FamilySearch has billions of digitized records, many of which are indexed or available through the AI-assisted Full-Text search. When we find a record about our ancestor, we can attach it to their profile, download it to our files, or add a row to our research log. In each case, a precise source citation should be created to point back to the original record. One of the challenges with citing the source is that with the...
Last week, we were fortunate to host Cathy Duncan for an enlightening webinar on her genealogical research combining Texas migration patterns and DNA analysis. Cathy, a member of our Research Like a Pro study group, shared her journey to connect Lucinda Wright Rinker to her father using a methodical approach that integrates traditional and genetic genealogy methods. This blog post summarizes the key insights from her presentation. This blog post was written by Claude Sonnet...
Merged identities are always difficult in our research, but it is even more so with women. In the U.S., women have a maiden name and could have several different married names. Ensuring that the correct facts and sources are attached to a woman can be tricky without thorough research. However, using a research log and timeline helps put together a profile for a woman that can separate her from others of the same name. The...
Do you remember your first job outside the home? You may have flipped burgers, pumped gas, or babysat. Our ancestors also may have taken a job outside the home at some point. This would have brought challenges of answering to a boss, perhaps moving to a new location, and learning new skills. Learning about an ancestor’s first job can be a fun way to add context to their life. For this 52 ancestor post, I’m...
Have you inherited family heirlooms that are a mystery? We might inherit Grandma’s china or Grandpa’s stopwatch and know something about their use and importance. Other items might challenge us to research them in an effort to understand more about our ancestors. I recently took Gena Philbert Ortega’s institute course, “Material Culture” and am now inspired to use the physical objects I’ve inherited to further my knowledge and understanding of their past. At the end...
Names in genealogy research can be a challenge. An ancestor could be written in the records by their first name, middle name, nickname, or initials. When looking at a record, how do you know if you have the right person? We have to use every clue about the individual – known dates, places, family members, occupations, and more. In the case of my great-grandfather, Dock Harris, his name has been a challenge for every generation...
How do you choose a favorite photo out of a large collection? I came across this photo of my grandfather, Edward Raymond Kelsey, on his horse, Pal, and decided it would be a perfect time to write about Grandpa Kelsey and his love for horses. I also wanted to experiment with using AI to help analyze a photo and learned its a great way to start researching a photo from your collection. Ed and His...
If you need a good reason to start writing your ancestor’s stories, let me introduce you to the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge created by Amy Johnson Crow. Amy has engineered prompts for several years to stimulate our brains and help us brainstorm story ideas. I participated in 2022 and wrote several blog posts about my ancestors. I loved the motivation to write and discovered some neat things about people I thought I knew!...
2024 was the year the genealogy community embraced artificial intelligence as a useful tool for our work as genealogists and family historians. Nicole and I spent many hours learning and teaching about incorporating AI into our research flow. For this final blog post of the year, it’s only fitting that we look back at where we’ve come. Since we’ve written many blog posts and recorded many podcasts on AI, I’m providing a curated list. If...
Do you have a family or individual who seems to be missing in the US census? You may have thought they were traveling or somehow skipped. Although this situation did occur, it could also be that employing some specific techniques could find those ancestors. In this article, I’ll share three tips that aided me in my search for my Weatherford family. Tip # 1 Revisit the Family The first thing to do is to revisit...
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