January/February 2021

Family Tree

The Leading Family History Magazine

Family Tree1 min read
Family Tree
Editor Andrew Koch Art Director Katharine Van Itallie Photo Editor Heather Marcus Digital Editor Courtney Henderson New Media Editor Rachel Fountain eLearning Specialist Amanda Epperson Contributing Editors Lisa A. Alzo, Rick Crume, David A. Fryxell,
Family Tree1 min readMedical
Out On A Limb
While the world keeps wrestling with the COVID-19 pandemic, another bug is sweeping the globe. Like COVID, this infection keeps you isolated in your home for hours—maybe even days—at a time, in an unending search for answers. You may not see friends
Family Tree1 min readInternet & Web
Tree Talk
FOR ME IT WAS EBAY! I Googled my fifth-great-grandfather John Bromhall of Alrewas in Staffordshire. A valuation website stated a 250-year-old document signed by John had been for sale on eBay. I had no idea, or I would have certainly bought it! A dig
Family Tree1 min read
Everything’srelative
“HISTORY REMEMBERS ONLY THE CELEBRATED. GENEALOGY REMEMBERS THEM ALL.” Laurence Overmire reflects on genealogy’s inclusive range of study in One Immigrant’s Legacy: The Overmyer Family in America, 1751–2009 (Indelible Mark Publishing). We at Family T
Family Tree1 min readAmerican Government
NARA Volunteers Hit 1M Records
OVER A MILLION PAGES of National Archives Catalog content have been enhanced by volunteer “citizen archivists,” who tag, transcribe and comment on records to make them more discoverable. Between March and August 2020 (during pandemic stay-at-home ord
Family Tree1 min readInternet & Web
French Database Filae Grows
FRENCH GENEALOGY SUBSCRIPTION website Filae , which launched an English-language platform in 2019, continues to grow. Over 7 million users have registered; many have created searchable family trees. Public archives, local societies, sp
Family Tree1 min readInternet & Web
Loc Launches Newspaper Image Search Tool
The Library of Congress has launched an image search tool for its enormous trove of digitized historical newspaper pages at Chronicling America . With the Newspaper Navigator tool , user
Family Tree1 min readInternet & Web
British Newspaper Archive Nears Completion
In Fall 2011, the British Newspaper Archive , a collaboration between cloud-servicing company Brightsolid and the British Library, launched with the goal of digitizing more than 40 million pages in 10 years. At time
Family Tree2 min readInternet & Web
Genealogy Resolutions
Over the years, I’ve acquired kitchen utensils from my mother, mother-in-law and both grandmothers. I have fond memories associated with many of them. To display these family homemaking heirlooms, I picked up this old wire basket for a few dollars at
Family Tree3 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Arcane Romaine
WHAT BETTER TIME than the New Year (when many resolve to eat more healthfully) to celebrate the crunchy, vinegar-y history of salads? The Burpee seed company’s 1894 invention of the durable, much-loved and-loathed iceberg lettuce (a staple for salads
Family Tree2 min read
Saving Paper Artwork
Remember how, in grade school, your crayon drawings would smear or turn brittle and brown? Tools like graphite pencils, crayons, charcoal and chalk are portable and grant wide possibilities for color and shading. Unfortunately, these same features ma
Family Tree2 min read
Running Toward Home
Natalie Zett never felt she belonged anywhere, even among her family. That changed during the 1980s when the Cleveland native took a road trip. “The feeling started in Chicago,” she says. “The more I was in the Upper Midw
Family Tree1 min read
Get Organized
In each issue, Your Turn offers a form that’ll help you preserve your family’s unique stories and organize your research. Tear out and use the form or make a photocopy. ■
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Branchingout
“I DON’T PROMISE TO FORGET THE MYSTERY, but I know I’ll have a marvelous time.” Teenage detective Nancy Drew shrugs off-her father’s request to set aside a case for the evening to enjoy a football game and dance in Nancy’s Mysterious Letter, the eigh
Family Tree9 min readInternet & Web
Free & easy
Ancestry.com for free? Yes—there is a way! For one thing, you can sign up for a free 14-day trial, perfect if you’ve got two weeks to do research. Just don’t forget to cancel your subscription before your trial is over. (Otherwise, your card will be
Family Tree8 min read
Helping Hand
“Can you research my family?” Because of my job as the editor of this magazine, I occasionally field genealogy questions from friends and relatives. And every once in a while, I’ll take them on to keep my sleuthing skills sharp. (My wife’s grandmothe
Family Tree1 min readPsychology
Five-Step Research Plan Worksheet
A research plan helps you stay focused on accomplishing a specific objective—whether you’re researching your own family or someone else’s. Use this worksheet to map out the five key steps of a solid research plan that will save you time and produce c
Family Tree5 min read
State Guide
ALTHOUGH IT’S KNOWN for the genteel world of thoroughbred horses and mint juleps, America’s 15th state has a more rough-and-tumble legacy than you might think. Frontiersmen including George Rogers Clark and Daniel Boone blazed paths over the Appalach
Family Tree1 min read
Timeline
Thomas Walker explores Kentucky through the Cumberland Gap According to legend, Daniel Boone sees bluegrass from a distance atop Pilot Knob Trail James Harrod founds a permanent settlement at Harrodsburg Gen. “Mad Anthony” Wayne’s victory at Fallen T
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Toolkit
Cyndi’s List: Kentucky Kentucky Atlas and Gazetteer Kentucky Digital Library Kentucky Genealogy Kentucky GenWeb Project Kentucky Historical Society
Family Tree6 min read
Research Guide
PUERTO RICO, ALSO KNOWN as The Isle of Enchantment, is a melting pot of cultures. In Pre-Columbian times, the island was inhabited by the Taíno people. After the island became a Spanish colony in 1493, Europeans arrived and imported slaves from the w
Family Tree1 min readPolitics
Timeline
Christopher Columbus lands in Puerto Rico, dubbing it San Juan Bautista and claiming it for Spain Spain authorizes the importation of African slaves to the Antilles Construction begins on “Del Morro” citadel in San Juan; amendments continue for the n
Family Tree1 min read
Toolkit
Caribbean Genealogy Research Cyndi’s List: Puerto Rico FamilySearch Wiki: Puerto Rico Genealogía Nuestra: Our Caribbean Genealogy
Family Tree10 min read
Prussian BLUES
Many things are said to be a “state of mind.” For genealogists seeking 19th-and early 20th-century ancestry in what was then the largest German Empire state of Prussia, “Prussian” is a kind of a state of mind. The term’s meaning differed greatly duri
Family Tree2 min readWorld
Prussian Provinces
The Kingdom of Prussia (Konigreich Preuβen) was divided into regions, each called a Provinz. Many Provinzen had distinct historical and cultural identities, which your “Prussian” ancestors (and even their descendants today) may have identified more s
Family Tree9 min readPolitics
Security Measures
For years, Peggy Ash of Mesa, Ariz., tried to solve a family mystery. Her grandmother was a twin, but the two sisters’ tombstones have different birthdates—according to family story, the sister was born eight hours later, on the next day. For years,
Family Tree1 min readSocial Science
Show Me the Money
Would you like to know how much earnings your relatives reported to the government during their working lives? The SSA knows the answer. Unfortunately, under most circumstances, they won’t tell you. But if you’re a qualifying next-of-kin or heir, you
Family Tree1 min read
Nancy Drew Today
2020 marked the 90th anniversary of the Nancy Drew Mystery Series debut, and Nancy continues to inspire. We can easily imagine how quickly Nancy would solve those Depression-and wartime-era mysteries with the cutting-edge tools available to genealogi
Family Tree9 min read
The Case of the Missing Ancestors
For more than 100 years, mystery books have ignited a love for problem-solving in children while also introducing them to the basics of genealogy research. An army of writers under pseudonyms penned popular series such as Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boy
Family Tree1 min readPolitics
How to Decode a Social Security Card
1. Area number: Geographical region issued, with lowest numbers in the Northeast and highest in the West (except for Railroad Retirement Board, 700–728) 2. Group number: Administrative codes for filing purposes 3. Serial number: Assigned consecutivel
Family Tree1 min readPolitics
Treetips
DID YOUR ANCESTOR SERVE? You can consult a variety of documents stemming from military service or conscription, notably compiled military service records (CMSRs), muster records, pension applications and (for later conflcts) DD-214 forms. And even if
Family Tree1 min readFashion
In the Navy
Maureen A. Taylor is the author of Family Photo Detective (Family Tree Books). 1 By the 1910s, studio photographs used protective and utilitarian sleeves that framed the picture—like this pale gray/green embossed enclosure—and were sturdy enough to s
Family Tree2 min readPolitics
Now What?
Q How do I find out more about the service records for Union soldiers during the Civil War? A Start by finding your ancestor in the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database , taking note of his s
Family Tree3 min readTechnology & Engineering
Creating a Family Tree at WikiTree
1 Because the site is trying to document the whole world’s family tree, users don’t create individual family tree. Rather, WikiTree emphasizes our interconnectedness as a human family by having a single, shared family tree, also known as a “community
Family Tree1 min readComputers
Census Aids
Download free census worksheets to track your ancestors, their family members and locations through US population counts. A master US Census Checklist tracks whether you’ve found a relative in each
Family Tree2 min read
Convincing Relatives to Test
Q How can I convince my relative to take a DNA test? A Regardless of whether the DNA match you’re seeking is a known relative or a relative stranger, the process of educating and persuading others to test can be summed up in one word: possibility. Fi
Family Tree1 min readWorld
The Rest Is History
History teaches us that the great dynasties of Germany, including the Prussian one, would not be diminished in their prominent European position through the existence of a German emperor elected by them. North German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck impl
Family Tree2 min readPsychology
Organizing Genealogy
Having your research and files in order offers many benefits, including: • More time to do research, as you’ll spend less time looking for needed files or doing duplicate work • More efficient research time, as you’ll have clear goals and a research
Family Tree3 min readPsychology
Organizing Your Research Process
Follow these three simple steps for creating an efficient, purposeful genealogy research plan. For this example, I’ll identify and document my eight great-grandparents. First, identify specific questions that you want to answer, as this will guide wh
Family Tree1 min read
Organizing Your Workspace
Whether you have a whole room to dedicate to your genealogy or just a corner of your family’s living room, you’ll need a home base from which you can do your work. Choosing an ideal workspace largely depends on your resources and your needs as a rese
Family Tree1 min readComputers
How To Name Your Files
How to organize your files (whether paper, digital or both) is one of the most basic decisions genealogists must make to get organized. Your naming scheme will depend on where you’ll be storing files and what kind of files you have, but good naming s
Family Tree2 min readPsychology
Organizing Your Goals
Know where you’re going! Before you begin your research, make concrete, achievable research goals that will motivate you and give your work purpose. You should also make sure your goals have a definitive achievement point, as this will help you bette
Family Tree3 min readComputers
Tips For Organizing Your Research
1 Store things you need most often closer to you. Perhaps the simplest strategy in organization is the most valuable: Whether on your digital or physical desktop, position the items you use most often (frequently referenced books, a hyperlink to an i
Family Tree1 min readComputers
Organization Tools
Thanks to modern technology, genealogists have access to hundreds (if not thousands) of applications and software programs that can aid in managing your genealogy research life. The table below shares some of the most useful tools, plus what they can

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