Family (genealogy, family history, research methodology)

Italian Citizenship by Descent has not been abolished — but it has been profoundly reformed, and if you have Italian heritage, what you believed to be true about your eligibility before March 2025 may no longer apply. 🇮🇹 Millions of Americans, Australians, Canadians, and New Zealanders have spent years building their family trees, tracing their […]

Proving Ancestry ThruLines is not something you do by clicking a button — and this case study is living proof of exactly why that matters. 🧬 When a DNA match pointed to someone named “Graham” in my well-documented “Collins” line, the easy answer would have been to dismiss it as a ThruLines error. But a

Newspapers.com Genealogy research changed the way I think about my ancestors — and I say that as someone who has spent decades working through census records, vital records, and DNA matches. 🗞️ Census records tell you where your ancestors lived. Vital records confirm when they were born and died. But neither of those sources can

Ancestry ThruLines is one of the most exciting — and most misunderstood — features ever released for DNA researchers on the platform. 🧬 If you have ever logged in and spotted a new ThruLines suggestion glowing on your screen, you already know that irresistible pull — the feeling that your family tree is about to

The 1830 Census introduced 13 age brackets for free white persons—the most granular age tracking in any census before 1850. Most genealogists find their ancestor, note the age bracket, and move on. Here’s what they miss: those 5-year increments let you calculate birth years within narrow windows, transforming vague “early 1800s” estimates into targeted searches.

Learning how to animate old photos is one of the most emotionally powerful things a genealogist can do in the digital age — and this year, it has never been easier or more accessible. If you have ever stared at a sepia portrait of your great-grandmother and wondered what she really looked like when she

The Ancestry vs FamilySearch debate is one of the most hotly contested conversations in the genealogy world — and for good reason. Both platforms are giants. Both hold millions of records. Both have helped researchers make life-changing discoveries about their family roots. But they are not the same. Not even close. If you have ever

⏱️ Read Time: 10 minutes The 1820 Census introduced occupation and industry data for the first time in American federal enumeration—the story of this census is “categorically” interesting. Since the first US federal Census was in 1790, this makes the 1820 census our fourth US census. Whether or not you’ve found an ancestor on the

⏱️ Read Time: 12 minutes The 1810 Census is not that different from the 1800 Census; however, as a tracking tool, it is still invaluable. Read on and find out how I use this census for comparative genealogy and triangulation. You’ve probably used individual census years to find ancestors, but here’s what most genealogists miss: