Why Register Early for RootsTech 2016
Are you peeking past the holidays to RootsTech 2016? Early planning could score you extra discounts, dibs on free and limited events and a head start on planning your class schedule. All attention seems to be on holiday planning this month, but RootsTech 2016 is just...
We Dig These Gems! New Genealogy Records Online
Here's our weekly roundup of new genealogy records online! Everyone should check out the updates to PERSI at Findmypast. Also, there records of Australia-bound passengers; British watermen; Idaho marriages; and wills for Rhode Island and Staffordshire, England....
A Life Changing Find at the National Archives
On the trail of biological parents, this researcher made a life-changing discovery next to a microfilm reader at the National Archives. When we head to the microfilm reader section of our favorite research library, our greatest hope is usually to learn something new...
Deck the Halls with Family Photos: Family History Wreath
A few years ago, I created a video series that demonstrates how to make a family history wreath (watch below). I was reminded of that series this year when I received a nice email from Genealogy Gems Premium member Mary Ann. She sent in these photos of wreaths she...
“I Was Robbed!” They Took the Computer AND the Backup Drive (Why You Need Cloud Backup)
A Genealogy Gems listener was robbed of both her computer AND external hard drive. "Thank goodness we had a web-based backup, so we did not lose our precious research or photographs." Here's what web-based backup is--and how you can save a whopping 50% on Backblaze...
We Dig These Gems! New Genealogy Records Online
Here's our weekly roundup of new genealogy records online! Check out British newspaper articles, England and Wales electoral registers, Great Lakes crew lists, Kentucky divorces, Russian church records and US city directories. BRITISH NEWSPAPERS. More than 3.7 million...
DNA Ethnicity Results: Exciting or Exasperating?
Are your DNA ethnicity results exciting, confusing, inconsistent, exasperating...or all of the above? Recently Kate expressed on the Genealogy Gems Facebook page her frustration with her ethnicity results provided by AncestryDNA. She gets right to the point when she...
How to Use a Microfilm Reader or a Microfiche Reader
Not sure how to use microfilm or microfiche readers? Watch these quick video tutorials before your next trip to the library! Recently I heard from a Genealogy Gems Premium member who is digging in deep to her family history. But she confessed that she left the...
Use Facebook for Family History: Gather Memories
Here's an innovative way to use Facebook for family history. It comes from my downloadable video class, Pain-Free Family History Writing Projects. Are you using Facebook to gather family history from your relatives? You can! It's a version of "crowd-sourcing,"...
We Dig These Gems! New Genealogy Records Online
Every week, we post about exciting new genealogy records online. Scan this week's list for anything you should search (or share with a friend): a colonial North American digital archive; Revolutionary War-era residents of Alabama; U.S. military burials; Freedmen's...
Celebrating 1000 Genealogy Gems Blog Posts: #2 in the Top 10 Countdown
One of our most popular blog posts ever explains why you should still choose family tree software over genealogy websites for your master family tree--and which software programs Lisa recommends. Earlier today we celebrated our most popular blog post ever: the one...
Here It Is! #1 of Top 10 Posts On Our Genealogy Blog
THIS IS IT! Our #1 blog post of 2015. Not surprisingly, it's about how to secure your data on Ancestry.com: your trees, photos, sources and even DNA! Earlier this year, rumors circulated that Ancestry was up for sale. Our post about that rumor included tips about how...
Celebrating 1000 Genealogy Blog Posts: #3 in the Top 10 Countdown
The ultimate library for U.S. history research is the Library of Congress. The #3 post on my genealogy blog shares how to access great family history content at the Library of Congress--right from your computer. Most of us won't ever get to visit the Library of...
Celebrating 1000 Genealogy Blog Posts: #4 in the Top 10 Countdown
Lisa Louise Cooke's free Google Earth for Genealogy online video is so popular, the announcement about it was our #4 genealogy blog post for the year! Guess what? The online video is still there--and it's still free. Google Earth is one of Google's most powerful tools...
Celebrating 1000 Genealogy Blog Posts: #6 in the Top 10 Countdown
We use Google for everything, especially genealogy. From the response we had to our #6 genealogy blog post, I guess many of you love that idea! Lisa is well-known for teaching genealogists to harness the power of Google to search for ancestors online. Earlier this...
Celebrating 1000 Genealogy Blog Posts: #5 in the Top 10 Countdown
"This is huge!" That's how DNA expert Diahan Southard summed up major advances at AncestryDNA this past year. Her post was huge, too: it landed the #5 spot on our Top 10 genealogy blog posts for 2015 countdown. See why! To those who have spent a lot of time doing...
Celebrating 1000 Genealogy Blog Posts: #7 in the Top 10 Countdown
The Social Security Applications and Claims Index was one of 2015's most important new online resources for U.S. researchers (keep reading to see the other). No wonder it made the #7 spot on this week's Top 10 genealogy blog post countdown! This summer, Ancestry.com...
Celebrating 1000 Genealogy Blog Posts: #8 in the Top 10 Countdown
It's no surprise to find another DNA post in the #8 spot on our Top 10 genealogy blog post countdown. The topic: understanding your AncestryDNA matches. In this post, Genealogy Gems resident DNA expert Diahan Southard takes on a confused question sent in by a...