May/June 2023

Family Tree

The Leading Family History Magazine

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Family Tree
Editor Andrew Koch Art Director Julie Barnett Digital Editor Melina Papadopoulos New Media Editor Rachel Christian eLearning Producer Amanda Epperson Contributing Editors Lisa A. Alzo, Rick Crume, David A. Fryxell, Nancy Hendrickson, Sunny Jane Morto
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RootsTech 2023 Roundup
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2020, FamilySearch hosted its annual RootsTech conference in-person in Salt Lake City. Attendees (both physical and virtual) were treated to hundreds of presentations from genealogy experts and leaders in family history, plus
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Join Our Community!
Genealogy how-to downloads and videos, plus PDF back-issues of Family Tree Magazine Detailed online courses and webinars full of expert advice about key research subjects Our members-
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Out On A Limb
As I’m writing this, the NCAA college basketball tournaments are underway. Schools of all different sizes compete in high-stakes, single-elimination games that are as heart-breaking as they are entertaining. Being a college basketball fan is great be
Family Tree1 min readInternet & Web
Ebook Subscription At Genealogical Publishing
Family history book publisher Genealogical Publishing Company launched a new subscription program that gives customers access to a large library of nearly 800 ebooks. The subscription includes classic titles such
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New Owners For Gedmatch
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. Verogen, the company that owns the free genetic genealogy database GEDmatch
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Ancestry.com Short Film Nominated
“A DREAM DELIVERED: The Lost Letters of Hawkins Wilson” was nominated for a 2022 Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame award in the Media & Entertainment category. The short film released by genealogy giant Ancestry follows the quest of Kell
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The Family Home
Rick Armstrong always knew his grandfather Gene was raised in a Masonic home in Springfield, Ohio. “He was never shy about talking about it,” Rick says. But a fuller picture of that life emerged recently after Rick discovered a trove of Gene’s memora
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TIMELINE: Colonial US History
The English establish a colony at Roanoke; it’s found abandoned five years later Jamestown is founded by the Virginia Company The first ship of enslaved Africans arrives in Virginia Plymouth Colony is founded by Puritan Separatists (“Pilgrims”) who a
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5 QUESTIONS with:
Genealogy is a bit like real estate: Your mantra should be “Location, location, location.” Local historical events, laws and socioeconomic forces all shaped your ancestors’ lives and the records they left behind. Knowing those factors—from border cha
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When Were the Thirteen Colonies Founded?
• Maine, then known as the Province of Maine, was founded in 1622 and absorbed into Massachusetts in 1658. Maine seceded from Massachusetts in 1820 and became the 23rd state.• Modern Vermont was variously claimed by New York, Massachusetts, New Hamps
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Precious Memories
In the book Quilt of Souls: A Memoir (Imagine), author Phyllis Biffle Elmore weaves her family’s story back and forth through time. The story begins with 4-year-old Phyllis being abruptly taken from her home in Detroit to live with her grandmother, L
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4 Tips for Colonial Research
• Cast a wide net. Colonial records aren’t as neat as later resources, with no national census and hit-or-miss vital records. Check tax lists, land records, will books, family Bibles and other sources.• Keep track of geography. Remember that your Col
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WRITE to KNOW
You might approach writing with a mixture of caution, excitement and dread. On one hand, you look forward to sharing sweeping tales about your ancestors, the journeys they’ve taken, and the triumphs and trials they’ve faced. On the other hand, though
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STAYING the COURSE
Like other genealogists, I couldn’t wait to see what ancestors I could find in the 1950 US census when it came online in April 2022. I eventually received a “hint” from that collection on a major record website, an image of a possible match for my ma
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Sample Writing Outlines: My Family’s Mythos
I decided to write a history about my grandfather, who immigrated to the United States from Lemnos, Greece. As I outlined his life story, a central theme emerged: how his life was akin to Greek mythology. That helped me decide how I wanted to structu
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New Mexico
AS EARLY AS 1540, THE SPANISH TRAVERSED WHAT is now New Mexico in the hopes of finding silver. But it wasn’t until 1598 that Juan de Onate came forth with hundreds of migrants to establish the first permanent European settlement in the region. What t
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Timeline
Explorers claim the American Southwest for Spain Juan de Oñate founds the first European settlement in modern New Mexico Santa Fe is founded Pueblo Indians drive out Spanish settlers Mexico gains independence from Spain; the Santa Fe Trail opens The
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South Carolina
“WAKE SWAMP AND RIVER, COAST AND RILL” encourages South Carolina’s state song, aptly named “Carolina.” Up Country, Low Country, sea, shore and land—South Carolina’s diverse geography complements its deep history and proud people. Read on for how to r
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Toolkit
Cyndi’s List: New Mexico FamilySearch Research Wiki: New Mexico Linkpendium: New Mexico New Mexico Archives Online
Family Tree1 min readAmerican Government
Timeline
The Spanish settle Santa Elena on Parris Island King Charles II grants the Province of Carolina to eight Lords Proprietors Charleston is founded The Province of Carolina splits into North and South The British capture Charleston as part of the Revolu
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Toolkit
Cyndi’s List: South Carolina FamilySearch Research Wiki: South Carolina Historical Newspapers of South Carolina Linkpendium:
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Find Your U.S. Ancestors
Each state-by-state guide includes: • How-to tutorials for finding records Notes on how and when key documents were kept in the state, including vital records, state censuses and land records • Historical summaries and timelines Narrative history wit
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Je Me Souviens
Millions of people in the United States have French Canadian ancestry. French settlements stretched down what is today the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries, and a century-long diaspora of Québécois further spread French-speaking culture t
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Who Is A French Canadian?
What is now Canada was first colonized by France. “New France” (in French, Nouvelle France) was the collective term for the French colonies in North America, which comprised five principal areas by the early 18th century: • Acadia: Modern New Brunswi
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French Canadian Names
French settlers often employed the naming traditions of their home country, which differed significantly from those of the English who followed them. Given names: Individuals were often given multiple personal (“first”) names. Many men were given the
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Two Canadas, One History
As previously covered, the French colony of “Canada” became part of Great Britain in 1763, where it was administered as the “Province of Quebec.” But the 1791 Constitution Act separated that land into two: • Upper Canada, so named because of its bein
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Toolkit
American-French Genealogical Society Woonsocket, R.I. Online collections, large library with many rare or difficult-to-find compilations, local histories, directories, and a magazine (Je Me Souviens) Ancestry.com Lehi, Utah
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Donating to Libraries
Not all libraries require payment for their lookup services. If they don’t, a monetary donation to the library can help you compensate them for their time and resources. Some libraries also accept other kinds of donations: your own family history ite
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Library Science
As a family history enthusiast, you’re probably familiar with powerhouse genealogy-focused libraries. Perhaps you’ve visited the FamilySearch Library (formerly the Family History Library) in Salt Lake City . Or
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Group Dynamic
1 This group portrait depicts the descendants of Atilano Hernandez Llerena and Agustina Sanchez Batista (born possibly in the 1860s), including at least some of their 11 children. Comparing the subjects to those in other photos and lining up birthdat
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Treetips
DETERMINE AN ANCESTOR’S HOMETOWN OF ORIGIN, and be as specific as you can. Precision will help you research your ancestors in the old country, and give you a better idea of what their lives were like there. Rich Venezia shared 16 records for finding
Family Tree6 min readCrime & Violence
Naturalization Records
Every year in courts across the United States, immigrants promise to renounce foreign allegiances and support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States. The oath of allegiance is the culmination of a path that begins years earlier—app
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At a Glance: Declaration of Intention
See the web version of this article for more information and a sample petition for naturalization . ■
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Finding Ellis Island Immigration Records
The Ellis Island Passenger Search database is a free resource for finding about 65 million immigrants and other passengers who arrived in the port of New York between 1820 and 1957 (including C
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Saving Home and Garden Tools
1 Know the tools of the trade. Vintage and antique tools are highly collectible today. Measuring tapes, yardsticks, and wooden folding rulers were essential to many trades and made to last for a lifetime. Collectors often choose to specialize in a ty
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Now What?
Q My Scandinavian (Viking) ancestors went to England, and hundreds of years later to the United States. I would like to know more about their origins in Yorkshire. A Although Viking raiders first struck England in present-day Northumberland—notably t
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Sites for Finding US Immigrant Ancestors
This free portal to records and resources will help you research passengers, crew, ships and shipwrecks, repositories and topics related to ancestral migration and travel. Volunteers at this website
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Native American Heritage and DNA
Q What is the best DNA test for Native American heritage? A To determine which is the best DNA test for any particular heritage, you’ll need to ask yourself two basic questions: What do I have to offer, and what does the testing company have to offer
Family Tree1 min readInternet & Web
Google Search Operators
Search operators are words or symbols you can include with a Google search to help narrow your results. If you don’t want to worry about search operators, use Google’s Advanced Search , which offers a search form that
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Google Search Syntaxes
Including a search syntax with your search tells Google you want to find only certain types of results, or results on only certain types of web pages. Below are syntaxes especially useful for genealogy research, along with situations in which you mig
Family Tree2 min readInternet & Web
Google’s Main Search Page
1 Save time. Type search terms into your web browser’s URL field, instead of going to Google’s home page. Most major browsers use Google by default, and will treat any text that isn’t a URL as a search term. 2 Disregard punctuation. Google ignores sy
Family Tree3 min readInternet & Web
Alternate Google Searches
Google Books lets you search 40 billion books and journals published around the world. If a book’s copyright has expired or the publisher allows it, you can view and save the entire book to your computer. Otherwise, you can read on
Family Tree1 min readInternet & Web
Case Study: Search Strategy for Genealogy
Start basic, with a broad search for a relative’s name: Robert Ward You’ll discover this is a common name, and ward has other uses (such as a voting ward). Use quotation marks to limit results to pages where the words appear side by side: “robert war
Family Tree2 min readInternet & Web
Google Translate
Google Translate helps you research the records of your ancestral homeland by translating text in 130 languages from records, books, websites, and even entire documents. You also can use it to translate research requests that y
Family Tree1 min readInternet & Web
More Google Tools
Let these Google tools serve as your virtual administrative assistants. You’ll need a free Google account to use them. 1 Bookmarks: When you’re using Chrome and logged in to your Google account, bookmark a genealogy website you want to revisit. You’l
Family Tree10 min read
Colonial Roots
It’s easy to forget that the United States’ Colonial history spans almost 170 years before the Revolutionary War. In fact, the years of post-Colonial US history didn’t surpass those of the Colonial era until the Truman administration (1945–1953). If

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