Did you know that I transcribe every genealogy record I find? This may seem like overkill, but it has made a world of difference in my genealogy research. Why? Because it forces me to slow down and actually read every word a record has to offer, and that alone, is what leads to the answers I seek (or at least clues that put me on the right path to the answer). Plus, I get a readable digital...

So what’s new with AncestryDNA? Well first, there’s been another ethnicity estimate update. Mine have changed drastically. The only constant is my Germanic Europe region, which went from 32% to 34%. The others have jumped quite a bit in one direction or the other, a new region has been added, and Spain (which popped up for the first time in the last update) is now gone.

But...

I remember seeing a lot of people comment during the lead up to the 1950 US census release that they didn’t understand the hype and really didn’t care to look for people because they “knew” them. I have continued to see this in the week following the release, and I have to say that I strongly disagree with this notion, and I’ve got three reasons why that I’ll...

You’ve probably spent some time over the last several days trying to find people in the 1950 US census (I know I have!).

But it’s not an easy task, especially without a solid index and search tools that we’re used to.

That said, I’ve been creating a variety of videos that address some of the issues and offer solutions and workarounds. Here’s what I’ve posted...

Finding the cemetery where an ancestor is buried can be tricky for any number of reasons. Many times, there’s simply no record to indicate where the person is buried so it becomes a guessing game as to which cemeteries to look in.

So how do you begin your search?

Well, first you need to identify what cemeteries were in operation at the time and in the place where the person was likely...

Do you have a looming brick wall in your path that you just can’t seem to find a way to break through? In this article I want to talk about one of my favorite strategies for brick wall busting. It’s the FAN Club, sometimes also referred to as cluster research. I’ve used this strategy on numerous projects for myself and for my clients, and have been helping my Genealogy...

I get it...genealogy research can be overwhelming. We have a gazillion ancestors that we want to do proud by learning about their lives and sharing their stories. But, we only have so much time in our busy lives to dedicate to our genealogy endeavor. So how can we find a balance that allows us to do research without getting overwhelmed by it? In this article I’ll share with you the top...

Genealogy’s mega-conference RootsTech 2022 starts this week and with more than 1,100 English-language sessions, how do you even begin to choose which sessions you want to watch? In this post I’ll share my learning philosophy and how you can make choosing your sessions a little easier. There’s also a quick video tour of the session listing so you can find what you’re...

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The release of the 1950 US census is right around the corner on April 1, 2022, so you might be wondering how you can be ready to start searching on Day 1. In this post I’ll walk you through my process so you can use it or adapt it for your own preparation.

Before we dive in, you might be wondering why I’m...

Can you believe that we’re a month-and-a-half away from the release of the 1950 US census on April 1, 2022? I don’t know about you, but I’m super excited because this is the first census that my parents appear in, so I will definitely be looking for them on Day 1.

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably wondering what will actually happen on Day 1. In this...