It is generally presumed that the man who is married to your ancestor’s mother is, in fact, his biological father. The same assumption is made about the parents of your living relatives. People who work in genetics find that about 10% of people are not really the biological child of the man that they call Dad. This information could really shake up someone’s family tree! One of the things I like best about Facebook is that I get to read the fascinating news articles that my friends post to their pages. I am lucky to have friends who frequently post … Continue reading →

Tracing your family back through the years is both fun and interesting. However, some people are not satisfied with the type of data that are typically found in many genealogy records. Names, dates, places, and events are all well and good but there are some folks who really just want to know “why”. I am one of those “why” people. It is a good thing that my parents are patient and kind people, because I was that kid – you know, the one whose every other word is “why”. I am sure that I will receive payback for this in … Continue reading →

Baby pictures are a treasured part of any family’s photo collection. In fact, most people are photographed more during their first year of life than at any other time. Your family’s baby photo collection is certainly a treasure that you will want to preserve for future generations. Baby photos are good for many things other than just the standard photo albums, too. If you would like, you can bring your family’s baby photo collection to life with a scrapbook that tells the stories of all of the babies in the family from a particular generation. For example, I am one … Continue reading →

Sheriff Joe Arpaio, from Arizona, has made the assertion that the long-form birth certificate of President Obama’s, that was presented in April of 2011, is a forgery. This is a claim that has been made before by other people, and it has been refuted by Snopes.com. Sheriff Joe Arpaio is not the first person to question whether or not President Obama’s birth certificate is real. He claims that he has conducted a six month long investigation with his “cold case posse”, that has led him to the conclusion that what was presented as President Obama’s long-form birth certificate is “a … Continue reading →

Were any of your ancestors born on Leap Day? This might be more difficult to figure out than you may think. There are some quirks associated with February 29 that genealogists will not face when searching for information about an ancestor who was not born on Leap Day. Leap Year only happens once every four years. February 29 is called Leap Day. This day has been added to the calendar as a corrective measure. We say that the Earth orbits the Sun one time every 365 days. However, in reality, it doesn’t quite match up exactly. To keep the calendar … Continue reading →

With all of the wonderful options for building and sharing family trees online, you may wonder whether you will have to do any digging through record books in order to trace your own family history. While it is possible that others have already done some of the research that you need to fill in the branches of your family tree, it is very likely that you will still have to do some research of your own. It is also possible that you may have to quite a bit of research on your own if the information that you find has … Continue reading →

Everybody likes a good family story. However, genealogists who are considering preserving the stories of their families may wonder which stories should be written down and otherwise preserved and which might be inappropriate for inclusion in a family history book. I don’t say “inappropriate” as far as subject matter, because perhaps stories that are scandalous or best read by mature audiences could be recorded in a separate volume than those that are to be freely read and enjoyed by everyone. What I mean by the use of the word “inappropriate” is that not every family story is securely rooted in … Continue reading →

Perhaps you have discovered that one of your ancestors was, in fact, a pirate. He “sailed the seven seas”, and you discovered him while surfing the internet. Genealogists need to be very careful that they do not accidentally become a pirate themselves. Be wary of what you choose to post online! The word “pirate” has more than one definition. One brings to mind images of ships with great big sails, the Jolly Roger flag, and perhaps some of the scenes from Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. The more modern meaning of pirate often refers to the illegal practice of … Continue reading →

If you do genealogy research, you know that vital records such as birth, death, and marriage records, are a very important source of information. Many of these records are kept by various state agencies, and the policies and procedures for obtaining them vary by state. Unfortunately, they can sometimes be hard to access given the amount of bureaucracy and red tape that is involved. The good news is that there are some alternative ways to get the information that you would get from vital records which are much easier to get your hands on. Do not let a snag in … Continue reading →

When the weather gets cold, people begin to prepare themselves for flu season. They get flu shots and stock the medicine cabinet with the items that they may need if the illness visits their home. Every year, or every couple of years, there is talk of specific strains of the flu like Swine Flu or Bird Flu that are worse than the usual, garden variety influenza that can leave you miserable for a few days. These strains are more dangerous and can even be deadly. This is not a new thing, though. Throughout time disease pandemics have caused quite astonishing … Continue reading →