Do You Make a Living as a Genealogist? Share Your Story!

pHow did you turn your passion for a href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/od/genealogists/a/business.htmgenealogy into a business/a? How did you first get started? How did you find clients? Set your rates? Keep things organized?/p pa href=http://genealogy.about.com/u/sty/genealogists/genealogy-business-tips/form.htmstrongShare your experience and tips/strong/a for those who are either considering or just getting started with genealogy as a profession. A little free publicity is okay here too! You're invited to share a little about your genealogy business (including URL) as well./p

New Online Index to Nearly 15 Million Australian Births, Marriages & Deaths

pAncestry.au launched a huge new index this week to Australian BMDs, comprising nearly 15 million records between the years 1787 and 1985 (births only to 1922 and marriages only to 1949). The searchable database was compiled from microfilmed birth, marriage and death indexes taken from record offices and registries from across Australia, with the exception of the Australian Capital Territory. While some of these indexes and/or the original records are already available online, this is the first database that combines birth, marriage and death data from across all Australian states in one place and format./p...pa href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/b/2010/07/16/new-online-index-to-nearly-15-million-australian-births-marriages-deaths.htmRead Full Post/a/p

10 Questions to Ask Before You Visit a Research Facility

pIt's fun to sit on my couch in my pjs and search for my ancestors, but when I can find the time I always prefer the firsthand thrill of the hunt - talking to relatives, poking around in cemeteries and courthouses, and walking the streets and land where my ancestors once stood. Before planning a trip to the State Historical Society, the Family History Library, the National Archives or the local courthouse, however, I always do my homework. There is nothing more frustrating as a genealogist than to drive two hours for a day at the State Archives only to find out they are closed this week for renovations, or that the records you need are in off-site storage and can't be retrieved for at least 3 days (yes, I learned this the hard way!). Prepare for your genealogy research trip in advance with these a href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/od/basics/a/onsite_research.htm10 Tips for On-Site Genealogy Research/a. In addition, checking off these stronga href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/od/libraries/a/questions.htm10 Questions to Ask Before You Visit a Research Facility/a/strong...pa href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/b/2010/07/12/10-questions-to-ask-before-you-visit-a-research-facility.htmRead Full Post/a/p

Understanding Dit names

pFound primarily in France, New France (French-Canada, Louisiana, etc.), and Scotland, strongdit names/strong are essentially an alias tacked on to a family name or surname. emDit/em in French is a form of the word emdire/em, which means to say, and in the case of dit names is translated loosely as that is to say, or called. Therefore, the first name is the family's original surname, passed down to them by an ancestor, while the dit name is the name the person/family is actually called or known as. Dit names are used by families, not specific individuals, and are usually passed down to future generations, either in place of the orginal surname, or in addition to it./p...pa href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/b/2010/07/08/understanding-dit-names.htmRead Full Post/a/p

Researching Your Revolutionary War Ancestor

pemWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.../em/p...pa href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/b/2010/07/04/researching-your-revolutionary-war-ancestor.htmRead Full Post/a/p

Five Golden Rules for Growing “Healthy” Family Trees

p script src=http://embed.technorati.com/embed/id3dabzpj4.js type=text/javascript/script /p pIt's a fact of life. Trees can't live without light, water, air, and food. While fancy fertilizers and high-tech bug killers are nice, all trees really need to survive are the basics and a little TLC./p...pa href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/b/2010/06/29/five-golden-rules-for-growing-family-trees.htmRead Full Post/a/p

Indexing of Freedmen Letters from North Carolina Underway

pA project to index Freedmen Letters from North Carolina has been added to a href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://indexing.familysearch.comFamilySearch Indexing/a - absolutely wonderful news for anyone researching 19th century African Americans in that state. These records are a rich source of information on emancipated slaves, freed Blacks and Black Union soldiers, including details such as names, marriages, education and employment information, receipt of rations, health care and legal support. These records are currently being indexed by volunteers for eventual placement on the FREE FamilySearch Record Search site. If these records hold interest for you then you may want to consider donating a little of your time to help get them indexed and online faster!/p...pa href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/b/2010/06/27/indexing-of-freedmen-letters-from-north-carolina-underway.htmRead Full Post/a/p

Was Your Ancestor an Australian Digger?

pWas your Australian ancestor a digger? If he/she arrived in Australia during the 1850s or in Western Australia during the 1890s, it is certainly a possibility! Hundreds of thousands of new settlers descended on Australia, especially Victoria, during the 1850s after gold was discovered in 1851  near Bathurst, New South Wales, and in Ballarat, Buninyong and Bendigo Creek in Victoria. In the 1890s, the rich gold fields of Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie attracted yet another large influx of immigrants. Not only did the promise of gold lure diggers, but also tradesman, shop keepers, house servants and others necessary for a rapidly growing settlement. Learn more in stronga href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/od/australia/a/australian-gold-rush-immigrants.htmResearching Australian Gold Rush Immigrants/a/strong./p

Free at FamilySearch - 26 Million New Names

pYet another twenty-nine new collections were updated or added this week at FamilySearch.org--with 26 million names and 1.5 million digital images! The records just added or updated include nine more indexes for the U.S. 1910 Federal Census (now 37 percent complete), plus images of Costa Rican Church Records, an updated index to French Protestant Church Records, images of some Hungarian Civil Registration records (Agauj-Torna and Szabolcs), indexes to over em4 million/em digital images from the 1930 Census of Mexico, and digitized images for several small collections from Spain, including civil registration records, Catholic church records and municipal records./p...pa href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/b/2010/06/23/free-at-familysearch-26-million-new-names.htmRead Full Post/a/p

10 Top Databases for British Genealogy

pMillions of records from England, Scotland and Wales are available online in the form of digital images or transcriptions. These can be found on literally hundreds of helpful genealogy Web sites, but the following a href=http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc#038;zu=http://genealogy.about.com/od/uk_databases/tp/top_databases.htm10 British genealogy sites/a are especially popular for their wide variety of useful records and information for anyone researching British ancestry./p