The Vitals section of the newspaper is the most pursued by genealogy newspaper researchers – primarily because that is where death notices and obituaries reside. But there are more than just obits in this important section. Below is a list of the keys to getting the most for your family history research out of the […]
Category: QuickSheets
Google Books remains one of the most powerful — and most misunderstood — genealogy tools available online. It contains tens of millions of digitized books, including local histories, county biographies, city directories, church publications, military histories, government reports, school catalogs, and family genealogies. However, the Google Books interface has changed significantly over the years. Despite […]
The Hamburg Passenger Lists are one of the most important — and most underused — immigration resources in genealogy. Covering departures from the port of Hamburg primarily between 1850 and 1934, these lists document millions of emigrants leaving Europe for destinations around the world. Because these are departure records, they can reveal information that never […]
The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries is one of the most important — and most misunderstood — genealogy tools available online. It doesn’t contain names, records, or images of ancestors. Instead, it solves a problem that derails countless research efforts: Knowing exactly where records were created and kept at a specific moment in time. Counties […]
If you are trying to add to your ancestor’s life stories, what better way than interesting newspaper articles about their lives? Absent direct accounts from your living relatives, seeking these hidden gems in old newspapers will tell you things about your ancestors that there is no other way, absent a biography or autobiographical book, that […]
There are several ways to enhance your ability to find what you are looking for in an online newspaper collection. Then again, there are also several ways to mess it up. In the Quicksheet is a list of 21 Do’s and Don’ts that, if followed, will improve your success rate dramatically. Download the Quicksheet PDF […]
Historic Map Works is one of the most genealogy-friendly historical map sites available online. Unlike general map collections that focus on cartographic history, Historic Map Works is built around place-based discovery—making it especially valuable for genealogists who want to locate where an ancestor lived, owned land, worked, or interacted with their community. While some high-resolution […]
Finding information and articles in newspapers about your ancestors is incredibly rewarding. And the amount of information about your ancestors in old newspapers is likely more than we can find. But what about the paid newspaper subscription sites? I have used the three large ones in the U.S. (Newspapers.com, NewspaperArchive, and GenealogyBank). There are other sites […]
In my opinion, online newspaper research is more of an art than a pure science. However, that does not mean that it should be undisciplined. On the contrary, the best way to waste your time is to perform research with no discipline. Sure, when you get a new name in your tree (or not yet […]
School exams, student evaluations, and educational records are rarely consulted by genealogists, yet they contain rich personal details about children, families, neighborhoods, and communities. These records were created by teachers, school boards, state departments of education, and local districts to document academic performance, attendance, progression, and special circumstances. For genealogists, they reveal information not found […]