Alumni records are part directories, part newspapers, and magazines, part biographies, part obituaries, part yearbooks, part vital records, etc. You get the idea. If you are seeking genealogy clues, these “records’ are full of them. All of the information is derivative, but it can provide leads for you to search for original documents. And if […]
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.
Sometimes the most important clue in your research is the record you expected to find—but didn’t. The Insight Missing records are not always dead ends. Often, they are clues that point your research in an entirely new direction. Most genealogists focus on finding records. Experienced researchers also pay close attention to the records that should […]
MyHeritage continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For June 1-15, 2026, there are 3 new and 5 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!
The records you expect may not exist, but the records you need often do. The Insight Many researchers begin with a mental picture of the records they expect to find. When those records are missing, they assume the trail has ended. In reality, ancestors often leave evidence in places many researchers never think to look. […]
When the dates don’t fit, neither does the conclusion. The Insight Many researchers become attached to a theory because it feels right. The problem is that genealogy is ultimately constrained by time. A person cannot be born after their mother dies. A father cannot appear in two places at the same time. A child cannot […]
FamilySearch continues to add or update its record collections at a fast pace for us to search. For the period of June 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 […]
Over 1,100 New titles were added by various Free and Subscription databases in the last month. Here are links to all the updates:
535 new and updated Free Online Historical Newspaper Links have been added to the Mid Atlantic States’ free “newspaper link lists”: These were all updated in June 2026, and represent additions from the past 12 months. There is a total of 8,215 historical newspapers available to search for free from the Mid Atlantic States. Just […]
What you don’t find can be just as important as what you do. The Insight Genealogists naturally focus on finding records. Every search is performed with the hope that a census entry, obituary, marriage record, newspaper article, or probate file will appear and provide the next clue. Yet some of the most important information in […]
Sometimes the fastest way to find your ancestor is to stop searching for them. The Insight Some ancestors left very few records of their own. Their neighbors, however, often left extensive paper trails. Families migrated together, attended the same churches, witnessed one another’s marriages, bought adjoining land, appeared together in tax rolls, and were frequently […]