Questions tagged [research-methods]
For questions about how to conduct genealogy research and best practices for genealogy research.
174
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Searching family roots in Bihar, India?
Could anyone provide clues as how I could trace my roots back to Bihar, India from where my great grandfather emigrated to Mauritius around 1847?
My great grandfather named "Fakun" emigrated from ...
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1
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Searching tree by birth or death location
In building my tree, I've found some very interesting groupings of families on both my paternal and maternal lines that intersect in specific areas at specific times.
How can I search my tree to find ...
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1
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Where might I find General Orders No. 77 dated 11 Nov 1943?
I have found a document that notes the renaming of Edinburgh Field, Trinidad to Carlsen Field (click image for full size):
To get more information about the renaming (and the individual behind it) I ...
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Resources for researching family from Greene County, Tennessee?
I am researching my family tree and am stuck because my ancestor, Henry Harmon, was 24 in 1850 so he is already living with his wife Catherine and child George.
The 1840 census doesn't tell me ...
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Citing online image copies with inadequate information or provenance
In a recent blog post, Elizabeth Shown Mills asked the question Do You "Just Trust" Citations Offered by Digital Providers?
EE hopes your answer is no. Today’s image demonstrates why. Not ...
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Determining what records are available for a particular locale?
A common question that any researcher asks themselves is, "What records are available?" How can that question be easily answered for a particular locale and time period? I know that I could inspect ...
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What are the tools and methods actually used by genealogists in their work? [closed]
I am under the impression that amateur genealogists, like most amateurs undergo a rite of passage before turning their hobby into a passion. One of these rites of passage is finding a tool that works ...
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Finding more information about Brecon Arms pub and when specific individuals had occupancy as landlords
The Great-Grandparents of my wife were landlords of "The Brecon Arms" in Llanelli, Wales.
I know this for two reasons:
I heard this information first hand from another elderly relative, ...
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Do I have the right to share these records?
I have used several researchers who paid $$$ to have sets of records from the archives of Eastern European countries scanned for them. The researcher then personally did the work of translating and ...
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Determining what records are available about an individual?
This is a companion to Determining what records are available in a particular locale?
We've all been there. We've asked, or been asked, "What do you want to know about your research subject?" only ...
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Using shared cM to determine likelihood of misattributed paternity?
My ancestor Harriet Smith was born in the mid-1850s in England. Her birth certificate shows both of her parents (John Smith and Sarah Johnson). For the purposes of the birth registration, John and ...
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Finding residence information for Toronto in the 1840s?
I am trying to fill out the timeline of tailor George Hindley, his wife Ann/Hannah Drake, and their family between 1841 and 1847.
A rough timeline of the family can be seen by putting some of the ...
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Is it ethical to perform research on living people's ancestry without their knowledge?
Assuming you do not store, post, or record any information about a living person, is it ethical to use a living person other than yourself or your direct line as a kick-off point to begin research?
...
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Determining ethnicity according to ancestry
My sister, cousins, and other relatives speculate that my mom's grandmother was Jewish (for various reasons). I've heard people say at times things like, for example, "I'm 50% German" or &...
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Researching genealogy in Peru
I am trying to research my mom's family in Peru.
My mom was the only one that immigrated to the US and the rest of the family remained in Peru. I do have some relatives that moved back to Spain and ...
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History of German small town of Angloh?
I found the town of Angloh in Germany but nothing is left of it other than a spa.
I tried searching for weeks throughout the web but couldn't find anything about it other than coordinates.
How do I ...
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Organizing geographical reference material for English parishes?
Abstract: I prefer to standardize place names in Family Historian to take advantage of modern geo-coding and mapping features, and to record historical place names in research notes. But how do I ...
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Does FamilySearch.org prohibit freelance genealogists from charging clients for research services utilizing their platform to do the research?
If I want to hold myself out as an independent researcher willing to receive for-hire compensation to research a client's family history, and I want to use FamilySearch.org as my primary research ...
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Which FHL microfilms are available to view online?
My research subjects are two sisters who lived in College Point, Queens, NY. For the sister who died in 1902, I have the date of death and certificate number from the collection "New York City, ...
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1
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Determining if Medal Card is for relative William James Truckle or another man of same name
I don't know if it is possible to shed light on this record but I don't like to blindly attach a reference to a person without some valid basis to do so.
This question relates to Confirming if ...
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Finding records from the 'manor house'
I have an 1881 Census record for one of my research subjects where he appears as a servant at the local Manor house.
Mark Herber's Ancestral Trails has a section on finding manor house records ...
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Researching family/genealogy records in Taiwan and China
My parents are Taiwanese and are reluctant to share or do not know much family history. Much of the information they do share is vague or does not lend itself to searching on the internet using sites ...
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Finding 20th Century vital records in Germany?
Every person I look for with few exceptions I find no records for. For example:
First: Heinz
Last: Zaun
Birth: Germany
Date: 1928
Death: Germany
Date: 1957
I know this to be true, his son is ...
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Representing large pedigree chart as spreadsheet?
I'm working on a family history pedigree that is very wide with over 30 generations. I need to take a lot of notes about the various members and I need to see the pedigree in a semi-graphical manner ...
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Starting pre-1837 research in England and Wales?
What are some effective research strategies for England and Wales, when you are making the transition from the era of civil registration and censuses to the period before civil registration begins?
...
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Why doesn't my research meet the Genealogical Proof Standard?
I posted a related question here so it might be helpful to read it:
England 1700s - how to decide between two good record matches?
Thomas Fowler
B: unknown England
Marriage: 1766 Stillingfleet ...
CommunityBot
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How to encourage higher standards of genealogical research on a message board?
Everybody is entitled to pursue a hobby like genealogy the way he or she wants to.
A lot of genealogist also know: “Genealogy without proof is Mythology.” (attributed to Mary L. Henke)
With this ...
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Recording Research Logs / Plans
I am looking for some guidance on how best to record the research I have completed so I do not duplicate the same research. I will also use the logs to plan future research.
Can anyone point me in ...
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Term for researching one's own life in detail?
I'm a bit obsessed about recording my own life in detail. I have pretty much all the dates of the main events and eras of my life since I was 7yo. I have also preserved documents, messages, people etc....
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Are there any tools to search unstructured, digital data?
While I have been searching for ancestors in early America (late 1700s) I have found multiple records that have been OCR'd and made available online. These are extremely useful, however all that data ...
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2
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2
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How to find additional information pertaining to little known ancestors?
I have an Irish ancestor having a surname of Lynn. Anna Lynn is my Great Grandmother and 100% Irish. Her parents came to either New York or New Jersey around 1870. At some unknown point the family ...
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Retrieving online source about WWII pilots which has vanished?
I recently discovered a source online for WWII pilots has vanished:
http://planesandpilotsofww2.totalh.com
Some of the information there I found valuable in research. I wanted to try and ...
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Transitioning from person-based genealogy to record-based genealogy?
When we start genealogy we know the persons who are closest to us in time so we are comfortable using software where each person record is a unique "conclusion" person. We create a person record for ...
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1
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Possibility of tracing my great grandfather's wife's homeland
I have heard stories about my great grandfather's father who was a merchant and traded between India and the Islands nearby Indonesia. Once during some incident probably the World War all the travel ...
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Changes in place names of birth [duplicate]
How should one report "place of birth" (or death) where the location has legally changed over time?
Many locations experienced county name changes, or birth occurred in an area that later became a ...
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Norwegian naming conventions
I'm looking for a comprehensive explanation of Norwegian naming conventions, specifically relating to multiple given names and middle names, etc., as opposed to Surnames, patronymics, etc. (even if ...
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How to identify 19th century birth record in England when uncertain of parent's given names?
This question refers to people in a previously posted question about the identity of the mother of Elizabeth Cowan, b. 29 Sep 1824, England, and d. 14 Oct 1896, Ohio, USA: Could "Our Mother" ...
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Finding name changes and surname usage for children?
The following are from Queensland Australia records.
Margaret married James in 1886. They had 3 children between 1888 and 1895.
From 1897 to 1907 Margaret registered 4 more children. There was no ...
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Managing MyHeritage messages
I'm wondering if I'm somehow missing/unaware of some features for managing my MyHeritage messages...
I consider myself a full-time amateur genetic genealogist. I need to contact a lot of matches to ...
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Is my source the document or where I obtained it?
Up until now, I have recorded the source of an event, such as marriage, as where I obtained the document eg Registry of Births Deaths Marriages, date obtained and respective location. I then include ...
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Reducing risk of confirmation bias with DNA test results?
This is a follow-up question to Using DNA to link individuals after a name change
My cousins and I are pretty sure my great-great grandfather, Everett T Malcom, changed his name when he moved west. ...
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Medical Family Tree - Information to Obtain [closed]
For most people I'm not going to have any information on them.
For anyone with medical information, I find that I'm only going to get the cause of death.
But for those people who I can obtain more ...
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How to find German battle accounts
I’m wondering if someone can point me in the right direction. My uncle was shot down by a German night fighter, which was apparently confirmed by obtained German documents a year after. The documents ...
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Where can I find information on buildings that have been demolished?
I'd appreciate suggestions from anyone who has traced the history of houses, multi-family residences, and commercial buildings, on how to find more information about buildings which no longer exist.
...
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Are there checklists or templates made for visiting the Family History Library in Salt Lake City?
I am on my first research trip to Salt Lake City and my first few days in the FHL has been quite a learning experience. I watched the into video and met a number of very friendly, helpful volunteers ...
CommunityBot
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Evaluating birth year when different on SSDI and gravestone?
The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) states 1883 as birth year and grave stone says 1882.
Which should I believe?
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2
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2
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Finding German birth father who emigrated to Canada?
I was adopted in 1961. I think that my birth father was born in Germany and was around 19-20 years old when he emigrated to Canada and met my birth mother. They didn't marry and she later returned ...
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6
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1
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Working with DNA results for multiple profiles across multiple sites
I manage a number of DNA profiles (for related individuals) across a number of sites:
FamilyTreeDNA (5 profiles)
MyHeritage (5 profiles)
LivingDNA (2 profiles which will increase to 5 in the near ...
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3
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Searching for UK records when only minimal information to go on?
I'm trying to search for more information on a relative, but I'm a bit stumped.
I'm trying to find information prior to her marriage which was in 1912.
The only information I have of any certainty ...
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Half Sibling Centimorgans
I recently had contact with a person who was matched as a possible first cousin on Ancestry. We only share 753 Centimorgans and we originally thought we may be half siblings/ I am adopted and she saw ...
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