Genealogy In Action Blog

Learn about various record types, methods and strategies, references and resources, and tools and technology to help you grow your genealogy skills. Articles also include a take-action prompt so you can immediately put into practice what you learned.

New Clues May Be Lurking in Old Research methods & strategies Sep 08, 2021

Let's face it. We were all beginners at some point, and that most likely means we overlooked important bits of information in the sources we consulted back then. Maybe we didn't know any better when consulting a new-to-us source. Perhaps the information didn't seem relevant at the time. Or we simply grabbed the pieces of information we were after and neglected everything else the record could tell us. It happens and there's no shame in that...it's all part of our progression as genealogists.

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Something New On the Horizon announcements methods & strategies Aug 25, 2021

I'm so excited to share some news with you! Over the last few months, I've been busy working behind the scenes to turn Genealogy Problem-Solving Academy into a self-study course!

I will be unveiling the self-study version on August 31, 2021, but only to those who are on the wait list.

Anyone who is on the wait list by 7:00 a.m. CDT on August 31 will receive an exclusive, introductory offer to join the Academy.

What is Genealogy Problem-Solving Academy? It's an online course that teaches my...

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FAN Club In Action methods & strategies Aug 11, 2021

FAN Club is a phrase coined by Elizabeth Shown Mills. FAN represents family/friends, associates, and neighbors—the people that were part of your ancestor’s social network. By including these people in your research, you may uncover clues that can help answer questions of identity, relationship, origin, and more.

Solomon Norton is most likely my sixth great-grandfather, but I've had trouble proving the relationship to him and his daughter Sarah, my fifth great-grandmother. There are...

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Don't Overlook Academic Libraries methods & strategies references & resources Jun 16, 2021

Academic libraries are probably one of the most overlooked repositories when it comes to genealogy research. But the universities and colleges in the states in which your ancestors lived should definitely be on your list of places to look. These libraries usually contain special collections or archives related to the history of the state or region, as well as the areas surrounding the campus. Even better, many universities are digitizing their archival collections and making them available...

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3 Resources for Researching in Another Country methods & strategies references & resources tools & technology May 19, 2021

Wanna know my secret for researching in other countries?

It's all about studying the location!

This of course applies to ANY location, not just other countries.

But how do you go about studying a location? Well, there are plenty of resources out there that can help with that! These three resources are my go-tos when I need to get started with researching in a new-to-me country (or a new town/state/region of a country).

1. FamilySearch Wiki

The FamilySearch Wiki has oodles of information on...

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