Verbal Family Histories
All the advice for people starting to research their family history says to go and ask family members what they know. I was lucky that my grandparents provided me with a lot of information...
The Importance of Family
As a professional writer, I typically work from home. Writing is a very solitary profession, and I find that, unless I am interviewing someone for a book or article, or visiting a specific location...
The Genealogy of Adoptees
I am the only biological child in my family, but my parents adopted five children once I was in college. Whenever I think about genealogy, I think about them. Of course, they are an...
Why Genealogy Matters
Genealogy has undoubtedly experienced a rebirth in recent decades. The proliferation of online resources and the vast opportunities for crowdsourcing to expand one’s ancestral knowledge underscores the popularity boom that genealogy has experienced. Currently,...
My Ancestors Taught Me How to Share
It didn’t always, but today my genealogy research always includes finding out as much as I can about the descendants of my ancestors. I attempt to include information as far down as the great...
Genealogy Insider Recent Articles
- New Resource for African-American Genealogy: IAAM Center for Family History July 25, 2017The International African American Museum (IAAM), opening in early 2020 in Charleston, SC, will include a Center for Family History dedicated to helping researchers trace African-Americans in their family trees. It sounds like a long time to wait, but the center's website is already available, with a growing collection of obituary, funeral and marriage records, […]Diane
- Five Ways to Have the Best-Ever Virtual Genealogy Conference! July 18, 2017Can you believe how fast summer is sailing by? Which means the Family Tree University Virtual Genealogy Conference is right around the corner, Sept. 13 to 15. This online event has the excitement and shared knowledge of a genealogy conference, without the expense and difficulty of travel and being away from family and work. Or […]Diane
- How I Created a Genealogy Timeline To Show My Grandfather's Life July 11, 2017My grandfather Joe moved around a lot during his lifetime: Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, back to Texas, elsewhere in Texas, Ohio, more places in Texas, various Ohio cities, South Dakota, Ohio again. Timelines organize an ancestor's or a family's family tree data—dates, places of residence, jobs, historical events, children's births—in an orderly fashion. I […]Diane
- Cemetery Superstitions, Little-Known Facts and Genealogy Secrets July 5, 2017Do you love everything about cemeteries—finding family burial places, studying the old stones with their intricate designs, taking in the peaceful landscape, discovering old records in the cemetery office? Then you'll love our new book, The Family Tree Cemetery Field Guide, coming in September from Family Tree Books. In the Cemetery Field Guide, veteran genealogist, […]Diane
- Why FamilySearch Is Ending Microfilm Rental & How to Get Genealogy Records Now June 28, 2017Guest blog post by Family Tree Magazine Contributing Editor Sunny Jane Morton For 80 years, the FamilySearch Family History Library (FHL) has made its enormous stash of microfilmed genealogy records available to researchers through an inexpensive rental service through local FamilySearch Centers. That's about to change: FamilySearch has announced that this service will end Aug. […]Diane