At ancestry.com when I search under “Immigration & Travel” with my name, year 1944, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, the passenger list for PanAm flight number 25655 shows that I arrived on 8 December 1944 in San Juan with my father, mother and baby sister. At this time, it was unusual for a 6 year… Read More Ancestry.com Shows My Family’s Moves
Marriage Certificates – A marriage certificate is the best place to find a woman’s maiden name. Marriage certificates are available from either the county or the state where the marriage took place, depending on the year of the marriage. Church Records –Baptism and christening records often record the maiden name of a child’s mother. So,… Read More Tips to Finding Maiden Names
Both wedding announcements and obituaries normally list a woman’s maiden name. You may even find a picture of the individual! To find a woman’s maiden name in a wedding announcement or obituary, you must at least know: The approximate date of the event The name of the groom for wedding announcements or the full name… Read More Finding a Maiden Name with Newspapers
When starting our family history most of us know our mother’s and grandmother’s maiden names, but do you know your great-grandmother’s or her mother’s? Women often left their maiden names behind when they got married and they can be incredibly hard to uncover in some cases — and not being able to find one can… Read More Who’s Your Mama?
In his 2018 Rootstech talk, President Dallin H Oaks said the following: “Family history starts when you learn about your ancestors. They are real people who lived before you and were part of a family. We need to be sealed to our ancestors so that we can live with them in the next life. When… Read More Hidden Treasures-Internet Sites Where I Learned More about My Ancestors
Whether you are an experienced researcher or just getting started, there are at least five things you can do with every record you encounter. Just finding the record and attaching it to your tree isn’t enough. Try walking through these five steps with your records. Source the record. This may seem obvious but you might… Read More Five Things to Do with Every Record
We have discussed the value of census records before. But were you aware that there are at least 5 hidden clues in the US Census? Here are the 5 things you might want to look for. 1940 Census: The X in the circle. One of the challenges with the US census is that we don’t… Read More Hidden Gems in the US Census
We all know that newspapers are gold mines for information about our ancestors. Old newspaper databases hold gems worth digging for. But were you aware of that just stopping with the regular newspapers, daily and weekly, often leaves facts yet to be found. There are at least three other kinds of newspapers that you should… Read More Newspapers Genealogists Should Know
The kids are back in school, and fall is in the air. The beginning of the school year always brings back memories of days spent in classrooms and adventures with friends. Fortunately for me and my husband we still have copies of our high school yearbooks to help us reminisce and remember the stories of… Read More What You Can Learn from Your Ancestor’s Yearbook
Name searches are the backbone of genealogical research. But if you only use a person’s full name, you are missing opportunities for discovery. Remember that uniform spelling rules were not even established until well into the late 1800s. Your ancestor may not have spelled his name the same way consistently. Records may have been kept… Read More Full Name Searches Don’t Always Work