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The release of the 1950 US census is right around the corner on April 1, 2022, so you might be wondering how you can be ready to start searching on Day 1. In this post I’ll walk you through my process so you can use it or adapt it for your own preparation.

Before we dive in, you might be wondering why I’m prepping for the census release. First, I want to know who in my database may be in the 1950 census,...

Every year I plan out a set of genealogy goals. It started as a genealogy blogger thing way back when, but it’s something I continue to do to help me decide what I want to work on for the year, and by posting it publicly I’m able hold myself accountable.

You can check out my 2022 goals on my personal genealogy blog here.

But, if you want to know how I set my goals, I encourage you to check out a podcast episode I did with Denys Allen of PA Ancestors. Plus, if you’re like me...

This post contains an affiliate link. You can review my full Disclaimer here.

Organizing all of our genealogy "stuff" can be quite the challenge. In fact, it's the #1 area that genealogists struggle with (according to my informal poll). I get it! I consider myself a highly organized person, but I struggled for years trying to figure out a system for organizing both paper and digital genealogy files.

Since we're approaching a new year, I've seen a lot of genealogists setting goals to get...

Ah, the dreaded genealogy phrase, brick wall.

The dread is understandable, since we usually use the phrase to mean an unsolvable research problem.

But, brick walls come in different shapes and sizes. And, sometimes they're self-imposed (‍ raises hand in guilt).

A brick wall is usually created by one or many of the following roadblocks:

• Lack of records
• Misinterpreted records
• Absence of direct evidence
• Same-name individuals
• Unknown origin
• Unconventional migration
• Haphazard research...

Figuring out which church a family attended can be a challenge, especially when there are no city directories to consult or county histories fall short on detailing churches. So where can you turn?

The Works Project Administration's Historical Records Survey located and cataloged church records. The resulting inventories, many of which were published in the 1930s and 1940s, can help you figure out which churches were in a particular area at a particular time, so you can identify potential...