The genealogy land patent maps housed on the US Government’s General Land Office (GLO) can be searched using several interactive tools. Using these tools, I will show you how to find land records, deeds, surveys, and attach them to your Ancestry tree. This post is a follow up to the introductory US Genealogy Land Patents:
Your ancestors’ genealogy land patents are waiting for you! The United States government’s Bureau of Land Management houses all of its land records on the General Land Office (GLO) website going back to any original genealogy land patent for each of our 50 states. I will show you how to access those records, how to
US Genealogy Land Patents: How To Use GLO Land Records! Read the full story →
Can I use a Coat of Arms for a Surname? That is the million dollar question to which the answer is both YES and NO. I will cover the DO’s and DON’Ts of using a Coat of Arms for a surname (your family name) and also cover the use of related terms such as family
Use A Coat of Arms For A Surname? Intriguing YES and NO! Read the full story →
Let’s be honest: Ancestry.com is the commercial titan of online genealogy, but rising subscription costs have many researchers asking how it stacks up against FamilySearch.org for their 2026 genealogy goals as an Ancestry alternative. Whether you are tired of hitting paywalls on basic census rolls or simply want to stretch your research budget, understanding the
Stop being duped! Ancestry chart makers out there are basically useless, you’re paying for pre-filled graphics you don’t need. If you’re here for a list of free family history forms with pretty pre-filled graphics, I have a giant list of free resources for you in this article so you don’t walk away feeling disappointed. However,
Ancestry Chart Makers – Free and Paid Family Tree Forms Read the full story →
If you want to know how to find birth parents, combining legal documentary evidence with modern genetic genealogy provides a clear, actionable roadmap. For millions of adoptees, Non-Paternal Events (NPEs), and individuals with unknown parentage, uncovering biological roots satisfies a deep human need for personal identity, ancestral heritage, and medical history. While historical adoption laws
How to Find Birth Parents: Your Adoptive Genealogy Guide Read the full story →
When you take the time to preserve oral history recordings, you are protecting the single most irreplaceable asset in your entire family tree. You set the room, asked open-ended questions, listened patiently through long silences, and captured memories in your relative’s exact voice. 🎙️ But here is a hard truth that many family historians learn
Virginia Colony history forms the foundational narrative of English colonization in North America, spanning nearly 170 years from the founding of Jamestown in 1607 to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Established as a joint-stock business venture by the Virginia Company of London, the colony evolved through catastrophic drought, conflicts with the
The common assumption is that you understand Family History Interview Questions, because, well, they’re your relatives and you already know them. This is a dangerous assumption. It is an assumption which will not serve you well in the art of how to interview relatives because it is prescriptive. More on that term later. Let’s start
Family History Interview Questions: The Art of Asking Read the full story →
Interviewing elderly relatives is not the same as interviewing anyone else, and the sooner you make peace with that, the better every recording you make will be. 🎙️ Your ninety-year-old great-aunt is not a database you can query. She has a specific energy window, a hearing profile, a lifetime of things she decided long ago
Interviewing Elderly Relatives & Family Members Read the full story →
