Planting Your Master Genealogy Family Tree
In this post I’m going to answer common questions about the best strategy for creating and maintaining your family tree data. Should I build my family tree online? This is a question I get in various forms quite often from Genealogy Gems Podcast listeners. But...
6 Sources that May Name Your Ancestors’ Parents
Have you reached a dead end on one branch of your family tree--you can't find the parents' names? Check out these sources for finding ancestors' parents. Recently Genealogy Gems podcast listener Trisha wrote in with this question about finding marriage license...
Finding Widows, Disappearing Husbands, and Lost Relatives
Great-grandma may be listed as a widow in the 1900 federal census...but she might not actually be a widow after all. Women in the past sometimes claimed widowhood to protect their family's good name. A recent reader's question prompted this post for sharing some...
New German Genealogy Records Online & More
It's a great week for new genealogy records online! We're featuring German vital records now available at Ancestry.com, including civil registers, parish records, and census records. You can also explore two updated Italian records collections at FamilySearch, plus...
Family Reunion Ideas: Top 10 Ways to Incorporate Family History
Family reunions are the perfect place to share your family history with others. The trick is to keep things light and fun! These top 10 family reunion ideas can sprinkle a healthy--and tasty-- dose of heritage into your next family gathering. 10 Family Reunion Ideas...
Send a Letter, Make Cousin Connections
When was the last time you sent a letter or email to someone you didn't know? Gail did, and you will be touched and inspired by her sweet story of finding a long lost cousin in Italy. Sometimes, all it takes is sending a letter to make a monumental cousin...
Browse-Only Databases at FamilySearch are Easy to Use
Browse-only databases at FamilySearch are easy to use and may hold the key to the genealogy brick wall you have been working on. Don’t be scared off because the records haven’t been indexed. Guest blogger Amie Tennant Bowser show you how to take advantage of these...
New Genealogy Records Online for England, the Netherlands, & More!
Jump for joy! At the top of the list of new genealogical records this week are new collections for Southern English county of Devon. You'll also be able to explore big updates to vital records collections for the Netherlands. Finally, check out new and updated...
Episode 228: The Free Genealogy Gems Podcast
Genealogy Gems Episode 228 In this episode: More new feature enhancements announced by Ancestry.com Listeners Trisha and Betty share their stories with Lisa in person Lisa’s interview with Crista Cowan, The Barefoot Genealogist at Ancestry.com The Tombstone Tourist,...
How Cloud Backup Helped One Genealogy Gem Get Closer to Living a Paper-Free Genealogy Life
Every genealogist eventually finds themselves with more paper than they know what to do with. Records, photos, letters, and other ephemera inevitably begin to pile up in the pursuit of our ancestors. So how do you preserve it and protect it for future...
Here’s Why Quebec Church Records are a Great Place to Look for Ancestors
Do you have ancestors who lived in the earlier days of Quebec, Canada? Catholic church records may prove some of your most consistently helpful resources! Read about how to tap into these great resources online, going back as far as the 17th century, to...
Amish Genealogy Revealed
Amish genealogy is revealed with Facebook! Well, sort of. I made a recent visit to Amish country and I couldn't resist talking genealogy with my new friends. I learned a lot about resources for family history and gained invaluable insight that I'm here to share with...
Find Ancestors in These New Genealogy Records Online
A brand new vital records collection is available online now for Ontario, Canada! The Ontario Genealogical Society's new database is available at Findmypast, along with exclusive Parish Registers for Kent, England. Ancestry.com also has a new collection of Parish...
Adoption DNA Match Strategy: Combine DNA Test Types
Combining DNA test types can give you a better picture of your overall genealogical relationship to someone else. DNA expert Diahan Southard shares an example from her family about how she used different DNA tests to solve an adoption mystery. Combine your...
“Results May Vary:” One Family’s DNA Ethnicity Percentages
Four members of a family--mom, dad, daughter, and son--tested with AncestryDNA. Their DNA ethnicity percentages vary. Why? If you've taken a DNA test and received different ethnicity results than you expected and different from your family members, DNA...
New Genealogy Records Online: Newspapers, Oral Histories, and More
New genealogical records this week include a big update to Genealogy Bank's newspaper database, including titles from 31 states. Also new are Massachusetts passenger lists, a Connecticut digitization project, and oral histories for WWII veterans and for Irish...
How to Correct Mistakes in Ancestry.com Indexes
Ancestry.com indexes aren't always right, making it more difficult to search successfully for your ancestors in old records. In many cases, you can correct those errors and help others find it in the future. Here's how to do it. When the announcement was...
Do You Know Where Your Ancestors are Really From? A French-Canadian-Irish Genealogy Mystery
Read this genealogy mystery from a Canadian family with French and Irish roots. You'll see the value of considering varied surname spellings, watching for other relatives in census records, using church records, and compiling clues from several sources to get a better...