Medieval Research

Obviously the hardest part of researching relatives comes when you hit the medieval time period. Prior to the 1600s most cities, counties, countries only believed that royal families and the nobility were worth recording.

It started with churches maintaining records of births, baptisms, marriages, and death of their members, and since in many countries religion and government are interrelated, many countried then began recognizing the importance of maintaining their own records.

Dual listings for Occupations

I recently discovered that an ancestor could be listed under two separate categories in the census records. In the manufacturing schedule, he could be listed as a livery, but in the population schedule he could be listed as a farmer. Be careful to make sure your ancestors match up correctly!

Family History Library Consultants

The consultants in the Family History Libraries are there to help as they are available. Not every floor or category has a family history consultant available at all times.

There are several categories with which they can help! Determining a place of origin, name changes, population movements, record jurisdictions, using records, research strategies, handwriting translation are just a few of the areas they can help.

French Minorities

Like many countries, France has it's share of ethnic diversity. They have everything from gypsies to Mennonites, and if you are looking for what region an ancestor may have come from, begin with their ethnic background.

Many of the Jews came from Alsace, Protestants from France, and Mennonites from Lorraine. If you want to search for any of these minorities, check under the headings of Huguenots, Jews, Germans, Mennonites in conjunction with French Minorities!

Genealogy and Crime Investigation

With genealogy being a hot new(?) hobby, many people are having their DNA samples added to online websites. These websites are supposed to take genetic markers and tell you when a relative submits their DNA sample. Then you can compare notes and find out how closely you are related.

However, a Cold Case Investigator has been taking DNA samples and submitting them to these websites. In one case, it was found that a perpetrator in a crime was related to a Colonial era family named Fuller. Because the DNA seems to be following the male line, there is a high probability that the perpetrator's name is Fuller. How many other crimes could be solved if people submitted more DNA samples in the interest of genealogy?

Happy New Year!!!

I know that it is belated, but we would love to wish our readers a wonderful New Year. May it bring blessings to you. As we make our New Year's Resolutions, let us make sure to keep our family history in mind. Make the resolution that we will FINALLY find Grandma T's half sister, or perhaps, in your quest for a healthier life, you'll take to walking cemeteries and take pictures for findagrave.com, or maybe your resolution should be as simple as finally getting all of your old information digitized?

Whatever your resolutions are this year, make them achievable, and make this a year of which to be proud!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday

Today is the day that we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. and his strivings towards equality for all. It has become a day when we not only celebrate a man, but the changes in a nation.

We have gone from a nation that believed that Native Americans were inferior and that people of darker skin could be treated like property 150 years ago, to a nation that believed that segregation was fine only 50 years ago, to a nation that is still struggling to define what equal rights are, but we are at least willing to try.

Did you have an ancestor who was an abolitionist? Perhaps you yourself knew a person who participated in protests for civil rights? Whatever your history, choose to be a person making the positive changes such as Martin Luther King, Jr. instead of satisfied with the status quo!

Artistic Ancestry Questionnaire!

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Denmark Birth Records

In May of 1645 the Kind of Denmark decreed that all local ministers keep a record of births, marriages, and deaths. Some pastors had begun keeping records as early as 1572. Catholics were the only non-recognized (by the country) church to have religious freedoms, so their records begin as early as 1685. Beginning in 1849, Denmark began recognizing Christian dissenter churches, but they still had to notify the local Lutheran church of the births, marriages, and deaths of their parishioners. To bar against the possible destruction of records, Denmark began keeping a separate set of records in 1814.

Labeling Family Photos

I know that I have looked at old family photos several times, but never bothered to label them because I knew who was in the pictures. If you don't have the time to scan in each individual picture to an online photo storage system, at least take the time to write the names in acid free ink on the backs of each picture so that those memories will not be lost forever.

When Cristina's grandmother Dorothy Findley died she found a whole drawer of wonderful old pictures of family, but not one of them was labeled and no one knew who they were. What a tragedy!