As mentioned on Genealogy Tip of the Day, I recently discovered another variant spelling for my ancestor Franciska Bieger’s name: Francis KaBücher. That discovery reminded me of several things beyond just being aware that there can always be an additional spelling variant. The spelling came from the 1895 marriage in Hancock County, Illinois, of Franciska’s […]

I will be presenting a webinar on 19 January 2020 using the new features of AncestryDNA. This presentation can be attended live or pre-ordered as a recorded copy. We’ve posted details in our announcement post.

It would be easy to conclude that these letters are lower-case “t”s with a cross. They are not. The image above is a summary of the grantor/grantee information for those using the record copy of the deed. The actual deed record, shown partially in the image below clearly indicates that the first names of both […]

This is a page that appears before a microfilmed copy of declarations of intent for Hamilton County, Ohio between 1848-1851 (Family History Library film 1415117). A big clue that something was different about these records would be the consistent handwriting from one page to the next and the fact that every signature was the same. […]

This originally appeared in the Ancestry Daily News on 2/29/2000 This is a semi-serious look at some misconceptions that genealogists (and non-genealogists) have about family history. 1) We all have a famous ancestor, somewhere. I have found the names of over three hundred of my ancestors and have yet to have any of them qualify as […]

Writing is an excellent way to refine your research and notice mistakes, omissions, and opportunities. This is true even if you have no intention of actually “publishing” your research. Consider this challenge. Ask a genealogy friend (preferably who is NOT related to the family you will be writing about) if they will work out a […]

Genealogists spend time researching, organizing, analyzing, and writing. But what proportion of time do you spend on those activities? All four are important, but there are times when I think I spend too much time on research when compared to the other activities.