A hint may point you toward the answer, but only the record can help prove it. The Insight Modern genealogy websites have transformed family history research by making billions of records searchable from home. Along with those records come hints, suggested matches, user-submitted trees, and automated recommendations designed to help researchers discover possible connections. These […]
When female ancestors disappear from your research, entire branches of the family tree can disappear with them. The Insight Many genealogists unintentionally spend more time researching male ancestors because surnames are easier to follow through historical records. Family trees often grow outward from a familiar surname, making it easy to overlook the women whose names […]
Most genealogists know how to search newspapers. Far fewer know how to truly research them. That difference matters. Because newspapers are unlike any other genealogical record source. They are messy, inconsistent, emotional, fragmented, and often difficult to search effectively. Names are misspelled. Articles are hidden in unexpected sections. OCR errors distort people and places. Important […]
MyHeritage continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For May 1-15, 2026, there are 7 new and 2 updated collections. The new and updated collections are: I hope that some of these are what you have been waiting for! Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
Ancestry.com continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For the period of May 1-15, 2026, the new and updated collections are: I hope that some of these are what you have been waiting for! Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
The strongest family trees are built from verified facts, not hopeful leaps into distant generations. The Insight One of the most common mistakes new genealogists make is rushing toward distant ancestors before fully documenting the generations closest to them. The excitement of discovering colonial-era relatives, famous surnames, or connections to historical events often pulls researchers […]
Family stories often point you in the right direction—but records determine whether the story is true. The Insight Many genealogy journeys begin with a story passed down through generations. A grandparent mentions a Revolutionary War ancestor. An aunt recalls Native American heritage. A family Bible references an immigrant who arrived under dramatic circumstances. These stories […]
A matching name may start the search, but evidence is what proves identity. The Insight One of the easiest mistakes in genealogy is connecting two people simply because they share the same name. In many communities, the same names appeared repeatedly across multiple families, generations, and even neighboring households. A record may seem like a […]
FamilySearch continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For the period of May 1-15, 2026, the added/updated collections are: For a complete list of all added/updated collections, go to https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list I hope that some of these are what you have been waiting for! Good Luck and […]
Background Historical Occupation Profiles explain what ancestors actually did for a living and how those occupations shaped the records genealogists rely on today. Occupation Overview Apothecaries and druggists prepared, sold, and dispensed medicines and medical compounds for local communities. In the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries, they played important roles in healthcare before modern […]