Family Ancestry

Tracing your family ancestry is a great way to connect with family members around the world. One of the best ways to get started with the process is to find a brief introductory guide in genealogy. You don’t have to become an expert on the subject, but you do need to know some basic tips for sorting through the tremendous amount of data available online and in public records. The Basic Beginner’s Genealogy Guide from Genealogy Beginner provides you with the basic skills you need to trace your ancestry, dating back hundreds of years. One of the first things you’ll discover when you read this guide is how to simplify the process.

 

For example, the first chapter of the guide provides you with tips for tracing your closest relatives and working backwards from there.

Many of the people who have purchased The Basic Beginner’s Genealogy Guide from Genealogy Beginner have reported finding more information on their ancestors than they ever imagined possible. If you’re approaching your genealogy research like a fun hobby, the guide offers several suggestions for planning fact-finding activities. One of the most popular activities involves incorporating a family reunion into your genealogy research efforts.

Like most family reunions, the genealogy family reunion takes place at a central location, preferably near a popular tourist attraction or outdoor recreational facility. The guide offers suggestions for planning your family reunion and also offers practical advice for gathering information about your ancestors. A genealogy family reunion is a great way to gather old photos, newspaper clippings, stories about relatives, and even video footage.

8th Annual SLC Trip: April 13-20, 2008

Any opportunity you have to get to Salt Lake City and the LDS Library, you should consider it.  The LDS (Later Day Saints) is the single largest collection of genealogy records in the world.  Below is a short post about an upcoming organized trip.  Kathryn Doyle writes:

“It’s not too early to sign up for the 8th annual CGS Salt Lake City Research Tour, April 13-20, 2008. Jane Lindsey, CGS President, and Nancy Peterson, CGS Research Director, return again as volunteer leaders of this very popular trip to the Family History Library. The trip registration form gives a full description of cancellation and refund policy.

 

Accommodations are at the Shilo Inn, located three blocks from the Family History Library. The Shilo Inn has free high-speed internet access in every room.

The cost is $625 (airfare not included.) A deposit of $200 holds one space.”

Click here to read more about this trip.

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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National Archives Budget Increased for FY08

A press release issued by the National Archives today indicates that they will receive funding in the amount of $411.1 million this fiscal year. This represents a 20.5 percent increase over the 2007 Fiscal Year. NARA has not received regular appropriations in the past, and therefore is funded under the $555 billion 2007 Consolidation Appropriations Act.

Read the full news release

 

A 20% increase is a lot.  However, it sounds like they were overdue.  Let us know if you disagree.

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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US Department of Veterans Affairs

Wondering if the VA has any records you can use to obtain the military history of a friend or relative? The short answer is no. The U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs does not maintain  such as military units assigned to, dates and places of assignment, pay records, etc. For information about military records, visit the National Archives Records Administration website at http://www.archives.gov/.

 

 

I’ll post about The National Archives shortly; they have some interesting news today about increases in budgets.

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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Genealogy Photo Archive

DeadFred.com is a great site with a great name!  When I last visited they were boasting over 14,000 surnames indexed and organized with photos for each. The idea is that you search by surname and find photos along with those who submitted them to link up and add to the richness of everyone’s family tree. As they put it, Trace your roots for free with our searchable database containing thousands of identified and mystery photos for genealogy enthusiasts looking for long-lost family.

 

Anyone who finds a photo of a direct ancestor that is owned by the archive will receive the photo for free.

 

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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Online Genealogy Classes

Just came across this. You can read more about these classes or visit GenClass directly.GenClass.com offers online, short-term, fact-packed courses in a multitude of relevant subjects. You might want to add one or more of these classes to your holiday wish list! Most of the founding instructors previously taught these successful online classes at MyFamily.com, and new staffers have since joined. The group now represents instructors living in the US, Canada, England, Scotland and Israel. Classes for January, February and March 2008 are now open for registration, and include Jewish Basic Research and Jewish Internet Research. Micha Reisel and I team-teach those two classes.

In addition, new instructor Alexandra Goldberg will offer “Genealogy for Kids” in January. If you are wondering how to get your children interested in this quest, this might be the perfect introduction. The classes will help prepare newcomers or more advanced researchers by providing essential tools and information.

 

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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Jewish Genealogy

Saw this in Google news and thought it might be worth sharing. Looks like there is going to be more and more resources coming available for those with Jewish ancestors.

Getting to the root of family
By Molly Ritvo
Wednesday January 23 2008

 

Technology has aided genealogists in their search for family. Genealogy is a growing trend among Boston’s Jewish community With interest in genealogy growing around the world, it is no surprise that many members of Boston’s Jewish community are also eager to connect with their own histories.

“Jewish genealogy is bigger than ever,” said Newton resident Jay Sage, former co-president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston (JGSGB), an organization dedicated to the promotion of Jewish genealogical research and family history. “More and more Jews are looking for their ancestral history to develop a deeper understanding of who we are.”

Read the full story — The Jewish Advocate

 

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree Template

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Blank Family Tree

If you want to create a family tree, you can find hundreds of blank forms online. Once you have performed the necessary research, these forms are ideal for presenting your genealogy data in an easy-to-read format. Before you can fill in the branches of your family tree, you need to find a reliable resource for locating the names of your ancestors. Creating your family tree begins with selecting a few family members to trace through the years. This research blossoms as you gain information through public records, online resources, and data gathered from family members.

You can improve your research efforts by learning some of the research methods used by the professionals.

One of the best resources for learning the tricks of the trade is Genealogy Guide from Genealogy Beginner. If you choose to download the guide (free), you’ll receive valuable advice on getting your paperwork in order, family interviews, initial database searches, government sources, and how to learn from the work of others. Each of the 5 chapters covers a different aspect of researching your family history.

Taking the time to learn how to perform efficient genealogy research saves you a great deal of time in the long run. In addition, taking advantage of The Genealogy Guide helps to ensure you gather accurate information from the most reliable resources. Once you perform your research, you can find software that offers templates for creating family trees. You can also find several websites that offer interactive forms that you can post online for people all over the world to view.

 

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree Template

 

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A Small Collection of Online Genealogy Records

Overall at the Genealogy Roots Blog Joe has organized a collection of records into a search-able database.  Thought you might find this interesting and worth a look.

 

 

 

 

Genealogy Roots Blog: A Small Collection of Online Genealogy Records

Over the last few years my various websites have accumulated a messy pile of transcribed genealogy records.  Most of these are ship passenger lists, but there are one or two other records as well. Many of the names are German and Irish, but other nationalities are also included. Even though these transcriptions are scattered around the web in a seemingly haphazard way — there really is a method behind all of it I think, or I thought there was at the time — you can search all of them from one place.

Right here: Search Some Cool, Obscure, Weird Genealogy Records and Passenger Lists

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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The New SCGS Virtual Surname Wall

Hot off the presses!  The folks over at the Southern California Genealogical Society have announced the availability of their Virtual Surname Wall. This database is free to the public; membership in SCGS is not required. With over a thousand submissions already, data is searchable both by family name and geographic region.

 

 

 

Access the Virtual Surname Wall at www.SCGSGenealogy.com.

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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