Research Social History Premium
Social history can bring your ancestors' times to life and help solve your genealogy riddles. Here's how to get started putting your past in context. Dozens of books can help you discover the social history of your ancestors' times and put meat on the bones of your past. See the...
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What is a Smack Owner? Premium
You've got questions about discovering, preserving and celebrating your family history; our experts have the answers.
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AncestorNews: Brick Wall Strategies Premium
I'm frustrated. As readers of this column know, I've been on a tear of late, trying to break down my Hendrickson brick wall. A recent trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City yielded a few clues from journal articles (in publications such as Kentucky Ancestors and...
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AncestorNews: Sideways Genealogy Premium
I'd like to share a recent breakthrough—one that proves that genealogy puzzles are often solved through less-than-direct methods. I found an ancestor, Aaron Hendrickson, on an 1860 Daviess County, Ind., census. The discovery was puzzling, because most of the family was in another Indiana county—not even a...
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Start Your Family History Research Journal Premium
You can use a blank journal, a notebook or a computer-generated journal, whatever works best for you. Your journal might not be a daily account, since most people don't research on a daily basis. But as thoughts about your research come to you, be sure to make an entry. Consider...
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Breaking Off Twigs: How to Separate Family Trees Premium
You've got questions about discovering, preserving and celebrating your family history; our experts have the answers.
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Prevent the Spread of These Common Genealogy Errors
No one's research is immune to bad dates, faulty facts and even downright lies. Learn how to diagnose—and cure—five common genealogical ills.
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Helpful Books for Cluster Genealogy Premium
Sources to help you study the cluster and answer your research question are much the same as those that help you reconstruct the ancestor's cluster. Additional sources may be available for your ancestor's time and place. If you aren't familiar with state-specific choices, consult books about research in the ancestral...
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Doing Genealogy Almost From Scratch
Q. Both parents and my grandparents are deceased, and I know little about either parent’s family. I tried to get vital records and was only able to able to find my father’s death certificate in New Jersey. I know the street where the family lived in Philadelphia some time ago and I believe I have […]
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How to Order a Big Family Tree Wall Chart
Q. Where can I get a giant genealogy chart printed to hang on the wall at a family reunion? A. Plenty of businesses will take your GEDCOM or genealogy software’s proprietary file and turn it into a large wall chart. Find links to charting companies on FamilyTreeMagazine.com and Cyndi’s List. Some companies focus more on […]
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