How To Start Your Family History

Familysearch.org is a great resource when starting your family history.  This website outlines six basic steps to family history research.  Those steps are:

1. Remember your ancestors.  2. Use sources in your home.  3. Ask relatives for information.  4. Choose a family or ancestor you want to learn more about.  5. See if somebody else has already found the information.  6. Search records for your ancestor.

Click here to go to familysearch.org.  Happy researching!

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Disclosure of Material Connection:  I have not received any compensation for writing this post from familysearch.org.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Family Tree Maker For Mac

If you use a Mac, you can now take advantage of the #1 selling genealogy software to create your family tree.  Click here for more information.

Looking for FAMILY-FRIENDLY GIFT IDEAS?  Click here.

Note from Family Tree Gal, Carolyn:  Have you joined the Family Tree Quest at www.familytreequest.com ?  I also invite you to join me on Facebook and Twitter.  Check out my Family Tree Gal Blog if you haven’t done so already.

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Disclosure of Material Connection:  I have not received any compensation for writing this post from ancestry.com.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Alcatraz Prisoner Index

You can now view the Alcatraz prisoner index on Ancestry.com.  This collection is an index to the comprehensive case files of the 1,550 men who did time at Alcatraz. The index includes information such as:

• Name and alias
• Alcatraz inmate number
• Ethnicity
• Offence
• Birth date and birthplace
• Parents’ names
• Death date and place (where applicable)
• Date received at Alcatraz and transfer dates (and where the prisoner came from)

For more information see Ancestry’s blog post.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I am happy to be an affiliate of ancestry.com. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.”  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Family History and Genealogy Resources

Here is a helpful link when you are doing family history research.  It is a list of family history and genealogy resources made available through the Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library.  Click here to see the site. 

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Disclosure of Material Connection:  I have not received any compensation for writing this post from BYU Harold B. Lee Library.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

4 Major Updates to FamilySearch Beta

Here is what the FamilySearch Beta blog says about the new updates:

At the end of last week we released another substantial update to the FamilySearch Beta website. In addition to the four major updates outlined below, we’ve made a large number of improvements under the hood that aren’t really visible to users of the site but make a big difference in the overall performance and function of the site. Here’s the quick list of updates.

• Redesigned Home Page
• Brand New – Getting Started Section
• Redesigned Learning Resources including online Research Courses
• Just Released – FamilySearch Center Section

To read the entire blog post, click here.

To go to the FamilySearch Beta site, click here.

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Disclosure of Material Connection:  I have not received any compensation for writing this post from familysearch.org.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Ancestry.com to Acquire Footnote.com

A portion of the press release reads,

“Ancestry.com Inc. announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire iArchives, Inc. and its branded Web site, Footnote.com, a leading American History Web site, for approximately $27 million in a mix of Ancestry.com stock, cash and assumption of liabilities. This acquisition will provide the company with a complementary consumer brand, expanded content offerings, and enhanced digitization and image-viewing technologies.

iArchives digitizes and delivers high-quality images of American historical records of individuals involved in the Revolutionary War, Continental Congress, Civil War, and other U.S. historical events to Footnote.com subscribers interested in early American roots. iArchives has digitized more than 65 million original source documents to date through its proprietary digitization process for paper, microfilm and microfiche collections.”

To view the entire press release click here.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I am happy to be an affiliate of ancestry.com. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.”  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Family Tree Maker 2011 Released

For more information and to purchase or upgrade your version of Family Tree Maker, click here.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I am happy to be an affiliate of ancestry.com. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.”  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

RootsMagic Family Tree Genealogy Software

Here is a great way to organize your genealogy!  Go to familytreequest.com and click on “Genealogy Software” on the left hand side of the screen.  Check it out!

Product Description

Awarded “Editor’s Choice” by Heritage Quest Magazine. RootsMagic is an easy to use family tree program with extensive family history reports, multiple navigation views, photos, publishing, and website creation features. RootsMagic supports unlimited people, families, events, notes, and photos. Users can print complete books (where the program writes the sentences for each event), spectacular charts, forms, lists, and even create custom reports. RootsMagic program also provides multiple database support (with drag and drop), SourceWizard, todo lists, powerful merge features, and more. Full GEDCOM support allows users to easily share their data with others, or to easily import their data from other programs. Import directly from Family Tree Maker (v16 and earlier), PAF, Legacy, or Family Origins. Create shareable CDs of your data and photos to send to your family and friends.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I am happy to be an affiliate of amazon.com. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.”  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

More Newspapers Added to GenealogyBank

GenealogyBank adds another 13 million records – obituaries, news articles and more. More than 1,800 newspapers were updated and new titles added.

That’s too many titles to list here – but here are some of them:
Alabama, Mobile
Mobile Register. 1980-10-16 to 1983-05-30

Arkansas, Little Rock
Arkansas Gazette 1838-01-02 to 1871-11-25
Arkansas, White Hall
White Hall Journal* 10/2/2009 to Present

Arizona, Casa Grande
Casa Grande Dispatch* 6/19/2010 to Present
Arizona, Kearny
Copper Basin News* 6/10/2010 to Present

Colorado, Colorado Springs
Gazette-Telegraph 1904-01-17 to 1922-04-11

Connecticut, Hartford
Hartford Daily Courant. 1863-12-31 to 1866-06-27
Hartford Daily Courant. 1874-01-01 to 1876-05-27

Georgia, Augusta
Augusta Chronicle. 1843-06-12 to 1878-03-29

Hawaii, Kaunakakai
Molokai Dispatch, The* 3/1/2010 to Present

Idaho, Kellogg
Shoshone News-Press* 4/6/2007 to Present
Idaho, Sandpoint
Bonner County Daily Bee* 3/2/2004 to Present
Idaho, Twin Falls
Twin Falls News. 1919-06-20

Indiana, Aurora
Journal-Press, The* 5/13/2010 to Present

Kansas, Coffeyville
Vindicator*. 1904-12-23 to 1906-02-09
Kansas, Kansas City
Topics* . 1895-05-16 to 1895-12-07
Kansas, Parsons
Parsons Weekly Blade. 1900-03-02
Kansas, Topeka
Kansas Sentinel*. 1960-07-07 to 1960-11-26
Kansas, Topeka.
Kansas Watchman*. 1905-05-25 to 1905-11-17
Kansas, Wichita
Wichita Protest . 1920-08-20

Louisiana, Bossier City
Bossier Press-Tribune*. 2/4/2010 to Present
Louisiana, New Orleans
New Orleans Tribune. 1864-08-02 to 1869-02-14
Louisiana, New Orleans
Times-Picayune. 1848-01-04 to 1886-12-02 and 1973-10-02 to 1978-08-15

Massachusetts, Andover
Andover Townsman*. 4/20/2010 to Present
Massachusetts, Gloucester
Gloucester Daily Times*. 5/12/2010 to Present
Massachusetts, Greenfield
Greenfield Gazette. 1792-11-08 to 1809-07-31
Massachusetts, Newburyport
Daily News of Newburyport, The*. 5/13/2010 to Present
Massachusetts, Northampton
Hampshire Gazette. 1786-09-20 to 1843-03-28
Massachusetts, Springfield
Springfield Union. 1964-05-16 to 1969-02-20
Massachusetts, Worcester
National Aegis. 1821-01-10 to 1854-10-04

Michigan, Jackson
Jackson Citizen. 1868-10-06 to 1870-05-31
Michigan, Jackson
Jackson Citizen Patriot. 1865-07-01 to 1868-12-09

Minnesota, Virginia
Mesabi Daily News*. 3/17/1999 to Present

New Hampshire, Concord
New Hampshire Observer. 1825-01-03 to 1826-12-29
New Hampshire, Concord
New Hampshire Patriot . 1879-06-12
New Hampshire, Exeter.
Freeman’s Oracle . 1788-01-18

New Jersey, Englewood
Northern Valley Suburbanite*. 1/21/2010 to Present
New Jersey, Fort Lee
Fort Lee Suburbanite*. 11/5/2009 to Present
New Jersey, Midland Park
Midland Park Suburban News*. 10/11/2009 to Present
New Jersey, Montclair
Montclair Times, The*. 4/1/2010 to Present
New Jersey, Trenton
Trenton Evening Times. 1883-07-22 to 1885-08-02

New York, Albany
Albany Evening Journal. 1856-09-15 to 1876-12-29
New York, New York
New York Herald-Tribune. 1878-01-19 to 1896-12-07
New York, Penn Yan
Chronicle Express, The*. 3/27/2010 to Present

North Carolina, Clinton
Sampson Independent, The*. 4/18/2010 to Present
North Carolina, Pilot Mountain
Pilot, The*. 3/27/2010 to Present

Ohio, Canton
Repository, The*. 10/1/1999 to Present
Ohio, Cincinnati
Cincinnati Daily Gazette. 1868-09-07 to 1871-01-17
Ohio, Cleveland
Plain Dealer. 1858-11-02 to 1866-09-11 and 1971-01-31 to 1981-10-20

Oregon, Portland
Oregonian. 1969-09-01 to 1972-09-15

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Aurora General Advertiser. 1797-01-02 to 1797-12-30
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Philadelphia Inquirer. 1829-06-01 to 1849-12-31

Rhode Island, Pawtucket
Pawtucket Times . 1920-01-10 to 1921-02-08

Tennessee, Sweetwater
Advocate and Democrat, The*. 12/8/2009 to Present

Texas, Dallas
Dallas Morning News. 1980-07-23 to 1980-12-19
Texas, Fort Worth
Bronze Texan News*. 1969-05-02 to 1969-10-16

Virginia, Alexandria
Alexandria Gazette. 1821-04-12 to 1852-06-30

Vermont, St. Albans
St. Albans Daily Messenger. 1870-02-25 to 1898-07-02 and 1869-07-16
Vermont, Windsor
Vermont Republican . 1809-01-30

Washington, Seattle
Seattle Daily Times. 1957-10-06 to 1984-04-17

Wisconsin, Ashland
Daily Press, The*. 1/2/1999 to Present
Wisconsin, Hartford.
Times Press*. 3/29/2010 to Present
Wisconsin, Madison
Wisconsin Free Press*. 1984-05-10 to 1990-01-12
Wisconsin, Mukwonago
Mukwonago Chief*. 3/28/2010 to Present
Wisconsin, Oneida
Kalihwisaks*. 3/27/2010 to Present
Wisconsin, Wauwatosa
Wauwatosa NOW*. 3/27/2010 to Present

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I am happy to be an affiliate of GenealogyBank. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.”  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness

To find volunteers that are willing to help you with family history research in the USA, go to http://www.raogk.com/.  They will search courthouse records, take cemetery photos, etc.  The service is free but you must pay for any expenses incurred while fulfilling your request (copies, parking fees, postage, etc.)

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Disclosure of Material Connection:  I have not received any compensation for writing this post from http://www.raogk.com.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”