Category: Strategies

Finding Your Ancestor in State Hospital Records

Q My grandmother died at the Cleveland State Hospital during the Flu Epidemic of 1918 after staying there two months. I’ve learned the hospital was torn down, but I could never find out where the records went. How can I get them? A We received this question in response to a Family Tree Magazine E-mail […]

It’s Only Natural

Q Several branches of my family came to United States in the 1860s from Sweden and Germany and England—before Ellis Island. Were these people automatically made citizens or did they have to apply for naturalization? Where would one go to learn of this procedure? A Any immigrant coming to the United States in the mid-1800s […]

Suspicious Death

Q Leslie Carlisle Grant was born about 1912 in Macon Co., NC. I last found him on the 1930 census in Miami, Dade Co., Fla., living near his sister Ethel Heinneman. Shortly after, he supposedly joined the Army. Coming home on leave from who knows where in 1931 or 1932, he supposedly drowned in New […]

Saving Old Scrapbooks

Q I’ve discovered scrapbooks my mother made in the 1930 and ’40s. They include photos and paper ephemera such as party napkins and dance programs. The scrapbook pages are black and the items are glued on. What’s the best way to preserve this material? Also, I’d like to take pictures of each page. Should I […]

Swede Success

Q My grandfather Carl August Petersson (he later went by Charles) was born in 1863 in Sweden, and died in America in 1927. I’ve spent years searching unsuccessfully for his birth parish. He came immigrated around the mid-1800’s and spent most of his life in northern California. Records I’ve found list his birthplace as only […]

Whatever Floats Your Riverboat

Q. My German ancestors arrived at New Orleans in 1853 and traveled to Ohio by river boat. I’ve found their passenger list to New Orleans, but how can I find record of the next segment of their journey? A. Congratulations on finding your ancestors on a New Orleans passenger list! “It was pretty much a […]

How to Fill Out a Family Tree Chart Template

Learn how to make a family tree that's accurate and thorough with this guide. Learn best practices, as well as how to use traditional charts and forms.

Scientific Methods Premium

Experiment with these seven techniques for gathering and analyzing ancestral evidence—you'll see how forensics can crack your toughest family history cases.