Saturday, March 30, 2013

Expand Your Research Focus—Go Broad

Diane Haddad writing in the Genealogy Insider blog, presents us with her personal experience showing that the “going broad” strategy worked. She uses the term “cluster genealogy” to describe it. It simply means that sometimes to find one person we have to explore others—like aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, etc.

Diane’s article is easy to read and easy to follow because it is laced with ample pictures of the documents she used.

Check it out at:

Genealogy Insider - I think I've got it!, or, Cluster Genealogy Works!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

New Grave-Side Technology

James Tanner, writing in the Genealogy’s Star blog, gives a intriguing introduction to a new on-the-ground technology to make cemetery visits more productive. 

The technology is being introduced by Otter Creek Holdings, which recently purchased the BillionGraves.com website. The essence of it is that you can take a picture of a headstone with your smart phone, then through the use of GPS and some fancy software working in the background, you can see information about it provided by BillionGraves, Family Search and other sites.

You can read all of James’ interesting article about the topic at the following link:

Genealogy's Star: LegacyTec: groundbreaking technology for headstones

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Figuring Out Historic Newspapers

Mary Harrell-Sesniak writing in the GenealogyBank.com blog gives us an understanding of some of the now antiquated terms that once were used in historic newspapers.

If you have done newspaper research and were baffled by some of the language, this article will be of interest to you.

Check it out at:

Understanding Terms Found in Historical Newspapers- GenealogyBank Genealogy Blog

Monday, March 25, 2013

RootsTech Online

If you could not attend the RootsTech conference in person, you can still hear the key lectures online. Follow the link below to see them…even the keynote presentations. These presentations were streamed live during the event, and are now posted on the RootsTech.org site.
Live | RootsTech.org

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Which Source Do I Believe? Evaluating Evidence - YouTube

Crista Cowan offers us a view of evaluating evidence in a recent Ancestry.com You Tube video that is well-worth a look.

She takes a what-who-when-where-why approach that essentially translates to most of the BCG Genealogical Proof Standard, but is refreshing in its presentation.

Check it out:

Friday, March 22, 2013

Reasons Online Searches Fail

Michael J. Leclerc writing in the Mocavo Genealogy Blog gives us five reasons you can’t find your person online. These are helpful to keep in mind during any search.

Read his article at:

5 Reasons Why You Can’t Find Your Person Online » Mocavo Blog - News, Announcements & More from the World's Largest Free Genealogy Search Engine

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Reading Old Tombstones

Ever go to a cemetery and have problems reading the inscriptions on old tombstones? The Genealogy In Time Magazine has a suggestion on how to overcome that problem.

Check it out at:

A Simple Way to Read Old Tombstones

Monday, March 18, 2013

1906 Census of the Northwest Provinces

Family Search recently posted an improved 1906 Canada census of the Northwest Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba).

The database can now be searched by name, age, and keyword, whereas previously it was limited to image searches.

The following link will take you directly to the search page:

Search: Census of the Northwest Provinces, 1906 - Library and Archives Canada

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Family Research—Broad or Narrow?

Kristy Wilkinson writing in The Professional Descendant blog gives us some perspective on an issue we all face: how broad should my research be? Should I limit it to my direct line ancestors, or include also their children, or perhaps their children’s children, etc.?

Her perspective is certainly her own, but it gives valid points to consider. Several of her readers provided comments to her post, and it is interesting to see how others have answered this issue for themselves.

You can read her thought-provoking article at:

The Professional Descendant: Who belongs on the Family Tree?

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Here’s a Vote for Consistency…and It’s Importance

Genealogist Michele Simmons, writing in the blog Ancestoring’s Ask a Genealogist, gives us an interesting article on the value of consistency in recording our data.

She give examples in the cases of recording places and dates and others. You will recognize these because they are issues we have all faced.

This is a good article worth a good read. You can find it at:

Ancestoring's Ask A Genealogist: Right and Wrong vs. Consistency

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center

Here is a great site for those of you interested in New York military units, history, and soldiers.

Once you click past the home page you have a vast selection of topics to choose from that include Civil War and WWII era records and information. Also included are veteran burial locations.

Check it out at:
New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Top 100 Genealogy Websites for 2013

It may seem a bit early to be seeing a list of top genealogy websites for 2013, but Genealogy In Time Magazine gives us one nonetheless. And it is fascinating reading.

One informative piece of information is the 2012 ranking that is included for comparison to the 2013 rank.

The list of 100 is further categorized to show us the top 10 free websites, the top genealogy categories represented by the sites, the top 10 record sites, the top 10 family tree sites, and more.

Enjoy the article at:

Top 100 Genealogy Websites for 2013

Friday, March 8, 2013

Genealogy—The Easy Way

Genealogy In Time Magazine gives us an amusing-serious article about building family trees the wrong way. You will recognize most of the mistakes outlined here, but it is worth the read just to be sure you are not transgressing.

There are some interesting videos to look at embedded in the article. Check it out at:
Common Genealogy Mistakes

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Professional Research in Ireland

If you are hunting ancestors in Ireland, a new professional sevice we have become aware of may prove beneficial. The service is called "My Ireland Family Heritage" and offers personalized research as well as guided trips to Ireland.

As with all businesses, we do not under-write them, but we often maeke them kown to our readers. If you are interested, you can find more information at www.myirelandheritage.com

Suncoast Genealogy Fair on 23 March 2013

The Suncoast Genealogy Fair will be held on 23 March 2013 at the Palm Harbor Library from 1-4:30 pm. The event is free but seating is limited so you must register to be guaranteed a seat.

The gust speaker is Debra Fleming and her topic will be "Using Heritage Quest." This fee website is available for free through your public library. It gives you access to online books, articles, Revolutionary War records, census records, and more.

To register email : John8530@aol.com or c
all 727 -667-0457.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Lisa Louise Cooke To Speak

The Imperial Polk Genealogical Society is featuring Lisa Louise Cooke at their 2013 seminar from 9 am to 4 pm on13 April. Registration is from 8-9 am.

Lisa is a noted author and speaker and is well-known for the Genealogy Gems podcast and Family Tree Magazine podcast. One of her more recent books is Google Earth for Genealogy, which will be one of the topics of presentation at the seminar.

The event takes place in Lakeland, Florida. You can get more information about the seminar, and a registration form at www.ipgs.org

Drew Smith Featured at Pinellas Genealogy Society Meeting

Drew Smith, one of the "Genealogy Guys," is the featured speaker at the Pinellas Genealogy Society meeting on 16 March at the Largo Public Library. The meeting starts at 11 am and is free and open to the public. Before the meeting, starting at 10 am, is our popular Q&A session on computers and genealogy.

Among other credits, Drew is a respected author, and of course, does the "Genealogy Guys" podcast along with genealogist George Morgan. Drew's topic at the meeting will be "Social Networking for Genealogical Researchers."

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Look Beyond That City Directory

Michael John Neill, writing in his blog Genealogy Tip of the Day, shares a good idea with us. Once we find our ancestor in a city directory that has his or her employer listed, it may pay to look further in that directory for advertisements about the employer. An internet search on the employer’s name may also yield some good information that may give us insights to the professional life of our ancestor.

You can read his tip at:

Genealogy Tip of the Day: Those Old Employers