In case you are a novice, researching the genealogy of your family, you will know that you have to begin with yourself and move outward to your immediate family next. Keep a blank family tree and pedigree chart handy since you will have to record all the information there.

You should record the following data for each person: name, date and place of birth, date and place of death, spouse, children and parents. If there is any other interesting fact, you can add that as well.
For relatives beyond grandparents you will need to consult secondary documents for data compilation.

Find out  how to make a family tree 

For affiliate info, visit: make a family tree

Nowadays we can achieve difficult tasks easily using advanced technology such as the computer and the internet. Compile all the information you can get concerning your ancestors–their names, gender, dates of birth and death, places of origins and residences.

Start with a rough draft of your family tree. You should begin with yourself and work your path outwards towards your parents and their immediate families. Don’t worry if you have data missing about certain relatives. There are ways of finding out.

Next go to a family tree making website and using all your collected information, just follow their instructions.

Find out  how to make a family tree 

For affiliate info, visit: make a family tree

Here are a few screen shots from within my own Government-Records.com account.  I am a strong supporter of this genealogy search service and provide a more complete review elsewhere on this blog.

For those who are still considering if this is worth the investment (and believe me it is!), here an example of their cemetery search features:

Cemetery Records Search Type 1

(Click to Enlarge)

By clicking on “Cemetery Records Search Type 1″ from within my account I’m able to choose a state and county to search online the cemeteries in that county.  You can see here an example of the search results when I select Lamar Cemetery, from Aransas County, Texas; 106 results are returned (click on image to the right to see a larger view).

When I click on the first name on the list, “Delora Jean Alderman” I am brought to the records of that particular grave (see next image below).

Read the rest of this genealogy article »

Building a family tree is quite easy if you know the right way how to make a family tree? You don’t have to make a lot of expensive long distance calls in a fact finding mission.

There are plenty of family tree building software solutions readily available on the internet. They are very user-friendly and guide you step-by-step. The software will take all your data such as photographs, family heirlooms, documents and organize them. 

Also there are online databases of family histories. In case you have gaps in your information you can search through them to find a particular family connection. This is a hassle free way of tracking down all your relatives.

Find out  how to make a family tree 

For affiliate info, visit: make a family tree

Are you curious about your long lost relatives? You can easily find out about them with technologies that help you create a family tree. Do you want to know how to make a family tree ?

A family tree is an account of your forefathers. Usually it is depicted by a genealogy map that shows family connections. Such a record usually contains vital information such as names of ancestors, their dates of birth, place of origin and occupation. Each person is connected to other people via different lines that designate different relationships.

For the data required to build a family tree, you may seek assistance from relatives or even from the internet. Grow your research as you grow your tree!

For affiliate info, visit: make a family tree

ProGenealogists recently announced their “25 Most Popular Genealogy Blogs for 2009″ awards. We are very honored to be part of this group. A glance through the other blogs on the list is truly humbling. It’s even more humbling to read ProGenealogists announcement, noting that “a Google search for genealogy blogs currently results in nearly half a million options, with over seven times that number for ‘family history’ blogs.”

I’m not certain how to do a Google search that returns the number of blogs, but to search blog posts, try http://blogsearch.google.com . At the time I wrote this article a search for the word genealogy returned 857,000+ blog posts containing the word genealogy. A search for “family history” (including the quotes), returns 674,000+ posts.

Subscribe to new Google Search results

The search results page contains one of my secrets for uncovering news stories that you won’t see on the other genealogy news sites. You can subscribe to the results of your blog search by clicking one of the options in the left margin under the heading, “Subscribe.” This will give you an email or news feed of all the new results for your search. That’s only 6,600+ articles you’ll have to read each day to cover all blog posts with either the phrase “family history” or the word “genealogy.”

Better yet, let your favorite genealogy news blogs shift through all those posts while you use the email option, called a Google Alert, to set up a Internet-wide sweep for new information on those ancestors you’re trying to find!

And thank goodness the President’s choice for new First Pet is done. Several months ago Google changed their search algorithm. My Google alert for FamilySearch started returning results containing “…First Family searches for dog…” To prevent this behavior, include quotes around words you don’t want Google to break into separate words.

But I digress…

Measurement Challenges

Choosing the 25 most popular genealogy blogs had special challenges not encountered when measuring the 50 most popular genealogy websites.

“Many people read blog entries through RSS feeds and other means and seldom actually visit the blog’s website,” according to Kory Meyerink, noted genealogist and vice president at ProGenealogist. Instead of website traffic, ProGenealogist turned to Technorati rankings. Even this alternative proved problematic, as Technorati doesn’t include Dick Eastman’s popular online blog/newsletters. This led ProGenealogist to include other factors:

Hundreds of genealogy blogs were evaluated based on their overall content, Technorati rating, and industry experience. Due to the ever-changing nature of the blogosphere and the authority basis of Technorati rankings, it is anticipated that this list will change frequently.

When I first started blogging years ago (has it really been that long?) I found my Technorati authority rating changed so erratically, I couldn’t stand to follow it. Since I seem to be in widget-mode of late, here’s a widget that displays my authority rating in real time:

View Ancestry Insider authority

Like other widgets I’ve posted lately, it is likely you won’t be able to see it (adjacent to “View Ancestry Insider authority”) if you read this article in your email or news reader. View this article online (click here) to see the widget.

The Technorati Authority of a blog is a count of the number of other blogs that have posted links to it during the previous six months. Since other winners of the most popular blogs award have increased my authority by posting the list of winners, I’m honored to return the favor. They are:

1. About.com Genealogy (Kimberly Powell)
2. Eastman Online Newsletter* (Dick Eastman)
3. Genea-Musings (Randy Seaver)
4. Creative Gene (Jasia)
5. DearMYRTLE (Pat Richely)
6. AnceStories (Miriam Midkiff)
7. Genealogue (Chris Dunham)
8. footnoteMaven (Anonymous)
9. Genetic Genealogist (Blaine Bettinger)
10. Tracing The Tribe: Jewish Genealogy Blog (Schelly Talalay Dardashti)
11. GenaBlogie (Craig Manson)
12. Olive Tree Genealogy Blog (Lorine McGinnis Schulze)
13. Steve’s Genealogy Blog (Stephen J. Danko)
14. Ancestry.com (Juliana Smith)
15. TransylvanianDutch (John Newmark)
16. GenDisasters (Stu Beitler)
17. Genealogy Insider @ FamilyTree (Diane Haddad)
18. Think Genealogy (Mark Tucker)
19. California Genealogical Society and Library Blog (California Genealogical Society)
20. The Genealogy Guys (George G. Morgan and Drew Smith)
21. CanadaGenealogy, or, ‘Jane’s Your Aunt’ (Diane Rogers)
22. Ancestry Insider (Anonymous)
23. GenealogyBlog (Leland Meitzler)
24. Ancestor Search Blog (Kathi)
25. Genealoge (Hugh Watkins)                         /its a tie!/
    Legacy News (Legacy Tree Software)         /its a tie!/

Notice: The Ancestry Insider is independent of Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. “The Ancestry Insider” does not mean “Ancestry.com Insider.” The opinions expressed herein are his own.

(This posting is from The Ancestry Insider. Click the link to view the full article from its original source.)

For those of you looking for your Scottish forebears down south, the 1911 census, available from FindmyPast.com at www.1911census.co.uk, has finally uploaded the complete collection for England in the latest stage of its phased release programme. Next up will be the releases for all Welsh counties, followed by the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Royal Naval ships at sea and overseas military establishments.

Meanwhile, in Ireland, the 1911 census release has once again fallen behind schedule, with no sign as yet of records for counties Donegal, Cork, Wexford and Galway, which were supposed to have gone online in March. There is no word on the site at www.census.nationalarchives.ie to explain the delay, but as soon as I hear anything, I’ll let you know!

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland’s Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

(This posting is from Scottish Genealogy News and Events. Click the link to view the full article from its original source.)

The following came from a current subscriber to Genealogy Beginner.  Great advice:

First I would like to let you know I enjoy your tips.

As a beginner they have been very helpful.  I know different states have laws in reference to military records.  In the state of South Carolina military records are not public.  The information can only be given to the individual, their Power of Attorney, or spouse.

The SC state statute is very clear and states that the military records can only be used for genealogical research 50 years after the death of the person whose military records are referenced.  I know this to be a fact because I work in the office where the military records are recorded in Aiken County, South Carolina.

We have to be very cautious as to who has access to these documents.

Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

No other publication gives such comprehensive and up-to-date guidance on tracing British ancestry and researching family history.

And the thing is huge – 674 pages!  You can read more about this resource at the link below.

http://tinyurl.com/AncestralTrails

…

Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

…

Some great advice from veteran genealogist on how to make a family tree.

This is good advice on the “three documents” [birth, marriage, and death certificate], HOWEVER, the Federal Census’ comes up there in documentation.  I’ve gotten more information from these when I couldn’t locate the other three.

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