In Episode #344 of Research Like a Pro, Nicole and Diana discuss Colonial American Research. Diana explains the difficulties of finding the original immigrant for ancestors who immigrated during the colonial years. Nicole suggests learning from historians who have studied immigration patterns and developing a hypothesis based on what is known about ancestors and their groups. They introduce the book “The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction” by Bernard Bailyn as a resource for...
If you have colonial American ancestors, you may or may not have been successful in your quest to find the original immigrants. This can be difficult for a number of reasons. Because people from Britain were emigrating to the British colonies, not many records were kept. Also, the early years in the Americas saw colonists struggling to survive in this new land. Record keeping would not have been high on the list of priorities...
Diana and Nicole discuss tracing ancestors back to the Colonial Era in the United States, emphasizing the scarcity of immigration records before the establishment of the U.S. Federal Government in 1789. They highlight strategies such as cluster research and the use of DNA testing to overcome the challenge of limited documentation, particularly for those who emigrated from England, Scotland, France, Germany, and other regions. They explain the significance of creating a locality guide based on...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro features a discussion with Barry Chodak from genealogical.com about a new feature called the My GPC Library. This digital library provides access to 800 of the best titles in genealogy and family history, making it an invaluable resource for researchers. Diana and Nicole, the hosts, share their excitement about this tool and its potential to enhance genealogical research. They explore various aspects of the My GPC Library, including...
If you love getting genealogy books, but have limited shelf space, Genealogical Publishing has a wonderful solution. My GPC Library is a new subscription from Genealogical Publishing that allows you to read over 800 titles online – but that’s not all. The books are every word searchable, making it so much easier to find what you need, as well as finding the names of ancestors! There are two types of books in the collection –...
This blog post was partially written using Artificial Intelligence based on my research report on Valentine Shults. Unlocking the Mysteries of Johan “Valentine” Velten Shults Johan “Valentine” Velten Shults was born in 1715 in Darmstadt, Germany, and immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1731. He married twice and died in 1745. But who exactly was this early German immigrant to America? Genealogists have puzzled over conflicting records about his parentage and life in Germany. I recently completed...
Knowing the history of U.S. immigration and the types of immigration records created when our ancestors arrived is key when considering finding their origins. Did they arrive as part of one of the original colonies or emigrate during the 19th or 20th century? Each era varies in record availability. In part 1 of this series, we looked at getting started with the research by examining the ancestor’s records in the United States for clues to...
