Information and Advice on Family Trees & Genealogy

This guide shows you how to use the numerous historical records that are now available free online, including the 1901 and 1911 censuses, church and civil records, gravestone inscriptions, ship passenger records, and large-scale townland maps.

How to use the various census records when researching your family's history

How to determine if your aunt is your great aunt or grand aunt, and whether you have met a first cousin or second cousin at the family reunion.

Help with genealogy research. The maternal lines of your ancestry may be difficult to research, but there are ways to uncover these branches in your family tree. Advice on how to overcome "brick walls" in your family tree related to missing maiden names.

Learn about what a typical consumer DNA kit requires, how much it costs, and what it can do for you. Get help deciding whether Ancestry, 23 and Me, or FamilyTree DNA is the best choice.

This article presumes that the research will produce knowledge of at least three generations past. How can this affect the wellbeing of older people? Probably in more ways than expected.

Will a subscription to Newspapers.com give you valuable information for your family history research? Here are examples of how it helped me, and why I recommend it.

Building your pedigree chart first will have you on your way to building your family tree in no time. It's simple to make and a great way to "branch out" from your direct lineage to grow your tree.

We had no control over our birth order, but scientists say the order in which we were born has a great deal to do with how successful we will become. Is that really true? Let's discuss it.

Learn about Heraldry and how to find your family crest or coat of arms, or make your own!

Getting information for official military records is simple using online tools. By providing a little info about your veteran you can discover fascinating details contained in their service records.

Puzzled about how to get the most out of your Ancestry DNA test? Here are some tips from an experienced genealogist.

Working on your family history seems like a never-ending task. Setting some goals and spreading it out over five years makes it less overwhelming.

Since August 2016, I have been building a family tree and trying to identify my ancestors who originated in Europe. Based on successes and failures, I suggest a number of tips for doing genealogy research.

Here's how to connect your DNA to your family tree on Ancestry.com so you can learn how you're related to your DNA relatives and unlock more about your heritage.

A great way to find new clues while researching your family history is to visit old cemeteries. A lot of regions may not have death records available, so gravesites are the next best thing for finding out vital information on your ancestors.