Mar 1 2013
Using the lens of kinship theory in genealogical studies fosters a deeper understanding of the social dynamics of families not in evidence by studying the families separately. It also breaks down barriers to further research. Definitions Among the people we call “family” are usually three types of relationships–biological, legal, and fictive. Biological are those people(…)
Feb 17 2013
I recently worked on a case that looked very hard to crack till a fellow genealogist pointed out he had seen the name written with 1 extra T in the name. with that information, I was able to find the whole family within 10 minutes. The message behind this, a name is not always what(…)
Feb 5 2013
I had been searching for my husband’s heritage for 20 years and had been told I would never figure it out. Years and years of looking for the Kelly Clan lead to roads that went nowhere. There was a lot of mythology but little fact. I began to think that maybe the family was right.(…)
Jan 31 2013
I often contemplate the lives of my ancestors. There are oftentimes in the middle of something during my day, I think of my ancestors and the lives they must have led. Here are some of those times that make me in awe of the things they lived through. When I go to the store I(…)
Jan 28 2013
Maybe it’s because I’ve been researching my family’s history since 1972 that I get so frustrated with newbies who think of using only the Internet for their genealogy research. Maybe it’s because of the hundreds of dollars I’ve spent on retrieving remote courthouse documents that I get frustrated with people wanting everything now and free.(…)
Jan 23 2013
I have been doing my family research, for over 35 years. I can tell you that I had better communication through the “postal mail”, than I have had using the Internet. Pre-Internet days, people would exchange information, by postal mail, back and forth. Sometimes you would get an answer within a week, sometimes, a few(…)
Jan 21 2013
In my last article I wrote about the importance of flushing out the lives of your ancestors – learning about what they did every day, what their environment was like – to paint a clearer picture of who they really were. Sometimes, though, this can be a dangerous undertaking. Every once in a while something(…)
Jan 3 2013
Health pedigrees are fast becoming an important thing to do in one’s own family. People who are not particularly interested in Genealogy are finding themselves documenting their family for medical reasons. Here are some tips in organizing a health pedigree. Most health officials recommend a 3 generation pedigree documenting as much health issues as possible.(…)
Jan 1 2013
The life of a genealogist is not always all ‘fun n games’ like some people believe. When we uncover real tragedy, especially in our own family, it’s upsetting. It’s not gossip. When you find the truth behind a well-kept secret and it’s a scandalous thing that’s quite shocking, should you tell anyone else about it?(…)
Dec 20 2012
With any new endeavor, you encounter terms that are specific to that project, hobby, or occupation. This is also true of genealogy. This article addresses one of the most common terms used in family history research—vital records. Definitions From Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language we learn that “vital” concerns life, is of(…)
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