You will most likely be looking at the newly released US Census by the time you read this. The release will be in its infancy, so it won’t be thoroughly indexed, and there may be bugs to work out. But... Continue reading

I have a confession to make. I am one of those people. You know. The people who have thousands of photos stored on their phones. Embarrassingly I will admit that almost 15,000 photos dating back to 2015 are on my... Continue reading

It’s no surprise to anyone who knows me that all I want for Christmas is books. As a researcher, I use my books over and over again for research ideas, to better understand history, and find new-to-me sources. I typically... Continue reading

Last week I introduced you to S. Ada Miller and her mysterious political card. This week I want to talk a little bit about the research process and how to start researching with few clues. As I mentioned previously, the... Continue reading

It's probably not a surprise to anyone that I’m a huge fan of uncommon sources (my Legacy webinar on 25 Uncommon Sources for Your Genealogy was recently released) and I’m always on the lookout for them. Why? Because they can... Continue reading

Did you know that September 27th is Ancestor Appreciation Day? Ancestor Appreciation Day sounds like a holiday made especially for family historians especially since it falls just days before October which is Family History Month in the United States. This... Continue reading

Census records are one of the most important resources used by American genealogists. They are often the first records accessed when creating your family tree. Let's take a look back at the very first U.S. Census Day on August 2,... Continue reading

Mention the word drive-thru and you might think of the coffee you bought this morning or maybe a special night out with your parents when you were a kid. Drive-Thrus are as American as apple pie and hamburgers. Today you... Continue reading

Happy National Ice Cream Day! Unless you’re lactose intolerant, there’s a good chance you enjoy ice cream for dessert. Ice cream is a favorite worldwide and according to IceCream.com, New Zealand, the United States, Australia, Finland, and Sweden eat the... Continue reading

In some cases historical revolutions lead to yearly celebrations culminating in fireworks, parades, picnics, and other celebrations. The American Revolution led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In the United States we celebrate that event every 4th of... Continue reading

Genealogy societies are so important for family historians. The continuing education, research assistance, field trips, library collections, and other membership benefits make them a must-have resource. One of the things I love about traveling to societies to present is I... Continue reading

If you’re familiar with archival research you’ve heard the term “finding aid.” An archival finding aid describes the content of a collection, providing you enough information about that collection so that you can decide if it is something you need... Continue reading

Are you using Goodreads ? I will admit that I wasn’t until recently. It was one of those websites that I signed up for years ago and then almost as soon as I had, I forgot about it. Recently my... Continue reading

Everyone loves a shortcut, right? Whether it’s a shorter way to get home from work, an easy way to pay bills, or just a simpler way to get a dreaded task accomplished, shortcuts are great. The same is true for... Continue reading

It’s no secret that I love digitized book websites. I literally beg people to use them when I give presentations. It makes sense that I would be passionate about them. These websites provide researchers access to genealogical rich information at... Continue reading