My goal at Rootdig is to get readers to think about their research. To think about what they find, think about their research process, question their assumptions, and get beyond their “comfort circle.” That’s one of the best ways to get around those research problems we all face. We are not here to share press releases, […]

Ancestry.com has a database they call “U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900.” I’m not certain what I would call it, but personally I would leave the word “record” out of the title. It brings to mind the question of what is a marriage record and what is a record in general. Elizabeth Shown Mills in Evidence Explained defines […]

It can be difficult to let go, but sometimes we need to. That story Grandma told you about your great-great-grandmother being a Cherokee princess? That story Uncle Merle told you about his father being a stowaway in 1900 on a boat land that landed at Ellis Island? That conclusion about Henry being the father of […]

If you signed up for my “Organizing Genealogical Information” class and have not heard from me, email me using the email address in your receipt. If you want to sign up, we’re taking registrations through early on 5 January or until we’re full.

James Beidler  responded on Facebook to my “Did the Trautvetter Brothers Ever Naturalize” post and I thought I’d address his comments in a follow-up post. For point of reference these three brothers were born in the 1830s-1840s and immigrated to Illinois with their parents in 1853. It is possible that the Trautvetter brothers naturalized in […]

[This has been updated from a 2015 post on our old blog site.] George Trautvetter, his wife and children immigrated to the United States in July of 1853. The family apparently made a relatively direct route to Hancock County, Illinois, where George appears to have paid cash for a farm later that same year in […]

By popular demand, we’re bringing this course back. This is a great way to start your research in 2017. (if you enrolled in a previous section and had later difficulties, email me to be put in this section of the course at no charge)   (scroll down for specific schedule) Organizing information is an important part […]

When I first leafed through the Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research, I thought there were too many maps. I know that sounds odd, but it was my initial reaction.  There’s maps for every state showing all the counties within that state and there are actually two maps for every county in New England–one showing the […]

We’ve had requests to bring back our webinars, so we’re doing so from now until 2 January 2017.  This presentation on the Family History Library is one of our more popular topics. There’s more to going to the Family History Library in Salt Lake than simply arriving at the Library with a vague set of […]

I’m not looking to make any real changes to the blog in 2017. We’re not going to add popups to get new subscribers, write about every new thing under the sun, copy and use press releases as blog fodder, etc. We’ll continue to focus on research and a little bit of attitude. I am hoping […]