After a few years, we have brought back this five-session class on United States land records tarting this February. Homework is optional. There is more information on our announcement page.

This illustration appeared in Genealogy Tip of the Day a few days ago, but I decided to write about it a little more here. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference between what is “right” and what is “wrong.” Occasionally the experience and perspective of the informant matters. That’s the case with the […]

Genealogy isn’t just about people. There can be stories in animals and inanimate objects. There’s a story about this cat that’s more about my Mother and me than it is the cat. Years ago when Journey was a kitten he “appeared” on my parents’ farm along a state highway in Illinois. It’s never been clear […]

While I have more than my share of colorful relatives, it’s not often that I find one that has a connection some well-known historical group. Such is the case with Heye Albers who was in the First United States Cavalry in the Spanish-American War. Teddy Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” were actually the 1st United States Volunteer […]

I am thinking out loud here. I’m typing up my ahnentafel chart for presentation on my website. One of the issues I have is the precision of the location of an event. Many of my families are clustered in several rural areas, locations are not always overly specific. Genealogists like specifics, but sometimes we have […]

I have two group research trips scheduled in 2020. Visit our site for more information or to save your spot! Salt Lake City’s Family History Library–May/June 2020 Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana–August 2020

It’s easy to focus on the direct line ancestors in our research. Their names appear in our direct ancestral tree and, if we didn’t inherit any property or wealth from them, we sometimes hope to have inherited some spunk or personality trait from them. That’s all fine and good, but don’t forget those ancestral siblings. […]