Have you wondered what a day researching at an archives or library should look like?  How about a bird’s eye view?  I’ll take you along with me on a typical research assignment.  You’ll have to remember that I am not perfect, and rarely am I so disciplined that I follow this formula precisely, but it [...]

Ancestry Announces Celebration with FREE Databases and Sweepstakes Giveaway Ancestry is celebrating it’s 15th Anniversary with 15 days of FREE databases and a sweepstakes giveaway with prizes awarded everyday!  The Sweepstakes Grand Prize will be a chance to go behind the scenes of an episode of Who Do You Think You Are, meet Executive Producer [...]

Are you looking for a way to learn about a genealogy topic or research method without going to a formal classroom or digging into a home study or online textbook class?   I’ve got an answer for you!  It’s called Genealogy Webinars and FamilySearch Courses. When I attend a genealogy webinar or course, I can stay [...]

More Good News!  I received an email from Kathleen Bitter who presents webinars on Heritage Collector’s Storybook Module.  She has offered to donate one Storybook Module to the winner of our Heritage Collector Suite random drawing!  This module includes the organizational part of the software and the capability to make storybook pages, cards etc.  Thank [...]

What if you can’t leave home for a genealogy institute or conference?  Not to worry.  You can still learn and improve your genealogy research from your own home!  There’s never been a better time with such a wide assortment of courses to choose from. Wondering where to find a course?  Here’s some options: The National [...]

(This campaign is closed.) Good news!  After this post went to press, LifeStory Productions, Inc., informed me that they will match my giveaway, so the person that wins this drawing will get the upgrade FREE!  Thank you LifeStory!   Here’s the original post: Are you like me?  I have family photos in shoeboxes, orange boxes, [...]

Are you wishing you could go back to school to study a genealogy research topic in great depth? Is money limited?  Maybe an early-bird price break or scholarship can make it affordable for you! I have an answer for you:  Genealogy Institutes. Genealogy institutes are held annually in four different parts of the country.  Whereas [...]

  Reading, writing, and arithmetic … Sometimes two plus two may equal six! How does that figure?  Sometimes two records (2) will lead you to two more (2), which may lead you to a couple of more records (6).   I’ll show you how this works. Think for all the places your ancestor may have attended a school.  He [...]

Can you imagine finding an entry in a county history that gives tons of biographical information on your ancestor?  It’s possible! I found the following entry in the History of Jones County, Iowa.  It reads: “BENJAMIN CHAPLIN, farmer, Sec. 35; P.O. Anamosa; was born in Cortland Co., N. Y., in 1816; his father’s family removed [...]

Have you overheard some genealogy researchers talking about NUCMC, PERSI, WorldCat, and JSTOR and it was all Greek to you?  You had no idea what they were talking about?  I can understand how you would be confused.  Just as with any group, as genealogists we have our own language going on.  These acronyms look like [...]