Maps Hold Clues for Your Family History Research

You probably look at a map often to find the nearest restaurant or shoe store. You might even look at historic maps to determine where your ancestor lived. But have you ever looked at a map for actual genealogy clues about your ancestor? Let’s see clues we can find on…

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Citing Sources in Genealogy | Basic Formula

Do you want to know how to how to cite sources in your genealogy? Today I am going to teach you the simple, basic formula that YOU can master quickly. Watch this episode for all the details! I bet you were so excited to be done with citing your sources…

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Rejected Civil War Pension Application File

If your ancestor served on the Union side of the Civil War, they may have applied to receive a pension for their service. Have you ordered your ancestor’s full Civil War Pension Application file? In this video, we will go over how to discover if your ancestor served in the…

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Comparing Signatures on Original Documents

We’ve talked before about how to tell if a document is a copy or original. Today let’s talk about finding your ancestor’s actual signature in documents, and how an original signature may even help you to solve a family mystery at some point in your genealogy research. We’ll take a…

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Original Document or Clerk’s Copy?

You found an original document for your ancestor! Or did you? Is it really the original, or is it a clerk’s copy. Many of the “original” records we look at in our genealogy research, especially those recorded by the courts or county offices, are actually clerk’s copies or duplicate copies…

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Do I Include THIS Person on My Family Tree?

I have seen a LOT of posts recently on social media asking the same basic question: “Do I include THIS person on my family tree?” The question comes up for a variety of reasons, including:  The person is unsavory: a scoundrel, a criminal, a rebel  The person is distantly related …

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Homestead Land Entry Files – Final Proof

When a homesteader claimed a piece of public land through the Homestead Act of 1862, they could receive 160 acres of public land if they lived for 5 continuous years on the property and made improvements to the property. Take a look at a complete homestead land entry case file…

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7 Bonus Genealogy Brick Wall Busting Tips

Now that we have discussed the 5 basic steps of the Genealogy Brick Wall Busting process, I want to share 7 BONUS brick wall busting tips to help you on your research journey. Every genealogy brick wall case is different, so one of these tips may be just the thing…

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