passenger lists

How to find your ancestor without a passenger list

No Passenger List? No official U.S. government passenger lists exist prior to 1820. What miscellaneous lists that have survived and been transcribed or published cover only a fraction of the immigrants who arrived in the Americas before 1820. If you do not possess a passenger list for your immigrant ancestor, are you at the end[…]Read more

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Lincoln Family Cemetery

Locating and Visiting Cemeteries

Editor’s note: The following post is by William Dollarhide, who has not only provided excellent tips of both the serious and witty variety, but is an accomplished Genealogical Publishing Company author. As Mr. Dollarhide excels not only an author but also as a gifted speaker and award winning genealogist, we are always delighted to share his[…]Read more

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Genealogy Collection

You Have To Get Out of the Genealogy Collection!

By Carolyn L. Barkley I first heard these attention-getting words from frequent national genealogical conference speaker, Paul Milner. As both a librarian and a researcher, I could not agree more. Many customers come into a library and ask “Where is your genealogy collection?” These customers may lack well-developed search strategy skills, may think that all[…]Read more

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new york state census

Fill in the Census Records Research Gaps

Utilizing census records are a fundamental resource for any genealogists. There are two situations discussed here where the federal census records leave information gaps. Namely, when you’re searching for a relative before the federal census of 1790, and when you can’t find someone you know should show up on a federal census. A relative who predates[…]Read more

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Census Example

Canadian Census Tips from Denise Larson

The following post is from author, Denise Larson, who has offered her expertise on other topics such as Maine Genealogy in two parts, as well as the recently posted piece about Canada’s upcoming anniversaries (from 2016). This year, 2016, marks the sesquarcentennial—350th anniversary—of the first official census taken in Canada. Only 163 pages long and enumerated in part by[…]Read more

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Land Records

Look to the Land: Understanding Land Records

By Carolyn L. Barkley When I first began to attend genealogical conferences, I heard a speaker from the North Carolina State Archives say, “When I hear someone ask for marriage records or wills, I know that the individual is a genealogist; when I hear someone ask for land records, I know that the individual is[…]Read more

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