Tag Archives for " sources "
Photographing Tombstones
Genealogists photograph tombstones to document the birth, death and burial information of their ancestors. This post will give you some tips on how to get the best possible results when taking those important pictures. Locating Cemeteries Your first challenge might well be just getting to the cemetery. Hopefully you have an obituary or burial […]
Continue readingDigital Cameras for Genealogy
Digital Cameras Digital cameras are a basic tool for family historians. Those pictures of family members, their homes, tombstones, etc. are critical additions to our data. There are a few uses for digital cameras that might not be as obvious as obvious though. Before I get to uses though, here some features that are important […]
Continue readingFind Your Ancestor’s Burial Location Using Find A Grave
Find A Grave is an easy to use online tool for finding the burial places of family, friends, and “famous” people. With over 120 million grave records already online, it is an invaluable resource for genealogists and family historians. Find A Grave memorials often contain much more than just death and burial data. You may […]
Continue readingLand Records at the General Land Office
If one or more of your ancestors lived in, or owned property in, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, or Wyoming, it is possible they received or purchased […]
Continue readingMistaken Linage: A Case Study
It is widely reported that my 3rd great-grandfather, Peter Vickers, was baptized 13 June 1788 at Bunbury, Cheshire, England. He was the son of Peter Vickers and Hanna Lowe. In 1812, Peter married Mary Jones and they had daughters Elizabeth, Mary and Harriot. Peter immigrated to the United States sometime before 1840 when he was […]
Continue readingThe Amazing Dr. Morse and the Social Security Death Index
The Social Security Death Index is one of the easiest to access sources of basic vital statistics for the millions of people whose deaths have been reported to the U.S. Social Security Administration. Birth years for the people listed range from about 1875 to last year. The SSDI itself is just an index but the […]
Continue readingMy Genealogy is Wrong!
My genealogy is wrong and, if you have more than a couple generations listed in yours, I bet your genealogy is wrong too. My family tree has errors in it, I just don’t know which specific facts are wrong. I know I have errors because every genealogy with more than a few people and […]
Continue readingDecoding Ahnentafels Using Binary Numbers
In the last post, about reading ahnentafels, I showed how to determine relationships by repeatedly dividing by two. Since 2 is the basis of the binary numbering system, we can use binary numbers to simplify the relationship calculation. It offers more flexibility than just repeated dividing. Here is the same partial ahnentafel that was used […]
Continue readingReading Ahnentafels
An ahnentafel (German for “ancestor table”) is a compact way to display a persons direct line ancestor within a plain text format. Since there is no need for charts for software code, it is a helpful way to share ancestry information in emails or in a forum. With the ability to add attachments to emails, […]
Continue readingTwo Keys to Great Genealogy
The easiest way to keep your family tree research on track is to follow these two key fundamentals of genealogy research. Key1: Always work from the known to the unknownKey 2: Always document your sourcesKeep these two principles in mind and your genealogy will be more accurate and better organized.Pick a single subject as the focus […]
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