Blog posts

A step by step guide to how to find ship passenger lists for immigrant ancestors, plus why the Ellis Island name change myth is not actually true.

Find free historical newspapers online through Chronicling America, state digital archives, and library card access, no Newspapers.com subscription needed.

Learn how to use Google Earth for genealogy, including how to overlay old historical maps onto modern satellite views to find your ancestors' land.

Learn what gravestone symbols mean in genealogy research, from weeping willows and clasped hands to broken columns and carved anchors in old cemeteries.

Learn how to search the 1950 census by name, address, and enumeration district, plus how to work around AI indexing errors that hide your relatives.

Centimorgans explain how DNA testing sites measure family relationships. Learn what a cM number means and how it points to real cousins and relatives.

Step by step instructions for downloading your raw DNA data file from AncestryDNA and 23andMe, plus how to store it safely once it is on your computer.

Learn how to use GEDmatch tools, including One-to-Many matching and Admixture calculators, with a plain English guide to five free features.

Learn how to organize cloud photo storage with 7 practical steps for sorting, naming, and tagging photos so your family's memories stay easy to find for years.

A plain English guide to mitochondrial DNA testing for genealogy, what an mtDNA test can and cannot tell you, and when it is actually worth ordering one.