While it’s common for genealogists to review birth, death, and marriage records (to name just a few). One area that the “home” researcher might forget is reviewing school and alumni records. These have a lot of valuable information, if only from the vantage point of family stories. For example, you may discover that the odd looking antique ...

One way to expand your knowledge of your ancestors is to use occupational records. By so doing you can often distinguish between people with very similar or same names and discern to which you’re related. You can also discover family traditions that were passed down from generation to generation through occupational “secrets” or techniques. ...

Passports are among the best sources of genealogical data, especially for people born in other countries. Since 1925 onward the National Archives has kept these records on hand. Going back a little further, the department of State was issuing passports in 1789 too. And while you might think foreign travel was unusual this early in history, there w...

For a very long time among many different cultures, in particular the oral history was the only way of remembering one’s lineage and the important events of a group of people.  Even now, there are parts of each person’s history that no one but he or she knows. Unless someone asks and then considers it a duty of theirs and records the informat...