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How to Make a Better Family Tree

Many families take great pride in their ancestry; maintaining and preserving their family history in great detail. For countless others, knowing their origins determines for them, to a great degree, how they see themselves today. When you first set out on this journey and begin to learn just how much time and effort are required to study your family’s roots it can be a little daunting. For this reason some people may shy away from this rewarding pass time thinking it too difficult.

 

 

That is simply because they do not yet know that there are many people in the world of genealogy only too happy to reach out and lend a hand to beginners.

People as resources

One of the best things about taking on the task of researching your family tree are the people you will meet along the way, those who share your passion for genealogy. People who can help point you towards great resources or who will take the time to give a little advice when you are stuck at the dreaded brick wall and are just not sure where to look next. Persons who can help you get off to the best possible start by taking the time to introduce you to the many tools that will make your research easier.

Making a better family tree is not always about finding those important names, dates and places or about filling in as many blanks as possible. You will discover that as you as you add the branches, it is the friends you make along the way that put the blossoms on your tree.

Great resources available here: Free Blank Family Tree Template.

Family Tree Confusion

A little while ago we talked about the fact that there are a lot of family tree templates available online. Many of them are extremely fancy and can be very confusing. These decorative templates are great for presentation purposes; however, most people are looking for a simple solution and don’t want to spend endless hours trying to understand this box or that branch. I thought I would take this opportunity to describe my approach here at Genealogy Beginner.

Continue reading “Family Tree Confusion” »

Family history research in Paisley

A recent phenomenon that is giving an even greater rise to the popularity of genealogy is the advent of genealogy based TV programming. The success of programs such as “Who Do You Think You Are?” is inspiring many people to take up the hobby and begin the search for their genetic legacy.

 

 

Such is the case with Paisley reporter Jeff Holmes who in his article “I never knew about secret Buddie roots “shares with us his personal story of discovery. Along with the tale of his individual journey, Jeff illuminates for us, via his reporting, the unique perspective of genealogy through the eyes of a local studies librarian. Throughout the article Jeff’s message is one of perseverance, surprises and the reward of discoveries made.

This wonderful account was brought to my attention by Chris at Scotland’s Greatest Story , thanks Chris.

For Jeff Holms full article, visit http://www.paisleydailyexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/2008/10/13/i-never-knew-about-secret-buddie-roots-87085-22018125/

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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How to Research Your Family Name

By Dakota Caudilla

You’ll be surprised with the kind of information you’ll unearth when you do a research on your own family name. People you’ve never known existed, long-lost relatives, and friends who share the same lineage as you! This is what researching your own surname can do for you. If you’re not ready for some surprise findings, you’re better off leaving all this researching to others in your family.

 

Researching your own surname can be done through different methods. For one thing, the most popular among all the other methods of researching your own family surname is through the Internet. The wide availability, freedom of use and flexibility of the internet makes it the most popular genealogical research tool known to humankind today!

Try websites like http://www.genealogy.com and you’ll see what we mean. By typing in your surname or your ancestor’s first and last name, you’ll come up with a whole list of possible family members that you can easily fill up your family tree. These tools are generally easy to use and some websites even have communication tools whereby you can contact the possible relative directly too. These websites contain hundreds of millions of family names in their database to help people find long-lost family members.

Continue reading “How to Research Your Family Name” »

History of Genealogy

In this great article, first published in the July/ August 1999 edition of Family Chronicle Magazine, Donna Porter-Phillips looks at the initial stages and development of genealogy as a hobby and professional practice. Ms. Porter-Phillips states that from the beginning, people have felt the need to leave a record of themselves. “Cave paintings in France, tombstone art all over the world, and even the petroglyphs and pictographs of Native Americans, all point to the fact that early man wanted to be remembered by those who would come after.

 

She goes on to write:

“‘How far back does genealogy go?’ a beginner might ask. And at first thought, Biblical references might come to mind as evidenced by all the chapters of begats. Family descent was important to the ancient Hebrews, in part because Hebrew males had to prove descent from Aaron, the brother of Moses, in order to hold the Levitical priesthood. The first eight chapters of the book of I Chronicles give genealogies from Adam down through Abraham and other Old Testament patriarchs. I Chronicles 9:1 reads, “so all Israel were reckoned by genealogies…”

You can read the rest of the article by clicking here (and then clicking “How To Archives” > “History” > “History of Genealogy”). I suggest you take a close look at the magazine itself. You can pick up a free trial subscription if you’d like.

Maps of Historic London

The folks over at Genealogy Insider have brought us a great post on London Maps. In an article by Grace we learn about the virtual exhibition of historical maps of the city from the British Library. This is a must visit, titles like this one from a map dating from 1653 should spark your interest for more.

‘A guide for Cuntrey men In the famous Cittey of LONDON by the helpe of wich plot they shall be able to know how farr it is to any Street.’

In this exhibit you will find 40 historic plats organized via Google maps that can easily help you clarify the areas they correspond to. If you prefer, you also have the option of looking at maps by time period.

You can access the full post by clicking here. It is really amazing how things are changing with the internet. There is no end to the resources available to us all in our search for our ancestors.

 

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Not interested in the map?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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Are You up to Date? By Paula Stuart-Warren, CG

I came across a heartfelt genealogy post at another blog and felt it was very much worth sharing. In her article, “Are You Up to Date,” Paula Stuart-Warren writes about keeping your family tree current with events in your family. While we may spend the majority of our time looking for distant ancestors, we need to remember to enter recent family data as well. She also discusses such topics as:

 

 

• Obituaries and Tombstones
• Family Group Sheets
• Funeral Guest Books
• Social Security Death Index
• Other key considerations

Paula, if you read this, my condolences and thank you for sharing such a great article. It is truly the testament you intended and a solid introduction to Genealogy and thus I felt it fitting to share it with the visitors here.

You can read Paula’s full article here.

Thank you – Chris

 

 

 

Social Security Death Records

Another great article by Leo Talbot:

The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) contains the names and vital information of around 65 million deceased Americans. It is an extremely large and important database for genealogy enthusiasts. Information is archived in the SSDI when a death has been reported to the Social Security Administration (SSA), such as when a family member stops the Social Security Benefits (SSB) of a person, or applies for survivor’s benefits.

 

In the early 1960’s, the SSA began using computer technology to store vital records. Therefore, most records included in the SSDI have death dates of 1962 or later, and birth dates from the early 1900’s. Although there are a few birth dates as far back as the 1850’s, and death dates prior to 1960, not all earlier data has been entered into the current SSDI.

Social Security Death Records

Social Security Death Records (SSDR) usually contain the following data on a deceased individual:

• Last name
• First name
• Date of Birth
• Date of Death
• Where the last SSB was sent
• State of residence
• Where the SSN was issued
• Last known address

SSDI Search Tip #1: Use maiden names when searching for women. SSDI is a valuable genealogy tool. The SSDI can assist your genealogy research by providing data that will help you locate birth certificates and death certificates. By providing the names of parents, a female’s maiden name, people’s places of residence and their occupation, it may also assist in the search for marriage certificates and other vital records.

SSDI Search Tip #2 : Start your search on the SSDI with just a few facts. You can search on any combination of data. A last name and known possible birth period may be a good place to start. If the results are too large, add additional data and search again. Also, do not use middle initials – middle names are not recorded in the SSDI.

Soundex Search is a very useful feature that can assist where names may have been misspelled.

Leo Talbot writes genealogy articles such as the social security death index and others

(A Genealogy Beginner Sponsor)

 

International Collections – World Vital Records

Posted by Diane Haddad at Genealogy Insider…

Starting Monday, Feb. 4, FamilyLink’s World Vital Records subscription database site will be outfitted with a new, gargantuan World Collection of international records.  Built through partnerships with more than 20 record-holding organizations, the World Collection has more than 1.5 billion records from about 35 countries, including England, Canada, Australia, France, Ireland, Scotland, Hungary and Portugal.

 

It’ll double World Vital Records’ offerings.  Some of the new collection’s major components (more…)

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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Man arrested in eBay sale of historic documents

I came across this article from Jean-Yves BAXTER at Genealogy Blog today. According to the article, Daniel Lorello, a State employee of New York, has been arrested for stealing historic documents and selling them on eBay. He has been charged with possession of stolen property, grand larceny and fraud. His crimes were discovered after someone saw the items posted for sale on eBay and alerted the authorities. Included in the missing documents are copies of the Davy Crockett Almanacs and a letter from Vice President John C. Calhoun in 1823.

 

Read the full story.

Wow…

 

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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