What’s Your Computer Backup Plan? Better Than Mine Was, I Hope
Not so long ago, my computer backup plan against various calamities looked something like this: Against flood: keep my laptop off the floor. Against fire: grab my laptop in one hand and my youngest child in the other. Against theft: hide my laptop under a different...
See the Incredible Piece of History This Auctioneer Stumbled Into
Every man-made object has a story behind it--and sometimes an entire chapter in history. One such object is a bottle of ale recently discovered in a garage in Shropshire, England. As reported by TheBlaze.com, a British auctioneer found the bottle. “It looked...
Missing Birth Record? Here’s What You Can Do To Track It Down
Have you ever had a case of a missing birth record, in a time and place where you know there should be one? It's so frustrating! Recently Michelle shared her missing birth record dilemma on our Genealogy Gems Facebook page: "I am having a problem with my grandfather's...
Annie Barrows Talks Family History and The Truth According to Us
If you've read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, you know how brilliantly co-author Annie Barrows stitched together letters, conversations and history in her fictional love story and account of the Nazi-occupied island of Guernsey during World War II....
Easy Family History Craft: Framed Ornaments
Looking for a quick and easy craft to do? My mom made these cute ornaments for volunteers who work in the genealogy room of the public library with her. These little framed photos of the volunteers' ancestors would make fantastic ornaments to hang on a holiday tree...
We Dig These Gems! New Genealogy Records Online
Every Friday, we blog about new genealogy records online. This week's findings include a major Cincinnati newspaper collection, Cuban genealogy resources, a burial index for New York City and records for a mental hospital in Surrey, England. Might any of the...
The 1910 Census in Puerto Rico: A Surprising Lesson on Using Census Records for Genealogy
Imagine taking a standard U.S. census form, translating it into Spanish, administering it to a newly-American population whose racial identity is highly politicized, translating the results back into English and trying to make sense of them 100 years later. That's...
The New Ancestry Site: New Features, Mixed Reviews
Ancestry's new site is now available to all U.S. users--across browsers, mobile devices, and the PC/Mac divide. It's more than just a cosmetic or branding overhaul. The way Ancestry explains it, many changes boil down to helping users find family stories and improving...
FREE RootsMagic Magic Guides
Great news for RootsMagic users! The popular family history software company has released the first of its forthcoming "Magic Guides." These free how-to handouts each cover a single RootsMagic topic, step-by-step, with tips and illustrations. "Magic Guides are in .pdf...
DNA Down Under: AncestryDNA in Australia and NZ
AncestryDNA test kits are now available to purchase in Australia and New Zealand, according to a recent statement from Ancestry. These two countries join the UK, Ireland and the US in having access to AncestryDNA's popular autosomal kits. DNA testing for genetic...
Use Skype Translator to Speak Another Language
Do you use Skype or another video chat service to keep in touch with loved ones? Have you considered using it for long-distance oral history interviews or collaborating on your genealogy with a faraway cousin? Language barriers can sometimes become a problem. Skype...
DAR Bible Records Now Online
The Daughters of the American Revolution Library (DAR) has a free online collection of searchable records. Its Genealogical Research System allows anyone to search databases of ancestors, descendants, members, its Genealogical Research Committee reports and more. Now...
We Dig These Gems! New Genealogy Records Online
Every Friday, we blog about new genealogy records online. Do the collections below include your ancestor? Don't forget: tomorrow is Lisa Louise Cooke's FREE live streaming class on using Google Tools to Solve Family Mysteries--use them to find more records like...
BillionGraves Challenge for June: Win a FitBit!
After a long winter in the U.S., it's finally warming up! Just last week I did my first BillionGraves cemetery field trip of the season. So I'm pleased to see that they're offering a BillionGraves challenge to those who take pictures or index: "This month we are...
Technology United These Long-Lost Siblings 90 Years Ago!
It's common to hear of long-lost relatives who rediscover each other online or through DNA tests. But nearly 100 years ago, another new technology--the radio--united a pair of long-lost siblings 40 years after one ran away. This newspaper article reports that Alonso...
Family History for Kids Starts WITH the Kids
Kids don't recall much of their young lives. But we as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles know their stories. We can give their lost memories back to them. Conversations with my kids always go better when I let them choose the topic. So I chat a lot about...
Genealogy meets Scrapbooking: Heritage Scrapbooking
As the host of the Genealogy Gems podcast, Lisa Louise Cooke spends a lot of time on the asking end of the microphone. Recently the tables were turned! Lisa was invited to appear on the The Paperclipping Roundtable, a scrapbooking podcast. Family history and...
Digital Family History Book Collection Hits 200k!
A milestone 200,000 digital family history books are now online at the multi-library Family History Books collection at FamilySearch.org. The growing collection, which began in 2007, includes "family histories, county and local histories, genealogy magazines and...