A death certificate tells you that your ancestor died. A funeral home record may tell you what happened next—and sometimes much more. Funeral homes collected information from families while arranging transportation, preparation of the body, funeral services, and burial. Their records may identify relatives, residences, cemeteries, churches, and other details that can lead your research […]
Author: Kenneth R Marks
Kenneth R Marks was born and educated in the San Francisco Bay Area, receiving a BS in Mathematics in 1968. His career was in Information Technology; with the last 20 Years as a software executive with Boeing, Pearson, and NASA. His genealogy career began in 2004. He is an expert in newspaper research for genealogy, as well as additional genealogy topics. He regularly conducts webinars on the subject and has authored three genealogy books. See the About page for more details.
The Ancestor Hunt, founded in 2008, is focused on helping genealogy and family history researchers of all skill levels to achieve their goals, by providing links to free online genealogy collections, and search tips and techniques, largely via easy-to-understand Quick Reference Guides.
Before marriage certificates became the familiar documents we know today, your ancestors’ marriages were often recorded one after another in large handwritten books. A marriage register may look like a simple list, but an entry can reveal the marriage date, residences, witnesses, parents, officiant, and other clues—and sometimes point you toward additional marriage documents that […]
Are you doing Michigan genealogy research and looking for Free Online Michigan Genealogy Records? Click on a link for your desired category’s free collection links: NewspapersYearbooksBirthsMarriagesDeathsBMD RecordsAlumni RecordsCemetery RecordsChurch RecordsCoroner RecordsCriminal RecordsDigital ArchivesDirectoriesDivorce RecordsImmigration RecordsInstitutional RecordsMilitary RecordsMortuary RecordsNaturalizationsObituariesPhotosProbate and WillsSchool RecordsTax RecordsVoter Records Good Luck and Happy Hunting! Want All of the Michigan’s Genealogy Resources […]
You found your ancestors’ names in a marriage index. Have you found the record behind the entry? Marriage indexes may provide only a bride’s name, a groom’s name, and a date, but they can be the first step toward locating a marriage certificate, license, or register entry containing additional information about the couple and their […]
You found your ancestor in a death index. Have you found the record behind the entry? A death index may provide only a name, date, and location, but those few details can lead you to a death certificate, registration, or another record containing information about your ancestor and their family. The index is often the […]
Your ancestors’ wedding may have made the newspaper—but have you looked for their engagement announcement, too? Together, these two notices may reveal parents, siblings, residences, occupations, and other people connected to the couple. Comparing them can also uncover changes in wedding plans and provide clues that neither announcement offers on its own. Introduction Newspaper engagement […]
Are you doing Rhode Island genealogy research and looking for Free Online Rhode Island Genealogy Records? Click on a link for your desired category’s free collection links: NewspapersYearbooksBirthsMarriagesDeathsBMD RecordsAlumni RecordsCemetery RecordsChurch RecordsCoroner RecordsCriminal RecordsDigital ArchivesDirectoriesDivorce RecordsImmigration RecordsInstitutional RecordsMilitary RecordsMortuary RecordsNaturalizationsObituariesPhotosProbate and WillsSchool RecordsTax RecordsVoter Records Good Luck and Happy Hunting! Want All of the Rhode […]
Are you doing Montana genealogy research and looking for Free Online Montana Genealogy Records? Click on a link for your desired category’s free collection links: NewspapersYearbooksBirthsMarriagesDeathsBMD RecordsAlumni RecordsCemetery RecordsChurch RecordsCoroner RecordsCriminal RecordsDigital ArchivesDirectoriesDivorce RecordsImmigration RecordsInstitutional RecordsMilitary RecordsMortuary RecordsNaturalizationsObituariesPhotosProbate and WillsSchool RecordsTax RecordsVoter Records Good Luck and Happy Hunting! Want All of the Montana’s Genealogy Resources […]
Are you doing Vermont genealogy research and looking for Free Online Vermont Genealogy Records? Click on a link for your desired category’s free collection links: NewspapersYearbooksBirthsMarriagesDeathsBMD RecordsAlumni RecordsCemetery RecordsChurch RecordsCoroner RecordsCriminal RecordsDigital ArchivesDirectoriesDivorce RecordsImmigration RecordsInstitutional RecordsMilitary RecordsMortuary RecordsNaturalizationsObituariesPhotosProbate and WillsSchool RecordsTax RecordsVoter Records Good Luck and Happy Hunting! Want All of the Vermont’s Genealogy Resources […]
Your ancestors may have left more than one record of their marriage. Even when a civil marriage certificate survives, the church marriage register may contain additional information about the couple, their families, and the people who witnessed the ceremony. And for marriages that occurred before civil registration began, the church register may be the only […]