Taking the U.S. Census

One Stop Census Shop

One Stop Census Shop If you have been discovering your family’s history for a while you already have a favorite place to access the census.  It is available by subscription to most of the online family history sites and through many local libraries.  If your just starting, you may want to investigate one of these […]

While many census returns are collected digitally today, in years past enumerators talked to every family in the country

Ready, Set, Research!

Ready, Set, Research! My oh my, I can hear the groans already!  I’m not talking about hard research, I’m talking about fun research.  The kind any of us can do that will tell us about our past family.  Research that guarantees our family histories will be true.  And the place we are going to start

When unsupported information goes into your family history it steals precious time!

Just Say No!

Just Say No! Time is valuable for us all.  Most agree, like stated in this Linked In article, that it’s one of the most precious assets we possess.  It’s free to all of us, but once it’s gone we can never get it back!  Whether it’s working at a j0b, taking care of the kids,

Filling out a paper pedigree as a first step will help you become comfortable with how your family history is represented.

The Tree

The Tree After you have learned about your family from your family, it’s time to start attaching all those leaves to your family tree.  For that we need a pedigree chart.  While I firmly believe in keeping your family history on a computer, I think it helps to begin by filling in a paper pedigree

Talking to your family is the first step in discovering your family history

Now for the Fun Stuff!

Now for the Fun Stuff! Over the past weeks we have seen why it’s important to know our family’s history.  Now let’s look at how we get started.  The answer may surprise you! Talk to Your Family The first place to turn when beginning your family history is … your family!  We often don’t realize

Family Traditions that last across generations can bring our family's together and give a sense of family pride.

The Past Becomes the Future

The Past Becomes the Future Weve already talked about how learning about our family’s history can help us feel grounded and give us a sense of belonging to a larger family.  But what about the future?  We know it’s important to pass those stories on to our children, but how do we make those practices

Women have made important contributions to our history that have gone unnoticed because of little men

The Forgotten Female

The Forgotten Female History is full of blunders that hopefully turn into lessons.  One of those is the lack of recognition women have been regarded through time.  Even as late as the 1950s most women didn’t hold office, become business professionals, or otherwise engage in the business or political world.  One that gets me was

Grandfather helping Grandson discover his family story. Family history is important for children.

Who’s Your Granddaddy?

Who’s Your Granddaddy? A sense of belonging is important for all of us, as can be seen in this previous post, but it’s especially important for children.  As can be seen in this article in The Guardian, knowing their family history is beneficial for kids.  Besides what scientists tell us, a child not knowing who

Ben Franklin pondering what to do with a smart phone

Gratitude

Gratitude Discovering family history, whether mine or a client’s, consistently makes me grateful for what I have.   I am often amazed at what people two hundred years ago accomplished when they had so little.  Ancestors who moved hundreds of miles to a new place with very few people, and not only survived, but raised a

This family's tradition was to cut the ends off the ham because Grandma's pan was too short!

Why Do We Do That?

Why Do We Do That? Long ago I heard a story about a family traditions that I’ve never forgotten.  A mother and her young daughter were helping to prepare the family’s Thanksgiving meal.  They were tasked with cooking the ham.  The first thing the mother did was remove the ham from the package and remove

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