Choose best answers to aid research

Genealogical research can be tough sometimes. It's particularly tough when family historians find conflicting answers to questions about their ancestors. It frequently happens when searching for dates of birth and death, but it happens a lot at other times, too. Read More

Reunions time to share family roots

It's time to start making final preparations for this summer's family reunion and maybe you're feeling a bit crunched. Maybe you dreamed of having something new and different at this year's reunion. But between making and remaking and adjusting and readjusting the housing, the meals and the tours, you just haven't found the time. Read More

Paper trails offer useful family clues

Despite the fact that genealogists are frequently confused about where next to turn for useful information about their ancestors, one genealogy maxim holds: The paper trail never ends. Read More

Build your own library to aid search

When was the last time that you thought about the genealogy books assembled in your home? If you don't have a genealogy bookshelf or two, perhaps it's time to start building a collection. A recent conversation with another genealogist reaffirmed the importance of having a genealogy library at your fingertips. Read More

Don't pass up divorce records

Life-changing events usually generate records that are useful to genealogists. But there is one set of records that result from a life-changing event that family historians seldom talk about. Read More

PBS series explores U.S. identity

Every now and then, a television project comes along that underscores the importance of genealogy, something many people are passionate about. Read More

Be curious in ancestry research

When genealogists hear that researching African-American ancestors is difficult, many who are tracing them begin to expect some degree of failure. They may even decide that whatever information is recorded about those ancestors will be found in federal censuses, city directories and one or two other sources. Read More

Newsletters keep track of issues

If you haven't considered reading genealogy newsletters, you should. Genealogists who want to keep up with the ever-widening scope of family history issues read newsletters on the Web fairly regularly. Such publications report on a variety of issues of interest to genealogists. Read More

Find clues in prison records

Every now and then, it seems an ancestor must have vanished from the face of the Earth. The family historian researches one set of records after another to find him, but he doesn't turn up. Read More

Don't pitch old records

Saved papers could be further value to others

As you flex those organizing muscles these next few weekends, pause before pitching the stacks of papers you find in attics and closets. While the old trunk holding such papers could fetch a pretty penny in this tough economy, the papers have value, too. They have a different kind of value. Read More

Web to offer local slave study data

An eagerly anticipated genealogical study destined to have a great impact on much of Lowcountry family history research should be wrapped up in a few months. Read More

Research comes a long way

While all advances made in identifying my ancestors are met with a degree of gratitude, they aren't usually shared in this column. But something happened lately that falls squarely into the category of "gift." Many family historians can identify with my situation, so I will share. Read More

Rejuvenate search in new year

In little more than a week, you'll need to decide on those genealogy resolutions for the new year. Read More

Learn how census data can be used

Family historians track ancestors in federal population censuses more than in any other documents. The information they learn from those censuses, collected every 10 years, provides the foundation for an untold number of family history research projects. Read More

Find gifts for 'genie' of family

As the new year approaches, family historians will reflect on milestones they reached in 2009 and resolve to do more in 2010. The genealogical journey never ends, so it's a safe bet that gifts that help them travel further back in time will be the best ones they receive. Read More