Strategies
Strategies
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...
Read More
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 […]
Read More
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 […]
Read More
Charmed Life Premium
You, too, can be a truly lucky genealogist with these five strategies for creating family tree connections.
Read More
Plot Ancestors’ Lives With Online Mapping Tools
Q. I heard about a site that can help me find places in Chicago where my ancestors lived. What is it and how does it work? A. You’re thinking about ChicagoAncestors.org, an interactive online mapping tool, created by the Windy City’s Newberry Library. Type in an address, and you’ll get a map showing the location, […]
Read More
How Do You Cite Sources for Genealogy?
Q: How do you cite your sources? I know how to fill out a family tree chart, but I don’t know how to cite the information. A: “Source citation” can sound like a technical term, but it’s really just recording where you found each record or piece of genealogical information—that way you or anyone else […]
Read MoreSign up for the Family Tree Newsletter
Plus, you'll receive our 10 Essential Genealogy Research Forms PDF as a special thank you!
Get Your Free Genealogy Forms
"*" indicates required fields
Doing Genealogy With Just a Name and SSN
Q. I’m stuck on my Dad’s family tree: I have his father’s name, birth and death dates, and Social Security number (SSN). I can’t find anything on him. I have only his mother’s first name, and I can’t get a birth certificate without her surname. Where do I go from here? Can I find out […]
Read More
7 Steps for Finding Ancestral Hometowns Premium
Don't limit your family history search to people: Get a research edge by following these seven steps for studying ancestral places.
Read More
ABCs of File Formats Premium
Don't know PDF from PNG? Use this glossary to wade through the alphabet soup.
Read More
Saving Old Family Newsletters
Q. My aunt found several copies of our family newsletter dating back to 1959 in an old suitcase. It appears they were run off on a duplicating machine because the typed part is somewhat smeared blue ink. The paper feels like carbon paper. Any ideas or suggestions on how to preserve these and make the […]
Read More