Weekly Genealogy Toolkit

Immigration part 1 - Colonial and Federal Era

Immigration research is one of the most rewarding parts of genealogy. It's breathtaking the first time you see your ancestor on a ship's manifest indicating their original hometown. The next thing you know, you'll be learning how to make pierogis or haggis. But what can you do when there is no ship's manifest? This week I look at early American immigration, and some records that can help you answer your questions. 

19th Century Adoption - A Case Study

Adoption is one of the more challenging situations to face within genealogy. Even more challenging is when there is no documentation of the adoption ever occurring. That doesn't mean that this constitutes an insurmountable challenge though. Learn about 19th Century Adoption in this week's case study. 
 
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Search Tips

In this week's episode, let's talk about maximizing the power of search functions across various genealogy websites. Understanding how to effectively use search operators and other advanced tips can significantly enhance your research outcomes. 
 
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Evolving Borders

I really love maps. I just wish that they wouldn't change so much. No, I'm not worried about the tectonics plates moving around the globe so much as the ever moving political borders that makes genealogy work so challenging sometimes. Sometimes answering the question of where your ancestor lived isn't so straight forward. Listen to this week's episode as we explore evolving borders and what that means for our research. 
 
chronas.org
Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
David Rumsey Maps
Library of Congress Maps
 
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Your First Genealogy Road Trip!

Doing genealogical research from the comfort of your own home is great, but doing that work in physical repositories that have documents that no one has ever seen since they were created is amazing. Standing on the property of your many times great grandparents is a bucketlist item. In this week's episode I talk about ways to get the most out of your trip so that as soon as you finish your first one, you'll start planning your next one. 

Dealing with burnout

Burnout maybe inherent in just about anything if you do it long enough, and genealogy is no exception. But if you find yourself sitting there staring at your screen, unable to summon the energy to continue the search... is that it? Are you done with genealogy? You don't have to be. Today I talk about a number of techniques to stay in the field, but give yourself a break. 
 
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What's in a name?

You spend a lot of time looking at names when working on genealogy... but how much time are you spending thinking about those names? Chances are, you have some great clues for future research just sitting there in the names of the ancestors already sitting in your family tree. Listen now to learn what's in a name?
 
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Unindexed Records

Did you know that if you are just logging into the big genealogy websites, filling out a form and clicking 'search' you are leaving an entire world of information undiscovered. This week, we look at unindexed records and the potential gold mine that these represent. Where do you find them and how do you use them? Listen in to find out. 

Search the Catalog

It's so easy to use the main search feature on Ancestry, My Heritage, Family Search and all the rest. You just punch in a name and click search. But where should you go when you do that and you don't see what you're expecting to find? Well, leave the main search page, and head over to the card catalog. It may seem intimidating at first, but you will thank my later. 
 
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History Focus - The Brownsville Affray

History matters. This is the first episode in what might become a quarterly series, highlighting little known, but fascinating micro histories that you might be surprised to find when you start looking into the history of the world your ancestors inhabited. In this episode, 167 men get punished for a murder. How'd that happen?
Map of Fort Brown
Map of Brownsville
University of North - The Texas Portal to Texas History:  https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/BRAF/
Amazon.com - Brownsville Texas Incident of 1906: The True and Tragic Story of a Black Battalion's Wrongful Disgrace and Ultimate Redemption, By William Baker: https://a.co/d/67dNJdT
 
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