Archives for Allison Dolan
Massachusetts Bill Threatens Vital Records Back to 1841
The National Genealogical Society UpFront blog is reporting on another threat to vital records access, which could make it harder for genealogists to learn about their Massachusetts ancestors.Massachusetts Senate Bill 820 would close the state’s birth and marriage records dated after 1841, the year statewide record keeping began, so...
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Your Genealogy Guide to Google Premium
Genealogy and Google go hand in hand, and not just for ancestor searches. Try these 12 tricks to master the Web giant's other handy family history features. This article includes a short Genealogy How-To Video with step-by-step instructions on how to set up Google Alerts for your family history.
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Family Tree Flashback Premium
How does genealogy—and life in general—differ from a decade ago? Our retrospective puts the past in perspective.
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September 2009 Out on a Limb: Workshop Talk Premium
I’ve always had an affinity for instructing others (my sister, who’s an actual teacher, would tell you I’m just bossy—but that’s another story). This educational instinct is one reason I enjoy working at Family Tree Magazine. In each issue, podcast episode and online article, I get to share tips and...
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Giving Thanks Premium
Learn how to leave a family legacy — and earn your descendants' appreciation.
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Mission: Memories Premium
Follow our plan to preserve your family photos, heritage albums and life stories.
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Researching an Ancestor’s Murder
Q I found out my great-great-grandfather Juan Chavez was murdered in Valencia County, NM, in 1883, but that’s all I know. How can I find out more about this story? A Start by thinking about the kind of records a murder might generate: death records, a coroner’s investigation, newspaper coverage, a criminal trial. Let’s take […]
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Researching Ancestors in the Direct Tax of 1798
Learn about the the 1798 Direct Tax, the first federal tax on property and what you can find out about your ancestors in these records.
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When Your Ancestor’s Records Are in Another Language
Q. Where can I get help understanding genealogy records written in my ancestors’ native language? A. How to read foreign-language genealogy records is probably in the top 10 topics Family Tree Magazine readers ask us about. Here are some tips: First, see if you can puzzle out meanings using the genealogy word lists on FamilySearch. […]
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Reading Old Documents: The Long S
Q. I noticed that the hornbook pictured on page 12 of the May 2008 Family Tree Magazine has a 27-letter alphabet, with a unknown letter between r and s. What’s the story? A. The 18th-century English hornbook shown in our May 2008 History Matters column (here’s the hornbook—it’s from the Library of Congress Rare Book […]
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