When your ancestor disappears from the records, don’t look for a stranger — look next door. Neighbors appear again and again in censuses, deeds, newspapers, and probate files. They often migrated together, intermarried, and served as witnesses or executors. Tracking the families around your ancestor builds a community map that can expose hidden kinship links […]
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.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, local newspapers published “Personal Mention” or “Local Happenings” columns — the community’s version of Facebook status updates. Reporters (and often readers themselves) submitted short notes about who was visiting whom, who returned from a trip, or who entertained guests for Sunday dinner. A single column could mention […]
Court records are among the richest, yet most overlooked, sources for genealogists. They can reveal names, relationships, occupations, property details, and even glimpses into your ancestors’ daily lives. These records go far beyond criminal cases — they document the legal, financial, and social fabric of a community. Download the Quicksheet PDF To obtain a two-page […]
Fraternal orders, benevolent societies, and community clubs were a cornerstone of American life from the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s. If your ancestor wasn’t listed in a census or newspaper that year, there’s a good chance they were recorded in the membership rolls of a lodge, union, or club. 20% of men in 1900 belonged to […]
When searching old newspapers and census records, we are often faced with unusual names of occupations, and we have no clue as to their meaning because the terms are not in use today. I have collected a list of about 360 old occupations and their meanings from a variety of sources. Dan Burrows and Jan […]
Funeral home records often pick up where obituaries and death certificates stop. They can provide personal details, informant names, addresses, burial locations, and clues about religion and finances. Why Funeral Records Are Valuable What You Might Find in These Records How to Locate Funeral Home Records Tips for Contacting Funeral Homes Other Records to Use […]
When doing our genealogy research, whether looking at death certificates, newspaper articles, or other sources, we are often faced with different terminology for things. Nowhere is that more evident than in medical terminology. Whether the term is written in an old letter, a newspaper article, or an official document, we are often faced with the […]
One of the main goals for genealogists is finding birth, baptism, and/or christening information about their ancestors. Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians, and archivists, a great number of indexes to birth and baptism collections have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes provide specific birth, baptism, or christening information, and […]
This past week (October 31, 2025 to November 6, 2025), the following additions were made to The Newspaper Research Academy: ✅ Free Resources – 0 New Articles were added – 83 Total ✅ Research Guides – 0 New Guides were added – 81 Total ✅ Video Guides – 0 New Videos – 19 Total ✅ […]
For generations, women were documented everywhere in records — but often not under their own names. They might appear as “Mrs. John Smith,” “the widow,” or “the daughter of….” Learning how to spot these patterns opens new doors in your research. Tips for Locating Women in Records Naming Conventions That Obscure Identity Quick Searches That […]