The Genealogy Search

News Release from Ancestry.com! From August 29th through September 3rd,  Ancestry.com  is opening all of its U.S. census records – FREE. You can start your free census search at www.ancestry.com/census . Learn about your family’s true story in the census records and see what your own life could have been like as an adult in 1940 with the  Ancestry.com  Time Machine. Ancestry has an interactive, time-travel experience requires just a handful of information provided by you. In return, you get a custom video featuring YOU in 1940. While it’s not genealogy, it  is  high-tech fun. Create your own video and share it with your followers. And encourage them to create their own at  www.ancestry.com/TimeMachine.    Another Ancestry tool is the free guide Follow Your Family Using Census Records available at  Census Guide . 

Crista Cowan of the Ancestry Aces has given an interesting blog prompt:  What is your favorite resource on Ancestry.com? Do you have one database that you use more than others? A favorite tool, tip or trick you use when searching?  My favorite resource on Ancestry.  Well I guess that would depend on what I was looking for.  If I was researching an area, then my favorite resource would be the card catalog.  I find it to be a good jumping off spot.   If I know that there are databases for Cook County Illinois voting records for specific years, I can check for ancestor names and misspellings for that particular family during that time period.  I also like to take a specific database and run all of the ancestors I believe to be in area through it.  For example the Chicago voting records should include both my grandfather, both my maternal great grandfathers, and several great uncles.  Even though they have different surnames I can complete the ...

A prompt from Crista Cowan of  Ancestry.com  Aces Program  asked what are your five or six favorite genealogy blogs to read.  Boy it was hard to limit my favorites, I think I could have shared at least ten or fifteen genealogy blogs.  Here are my “favorite six”: Genea-Musings http://www.geneamusings.com/ Randy Seaver shares research, thoughts, family, and tips on his blog.  I really enjoy his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (SNGF) prompts.  I like the Legacy and RootsMagic posts about using  both of the software programs.    Ancestry Insider http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com I really enjoy the Ancestry Insider,   Topics include Ancestry and FamilySearch updates and website information – Greta’s Genealogy Bog http://gretabog.blogspot.com/ Tips for research,and tools.  Greta shares joys, problems, and pitfalls of family research.  Her blog also has research links for South Carolina, Texas and G...

Last night Ancestry added  12 more states to our 1940 U.S. Census index last night— Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Utah. . Now 70% of the 1940 U.S. Census is indexed and searchable on Ancestry.com—a full 37 states and the District of Columbia.  It’s the home stretch for the 1940 index.  Look for South Carolina, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut, Texas, North Carolina, Illinois, West Virginia, Wyoming, Maryland, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Panama Canal Zone, American Samoa and Guam to be added in the next few weeks.  Ancestry is also hosting  family history how-to presentations. You can view upcoming events at   Ancestry Facebook Events . Happy hunting!

The latest from Ancestry: This just in: we added 15 states to our 1940 U.S. Census index late last night. So dive in and search for family members by name in the 1940 census in  California, Idaho, Georgia, Kentucky, Washington, Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon, Alabama, Arizona, New Hampshire, Michigan, Wisconsin, Montana and Hawaii .  Start searching . Our latest addition means we now have 25 states and the District of Columbia indexed and searchable on  Ancestry.com —a total of 55 percent of the 1940 U.S. Census population. And more states are right around the corner. Look for  Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Utah  all coming soon.

Crista Cowan from Ancestry Aces provided the following blog prompt: When you encounter a new location, a new time period, a new religion, or a new military conflict in your family history where do you do to learn about it so you can do better genealogy research?  What are your favorite resources for genealogy education? First I consult the books in my personal library.  I have built up my library to roughly over 100 books.  Some of my favorite standbys include: Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920 by William Thorndale and William Dollarhide Census Substitutes & State Records Vol 1 and 2 by William Dollarhide The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood Land and Property Research in the United States by E. Wade Hone Online my favorite sites include: U.S. GenWeb  http://usgenweb.org/ FamilySearch, the Learning Resources area, specifically the Research Wiki   https://www.family...

A blog prompt  from Crista Cowen of   "What I Wish I'd Known When I Got Started In Genealogy" got me thinking of all the things I wish I had known.  So here are my Top Ten:  1.  Never add anyone's research to your database until it has been thoroughly researched and sources have been checked.  2.  Interview the living as soon as possible, they won't always be there, do it now!!!!!  3.  Read every line of every form, document, and always look at the original yourself.  4.  Always record your research, both positive and negative findings.  5.  Cite your sources.  6.  Research your location thoroughly.  Find out if and when state and county boundaries changed.    7.  Re-run your searches on the internet. New information is constantly being added to the web.  8.  Never take no as an answer from the courthouse.  Try another day ...

It was an innocent request that has taken up quite a bit of my free time and money.  When I became pregnant for the first time I was so excited, the doctor not so much.  He decided to send me to a  geneticist.  Why?  Marfan Syndrome ran in my family, as did diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer.  The assignment from the geneticist - family pedigree, family medical history and any death certificates  I could locate for members of my family that had passed. The request for the information had me speaking to relatives, requesting death certificates, ans searching for answers.  Even after the geneticist had all the information he needed - I still needed more.  The search has lead me to many interesting characters.  A great great grandmother that married a already married man, a great great uncle  struck down my lightening, a great grandmother that refused to marry after becoming pregnant, a grandfather's whose...

News flash.......  Ancestry has just announce that they have Delaware and Nevada indexed and ready for searching on their website. Ancestry also has an enumeration-district finder and a free downloadable guide for locating your family in the 1940 Census images.

Ancestry is predicting that they will have every page - approximately 3.8 million of them - posted not later than 2 p.m. EST this Friday.  What exciting news! Ancestry has also been posting videos on YouTube to help you navigate through the census images.  Visit their videos at  Ancestry YouTube videos .  Give the videos a try they are quite informative. Ancestry is also making a presence on Facebook.  The release of the 1940 census has triggered a plethora new genealogy enthusiasts. Check the Events Tabs on Facebook for Livestream broadcasts and Tweet chat opportunities.  You can check it out at Ancestry Events Facebook . The Ancestry Sticky Notes blog page is posting tips and tricks for the census.  They are also looking for stories and pictures.  You can   email them to 1940stories@ancestry.com  and they will be posted to Ancestry's 1940 Stories section and possibly to their interactive map. To view the interactive map visit ...

Ancestry Insider Blog has a chart of showing which sites have uploaded which states.  You can view the post at  Update 1940 Census .  It's cool to see the progress of the different companies. The order of speed that the companies are posting so far are MyHeritage, Ancestry.com, and lastly FamilySearch. 1940 Census Taker interviewing a family at a mobile home park. I am still anxiously waiting for my Illinois relatives to show themselves.  I guess I better get back to some indexing so I can help move the project along.  For those of you that are interested, you can help index the census through FamilySearch.org.  It is very easy to do and a page of 40 names doesn't take long at all.  Join in the 1940 Census indexing by visiting getting started   For the latest indexing news at FamilySearch visit 1940 Census .

The wait is not over!  I had hoped to access the 1940 Census but a quick search of Ancestry shows that none of my areas have been uploaded!  Now I have finally received access to the 1940census.archives.gov (it took quite awhile to log into the site) and they also have not yet uploaded the areas I need to view. In the meantime  I do want to share with you some of the tools available at Ancestry for the 1940's census searcher.  First of all they have a chart of the progress of the 1940 Census.  Their chart my be found at  Progress of the 1940 Census  you will need to scroll down the page and locate the chart on the left hand side. They also have a search to help locate your family and a 1940's-era records search (the 1940 Census is not included) at  America 1940 .   You can also advise Ancestry of the states that you want to research at State Notification  and they will email you when they are available.  Talk about a time sa...