Research Tools

Armed only with a Smartphone…

Yesterday I visited the Gale Family Library at the Minnesota Historical Society. Usually I have with me a written research plan (or at least a paper list of items to retrieve), along with notepads, pencils, clips, folders, and my MHS copy card. Yesterday I was meeting friends for lunch...

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A Tale of Two DNA Matches

At RootsTech last month both MyHeritage and AncestryDNA announced new DNA tools and features. For MyHeritage, these were AutoClusters and Theory of Family Relativity (TFR); for AncestryDNA they were enhancements to DNA match lists and ThruLines. Like everyone in the genetic genealogy community, I’ve been exploring the new tools...

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Genealogy Software

When I give talks or teach classes, I am often asked for recommendations about genealogy software. People are looking for the “best” program to record and organize their findings. The answer I give is that the “best” program is the one that fits the user–provides the desired functionality, works...

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Trying a New Tool for New York Immigration Records

MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com) is an Israeli-based family history website that offers record searches, family trees, and DNA testing. The company’s strengths include participation by many genealogists from outside the U.S. and high-performance technologies for matching and search described here. Recently MyHeritage announced the addition of Ellis Island and other New...

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Learning Ancestry.com

Yesterday I gave a short, basic talk on learning to use the popular genealogy website Ancestry for the Monument chapter, National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. I provided a one-page handout–since we were a few copies short, I decided to post the handout here. Since it was confined...

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