Historical records make more sense when you understand the world your ancestors lived in. Naming traditions, spelling variations, migration routes, census instructions, occupations, social customs, and even the meaning of common words were often very different from today. A child might be named after a deceased sibling. Ages in census records may shift from decade […]
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.
Modern genealogy websites make research easier than ever—but they also make it easy to mistake suggestions, hints, and user-submitted information for proof. Hints are designed to point researchers toward possible records. They are starting points, not conclusions. A record still needs to be examined carefully to determine whether the dates, relationships, locations, and details actually […]
Many researchers unintentionally focus more attention on male ancestors because surnames are easier to follow through records. But when female ancestors are overlooked, entire branches of family history can quietly disappear. Women often carried the social, religious, migration, and community connections that tied families together. Their names appear in obituaries, witnesses lists, newspapers, probate records, […]
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!
New researchers often rush toward distant generations, famous surnames, or colonial-era ancestors before building a solid foundation in their own recent family history. But the most accurate and information-rich records are usually the most recent ones. Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, family photographs, obituaries, newspapers, city directories, and living relatives often contain details that prevent major mistakes […]
Family stories are often where genealogy begins. Tales about famous relatives, Revolutionary War ancestors, Native American heritage, or dramatic immigration stories can inspire generations of curiosity and research. But family stories change over time. Details are forgotten, names shift, timelines compress, and memories become polished through repeated retelling. Some stories contain truth at the center. […]
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 might seem like a perfect match at first glance, but names alone rarely tell the full story. Dates, occupations, […]
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 […]