Get a Genealogy Webinar for Free

Register for all our September and October 2011 upcoming webinars at once and get one free!

Topics include:

• Court records
• Land records in federal land states
• Organizing information
• and more!

To get the free webinar, order through this payment link. The  "one free" offer is not on the schedule page.

The schedule and system requirements can be viewed here.

No Browse at FamilySearch Means No Images

There are a few databases in the "new" FamilySearch that have no images. Usually if you are unable to browse the records it means that there is an index only and no linked images. It took me entirely too long to figure this out for the 1855 Illinois State Census.

Get Your Old Revised State Statute Books

Many old copies of revised state statutes are available digitally for free on Google Books. Simply point your browser to http://books.google.com and search for "youryear yourstate revised statutes" (or something similar) without the quotes.

You'll find more than you thought possible.

Google the Inlaws

Too many matches for your ancestor's name? Don't want to add locations or other search terms? Try searching for your ancestor and the name of a son-in-law or other relative. My search for "thomas rampley james shores" (without the quotes) brought up several hits--a few of which were totally new to me!

US Pension Payment Cards on Archive.org from 1907-1933

Here is a brief tutorial on how to use the pension payment cards for free on Archive.org. These cards are for military pensioners in the United States between 1907 and 1933. There's even a link to the PDF version of the National Archives descriptive pamphlet on these cards.

Global Spouse Searches At FamilySearch

Every few months or so, perform a search of your ancestor and his/her spouse at FamilySearch (use the advance feature to get the spouse box to show).You might be surprised at what you discover.

Genealogy Webinars in Sept and Oct of 2011

I'll be presenting a series of genealogy webinars in September and October using www.gotowebinar.com. You don't have to "join" Gotowebinar or create an account--it's just what we use to bring the seminar to you. Viewing/participating instructions will be sent after registration, along with reminders.

Seminars are an hour long, include a PDF handout, and 30 minutes for questions. Topics are:

• Court Records
• Two German Women in Illinois
• Seeing Patterns and Organizing Information
• Determining Your Own Migration Trail
• Introduction to Federal Land States

Attend from the comfort of your own home!

More information is available at http://www.casefileclues.com/webinars_neill.htm

Location, Location, Location

When doing an advanced search at WorldConnect, try using only place of birth and death--no names. To make it a little easier, try just the county of birth/death. That way you'll get people who were born in one place and died in another.

Can be a good way to find others who might have had the same"beginning" and "ending" points as your ancestor.

Archives.com and the Census

I've been experimenting with Archives.com--particularly their census indexes. There is a post on my Rootdig.com site for those who are interested. We will have follow up posts as warranted.