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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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...
Ancestry’s Family Tree Maker Announcement: The Sky is Not Falling
Yesterday Ancestry.com announced that it will no longer sell its popular Family Tree Maker software, and the Internet lit up. Genealogists everywhere began blasting Ancestry’s decision and wringing...
Gratitudes for Thanksgiving 2015
As I was sitting in a car being driven through Chicago en route from Rhode Island to Minnesota, reading compiled military service records and pension files for five Civil War veterans pulled from the collections of the National Archives by a researcher in Washington, DC, and sent to me...