where did that information in the family tree come from? How reliable is it? Sometimes citations are auto-generated for you by the family history platform, and sometimes you need to create them from scratch. In any case, knowing how to write a clear and useful source citation can be very helpful to yourself and others who find your research. This article by Family Locket—Source Citations: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly— provides some great tips for deciding what to include in your source citations.
2020-11-09 Belgium Church Records: From FamilySearch: "In the period before 1795, Church records are the main genealogical resource in Belgium. The main types of church records are: baptisms, marriages, burials, and confirmations. The records will be written in Latin for Catholics (the vast majority of the population, and the only legal religion before 1781), or in the local language, either Dutch, French or German. In 1795, civil registration becomes the major information source for births, marriages and deaths in Belgium." For more about Belgium church records and and civil registration, see Goals 2 and 4 in the Belgium country page.
2020-11-06 Reading Gravestones: BillionGraves, Find A Grave and many other sites have useful photos of gravestones. But what about those strange markings and inscriptions you sometimes see on the gravestones—what do they mean? In the United States page, Choice B of Goal B6 has some great tips on using tombstone information for research, including detailed videos at the end of the Choice from RootsTech and the Allen County Public Library.
2020-11-05 Working with Ancestry DNA Matches: If you have taken an Ancestry DNA test or are considering it, be sure to check out Project 7: Ancestry DNA in The Family History Guide. Goals 4 and 5 provide in-depth info on how to gather, understand, and take advantage of your DNA cousin matches. This can open up many opportunities for research and collaboration with people around the world.
2020-11-04 Where's That FamilySearch Feature?: Do you know where to find these three features in FamilySearch? The answers are below the asterisks. (When you're finished, you can tell your friends about this Tip to see how well they do.) (For help with learning FamilySearch features, see Project 1: Family Tree in The Family History Guide.) ... 1) Add an unconnected person in your tree; 2) Show a list of your Private People; 3) Display or hide research suggestions.
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1) Bottom of the Recents menu; 2) My Contributions tab; 3) Options button, in Landscape, Portrait, or Descendancy view.
2020-11-03 About City Directories:
From FamilySearch: "Directories were created for salesmen, merchants, and other interested in contacting residents of an area. They are arranged alphabetically giving lists of names and addresses. The most helpful directories for genealogical research are city and county directories of local residents and businesses. Directories are particularly helpful for research in large cities, where a high percentage of the people were renters, new arrivals, or temporary residents. A directory may be the only source to list an ancestor if he or she was not registered to vote and did not own property." For more info on using city directories in research, see Choice D in Goal A2 of the United States page.
2020-11-02 Occupations and Records:
This video from American Ancestors, Using Occupations to Trace Ancestors, shows how to find records for various occupations, including railroad workers, apprentices, craftsmen, physicians, tavern keepers, merchants, sailors, clergy, and farmers. It also explains how to find occupations in census records, city directories, passenger lists, and newspapers. To learn more about occupational records and research, see Choice C in Goal F1 of the United States page (scroll down).
2020-10-30 Avoiding Beginner Mistakes:
Amy Johnson Crow points out several common genealogy mistakes that beginners make: 1) Getting hung up on spelling, 2) Adding records too quickly, 3) Jumping back generations too quickly, and 4) Focusing only on direct ancestors. Watch her video Beginner Mistakes and How to Avoid Them to learn more, and explore Choice A in Goal 7 of Project 4: Discover for more tips on avoiding common problems in your research.
2020-10-29 Genealogy Societies:
Need to connect with others doing research in your localities? Check out the many genealogy societies across the U.S. and the world. Most are free to join, and they have great resources at the county, state, and regional levels, with experienced researchers who are willing to help with your questions. For information on finding genealogy societies, see Goal F6 in the United States page. Info is also available in Goal 12 of each U.S. state page, and the Get Help Goals for country pages.
2020-10-28 Tracking Immigrant Ancestors:
For the last one hundred years, individuals have had to obtain some sort of permission to move across an international boundary, or even internal political boundaries within a single country. At times, some countries imposed and still impose travel restrictions on their own citizens, and the process of moving from one city to another to work requires documentation. That need for permission generates a whole slew of documents you can use to identify and track individuals. Even if permission was not necessary, there are still documents that track the movements of individuals and families. For an introduction to immigration records, see Goal D1 in the United States page.
2020-10-27 Finding Birth Parents for Adopted Ancestors:
In Choice B of United States Goal B3, there's a link to a helpful video by James Tanner: "Adoption and Finding Birth Parents for Genealogists." The topics covered in the video include History of Adoption, Poor Houses, Adoptions in the U.S., Finding Records, Orphans and Foundlings, and DNA Research. You can use the Info button below the title to jump directly to a section in the video.
2020-10-26 Keeping Memories Alive:
Here are four ways to keep family history memories alive: 1) Understand that memories can be an important trigger for family history enjoyment and involvement. 2) Don't assume that because you read a story once, you'll remember all the details. Review stories to renew your connection with events and descriptions. 3) Keep others in the loop on where to find memory items for the family. Share photos, stories, and documents, and upload them to a common site such as FamilySearch Memories, Ancestry, Google Photos, etc. 4) Record your own memories. In family lines where ancestors recorded little or nothing about their lives, we have a much harder time filling in the tapestry of who they were.
2020-10-23 Dates and Events:
From Genealogy.com: "... put more faith in the record that was created closer to the event or was created by the individual himself. For example, a birth date on a birth record is more likely to be accurate because it was created at the time of the event. A birth date on a marriage certificate has fairly good chances of being accurate because the individual probably wrote down his own birth date. A birth date on a death certificate has smaller chances of being accurate: first, it was created several years after the actual birth, and second, someone other than the individual had to have provided the birth date on the death certificate."
2020-10-22 Passport Applications:
Passports were issued in the United States as early as 1789, and prior to 1856 individual states could also issue them. The genealogy information found in passport applications can be quite extensive. This FamilySearch blog article provides a good introduction to using passport applications for research, and Choice B in Goal D3 of the United States page has additional resources to help you learn about passport records.
2020-10-21 About Newspapers:
Newspapers' content stretches way beyond obituaries. Newspapers were the daily diary of the world. Especially in small towns, newspapers were the Facebook of their day and told the story of the families living in the circulation area. In The Family History Guide there are Goals for newspaper research in all U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and most countries. For a good intro, see this FamilySearch handout.
2020-10-20 English Wills:
From FamilySearch: "Wills were made primarily by the middle and upper classes, the majority of whom were nobility, gentry, merchants, or tradesmen. Most wills were left by males with property. Before 1882 a wife who died before her husband could not make a will except with her husband's consent or under a marriage settlement created before her marriage." For more on English wills and probate records, see Goal 5 in the England country page.
2020-10-19 Switzerland Research:
Swiss research may cover lines of German, French, or Italian ancestry. The Family History Guide can help you on your journey of discovery, with Goals for Research and Records, Civil Registration, Church and Cemetery, and Geography/Culture/History. There are also QUIKLinks for records from FamilySearch and Ancestry. Check out the Switzerland country page to get started.
2020-10-16 Midwest States Research:
Goal A3 of the United States page is all about helping you with Midwest research. You'll find videos from FamilySearch for Midwest states and the Great Plains, followed by two videos with tips on strategies to use and a case study to wrap things up. Also available are U.S. state pages for Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, each with QUIKLinks to record sources from Ancestry and FamilySearch.
2020-10-15 The 1940 U.S. Census:
The Family History Guide has a number of links to great articles and videos for learning how to use the 1940 U.S. Census in your research. One example is Using the 1940 U.S. Census to Build Your Family Tree by Kathryn Grant. It explains who you can find, how to search the records, how to read the data, and more. To learn more about doing research with the 1940 U.S. Census, see Choice A in Goal C2 of the United States page.
2020-10-14 Polish Research:
Getting started with researching your Polish ancestry? Check out the Poland country page in The Family History Guide. There are Goals for Basic Research, Census and Vital Records, Church and Cemetery Records, Emigration and Immigration, and more, each with links to handy articles and videos about Polish research topics. You'll also find a section on Culture, History, and Geography, as well QUIKLinks for record collections from FamilySearch, Ancestry, and MyHeritage.
2020-10-13 Why Some Genealogy Info May Be Wrong:
Here are three reasons why to double-check the info you have: 1) A person gave false or misleading info in a record, to avoid an embarrassing situation; 2) The index or transcription may have been copied incorrectly; and 3) The person recording the info wrote it as it sounded, not with the correct spelling. For more about dealing with record issues and problems, see Choice B in Goal 7 of Project 4: Discover.
2020-10-12 English Nonconformist Records:
"In English history, nonconformist were Protestants who did not conform to the governance and usages of the established Church of England." (Wikipedia). Denominations include Baptist, Congregational, Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Society of Friends (Quakers), Unitarian, and others. The Family History Guide has links for nonconformist research in England, as well as in most of the individual counties (see Goal 4 in each corresponding county page).
2020-10-09 Finding More Records:
Five steps to discovering more records: 1) Make sure you are looking in the right place; 2) Begin your search for records, not for people; 3) Find out about a variety of records; 4) Milk the records you do find for all they are worth; 5) Carefully examine and evaluate each record found. See 5 Steps to Discovering More Records and Goal A1 in the United States page.
2020-10-08 Mexico Research:
Looking south of the border for your family history? Check out the Mexico country pages in The Family History Guide. There are Goals for Basic Research, Civil Registration, Church and Cemetery Records, Emigration/Immigration, and more. Also included are QUIKLinks to records from national sources and each of the Mexican states. The final Goal is a recap of the Geography, Culture, and History of Mexico.
2020-10-07 Inherited Genealogy:
When you inherit genealogy info, look critically at every date and determine whether or not the dates and places entered are consistent. 1) Did the counties or even the countries entered in your data even exist at the time of the event in your ancestors' lives? 2) Are the dates outside of the time when records were kept in the place of the event? 3) Could the parents have actually known each other and gotten married? 4) Are the places where the children are reported to have been born consistent with the birth places of the parents and the place where they were married? 5) If there are inconsistent places, how did they occur? 6) Could the mother have been in the place where the children are recorded as being born? (Source: Examine Inherited Pedigrees Carefully)
2020-10-06 Asian Family History:
There are several places in The Family History Guide where you can find resources for doing Asian family history research. In the Countries menu, the Ethnic section leads to Asian research page. Country pages are available for China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pacific Islands, Philippines, and South Korea. There is also an Asia Misc. page that has Choices for 45 smaller countries and islands.
2020-10-05 Insurance Maps:
Sanborn Insurance Maps, available on the Library of Congress website, provide details for many city locations. In many cases, the maps can help identify old buildings shown in photographs and may give valuable clues as to the churches and businesses in the area where you are searching for your ancestors. For more information, see Sanborn Insurance Maps - an Overlooked Genealogical Resource)
2020-10-02 Southern States Research:
Many of us have ancestors from the South, anywhere from Texas to Florida, or Louisiana to Virginia. In The Family History Guide, you can use the individual state pages, or you can access the Regional page and go to the Choice for the Mid-South and Gulf Coast areas. You'll find a series of videos from FamilySearch and links to additional articles and websites, all specializing in U.S. Southern States research.
2020-10-01 Where Surnames Come From:
Surnames come from a variety of sources. Patronymics and matronymics: surnames are derived from the given name of a parent. Occupation: examples include Tanner, Smith, Miller, etc. Topographic: surnames come from landscape features such as hills, lakes and valleys. Descriptive: surnames indicate qualities such as young, white, strong, etc. See The Sirens' Call of Names in Genealogical Research and The Family History Guide.
2020-09-30 Managing Online Tree Changes:
There are several things you can do to minimize the impact of people making changes in online trees: 1) Add as many sources as you can to each individual; 2) Correct existing entries before building on them; 3) Watch all of the family members of a target ancestor, for changes being made; 4) Communicate with anyone making an unreasonable or incorrect change; 5) Be persistent, but take time to think and reflect and not react as if the changes were personal affronts. See How to Stop People from Making Incorrect Changes in Family Tree
2020-09-29 U.S. State Censuses:
State censuses were often recorded on years when the U.S. Federal Census wasn't, and they include much of the same types of information. Years and frequency of these censuses vary by state. In The Family History Guide, see the United States page, Goal C1, Choice C for some helpful resources. These include links to articles and videos from Ancestry and FamilySearch.
2020-09-28 New Family History Training Resources:
In the Trainers Menu of The Family History Guide you'll find some new and powerful resources for your family history training. The Prepare a Class page helps you build training classes quickly and effectively. The Worksheets, blank and completed, are downloadable Word docs that serve as templates for your class plans. Together, these resources enable you to teach from The Family History Guide website, without the need to create extensive slide decks and handouts.
2020-09-25 Take Another Look:
From Amy Johnson Crow: "My question for all these years has been, 'When and where did Matilda die?' ... I hadn't looked for Matilda on FamilySearch for a while, so I started exploring. And there she was. Matilda McFillen in FamilySearch's collection, 'Illinois Deaths and Burials, 1749-1999.' Death in 1899 in Kankakee County, Illinois." This shows the value of checking the major sites for new record collections, as they are frequently being added and made accessible. Learn more about breaking through research brick walls.
2020-09-24 Poland Research:
If you have Polish ancestry, or know someone who does, the Poland country pages in The Family History Guide can help you make good progress with finding ancestors. The main Poland page provides tips and techniques for research, as well as Polish language resources. Other pages cover vital and census records, and church and cemetery records, including QUIKLinks for easy access to records on Ancestry, FamilySearch, and MyHeritage.
2020-09-23 Genealogy Quizzes:
You can find two fun, brief quizzes on basic genealogy here: https://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz201826171c2f8.html (easier) and http://www.witsend.org/gen/gentest.htm (harder). Give them a try and see what you remember! You can also find quizzes about The Family History Guide in the Quizzes page.
2020-09-22 The History of Where Your Ancestor Lived:
Learning more about the history of locations in your ancestor's life can open doors to new research. Here are three tips to get you started: 1) Look for the places in Wikipedia and read the available history on that website; 2) Do a Google search for "the history of ..."; and 3) Read an online book in Google Books or WorldCat about the history of your selected area. For more ideas on histories and timelines, see Goal A4 of the United States page.
2020-09-21 Youth Pages:
The Family History Guide now has a section for Youth family history. You can access it from the top (or side) menu. The Youth Home page links to individual pages, including Stores and Photos, Activities (links to the Youth Activities pages), Family Tree, Places and Cultures, Indexing, and Apps and Sites.
2020-09-18 African American Research:
The African American pages (Countries menu, Ethnic) of The Family History Guide have some great resources for genealogy. There are Goals and Choices for getting started, using effective research techniques, exploring records such as from the Freedmen's Bureau, slavery resources, and more. Also included are QUIKLinks to records and links to helpful articles and videos.
2020-09-17 Brazil Research:
The largest country in South America, Brazil, is a fascinating blend of many cultures and peoples, including European immigrants, Africans, and native inhabitants. The Brazil country page in The Family History Guide features Goals for Civil Registration, Immigration, Geography and Culture, and more. It also has plenty of QUIKLinks for record collections from FamilySearch, Ancestry, and MyHeritage.
2020-09-16 Newspaper Basics:
From the FamilySearch Wiki: "Newspapers often report family information. Birth announcements may contain the infant's name, birth date, and parents' names, as well as the religion of the family. Wedding announcements may contain the wedding date and place, the names of the bride, groom, bride's parents, and groom's parents, and the religion of the family. Death notices and obituaries may contain the name and place of residence of close family and friends of the decedent, as well as the decedent's death date and place, birth date and place, and biographical information." See also Goal F4 in the United States page.
2020-09-15 Norway Research:
Researching Norwegian ancestors? Get off to a good start with the Norway country page. It has Goals for basic research, census records (featuring DigitalArkivet), churches and cemeteries, emigration, and more. There are also QUIKLinks to help you find records faster and easier, a Get Help Goal, and a summary of geography, culture, and history.
2020-09-14 Record Types:
As you begin searching for your ancestors, it's important to know the basic types of records that are available and what they contain. In the United States country page, Goal A1 begins with some great resources to illustrate types of records, including an article by Findmypast that describes 20 record types and a FamilySearch video that provides an overview of how records are used.
2020-09-11 Guided Tour:
The Home page of The Family History Guide now has a Tour button, next to the Get Started and Overview buttons. It launches a window that explains the key features in the website and lets you try them out. A blog article with more information on the Guided Tour will be posted on 9/14/2020. Enjoy!
2020-09-10 Evidence Types:
From FamilySearch, Evaluate the Evidence: "Direct statements give a straightforward fact. For example, a baptismal record may state the birth date of the child being baptized. Whenever possible, try to find records that directly state specific facts as proof of a genealogical event or relationship. Indirect statements support a fact by reasonable inference. For example, if a census record lists a person's age as 45 in 1851, it implies a birth in or near 1806." Learn more about evidence in research here.
2020-09-09 Wie Was Wie:
Need help tracing your Dutch ancestry? The Wie Was Wie (Who Was Who) database is a great resource to help you get started. WieWasWie contains records from many provincial, regional, and city archives in the Netherlands, such as for baptism, birth, marriage, death, burial, and passenger lists. Learn more about Wie Was Wie in the Netherlands country page, Goal 4: Civil Registration.
2020-09-08 Colonial Ancestors:
Do you have early American or colonial ancestors in your family tree? You'll find some great resources in the United States country page, Goal D3, Choice A. There are videos from Ancestry and BYU, articles from Findmypast and Olive Tree Genealogy, and an eBook titled "Colonial Families in America." All of these help you track early immigration to British America and settlements in the new land.
2020-09-07 Church Record Tips:
In the U.S. and Canada, there was not always a parish or congregation in the area where the parishioners lived. So they would often travel to the nearest congregation, or a visiting minister would stop by for important church rites. In either case, records for rural parishioners would likely be held at the larger congregation. For more information on church records, see this FamilySearch blog article by Sunny Morton and check out the Goal in The Family History Guide.
2020-09-04 Finding Obituaries:
The presence or absence of an obituary in any given newspaper depends entirely on the circumstances of the person's death and the interest of the community, and in some instances, if the family could afford to place the announcement. Failing to find an obituary in an index is really no indication that such a document does not exist. In some instances obituaries may have been published in other county, or even regional or state newspapers. Searching for obituaries should always include as many online digital newspaper collections as you can gain access to. From Searching for Death Information.
2020-09-03 Swedish Church Records:
A good resource for Swedish research is church books. The Slaktdata.org website provides a database of transcribed church records you can search. It also provides a name search feature for people, as well help information for searching. Record information includes birth, estate inventory, moving information, etc. For more information on Swedish church records, see Goal 4 in the Sweden country page.
2020-09-02 Common Mistakes in Genealogy:
Here are 6 common mistakes that genealogists, especially beginners, make in their research:
2020-09-01 Caribbean Research:
The Family History Guide has some great resources for tracing your ancestors in the Caribbean area. Check out the country pages for Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean pages, and the new More Countries page for smaller islands in the Caribbean. You'll find links to helpful articles and videos, as well as record collections you can search.
2020-08-31 Wales Census Records:
From FamilySearch: "The Wales national census records are especially valuable because they list nearly the entire population and are readily available at many repositories, including the Family History Library. Using the national census is essential for Welsh genealogical research, especially in the industrial districts of south Wales, where most people were originally from a rural area. From 1851 onwards, census records give the parish of birth for each individual in a household." Learn more about using the Wales census here.
2020-08-28 Back to School:
The Ancestor Hunt website has a great collection of school records for each state in the U.S. The types of records include attendance records, report cards, class photos, school census, and more. You can find links to these school records on each state page in The Family History Guide, Goal 7, Choice B. Here's an example for the state of Florida.
2020-08-27 U.S. Church Records:
Church records can be a great resource for genealogy. In The Family History Guide, Goal F1 in the United States page has what you need to get started. Of special interest is the Research Guide (Step 4) published by the Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness site. In addition to an overview, it discusses types of church records, how to locate them, and suggestions for searching.
2020-08-26 Canadian Emigration, Part 2:
From the FamilySearch Wiki: After 1850, the tide of migration still flowed from Canada to the United States. Between 1851 and 1951, there were up to 80 emigrants, both natives of Canada and others, who left Canada for every 100 immigrants who arrived. Many eventually went to the United States after brief periods of settlement in Canada. Canadians from the Atlantic Provinces often went to the "Boston states" (New England). A favorite 19th-century destination of Canadians leaving Upper Canada (Ontario) was Michigan. About one in four Michigan families finds a direct connection to Ontario. Many also find links to Quebec. At least two million descendants of French Canadians now live in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Many also live in New York and the Midwestern states.
2020-08-25 Canadian Emigration, Part 1:
From the FamilySearch Wiki: The first large emigration from Canada was between 1755 and 1758 when 6,000 French Acadians were deported from Nova Scotia. Some settled temporarily in other American colonies and in France. Many eventually found permanent homes in Louisiana, where they were called "Cajuns." During the "Michigan Fever" of the 1830s, large numbers of Canadians streamed westward across the border. By the late 1840s, over 20,000 Canadians and newly landed foreign immigrants moved to the United States each year. California gold fever attracted many, beginning in 1849.
2020-08-24 Voting Records:
As we gear up for this election year, remember that voting records can be a great resource for researching your ancestors in the United States. In Goal 3 of each State page in The Family History Guide, Choice E has a link to a FamilySearch article that points you to census and voting record resources at the county and district levels. Here's an example for California.
2020-08-21 Ancestor Addresses:
Finding the specific location where an ancestor lived can make the difference between identifying the right family and going off on a wild goose chase. For the past 100 years or so, you can simply look up the ancestor in a directory. These other record types can contain the ancestor's exact address: Employment, Military, Land and title, Tax, Court, legal notices, Immigration, Institutional, Cemetery, Mortuary, Probate, Census, Vital, School, and Church. See also Finding an Ancestor's Address.
2020-08-20 Family Quiz:
How well do you know your family? Create a quiz and have your family members answer the questions along with you. Find the answers you don't yet know and preserve what you learn. See a sample quiz on the Make Family History website. Try making a quiz for each family line. Another idea for your living family or ancestors is a matching game with the names or photos and something unique about each one to match to the right person. Find more family history activities here.
2020-08-19 Discovering Jewish Ancestors:
In the Countries menu there is an Ethnic section that points to the Jewish research page. There are six Goals: Research, Libraries & Archives, JewishGen Website, Holocaust Resources, Search Records, and Get Help. You'll find links for records, as well as for helpful articles and videos. There are also links to various Jewish resources in individual Country pages, usually in the main page or the Church Records page.
2020-08-18 Research in South America:
The Family History Guide has some helpful resources for helping you find your ancestors in South America. In the Countries menu, select South America and then choose from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, or South America Misc. The Misc. section has pages for Ecuador, Uruguay, and Venezuela, as well as a "More Countries" page for Bolivia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, and Suriname. Each country page has links to articles and databases to help you learn about and discover the records you need.
2020-08-17 The Whys of Immigration:
Look for reasons that made your immigrant ancestor move in the first place. In a family tree, a person may be listed as living in a certain location and then moving to another location that does not make any sense. Usually, it turns out that the second person is in fact a different person. If you find information about an ancestor that runs counter to the normal migration pattern, this is an invitation to do more intensive research into the history surrounding the family. Learn about U.S. immigration here, or see the Immigration Goal in the country page of interest.
2020-08-14 Canadian Research:
A great way to learn about Canadian ancestors is in the Canada country page in The Family History Guide. Goal 1 gets you started with basic research tips and links to helpful videos and articles, such as the Canada Record Finder from FamilySearch. Choice B also explores additional resources you can use for finding your Canadian ancestors.
2020-08-13 Danish Research:
If you have Danish ancestors, or think that you might, the Denmark country page in The Family History Guide is a great place to find them and learn more about them. There are tips for basic research, as well as for census, church, and cemetery records. There is also a Goal for Arkivalieronline, a handy database for looking up information on Danish ancestors. And Goal 14 finishes up with some great resources for learning about the culture, geography, and history of Denmark.
2020-08-12 FamilySearch & The Family History Guide:
Today at 4 p.m. Mountain Time, Wendy Smedley from FamilySearch and Scott and Angelle Anderson from The Family History Guide talk about involving the whole family in family history. This is also a great opportunity to see how The Family History Guide fits with FamilySearch in providing great activities for family history. Don't miss it! Learn more here.
2020-08-11 Puzzilla:
Looking for a handy way to view the cousins in your family tree, or do descendancy research? Give Puzzilla a try. It's free and crammed with features to help you navigate your FamilySearch tree in new ways. You can see step-by-step instructions for using Puzzilla, as well as links to articles and videos, in FamilySearch Project 3, Goal 3.
2020-08-10 Get Started:
There's a new look to the Get Started page in The Family History Guide. It's question-driven now. There are over 300 basic questions people might ask about family history, linked to places in The Family History Guide that provide the answers. There are also a number of helpful videos embedded in the page to provide extra insights. Check out the new Get Started page here.
2020-08-04 Vacation:
The Tip of the Day is on vacation for the rest of this week. It will return on Monday, August 10.
2020-08-03 France Research:
The France country page is great to explore for those with possible French ancestry. Goal 1: Research gets you started with records and resources, and you'll also find Goals for Civil Registration, Church and Cemetery, and even Culture and History. FamilySearch has recently added the French records site Filae to its Partner program, along with the Geneanet site; read more about it in this blog article from The Family History Guide.
2020-07-31 Historical Maps:
Historical maps can be a great resource to help you locate towns and areas where your ancestors may have lived. Two great resources for free online maps, covering locations around the world, are the David Rumsey Map Collection (use the top menu) and Old Maps Online (use the search buttons). For more information on using maps to locate your ancestors, see Choice B in Goal A2 of the United States page.
2020-07-30 Tax Records:
Did you know ... the U.S. federal government directly taxed citizens in 1798, 1814 to 1816, 1862 to 1866, and at other times until 1917 when personal income and other taxes were introduced. Tax records may include the name and residence of the taxpayer, occupation, description of the real estate and name of the original purchaser, description of some personal property, etc. To learn how to find and use tax records in your U.S. research, see Choice D in Goal F2 of the United States page.
2020-07-29 Scottish Heritage:
Do you have Scottish ancestry, or wonder if you do? A great place to begin or continue your search is in the Scotland country page. It begins with a Goal for basic research and records, which also introduces you to the ScotlandsPeople website and the study of Scottish surnames and clans. There are plenty of links to helpful articles and videos, as well as QUIKLinks for direct record searches.
2020-07-28 Rules for Research:
Here are 12 basic rules for helping you in your genealogy research, from James Tanner: 1) When the baby was born, the mother was there. 2) Absence of an obituary or death record does not mean the person is still alive; absence of a record does not mean the event did not occur. 3) Every person who ever lived has a unique birth order and a unique set of biological parents. 4) There are always more records. 5) You cannot get blood out of a turnip (connections to royalty or famous persons must be documented, not assumed). 6) Records move. 7) Water and genealogical information flow downhill (information becomes more scarce going back in time). 8) Everything in genealogy is connected (butterfly effect). 9) There are patterns everywhere. 10) Read the fine print. 11) Even a perfect fit can be wrong. 12) The end is always there (end of a documented family line).
2020-07-27 Italian Civil Registration:
If you have not been using the Portale Antenati for your Italian civil registration research, it's time to dive in to that amazing database. Learn more about a variety of civil registration and vital record resources in Goal 3 of the Italy country page. You'll also find QUIKLinks to records for the entire country and for regions in Italy.
2020-07-24 Pioneer Immigrants:
FamilySearch has posted a blog article with overviews of the pioneer immigrant movement in the 1800's. It also has links to the extensive Saints by Sea collection from Brigham Young University. Read the FamilySearch article here, and learn more about pioneer migration in the United States page, Goal F1, Choice B.
2020-07-23 Swedish Names and Terms:
In the Sweden country page there are some helpful resources to get you acquainted with Swedish research: genealogical words, spelling and phonetics, naming customs and surnames, and handwriting for records. Check out Goal 1, Choice B for details and links to articles and videos.
2020-07-22 5 More Questions to Ask about Records:
1) Which records came just before and after this record, and would they give further information? 2) Is the record part of a series of records that may contain further information about the family? 3) Where are other associated records located? 4) How reliable is the information contained in the record? 5) What other information is suggested by the record but missing? Learn more about records in the Research Knowledgebase for The Family History Guide.
2020-07-21 Focusing Your Research:
How do you deal with genealogy information overload? Here are five tips to keep your research focused: 1) Focus on a short list of research objectives. 2) Spend time processing and evaluating the information you gather. 3) Don't get caught up in the details. 4) Don't limit your inquires unnecessarily. 5) Keep careful notes but attach the notes to specific individuals. Learn more in this article.
2020-07-20 Germany Church Records:
Church records can be a great resource for tracking your ancestors in Germany. In The Family History Guide, check out Goal 3 of the Germany country page. You'll learn how to find church records on FamilySearch, how to explore the Archion.de database for Protestant Church records, how to coordinate German church and town records, and more.
2020-07-17 Canadian Provinces:
Doing Canadian research? You'll enjoy the Province pages in The Family History Guide, for British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. There are pages for basic research, census, immigration, and much more, as well as QUIKLinks to record collections. In the Canada page, use the links just below the main picture.
2020-07-16 Irish Immigration:
There are some great resources in The Family History Guide for finding your Irish ancestors, including those who immigrated to the United States. In the Emigration & Immigration Goal for Ireland, you'll find topics such as Basics, U.S. Records, Patterns and Strategies, Place of Origin, Passenger Lists, Potato Famine and more. Get started here.
2020-07-15 Exploring the England GRO:
The General Register Office (GRO) has been collecting information on all births, marriages, and deaths in England since 1837. Some of the indexes are available for free on FamilySearch, Ancestry, and Findmypast; official certificates can be requested from the GRO for a fee. To learn more about the GRO and vital records in England, see Choice A in Goal 2 of the England country page.
2020-07-14 6 Questions to Ask about Records:
The next time you are examining an ancestor's record, ask yourself these questions (courtesy of FamilySearch) to help you come up with more research clues: 1) When and where was the record created? 2) Who created the record? 3) Why was the record created? 4) Who provided the information for the record? 5) How was the information recorded? 6) How was the record preserved? For more info about using records, see Goal A1 in the United States page.
2020-07-13 Writing a Life Sketch:
When you decide to put together a life sketch for an ancestor, these tips from Legacy Tree Genealogy may come in handy: 1) Begin with an interesting story or detail; 2) Widen the national and historical context for events in your ancestor's life; and 3) Add visuals, such as Google Maps pictures of places where they lived, historical maps, etc. For more ideas, read this blog article and see Choice B in Project 2: Memories, Goal 9.
2020-07-10 Spelling Ancestor Names:
Here are five tips for dealing with spelling variations: 1) Many of your ancestors may not have known how to spell their own names. Don't assume that parents taught their children any one particular way of spelling their name. 2) Many people were known only by a nickname and never used the name they were given at birth. 3) They wrote what they heard. Many of the records we rely on to search out our ancestry may have been created by someone other than the ancestor. 4) The use of a family name or surname varies from culture to culture. 5) The pool of names used by any given family or culture may have been very small. For more info on name variations and spelling, see Choice D in Project 4: Discover, Goal 6.
2020-07-09 Irish Research:
If you have Irish ancestors in your tree, a great place to visit is the Ireland Country page in The Family History Guide. You'll find Goals for Basic Research, Civil Registration, Church Records, Emigration, Land & Property, and more, with links to helpful articles and videos. There are also many QUIKLinks to record collections from FamilySearch, Ancestry, and Findmypast, all integrated into the Goal pages.
2020-07-08 Freedmen's Bureau:
From FamilySearch: "The Freedmen's Bureau was created by Congress on March 3, 1865 at the end of the American Civil War to aid the newly-freed slaves (freedmen) and refugees. It was created to supervise relief efforts, including education, health care, food and clothing, refugee camps, legalization of marriages, employment, etc. Because the Bureau's records contain a wide range of data about the African American experience during slavery and freedom, they are a valuable source for African American genealogy." Learn more in the African American Project, Goal 4, Choice B.
2020-07-07 States, Counties, and Provinces:
In addition to Country pages for research, The Family History Guide has sub-pages for four countries: U.S. states (50 plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico), England Counties (36), Canadian provinces (10) and Australian states (7). They all have links to great articles and videos, as well as QUIKLinks for record collections. You can find links to these sub-pages just below the main picture on the four country pages mentioned.
2020-07-06 Surname eBooks:
The Family History Guide now has a page with over 400 links to free eBooks for British Isles and American families. They are downloadable and searchable, and they provide great historical context as well as genealogical information on descendant lines. You can find the Surname eBooks link in the Discover/Research Projects of The Family History Guide, as well as here. For more information, see this blog article.
2020-07-03 Death Records:
From the FamilySearch Wiki: "Your ancestor's death is more recent than his birth or marriage. It is usually best to work from recent events backward, from the known to the unknown. The death record usually tells you where your ancestor last lived. Then you can look for other records for that place, [such as] burial and probate. Death records exist for many persons born before birth and marriage records began [and] may contain birth and marriage information not available anywhere else." Visit the United States page, Goal B5, to learn more about using death records for research.
2020-07-02 Immigrant Ships:
Did one or more of your ancestors sail to America on an immigrant ship? There are some great resources in The Family History Guide for tracking them down on passenger lists and other documents. In the United States page, go to Goal D2, Choice B. You'll see links for Ellis Island, the Steven Morse search tools, worksheets, the Immigrant Ships site, and more.
2020-07-01 Partner Platforms:
The FamilySearch Partners include Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast, American Ancestors, and Geneanet. What are the differences and similarities between each, and when does it make sense to use them? You can find articles and videos with overviews, comparisons, free signups, and details in the Partners page of The Family History Guide. It's also included near the bottom of the Intro menu. And The Family History Guide helps you learn each of these platforms with helpful step-by-step instructions and resources.
2020-06-30 Family Heirlooms:
One of the most endearing types of physical memories is a family heirloom. What heirlooms do you and your family treasure, and what will you leave to the next generation? The HowStuffWorks site has some great tips for caring for heirlooms, how to divide them among family members, and what to do before passing them down. Check out the articles in the Learn More section as well as Project 2: Memories, Goal 1, Choice B.
2020-06-29 Easier Google Searches:
You can do Google searches for ancestor information, using extra search parameters to narrow down the results. But remembering all those parameters and how to use them can be a bit of a pain. That's where the AncestorSearch tool from Randy Majors comes in handy. It lets you enter your search terms in a convenient on-screen form, rather than strung out on a command line. To learn more, see this article on the RandyMajors.com site.
2020-06-26 Research Logs:
From FamilySearch: "Keep good research logs for each family. List the objective of each of your searches; for example, list John Doe's name and the type of event (birth, marriage, or death). List every record you plan to search before you search it. If you do not find what you seek, write "nil" on the log so you know you have already searched there. If you do find it, summarize what you found (person and event). Also list letters you write, phone calls, and Internet searches and results on your research log." (https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Research_Logs) For more ways to use research logs, see Goal 1 in Project 4: Discover, Choice C.
2020-06-25 Topics Page:
In the Family History Guide you can find just about any family history topic in the Topics page. It's an alphabetical collection of links, found in the Intro menu, taking you quickly to whatever you need to learn about. There are currently nearly 500 links to choose from, including geographies, research techniques, family history platforms, and much more.
2020-06-24 The WANDER Method:
According to expert genealogist and blogger Amy Johnson Crow, the research path is not so much a straight line; rather, it has twists and turns along the way. The "WANDER" method helps you stay on course: W = What do you want to find; A = Analyze what you already have; and N through R are explained in her blog article. For more info on research strategies, see Goal 3 in Project 4: Discover.
2020-06-23 History, Not Mystery:
Your genealogy research should be well-grounded in history, so you can find the right events and locations for the right people. Here are three simple ways to learn more about the history of where your ancestor lived: 1) Search for "the history of ..." in Wikipedia; 2) Use the Place Search feature of the FamilySearch Catalog (use State, County, Town, History); and 3) Search worldcat.org using the place name and "genealogy" or "history." For more information, see The Family History Guide.
2020-06-22 Browsing Memories:
FamilySearch Memories contains a huge collection of photos and documents, and it continues to grow. It may have information about an ancestor's school, church, military unit, club, and more. You can use the Find feature to locate an item of interest, and you can use Advanced Search Features to find a range of items quickly and easily.
2020-06-19 Record Layers:
Records can be thought of as existing in five "layers" of accessibility. Records and sources in lower layers are more difficult to find and research than those in higher layers. Each time you move back in time 50 years or more, or a record is not available online, the next level comes into play: 1) Easily obtainable records, such as census; 2) Limited geography, such as vital and land; 3) Specialized, such as church and military; 4) Not readily available online, such as tax and water records; 5) Harder to find, such as records from historical societies and colleges. See Searching through Layers of Sources to Find Your Ancestors.
2020-06-18 Online Consultations:
In these challenging times, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City is making it a bit easier for you to find your ancestors. They are offering free, 20-minute consultations to help you with your personal research questions, using Microsoft Teams for remote meetings. Find out more in this FamilySearch Wiki article, and see more ways you can get assistance in Project 6: Help.
2020-06-17 Explore Historical Images:
There are many records available on FamilySearch that have not yet been indexed. You can access these records using the Explore Historical Images feature (scroll down). Images are searchable by geographic area, date, and life event. Learn more about using this feature in FamilySearch Project 4, Goal 5, Choice D.
2020-06-16 DNA Q&A:
If you have taken a DNA test, The Family History Guide can help you answer the "what's next?" questions that are likely to arise. Check out the Help with Questions Goal in the DNA Projects: it has links to a number of Facebook Groups, DNA blog sites, and forums on DNA testing and research. You'll also find a helpful Genetic Genealogy Glossary and list of questions about DNA tests in Goal 1, Choice B.
2020-06-15 Obituaries:
Obituaries can be great resources for tracing your ancestors. They may contain the birth date of the deceased, marriage date, names of parents and spouse, children, occupation, education, and the location of living family members at the time the obituary was written. In some instances obituaries may have been published in other county, or even regional or state newspapers. Searching for obituaries should always include an many online digital newspaper collections as you can gain access to. For more information on finding and using obituaries, see Goal B5 in the United States page, Choice E.
2020-06-12 Migration Paths:
Why do people move, and where do they move to? Finding answers to these questions can open up new avenues in your research. In Choice B of Goal F1 in the United States page, you'll find links to some great articles and videos, including case studies, that help you get "inside the minds" of those who are on the move. You'll also discover geographic migration paths and patterns in migration to add new perspectives.
2020-06-11 Getting Others Involved:
Family history is a great work to be engaged in, but sometimes we may feel we are walking the path alone. There are family and friends who could also receive the blessings and enjoyment of family history, but how do we draw them in? Here are two helpful articles from the Ancestral Findings site to get you started: Drawing Those Hesitant Relatives into Your Family Tree Research and How I Got My Family Involved In Genealogy Research. See The Family History Guide for more ideas on how to collaborate with others.
2020-06-10 Traditions of the Ancestors:
The last Goal in most of the Country pages is for Geography, History and Culture of the selected country. We've added links in those Goals to a new site: Traditions of the Ancestors. It has some great articles to get you acquainted with your country of interest. The site requires a free account to access the articles. For example, check out the Italian page for Traditions of the Ancestors.
2020-06-09 Online Books for Research:
Good sources for online genealogical books include the following: WorldCat.org, Books.Google.com, Books.FamilySearch.org, Archive.org, MyHeritage.com, and HathiTrust.org. They often contain valuable information on surnames and local histories. Many of these are in the public domain and are viewable without restriction. For more information on using online books in your research, see Choice C in Goal F5 of the United States page.
2020-06-08 Ancestry: U.S. State Resources:
In the U.S. state pages for Ancestry, the main tab is for searching record collections. The other two tabs are probably less visited but have some interesting information. The History tab lists historical facts and features a Help and Advice section, while the Resources tab has useful tips for working with census, vital, and other records. Here's an example of the Louisiana page; click the History or Resources tab near the top.
2020-06-05 Search Tips for FamilySearch:
You're looking for an ancestor, you type the info into the Search Records screen in FamilySearch, and ... no results. Or, not the results you wanted. What next? Help is available in Choice B of Project 4: Discover, Goal 4. Included is a detailed article from FamilySearch with suggestions on how you can get better search results in many situations.
2020-06-04 Countries Knowledgebase:
It's like having your own collection of family history facts for over 60 countries around the world. Topics range from geography and history to record sources, research strategies, and more, with convenient links at the top for quick access. You'll find the Countries Knowledgebase at the bottom of the Countries menu in The Family History Guide, or here.
2020-06-03 Finding Old Photographs:
Besides FamilySearch Memories, where might you look for old photographs of ancestors? AncestralFindings.com suggests these resources: Ancestry.com, DeadFred.com, newspapers and obituaries, and old wills. Read the blog article here, which also includes a video and gives a brief history of photography. You can learn more about gathering photos and documents of ancestors in Project 2: Memories, Goal 2, Choice B.
2020-06-02 Finding More Records:
James Tanner shares five steps you can use to find additional records for your ancestors: 1) Make sure you are looking in the right locations; 2) Begin your search for records, not for people; 3) Find out more about the records you are dealing with; 4) Milk the records you find for all they are worth; and 5) Carefully examine and evaluate each record for clues. See the article here and learn about record locations in The Family History Guide.
2020-06-01 Researching with Military Records:
From Genealogy.com: "Military records, especially military pension records, can be an excellent place to find genealogical information. Through them, you can often find information such as birthplace, age at enlistment, occupation, and names of immediate family members." The Family History Guide has links to articles and videos for these major U.S. conflicts: Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Korean War. It also has QUIKLinks that take you directly to record searches for each one. To explore these military record resources, see Goal E2 in the United States page.
2020-05-29 U.S. Census Limitations:
U.S. Census records are some of the most useful for researchers. However, some limitations should be noted: 1) Human error may occur in understanding and copying what a resident said. 2) Names may be misspelled or vary from other records. 3) Literacy rates were lower in rural areas for earlier censuses. 4) Place of origin may be misinterpreted or incorrectly assumed by the census taker. 5) A resident may give false information about age. 6) Enumerators rarely missed residents, but in cases where they did, it was usually due to the residents moving. For more information, see Step-by-Step Guide to Using Online Census Indexes: Part Six.
2020-05-28 Gathering Photos and Documents:
If you are digging for buried family history treasure, it might just be an email or phone call away. In Goal 2 of Project 2: Memories, Choice A has some helpful tips on sharing memories with others, notably in the FamilySearch article "How to Gather Family Information." Once you find a photograph you've never seen, or a story or document you've never read about an ancestor, the value of doing this activity becomes very clear. Widening the net with others can bring you more results and build new relationships as well.
2020-05-27 County and Town Histories:
The research team from Findmypast puts it this way: "If you really want to become an expert in your own family's history, you absolutely need to study the places they lived" (see linked article below). Two of the benefits of studying the history of where your ancestors lived are finding more stories and finding more records. Two resources to get you started are Local Histories: A Case Study (free account required) and How Learning Local History Will Help Your Genealogy Research. For more information on histories and ancestor timelines, see Goal F2, Choice E in the United States page.
2020-05-26 Homesteading:
There's a good chance some of your ancestors may have acquired land through homesteading. 10% of U.S. land was given away under the Homestead Act; homestead lands were located in 30 states; 40% of homesteaders who "proved up" their claims earned a deed from the federal government; and about 4 million claims were made under the Homestead Act. Learn more about how you can find and use homestead records to track your ancestors' migration in the United States page, Goal 8, Choice F2 (scroll down).
2020-05-25 Life Stories:
Creating and sharing a life story for an ancestor can bring that person's memory to life for all who read it. Although creating the story may seem a difficult thing to do, there is help available in The Family History Guide. Check out Project 2: Goal 8, Choice C (Create life stories for ancestors). You'll discover tips on finding historical details, plotting your story with index cards, writing about ancestors powerfully, and more. You may want to start with the Life Sketch in FamilySearch Memories and go from that point.
2020-05-24 Scandinavian Research:
To help you with your research in Scandinavia, The Family History Guide has Country pages for Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Goals for each include Research, Census, Church and Cemetery, Emigration and Immigration, Newspapers, and more. There are also QUIKLinks to record collections in FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast. The Vault section also has links for Scandinavia.
2020-05-23 Find the Children, then the Ancestors :
If you are stuck on an ancestral line in your genealogy, more information on the missing person's children may help. Instead of starting with a missing spouse, start with the children or grandchildren. This foundational research provides a base for your investigation, so you can correctly identify families and spouses in each generation. Without that research, it's like you are building a bridge in the air. For more details on this approach, see Find a Missing Ancestor by Searching for the Children.
2020-05-22 Breaking Research "Brick Walls":
Some family lines are relatively easy to research, while others may seem like running into a brick wall. Sometimes the answer may be using a different approach or strategy that had not occurred to you. The Family History Guide has a great section on solving research problems, including brick walls. See Project 4: Discover, Goal 7; especially Choice G for tips and strategies you can try.
2020-05-21 Practicing What You Learn:
In most of the Choices in The Family History Guide, there are Exercises that help you practice the skills or knowledge you have acquired. Click an Exercises link and you'll see how to demonstrate Good or Proficient skill levels for the particular Choice. You can then use these skill levels to set slider bars in the Online Tracker, to keep an ongoing log of your progress. As an example, click the Exercises link at the end of Choice A in Project 2: Memories, Goal 3.
2020-05-20 Where Am I From?:
The FamilySearch Where Am I From? feature is a handy way to visualize your ancestor information. The Generations tab uses numbered circles to help you find ancestors in various parts of the world. The My Family Lines tab displays a relationship diagram connected to a world map. The My Heritage tab shows cultural information for ancestors in different countries. For details on using "Where Am I From?" see Goal 10 in Project 4: Discover.
2020-05-19 Research Plans:
One of the keys to success in family history is developing a good research plan. You could think of it as having a blueprint for a home that you want to build. You can discover some great tips for research plans in Project 4: Discover, Goal 3, Choice B. A nice, quick summary of research plans can be found in this article from Price Genealogy: How to Develop a Genealogy Research Plan in 6 Easy Steps.
2020-05-18 Google and Indexing:
When you index records that have difficult handwriting, place names can be difficult to distinguish. Google can help with that. Type as much of the place name as you recognize, and do a Google search on it. If you are close with the spelling, you'll often see the place name you want in the results correctly spelled. Or, Google may return a "Did you mean ..." response, which may be helpful as well. As you return to the record, see how well the Google place name fits (or does not fit). Chances are you'll learn a bit about deciphering handwriting as well.
2020-05-17 Town of Origin:
Before you can effectively search the records of another country, you need to know the name of the city, town, or parish your immigrant ancestor came from. The first step is locating the immigrant in the United States. Clues about an ancestors' town of origin may be found in diaries, family and local histories, church records, obituaries, marriage records, death records, tombstones, passports (particularly since the 1860s), passenger lists (particularly those after 1883), and applications for naturalization. For more information, see United States, Goal D1.
2020-05-16 Canadian Church Records:
Three-fourths of all Canadians claim affiliation with one of four churches: the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, The United Church of Canada, or the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church kept more detailed records than some other religions. Other groups, especially those that did not baptize infants, often did not keep church registers unless required by law. Common church records include baptism, marriage, and burial. Learn more about finding and using Canadian church records here.
2020-05-15 Stars Reports:
After you log in to the Online Tracker, you can click a star in front of any article or video link to darken it, showing that you read or watched that item. But there's more: you can also click Stars in the Online Tracker to create a report showing all your items in The Family History Guide with darkened stars. Dates are included for when you marked the items, as well as links to each of them.
2020-05-14 England Cemetery Research:
Before the Burial Acts of 1852 and 1853, most people were buried in church graveyards. The Burial Acts enabled the town officials to purchase and use land as civil graveyards. Private companies also maintained cemeteries before and after this time. Civil cemetery registers are located at local archives or libraries or are held by the group controlling the cemetery. For more information on church and cemetery resource for England, see Goal 6 in the England country page.
2020-05-13 Service Activities:
One of the best ways to catch the spirit of family history work is to help others with theirs. In the Family Activities section, check out Goal 6: Service Activities for ideas. You'll find fun opportunities such as Cemeteries and Smartphones, Give the Gift of Family History, Do a Family History Interview, Visit a Story Room, and Index as a Family.
2020-05-12 Native American Research:
Tracing Native American ancestry can be challenging, but The Family History Guide has the resources to help you. In the Countries menu, click Ethnic and then select Native American. Choice A in Goal 1 gets you started with links to helpful articles and videos. You can also find Native American resources in Goal 12 of each U.S. state page.
2020-05-11 Learning Social Media Tools:
If you are new to one of the mjor social media platforms for family history, The Family History Guide can help you can come up to speed. In the Computer Basics section choose Social Media Skills. You will then see Goals for learning Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, with helpful article and video links to guide you.
2020-05-10 Searching with Ancestry:
In The Family History Guide there are four separate Goals to help you get the best results for your searches in Ancestry.com: 4-Search Ancestry Records, 5-Search Collections, 6-Analyze Search Results, and 7-Homepage Options. Each Goal has Choices, steps, and screen shots that take you through the process of searching Ancestry records and analyzing what you find.
2020-05-09 Dates in Research:
A death record may contain a birth date calculated from the assumed age at death. Or, birth dates in census records may also be calculated from the age given on the date of the census and are commonly off one year. Calculated dates are "acceptable" as long as they are clearly indicated as calculated. If the date of the birth of a child seems to indicate that the mother was too young or old to have children, it is not a good idea to immediately remove the child from the family, because the date of birth or age of the mother might be wrong. For more information, see this article: On the Inexactness of dates in genealogy
2020-05-08 YouTube Playlists:
In the YouTube Channel for The Family History Guide you'll find a large number of helpful family history videos. They are divided into the following playlists: Show Me (25 videos), Explorations (41 videos), Learn about The Family History Guide (6 videos), Activities (20 videos), and Inspirational (7 videos).
2020-05-07 MyHeritage Matches:
Smart Matches are pathways to connect people as families and relatives. People who have relatives in countries that do not have online available records benefit extensively by communicating with those people on MyHeritage that live in the target countries. Record Matches are the core of the information provided from the MyHeritage SuperSearch™ technology. They provide a lot of information not available elsewhere. There are also DNA matches, which help confirm relationships and can be useful for adoptees or those with complex family relationships. In MyHeritage, brown icons are for Record Matches, green icons are for Smart Matches, and purple icons are for DNA matches.
2020-05-06 Probate Records:
The transfer of a person's property after death are collectively referred to as probate actions. Probate records may include wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. Probate records are essential for research because they often pre-date the birth and death records kept by civil authorities. In The Family History Guide, you can find Goals for probate, land, and court records in each U.S. state page, as well as in most Country pages. For example, here is a link for the California page.
2020-05-05 Latin American Research:
The Family History Guide has some great resources for doing Latin American research. In the Countries menu there are pages for Mexico, Central America, and South America, as well as the Hispanic page in Ethnic (bottom of the menu). Another useful resource is the Countries Knowledgebase. It has nuggets of information and research tips for Latin American countries. You can scroll the page (alphabetically by country) or use the abbreviation links at the top of the page to find the country you're looking for.
2020-05-04 May the Source Be With You:
Not only does a source provide information about a specific event, that same source may also provide information about other events and evidence that can be used to extend family lines. To have an accurate record, it is necessary to have some level of verification. That verification can only come through providing original sources. This not an optional activity. As you examine records, make notes, sometimes called source citations, about where you found the information so that subsequent researchers (even yourself) can find the record again. For more information on finding and using sources, see Project 1: Family Tree, Goal 8.
2020-05-03 Evaluating Evidence:
From Evaluate the Evidence, FamilySearch Wiki: You must also determine if the events described in the records really could have happened. Some events (such as joining the military at the age of ten or twelve, being born on the father's birthday, or owning a considerably larger estate according to a probate inventory than recent tax lists or census records indicated) are less credible than others. Such events are possible but unlikely. If the records present an unlikely situation, you may have stumbled across records of two unrelated people with similar names.
2020-05-02 Family History Training:
Genealogy lectures can be nice—or they can be boring. How do you raise the interest level in your training classes and presentations? One way is to involve your learners in what they are learning. In the Trainers menu, The Trainers Corner has some helpful resources such as Involving the Learners. Here you'll find tips for discussion points, engaging questions, visual aids, and exercises, stories, and games. Carefully selecting a few of these can raise the bar for your training effectiveness.
2020-05-01 Uploading Photos:
Ever forget the steps and options for uploading your family history photos? In The Family History Guide you'll find step-by-step instructions for uploading photos to FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast. Photos are a great way to document ancestors' lives, and they become a source for collaboration on FamilySearch, as well as when you invite others to your tree on other platforms or social media.
2020-04-30 Research Tools:
Project 4 has helpful research tools for FamilySearch and each of its Partners, to help you find records more effectively. The following tools are included: FamilySearch Record Searches and FamilySearch Tools; Search Ancestry Records, Search Collections, Analyze Search Results, and Homepage Options; MH Research Menu; and FMP Search Menus.
2020-04-29 Stories vs. Myths:
Traditional stories are fundamental to creating the connections between the researcher and the ancestor. The researcher can learn from the stories how the life of the ancestor affected all of his or her descendants. The damage comes when the myth competes with the reality as supported by historical records and replaces reality. For more information, see Myths in genealogy in The Family History Guide Knowledgebase.
2020-04-28 England Counties:
The Family History Guide has Goals for 40 counties in England, from Bedfordshire to Yorkshire. You'll find links to these counties under the main picture on the England country page. Goals include Research, Archives, Vital Records, Church, Probate, Maps, Newspapers, Websites, Search, and Help.
2020-04-27 Military Records:
Military records can provide evidence of military or patriotic service, residence at time of military service or pension, birth information, family relationships, and relatives who served. The Family History Guide has military Goals for countries and states, with links to helpful articles and videos, as well as QUIKLinks to military collections.
2020-04-26 Handwriting Help:
Having trouble reading the handwriting on old records? Whether you're doing research on your lines or indexing records for others, difficult handwriting can pose a challenge. There's handwriting help available in The Family History Guide: see Goal 6 in Project 5: Indexing for tips on deciphering letters and words in the documents you are reading.
2020-04-25 Cemeteries:
Cemetery records often include birth, marriage, and death information and clues to military service, religion, membership in an organization. Family members were often buried near each other. Types of cemeteries include church, government (town, county, state, and national), military, fraternal organizations, corporations, and family or private. For more information on using cemetery records in research, see the United States page, Goal B6.
2020-04-24 Stories for Children:
A great way to instill a love of family history is to acquaint children with stories of their ancestors. In the Kids Corner of The Family History Guide, there is a section for Family History Stories. Activities in the section include discovering, preserving, and recording family stories, as well as role-playing, crafts, videos and more.
2020-04-23 Understanding DNA Basics:
You can get a quick but solid introduction to genetic genealogy in Project 8: DNA, Goal 1. You'll learn the basics of chromosomes and inheritance, common terms used with DNA, how DNA tests enable family history research, and more. This helps you prepare to take a DNA test and understand the results for your family history.
2020-04-22 Beginning Immigration Research:
Always start researching the immigrant's children and even grandchildren. Most researchers begin with the immigrant and spend a lot of time looking for a record containing a record of the immigrant's birth. Since the immigrant was not born in America, the records about his or her birth are not likely here. So the idea is to find records preferably from the immigrant or his family that tell where they originated.
2020-04-21 Goldie May Goal & Choices:
We have added a Goal and six Choices for the Goldie May research assistant. The Choices cover Installation, Objectives, Tasks, Strategies, Research Log, and Citations and Notes. Each Choice has step-by-step instructions to help you succeed in your research using Goldie May.
2020-04-20 Home School Resources:
In the Activities menu of The Family History Guide, you'll find an entry for Home School. This page has some great resources to help you bring family history learning into the home. The main items are Activities, Country Pages, Trees and Memories, Tracking Progress, Come, Follow Me Companion, and More in The Family History Guide. There's also a section with additional resources for home schooling techniques.
2020-04-19 The Same-Name Dilemma:
What do you do when you find two or more people with the same name, each with similar dates, who could be your ancestor? It may be tempting to just select the one who looks like the "best fit," but there are better approaches. In Project 4: Discover, check out Goal 7, Choice B. Near the bottom you'll see links to several articles and a video with tips on how to handle this problem, including working with records, using whiteboards and research plans, etc.
2020-04-18 Free Templates:
Are you looking for some welcome variety in the family history charts you work with? Why not take advantage of some great resources for charts, using the free resources in The Family History Guide. In Goal 12 of Project 1: Family Tree you'll find links to download custom pedigree charts, fan charts, group sheets and more. Although these are designed to be printed and filled in manually, there is an interactive PDF version of a pedigree chart (see the FamilySearch Wiki article) that may also be of interest.
2020-04-17 Search Tips:
You can find some helpful tips for doing ancestor searches in The Family History Guide. Go to Project 4: Discover and check out Choice A in Goal 6 (Develop Search Skills). Here you'll find links to articles about doing searches on FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and other databases, as well as tips for searching for ancestors who have common names.
2020-04-16 Marriage Records:
Marriage records provide essential details and connections between two families. You can find links to articles and videos about marriage records and marriage indexes in many of the country, state, and county pages of The Family History Guide. They are included in the Goals for Vital Records, Civil Registration, or Church. Examples include Choice A and Choice B of Goal B4 for the United States, and Choice C in Goal 2 for England.
2020-04-15 Colorizing Photos:
In Project 2: Memories, Goal 5, there are resources for enhancing your digital photos in Choice C. One especially interesting item is colorizing your black-and-white photos with a new MyHeritage tool. You can colorize a limited number of them for free, and then a MyHeritage subscription is required. You can read more about the process in this blog post.
2020-04-14 Family Locket Site:
The Family Locket site is a great resource for a variety of family history topics. It's run by a mother-daughter team of expert genealogists, and it features a wide variety of how-to articles as well as fun activities for kids and resources for Latter-day Saints. The Family History Guide now has links to a number of its articles, such as Source Citations: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
2020-04-13 Overview Video:
For those who are new to The Family History Guide, a good way to see what it's about is by watching the Overview video. It's two minutes long and covers basic navigation and features of the website, which makes it great for sharing with others as well. You can find a link to it in the middle of the Home page, and it's the first video on our YouTube Channel.
2020-04-12 U.S. Homestead Records:
The Homestead Acts began in 1862. 10% of U.S. land was given away under the Homestead Acts; homestead lands were located in 30 states; 40% of homesteaders who "proved up" their claims earned a deed from the federal government; the Homestead Act was in effect for 123 years; the average homestead claim involved about 160 acres; and about 4 million claims were made under the Homestead Act. For more information on finding and using Homestead records, see Choice A in Goal F1 of the United States page.
2020-04-11 FAQs:
Who sponsors The Family History Guide, and how is it funded? Is there an app for The Family History Guide? The answers to those and other questions can be found on the FAQs page, in the Intro menu.
2020-04-10 Hispanic Research:
In the Countries menu, there is a link for Ethnic, which includes resources for Hispanic research throughout Latin America and Spain. Other places to check out in The Family History Guide include the Countries page, where you can select an individual country to research, and the Catholic pages, where you can learn about using resources and records from the Catholic Church.
2020-04-09 Clickable Maps:
The FamilySearch Wiki has a series of clickable maps for countries. You can hover over areas in a map to see counties or state names, and you can click one to bring up the associated research page. For example, here is a link to the Ireland clickable map.
2020-04-08 Contradictions in Research:
Contradictory evidence and discrepancies are normal in genealogical research. A novice researcher tends to ignore discrepancies. Experienced researchers tend to embrace them. The best researchers always openly acknowledge, analyze, and attempt to explain discrepancies. Knowing and admitting the weaknesses of a case leads to better analysis and conclusions. For more about dealing with contradicting evidence in research, see Project 4: Discover, Goal 7, Choice C.
2020-04-07 Family History Quizzes:
A fun way to see how much you've learned in The Family History Guide is with the interactive quizzes. You can find them in the Trainers menu, and they cover skills in the four Learning Paths: FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast. Types of questions include true/false, multiple choice, sequence, matching, etc.
2020-04-06 Geography, Culture, and History:
Many of the Country pages in The Family History Guide now have Goals for the geography, culture, and history of the particular country. These Goals are typically the last ones in each of the header areas, and they provide useful context for doing research in various locations. For example, here is a link to the Geography, Culture, and History Goal on the France page.
2020-04-05 Gazetteers:
A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or index. It typically contains useful information about locations, churches and synagogues, civil registration offices, schools, and more. Online gazetteers such as Kartenmeister (Prussia, Poland, Germany) enable you to search by keyword. You can find links to gazetteers in most Country pages, in the Maps and Gazetteers Goals.
2020-04-04 Immigrants and SSNs:
In the United States, Social Security numbers are typically thought of as a proof of U.S. citizenship. However from 1935 to 1972, Social Security numbers were available to all workers, regardless of citizenship. You can learn more about the connection between citizenship and Social Security Numbers in this article by Legacy Tree Genealogists, in Goal D1, Choice A of the United States page.
2020-04-03 Direct-Line Research:
It is quite common to see a family tree where generation upon generation has only one member of the family identified. It is virtually impossible to keep that kind of pedigree accurate. Without the confirmation of the names of other family members, keeping this same-name situation correct presents almost insurmountable problems. You should search for everyone in every family. In cases where the wife is unidentified there are huge resources for finding the wife's name.
2020-04-02 Vault Links:
In the Vault section, you can find links to extra articles and videos that aren't included in the main part of The Family History Guide. At the top of the Vault page are links that take you to the various topics in the Vault, each with a number. You can also click the Close button to see only the topics, and the Open button to see the links again.
2020-04-01 Preserving Documents:
Let's say you have just found, or have been given, some old family documents that you want to safeguard. What are the best ways to do that? You'll find some great tips and resources for document preservation in FamilySearch Project 2 Goal 1, Choices C and D. The tips help you deal with photos, documents, letters, books, and newspaper clippings.
2020-03-31 MyHeritage PedigreeMap:
The PedigreeMap in MyHeritage is a powerful tool that enables you to visualize important events and locations in your ancestors' lives on a world map. You can zoom in to see additional details, edit events, etc. In MyHeritage, the PedigreeMap feature is in the Family tree menu (click More), and it's discussed in The Family History Guide in MyHeritage Project 2, Goal 6.
2020-03-30 Goldie May:
Goldie May is a free Chrome extension that acts as an intelligent research assistant, guiding you through the research process. It links to The Family History Guide for a number of resources, and The Family History Guide links to it in the FamilySearch menu, just under "Knowledgebase." For more information on installing and using this tool, see the Goldie May page.
2020-03-29 Memories with Audio:
You can add audio to photos or documents that are in FamilySearch Memories, using the FamilySearch Memories app. This adds a personal touch to the items, and others who view the photos or documents can listen to your comments about them. For step-by-step instructions on adding audio using the app, see the Memories App (bottom of the FamilySearch menu), Goal 4, Choice C.
2020-03-28 Activities for Children:
There is a fun place in The Family History Guide especially for children: the Kids Corner. It has over 60 engaging activities, with categories such as My Family Tree, Group Fun and Games, My Memories, and Family History Stories. The content on the pages is written at a language level that's comfortable for kids, and there are instructions for parents and other adults to help them get the best results in the activities.
2020-03-27 Archives and Libraries:
In all U.S. state pages and in most of the Country pages there is a Goal for using archived and libraries. (It's usually Goal 2 on the page but may vary with countries.) These Goals offer great resources for using online archives, as well as tips for visiting archives and libraries in person. Here's an example for Massachusetts Archives and Libraries, Goal 2 and another for Finland Archives and Libraries, Goal 2.
2020-03-26 Computer Basics:
In the Intro menu you'll find an entry for Computer Basics. It has a wide range of tutorials, with everything from getting acquainted with PCs and Macs, to learning social media and Google apps. The Computer Basics section is a great resource to help you brush up on your computer skills or to coach others on their skills.
2020-03-25 Court Records:
Case files generally contain the most helpful family information. A case file consists of a packet or bundle of all the loose documents relating to the case, such as the copies of evidence, testimony, bonds, depositions, correspondence, and petitions. To find a case file, obtain a case file number from the docket, the minutes, or an index. For more information on court records for research, see the United States page, Goal F3, or corresponding Goals in other Country pages.
2020-03-24 Catholic and Protestant Records:
The Faiths menu in The Family History Guide has entries for Catholic and Protestant research. The first Goal for each is more general, describing strategies and general resources, while the second Goal for each page focuses on country-specific pages with record resources.
2020-03-23 Word Lists for Languages:
As you do research in various countries, it's helpful to know the common genealogy words and terms used in the language of a country. The Family History Guide provides links to helpful word lists, such as those from FamilySearch, Ancestry, and Thoughtco. These word lists can often be found in the first research Goal for the country page, usually Choice B. For example, German word lists are available in Goal 1 of the Germany page, Choice B.
2020-03-22 Digital Backups:
A basic backup plan for your digital family history files is the "3-2-1 Approach." It works like this: for your files, you create 3 copies, on two different kinds of media, with one copy stored offsite (such as in a cloud service). For more ideas on backups and preserving photos and documents, see Project 2: Memories, Goal 1, Choices C and D.
2020-03-21 Research Dates:
If the date of the birth of a child seems to indicate that the mother was too young or old to have children, it is not a good idea to immediately remove the child from the family, because the date of birth or age of the mother might be wrong. (Source: On the Inexactness of Dates in Genealogy) For more information on using dates in genealogy research, see The Family History Guide Knowledgebase.
2020-03-20 State Census Records:
Individual U.S. states have conducted their own census surveys for many decades, sometimes between the years of the regular U.S. Federal Census schedule. In The Family History Guide, each of the U.S. state pages has Goal 3: Vital and Census Records, Choice E, where you can find valuable information about using census records for the selected state. For example, here is the one from the California state page—Choice E.
2020-03-19 Facebook for The Family History Guide:
We have two locations on Facebook where you can connect with us: our Main Page and our Trainers and Consultants Group. The Main page provides regular updates on what's new in The Family History Guide, and the Trainers and Consultants page, which requires approval to join, provides tips and a discussion forum for anyone involved with family history training.
2020-03-18 Adoption Research:
Family history research can be especially challenging for those who are adopted. Fortunately, The Family History Guide has some great resources to help. You can find them in the United States page, Goal B3, and in each of the DNA Projects, such as FamilySearch Project 8, Goal 7.
2020-03-17 DNA Test Results:
You can learn a lot about DNA test results from Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast in The Family History Guide. If you have not yet taken a DNA test, these Projects can help you compare the available features of DNA tests on these three sites.
2020-03-16 Training:
Creating material for family history classes just got a lot easier, with the new Sample Outlines page in The Family History Guide. So far there are customizable outlines for the FamilySearch Family Tree Projects and a U.S. Research Project, with about 50 more outlines to come. You can adapt these outlines for your classes and teach right from The Family History Guide website, instead of having to build your own slide decks and maintain them.
2020-03-15 Collaboration:
One way you can increase collaboration in your family history work is to assign "microtasks" to a group of helpers. There is a video on this topic in FamilySearch Project 6: Goal 3, Choice B, Step 6. You can find lots of other family history collaboration tips in Choices A through E on that page.
2020-03-14 Ethnic Research:
The Family History Guide has some great resources to help you with ethnic research. At the bottom of the Countries menu, click "Ethnic" to see links to the following research pages: African American, Asian, Basque, Hispanic, Jewish, and Native American. Each page has Goals and Choices, with links to articles and videos to study.
2020-03-13 Activities for Research:
Who says family history research can't be fun? In the Activities pages of The Family History Guide, there are "Activities for Research" sections available for families, individuals, and youth. These sections have some great ideas that connect you with research activities, in small and meaningful ways.
2020-03-12 Birth Records:
Here are seven reasons why you may not be able to find a birth record: 1) the birth took place in an unexpected location; 2) the jurisdictional boundaries of the birth place may have changed; 3) no record of the birth was ever made (a calculated birth date is all that is available); 4) the record of the birth has an incomplete or incorrect index; 5) you may be searching for the wrong family; 6) the child could have been adopted, or was a foundling or illegitimate; 7) the person may have changed names later in life and never disclosed the birth name For more information on finding and using birth records, see United States, Goal B2.
2020-03-11 Social Media and Family History:
You can get tips for using social media platforms in your family history in the Technology Projects. For example, Project 7: Technology, Goal 3 has Choices for using Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram to help you do and share family history with social media.
2020-03-10 U.S. Regional Research:
In addition to the U.S. state pages, The Family History Guide covers each major region of the United States for research: Midwest, Northeast (New England and Mid-Atlantic), Southern (Mid-South and Gulf Coast), and Western (West Coast/Pacific and Mountain West). There are links to helpful articles and videos in each section to help you with your research.
2020-03-09 Newspaper Research:
When looking for ancestor events in newspapers, it's a good idea to extend the search to several weeks after the date of the event. Papers often took that much time in the production process, and sometimes articles were reprinted in other papers outside where the event occurred. For more tips on using newspapers in your research, see the United States page, Goal F4.
2020-03-08 The Family History Guide Blog:
Each Monday morning we publish three free articles on The Family History Guide blog. These cover topics such as research tips, what's new in the website, activities, events, and more, with over 400 articles published to date. To subscribe, click the Subscribe link on the right side of the blog page.
2020-03-07 Where Am I From?:
In FamilySearch, check out the "Where Am I From?" page. It has tabs for Generations, My Family Lines, My Heritage, and Timelines, where you can learn about your ancestry with interactive maps and pages. To learn more, see Goal 10 in Project 4: Discover.
2020-03-06 County Archives:
For an inside look at using county archives for research, see the United States page, Goal F5, Choice D. You'll find tips on handling and exploring all sorts of documents and heirlooms in county storage, including books, photos, manuscripts and scraps, which may provide great genealogical clues. The tips are courtesy of a blog site run by the "Archive Lady," a county archivist in Tennessee.
2020-03-05 MyHeritage Fan Chart:
MyHeritage provides a color-coded fan chart view for ancestors. It can reach up to 10 generations at a time, and it has a handy pull-out window that displays information for any ancestor that is selected. For more details on using the MyHeritage Fan Chart feature, go to MyHeritage Project 2, Goal 1: Navigate Your Tree, Choice E.
2020-03-04 U.S. County Research:
In each U.S. state page, just above the Tracker link, there is a link to Counties (such as "CA Counties" for California). The link goes to the bottom of the page, where you'll see research links for each county in the state. These links are for FamilySearch, Ancestry, Linkpendium, GenealogyInc, and USGenWeb.
2020-03-03 Training:
The 100 Questions You Might Be Asked ... and Answers from The Family History Guide document can be very helpful as you assist others in learning to do family history. For each commonly asked question there is a link in the document to the place in The Family History Guide that answers the question. It's in Word format, so you can customize it with questions of your own.
2020-03-02 Info Buttons for Videos:
Some of the video links in Choices have Info buttons below them. When you hover over the button, you'll see a brief list of links, based on timings, that go to topics inside the video. This enables you to jump directly to a topic of interest in the video without having to scroll through the video to find it. A good place to find Info buttons is in the United States country page.
2020-03-01 Info Buttons for Articles:
Some of the article links in Choices have Info buttons below them. When you hover over the button, you'll see a brief list of links that go to topics inside the article. This enables you to jump directly to a topic of interest in the article without having to scroll to find it. A good place to find Info buttons is in the United States country page.
2020-02-29 Passenger Lists:
Some of the earliest immigration records are the lists of passengers on boats coming to America. The key is to connect the names on the passenger lists and other associated documents with the immigrant once that person has arrived in America. Sometimes, it is possible to find the passenger list from the name of the ship using arrival and departure records. For more information on passenger lists, see Goal D2 in the United States country page.
2020-02-28 Country Page Overviews:
The Explorations Series is a collection of over 40 short videos that highlight the features of many of the Country pages in The Family History Guide. You can find them on our YouTube Channel, in the Explorations playlist.
2020-02-27 Family History Trips:
If you are planning on taking a family history trip, you'll want to check out some great tips for trip planning, on-site research, and putting your results to good use. To get started, go to the Family History Trip Goal for Project 4 in FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, or Findmypast; it's the last Goal in the Project.
2020-02-26 Translated Videos:
In addition to using Google Translate to view The Family History Guide content in many languages, you can access translated videos on family history, quickly and easily. These are in Spanish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Norwegian, Swedish, Chinese, and Korean. You'll find them on the Translated Videos page, in the Misc. menu.
2020-02-25 Article and Video Link Labels:
At the beginning of many of the link titles in The Family History Guide is a two- or three-letter acronym. This designates the name of the target or owning website for the link. For example, "AR" stands for Archives.com, "GE" stands for "Genealogy Explained," etc. You can see a full list of these acronyms in the Legend section of the Vault, near the top of the page.
2020-02-24 Searching with Google:
You can use Google to search for ancestor records around the world, online books, and a lot more. For tips on Google searches, including parameters and guidelines, see Project 4: Discover, Goal 6 (Develop Search Skills), Choice C.
2020-02-23 Training & Mentoring:
If you train or mentor others in family history, it can be overwhelming to think that you should know all the answers to other people's questions. But your role is not to be the "library" ... it's to be the librarian. The Family History Guide, like a library, is an ideal resource for finding answers. You can use the menus, Topics page, and Search feature to help others find what they need, as you learn together.
2020-02-22 Country Collections:
For some countries, genealogy information and records are somewhat limited. If a country does not have enough information for several Goals, it is given a single page (Goal) in a country collection. These collections include the Caribbean, Central America, Eastern Europe, Pacific Islands, and South America. These collections are available in the All Countries page.
2020-02-21 Online Tracker:
The Online Tracker helps you keep track of your learning progress in The Family History Guide. You can create a free account for it here. For help with using its features, see the Online Tracker Help pages.
2020-02-19 Timelines:
Building a timeline of historical events for an ancestor can help you put that person's life in perspective, providing clues for the research you do. It can also help you distinguish between two people with the same or similar names. For tips on working with timelines, see the United States page, Goal 2, Choice E.
2020-02-18 Partner Apps:
When you access The Family History Guide on your phone, don't forget about Projects for the Partner Apps. You'll see them at the bottom of the FamilySearch, Ancestry, and MyHeritage menus, and they have Goals, Choices and steps to help you learn the phone apps for those Partners.
2020-02-18 For Beginners:
If you or someone you know is just getting started with family history, an ideal place to look for help is the For Beginners page (also found in the Intro menu). It has helpful links for computer basics, terms to know, and The Family History Guide and its Partners, and then points you to the Get Started page.
2020-02-17 City Directories, Part 2:
In each U.S. state page in The Family History Guide there is a section about how to use city directories for that state. You can find it in Goal 2: Archive and Libraries, Choice B. See this example for Michigan (Choice B).
2020-02-16 City Directories, Part 1:
City directories can be a good source of research information. They often list family members of your ancestors, streets and maps, local churches, cemeteries, and more. To learn more about using city directories, see Goal A2 in the United States page.
2020-02-15 Basic Research:
Spend time processing and evaluating the information you gather. Don't assume the "same name is the same person," and be careful about near-matches that are not verified. For additional tips on basic research, see the Knowledgebase.
2020-02-14 Marriage Records:
A good place to learn about marriage records for research is in the United States page, Goal B4. You'll find information on records, customs, indexes, and alternatives, as well as QUIKLinks for doing record searches.
2020-02-13 Country Pages:
The United Kingdom page has no Goals or Choices. Instead, it is a collection of QUIKLinks to record collections that apply to the entire United Kingdom, as opposed to only England, Scotland or Wales.
2020-02-12 Newspapers:
Newspapers can be a great source of information for your research. See Goal F4 in the United States page to learn more. In particular, check out the Chronicling America site (Choice B), with over 9 million entries online, in newspapers from 1690 to the present.
2020-02-11 "Show Me" Videos:
If you are looking for step-by-step visual instructions for using FamilySearch, check out the Show Me video series. You can find links in the header areas of the FamilySearch Projects in The Family History Guide, and they are available on our YouTube Channel. There are also a few Ancestry Show Me videos, with more to come.
2020-02-10 Descendancy Research:
Descendancy research goes forward in time from an ancestor, instead of backwards. To begin, select an ancestor who was born about 1750 to 1800, as there will likely be more records and more descendants available. For more info on descendancy research, see Project 3: Descendancy.
2020-02-09 Display Pages:
Looking for a good way to briefly introduce The Family History Guide to others? Explore the Display Pages in the Intro > Media section. You can print them as posters, show them as slides, or collect them in a book for handy viewing person-to-person. They cover many topics of the website, and you can customize your own set of Display Pages.
2020-02-08 Interviews, Part 2:
Once you are ready to do an interview, you can use your phone or other device to capture video and audio. The FamilySearch Memories App is especially good for this, with an easy recording process built-in, as well as interview question prompts on the side panel.
2020-02-07 Interviews, Part 1:
A great way to discover family history gems is through interviewing others, particularly seniors. You can find a wealth of tips and sample questions for interviewing in Project 2: Memories, Goal 3 (Interview Relatives). There are also ideas on capturing stories and making your guest feel comfortable in the interview process.
2020-02-06 SSDI:
From the Research Knowledgebase: The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is a list of deceased individuals whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration. It has been kept since 1962. It is an online, searchable database. The SSDI typically has the following information on the individuals: Name, social security number, state where issued, birth date, death date, last residence, and lump sum payment. (Source: FS—Wiki: Social Security Death Index (SSDI))
2020-02-05 Phones and Tablets:
Did you know there is no app for The Family History Guide? That's because the website detects the type of device you are using and automatically changes the sceen layout to fit. On a phone or tablet, you can use the three-line ("hamburger") menu in the upper right to display the navigation menu on the left.
2020-02-04 Research Help:
Need help with research in a particular country, state, province, or English county? Check out the Get Help Goals that are typically the last in each research project. They have links to Facebook groups, forums, genealogy societies and more, to help you collaborate and get your research questions answered. For example, here's the link for Germany.
2020-02-03 Navigation:
The Home page now has a new look and simplified design. One of the main features is at the bottom of the page, describing how the Mission Statement is divided into "Easier," "More Efficient," and "More Enjoyable." Links are provided there for each category so you can learn more about them and explore them in The Family History Guide.
2020-02-02 Learning:
The Family History Guide has a powerful yet flexible Learning System built into it. It consists of Projects, Goals, Choices, and Steps, with links to resources. Find out more about how you can use it, with details on our new page: The Learning System .
2020-02-01 Scheduling:
You can do meaningful family history activities in small pieces— anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours at a time can be fine. See Fitting Family History into Your Life for examples. It's on the 15 Minutes a Day page, along with other great resources.
2020-01-30 Records:
How do you know which types of records to work on first in your research, and which are not as essential? The Record Finder can be a valuable tool: it lists record types by categories and suggests when it's best to use each type. The Record Finder is included in most country pages; you can see the United States example (Record Selection Table) here, in Choice B.
2020-01-29 Training:
A helpful resource for showing The Family History Guide to others is 30 Things to See in The Family History Guide, a downloadable PDF file. It starts with basic navigation and covers essential points in understanding the website and how to use it. You can find it in the Media page, under Flyers.
2020-01-28 Research:
The Genealogical Proof Standard shows the requirements for credible genealogy work: 1) A reasonably exhaustive research has been conducted; 2) Each statement of fact has a complete and accurate source citation; 3) The evidence is reliable and has been skillfully correlated and interpreted; 4) Any contradictory evidence has been resolved; and 5) The conclusion has been soundly reasoned and coherently written. For more info, see Genealogical Proof Standard.
2020-01-27 Partners:
The main partner sites for The Family History Guide are FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast. The top menu has Projects that help you learn each of these sites, step by step. For an overview of these sites, see The Family History Guide Partners page.
2020-01-26 U.S. Census:
You can download free worksheets for each U.S. Census decade (1940 through 1790) as well as get helpful tips on how to plan your research using census records. In the United States country page, see the Census by Decades section for more information.
2020-01-25 Navigation:
If you would like to see all the primary menus of The Family History Guide open at the same time, there's an easy way to do that. In the Intro menu, click Site Map. Click a link to go to any topic, including countries, states, sections in the Vault, and more.
2020-01-24 Norway Research:
Going back in time, a large percentage of the population in Norway lived on farms. Farm books were recorded that describe the characteristics of the farms and list the inhabitants, making them a valuable genealogy resource. To learn more about farm books, open Norway in the Countries page and go to Goal 6: Farm Books.
2020-01-23 Activities:
One of the fun and engaging activities linked in The Family History Guide is the Wheel of Family Fortune, from the BYU Family History Technology Lab. Play it like the TV show, but solve the puzzles for ancestors in your part of the Family Tree.
2020-01-22 Family History Centers:
Need help with your family history? You can get it for free at a local family history center, as well as access to full versions of Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast, Newspapers.com, and much more. Find a family history center location near you on this interactive map.
2020-01-21 Activities Index:
Looking for a fun family history activity you can enjoy with family or friends? Find one that's just right for your needs in the Activities Index, a handy list of categories and links. Activities that require little or no preparation are marked with an asterisk.
2020-01-20 Google Apps:
The Computer Basics section (Intro menu) is not just for learning how to use Windows or the Mac OS. You can also find some great tutorials there for Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. Get started here.
2020-01-19 U.S. County Research:
Over time, there have been many changes to county boundaries in U.S. states, which can make research even more challenging. To see interactive maps of where boundaries were for any given decade, you can use the Newberry site or the RandyMajors site. See United States, Goal A2 for more details on using maps in research.
2020-01-18 U.S. Census:
In the United States Census, entire families are listed going back to 1850. From 1840 to 1790, you see names only for heads of households, with tally marks for others in the home. For more info on the types of info you can see in each census decade, see the United States country page, Goal C1, Choice A.
2020-01-17 Features:
If you're new to The Family History Guide (or even if you've been on the site a few times), you'll find a handy review of the important features of the website on the Features page. It's available in the Intro menu, under "Features Help."
2020-01-16 Photos:
What research clues can you find in your old family photographs? How do you date a photo, when the back of it is blank? For the answers to these questions and more, see Project 4: Discover, Goal 7, Choice F. You'll learn about photo captions, finding historical clues, where to find additional photos, and more.
2020-01-15 Resources:
The "15 Minutes a Day" link in the Intro menu has some great ideas for staying engaged with the joy of family history on a regular basis. In the "Fitting Family History into Your Life" section on the page, click the link in step 1. You'll find a handy schedule to help you fit family history activities into your life, arranged by amounts of time.
2020-01-14 Memories:
Have a few minutes? Why not download and use the FamilySearch Memories App on your phone to record and share some family photos or documents? Check out the Memories App in The Family History Guide and this FamilySearch page to get started.
2020-01-13 Tracker/Stars:
When you are logged in to the Online Tracker, you can click a star that precedes a link to an article, video, or activity in The Family History Guide. That helps you see at a glance which items you have read, seen, or done. For more information on Resource Stars, see this blog post.
2020-01-12 DNA:
A DNA test can help you prove or disprove relationships to others, expand your family tree when other research methods are not successful, find "cousin matches" for others who share your DNA segments, and see estimates for your ethnicity. To learn more, see FamilySearch Project 8.
2020-01-11 Technology:
If a website is in a language you're not familiar with, you can use Google Translate to read it. Install and use the Chrome extension for Google Translate, and then use "Translate This Page" or select the text on the page to be translated. To return to the primary language, click the X (upper right).
2020-01-10 Records:
From Amy Johnson Crow: "Don't be too discouraged working with skimpy records. The keys are to learn all you can about them so that you understand what is there, then take the next step to see how that record fits in with other records, and evaluate what you found. Even when that first record doesn't spell it out, it can lead us to the answers if we follow its lead." See the full article here, and learn more about record types here.
2020-01-09 England Research:
Church records are the main source for English genealogy prior to 1837, when civil registration began. They are also a useful source after 1837, in conjunction with civil registration. Although a nationwide order was given in 1538 that each parish keep a register of baptisms, marriages, and burials, many parishes did not start to keep registers until later. For more information, see Goal 6 in the England country page.
2020-01-08 Get Started:
Need a good quick reference guide for genealogy terms? There are several to choose from on the Family History Basics page, in the Terms to Know section.
2020-01-07 Memories:
From FamilySearch: "Be sure to ask your parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, other relatives and friends of the family for help in finding [documents] ... They just might have the very letter, document, book, or story for which you are searching." For more information, see FamilySearch Project 2: Goal 2.
2020-01-06 Family Tree:
When working with ancestor data, use the CARD approach: C—Correct and complete vital information; A—Analyze family relationships; R—Review Sources; D—Duplicates should be solved. For details, see the Goals in Project 1: Family Tree.
2020-01-05 Ancestry:
With Ancestry's MyTreeTags feature, you can attach labels to ancestor profiles. These labels help you do custom searches for ancestors in your tree. For details, see Ancestry Project 2, Goal 1, Choice F.
2020-01-04 Indexing:
If you are having trouble reading the handwriting in an indexing batch, you can split the screen and look for extra examples of how the recorder used letters and characters. For more indexing tips, see FamilySearch Project 5, Goal 4, Choices A and B.
2020-01-03 Research:
The key to using surnames as a finding aid is to match surnames to locations. You can take that process even further and find your ancestors by looking at the frequency of names in a specific geographic area, regardless of the overall frequency of the name. Surname patterns and concentrations of people with the same or very similar surnames in a particular geographic area can be helpful tools in some areas of genealogical inquiry. Learn more here, in Choice E.
2020-01-02 Features:
You can learn about the key features of The Family History Guide quickly and easily in the Features Help page. Find it in the Intro menu, or here.
2020-01-01 Activities:
The Street View Stories page, on the MakeFamilyHistory.org site, helps you capture memories about a meaningful place in your life or family history. See Family Activities, F1-03.