Family Tree

Editor Andrew Koch Art Director Julie Barnett Digital Editor Courtney Henderson New Media Editor Rachel Christian eLearning Specialist Amanda Epperson Contributing Editors Lisa A. Alzo, Rick Crume, David A. Fryxell, Nancy Hendrickson, Sunny Jane Mort

The Israel Genealogy Research Association has reached a milestone 2 million records available online. The collections include material from more than 60 archives and libraries around the world. Core to the collections are Israeli r

Sunny Jane Morton is a contributing editor for Family Tree Magazine, content manager at Your DNA Guide and industry expert on the giant genealogy websites. Subscription genealogy website Findmypast has published over 10 million a

As one generation fades to the next, new memories are created. But memories are lost, too, as older relatives pass on and take lifetimes of stories with them. What are we to do? We could wring our hands and listen to “The Times They Are A’Changin’” o

IN AUGUST, MYHERITAGE announced it had purchased a controlling share of French site Filae . Filae, founded as NotreFamilie.com in 1994, hosts more than a billion French genealogy records, including civil registrati

Consumer DNA company Family Tree DNA* overhauled its online experience this summer. According to the company, Family Finder (autosomal) customers can expect improved DNA matches and predicted relationship ranges, as well as X-

If your ancestor’s home was leveled to make room for another building (and thus, won’t appear in person or on Google Earth today), look for old photos of it in documents like county history books or local library files. One surprising source may be o

As you’ll see, each of these 75 sites has its own organizational structures and quirks. (After all, 75 different organizations built and operate them!) It may take some time to find what you’re looking for—particular since many sites don’t have their

Title Page “Letter from the editor” explaining the binder’s scope, as well as any research that still needs to be completed Five-generation ancestor chart of the Smith family, with John Smith on far left Person 1: John Smith record summary • Birth an

The Dutch explore the Connecticut River The English enter the region and found settlements at Windsor and Wethersfield Connecticut Colony is established Saybrook Colony merges with Connecticut New Haven Colony merges with Connecticut The United State

Connecticut Digital Archive Connecticut State Library: Genealogy Guides ConnecticutHistory.org CTGenWeb Project Cyndi’s List: Connecticu

Frenchman René-Robert de La Salle claims “Louisiana Territory,” including the Great Plains, for France The Lewis & Clark Expedition climbs Spirit Mound near modern Vermillion, S.D. Fort Pierre is established, the foundation for continuous American se

Cyndi’s List: South Dakota FamilySearch Research Wiki: South Dakota Linkpendium: South Dakota SDGenWeb

Refer to specific tribes when possible: There are more than 570 recognized tribes across the United States, each with its own culture. Terms like “American Indian,” “Native,” “indigenous,” or “Native American” ignore the differences between those cul

The “rules” for archiving family papers and other important items vary depending on what is being stored. But there are a few key principles that apply to most objects: 1 Purchase storage containers and materials from reputable companies that supply

All the items we’ve mentioned in this article make great holiday gifts for family historians. Here are a few others: Take your research to the next level with titles like: • the Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com by Nancy Hendrickson (Family Tree Books

Archivists use a basic vocabulary to describe the preservation-quality supplies used in their work. Here are some key terms to know about and look for when you’re shopping for archival products: Acid-free: Products made of non-acidic materials or tha

The road to discovering your ancestor’s past is often gated by the need to answer essential questions about his or her beginnings: When was he born? Where was her birthplace? Who were his parents? The key to unlocking that gate often lies in birth re

With upwards of 3 billion active users per month, Facebook is a great place to find and connect with living relatives—and even see whether you already have contacts (relatives!) in common. Introduce yourself to possible relatives u

Q I was going through old family photos and found one stuck to glass and broken into several pieces. What can I do to rescue it? A Photos get stuck to glass when moisture inside the frame causes the photo’s emulsion to become gelatinous; when it drie

1 Yes, there are records. Contrary to popular belief, not all European records of your Jewish ancestors were destroyed in the Holocaust. Many documents—especially those kept by the local government—survived, and organizations and volunteer groups hav

JewishGen , a project of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, has a wide variety of tools for Jewish researchers, making it one of the most useful Jewish genealogy websites. Here are some of its most valuable features. Home page

Civil records of your Jewish ancestors are likely in the area’s local language or (in Catholic areas) in Latin. But Jewish-specific records (notably tombstones and records of vital events) were kept in Hebrew, the liturgical language used in Judaism

Avotaynu Guide to Jewish Genealogy edited by Sallyann Amdur Sack and Gary Mokotoff(Avotaynu) Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy Finding Our Fathers: A Guidebook to Jewish Genealogyby Malcolm H. Stern