Family history sleuth? Please don’t avoid online family trees.

Every time I see someone posting on social media or saying out loud something akin to “I avoid those online family trees.” That may be followed by a comment that they are useless and baseless. Oh, do I disagree. Do I trust all family history details that someone told me, wrote about today or 120 […]

Genealogy Learning, Digging Deeper: Records, Tools, and Skills.

Next Thursday, 5 February 2026, at 1:00 p.m. EST, Noon CST, 11:00 a.m. MST, and 10:00 a.m. PST, registration opens! Ready for a week of learning, networking, analysis, and insight to a variety of records to further your genealogy research. Would you like an opportunity to receive help on one of your own genealogy dilemmas? […]

Viewing my past genealogy webinars

Every so often someone asks where they can get a preview of one of my presentations. Most are from a genealogical or historical society or library representative who is interested in hiring me to do a presentation. It’s a good way to learn how I present and the comprehensiveness of the slides and handouts. Continuing […]

Suddenly, it was a 4:00 a.m. bedtime for a genealogist

On a recent evening,  I planned to spend a couple hours on some updating and expanding of syllabus material for upcoming presentations. Then I was going to reward myself with some more time on my own family history. I accomplished both and went to bed at 4:00 a.m. The Montreal Daily Star. Monday, 14 September […]

MyHeritage website adds 9 new languages

MyHeritage announces that its website is now “available in 50 languages, following the addition of 9 more languages. This expansion enables millions more people around the world to discover who they are and where they belong, in their native language.” Further they said “It will also lead to more valuable matches and discoveries for MyHeritage […]

Genealogy syllabus work makes me think and I enjoy it

One of my work projects this week is my part of the syllabus for two sessions in the upcoming Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research course “Repository Research: From Website to Doorway.” See my 28 December post on this course for more details and to register for one of the seats that are still open […]

A New Year, new genealogy sales, and new research plans for all of us

New Year’s Resolutions? I don’t really make them but have been thinking about some things that are genealogy related for 2026. 1. If you didn’t  take advantage of membership/subscription or DNA sales at the end of 2025, don’t worry. Many of our favorite websites and companies are having New Year’s sales. Check the websites of […]

2026 Legacy Family Tree Webinars Announced! I am fortunate to be one of 200+ speakers.

2026 is going to be another great year in genealogy and technology education in the field of family history. Geoff Rasmussen, the guru behind Legacy Family Tree Webinars, has announced the 2026 lineup of presentations. https://familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars/?list_view=true&multiple=true&language=english Register for individual webinars or hit the select all if you are able to join in when each one […]

My first genealogy presentation of 2026 is January 3 and is both in-person and online!

January 3, 2026. that’s this next Saturday and I am presenting an afternoon hybrid webinar. The host is the Greene County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society and they are based in Xenia, Ohio. https://www.greenecountyogs.com The event opens at 1:30 EST and I will present “The U.S. National Archives: The Nation’s Attic” at 2:00 EST. […]

Scheduling January & February Consultations with a Special December rate

If you are interested in a one-on-one consultation to get you started on family history research or to figure out the next research steps to take by yourself, you may be interested in a consultation. I offer a special two-hour minimum consultation for a total of $120 but for those agreed to in December 2025, […]