Family history research is more than simply pointing and clicking your way to an ancestral answer–or finding where someone has already solved your problem. No matter what the TV commercials, the shows, and the websites indicate, some problems require a little more than five minutes of work or an “automated search” to find the answer. In the United States, the research becomes a little more challenging when the people being researched lived before the American Civil War in states that didn’t keep vital records. The problem is compounded if the individuals didn’t have much money and moved on a regular basis. In these situations, research becomes (at the very least) about: learning about all the records kept during the time period and locations where the ancestor lived; learning […]
Organizing your genealogical information geographically is simply: get a map. It is easy to overlook things when you don’t have a map at which to look. Political boundaries impact where records are kept and it is difficult to know which church or cemetery is nearby without one. Make certain you have contemporary maps as well as modern ones. For those with urban ancestors, street names change, subdivisions are added, etc. For those with rural ancestors, county lines do move and people do cross them. If the only map you have for a location is the one in your head, it’s time to get your head out of the clouds and get a real map. —————————————- Genealogy Tip of the Day is sponsored by GenealogyBank. Search there for your relative.
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