Conducting Genealogical Research

Who Do You Think You Are? For many, the first instinct is to jump on the computer, but if you can discipline yourself to do a little offline sleuthing beforehand, you'll ultimately go a lot further a lot faster. Investigate the clues you've prob...

Get Hooked on Your Family History We recently spoke with Megan Smolenyak, the author of the book Who Do You Think You Are?, the companion to the NBC television series by the same name. A sixth-grade family history project hooked Megan Smolenyak i...

When undertaking genealogical research, use this family tree correspondence form to keep track of which people you've talked to and which people you need to contact. ...

Print a sheet of questions to ask relatives about your family history, when you're all together at Thanksgiving. ...

Print a list of questions to ask family members to aid your genealogical search. ...

Government Documents and Genealogy Among the many federal-land records are the homestead records. The Homestead Act of 1862 was instrumental in settling the West. Many of our ancestors submitted papers and fulfilled the requirements to claim the...

Sample Letters for Genealogical Inquiries Lineage Lessons An administration is normally an estate in which there was no will. The administrator was appointed by the court to handle the estate. Some counties will have a document, called a petitio...

County Records and Genealogy Within the counties are numerous records with genealogical information besides the ones we've discussed. Chances are, some of them have been filmed, although each county has many more records still in their original ...

Genealogy: Taking a DNA Test Testing is best done through individual surname projects whenever possible. Surname administrators carry databases of all tests done to date under their surname project and have many tools available to them to compar...

Genetics and Genealogy DNA testing for genealogical purposes is a fairly recent technological advancement, which can provide a means of breaking through “brick walls.” It also provides a level of scientific certainty of connections to family...

This family tree form will help you organize the genealogical information you gather as you research your family history. ...

Genealogy: Developing Your Home Support System Add to the references and resources you keep handy at home. Tapes, books, catalogs, computer programs, Internet subscriptions, and CD-ROMs can all advance your research from the comfort of home. Mos...

Genealogy Classes, Lectures, and More Readin', Writin', and 'Rithmetic Seek every opportunity to attend classes and lectures on genealogy. Become familiar with the names of outstanding genealogists, and look for opportunities to hear them lectur...

Genealogy: Using the Right Calendar When the glossy new calendars start arriving in December, it probably doesn't occur to you that New Year's Day was not always 1 January. Furthermore, it may not be obvious how this can affect your genealogical...

Genealogy Worksheets These worksheets are examples of forms used to organize your genealogy research. Use the research calendar and the correspondence log to keep a running summary of what you have accomplished. The research calendar shows you a...

Genealogy: When the Information Doesn't Agree The census says Great-Grandpa was 9 in 1870, but the 1900 census says he was born in 1860. His tombstone says he was born 4 April 1861. The Bible record in his father's pension file has 7 April 1861....

Genealogy: Filling in Your Family History Details The events of Anson and Cornelia's lives were chronicled through the records. Census listings were examined; They showed that Anson was a farmer. County records were searched for his estate recor...

Genealogy: Approximating Family History Dates If an exact date is not known, then whenever possible estimate the dates rather than leaving them entirely blank. In this section, we discuss a few of the many ways in which this can be accomplished....