Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2025 i Family Tree

RECORD RICHES: Revolutionary Militia Rolls This Independence Day, uncover your Revolutionary War ancestors with militia rolls available on Fold3 and through state archives. Within Fold3’s “US, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775–1783” (also on Ancestry.com <www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4282>; NARA M246), you can find muster rolls that document the service and sacrifices of soldiers in your family tree. Those include servicemembers who were captured or faced other challenges. Pair the rolls you find with state records, such as Virginia’s militia lists at the Library of Virginia <lva-virginia.libguides.com/revolutionary-war>. Lisa Louise Cooke is the founder of the Genealogy Gems website and podcast <www.lisalouisecooke.com>, and host of the Family Tree Podcast <www.familytreemagazine.com/genealogy-podcast>. Podcast Hear more great genealogy finds from Lisa and other experts in our free monthly podcast <www.familytreemagazine.com/genealogy-podcast>. ROAD TRIP: The Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum On…

The FamilySearch Catalogs (yes, there are two!) give you fingertip digital access to billions of genealogical records and other resources freely available at FamilySearch <www.familysearch.org>. In early 2025, FamilySearch released a new-and-improved version of its “main” catalog <www.familysearch.org/en/search/catalog>. This article will show how you can use this valuable resource, plus the FamilySearch Library Catalog <libcat.familysearch.org/en>. 1 Access the FamilySearch Catalog either directly at <www.familysearch.org/en/search/catalog> or by clicking Search > Catalog. This is a directory of the materials that FamilySearch has in its collection: online, at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, and around the world at FamilySearch Centers. Here, you can run searches by surnames, titles, authors or keywords. I usually start by searching for place when doing research in a remote or new-to-me locale. Start as specific as you…

Q Why do my DNA ethnicity estimates keep changing? A Imagine you’re looking at your DNA ethnicity results. Last year, they said you were 25% Swedish. But now they’re saying you’re only 15% Swedish—with a splash of Danish thrown in. What’s going on? Think of it like this: When trying to match a paint color, you’ll have a harder time with just three paint swatches than if you had 300. That’s exactly what’s happening with DNA testing: Companies like AncestryDNA <www.ancestry.com/dna> and MyHeritage <www.myheritage.com/dna> are constantly expanding their reference pan els (their paint swatches, if you will) to give you more accurate results. Both AncestryDNA and MyHeritage DNA upped their ethnicity game since 2024. In July, AncestryDNA added 24 new regions: • 8 in Africa (hello, Yorubaland and Western Bantu Peoples!)…

BY THE SEA SHORE If it wasn’t for your publication of Family Tree Magazine, then I would not have excelled in the field of genealogy since 2005! Just looked in my files and spotted my earliest issue, which was given to me from my mother with the date of 2002. Back in 2005, I was hired on-the-spot as an archivist for the Hingham Historical Society. I managed the successful completion of genealogy requests from community citizens as well as for other historical societies on the South Shore of Massachusetts. In spring of 2005, I also cataloged over 500 photographs from our archives. When the brand-new computer system arrived, I then had to hand-key all the work I just completed into the online system and scan and digitize all of the…

Become a Family Tree Plus Member today for the advice, tools, and resources to enhance your genealogy research • Unlimited Premium articles on FamilyTreeMagazine.com Get members-only access to thousands of how-to articles on FamilyTreeMagazine.com. • 20 years of Family Tree Magazine Read expert advice from the United States’ premier genealogy magazine, including our list of the 101 Best Genealogy Websites and the best research tips from the past two decades. • Here’s an added bonus! You’ll receive the US State Research Guide Collection with your Plus Membership. It contains all fifty of our US State Research Guides. The collection costs $49.95 by itself! It’s yours for free as part of your Plus Membership. ONLY $49.97 BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!  <www.familytreemagazine.com/digital-magazine-website-vip-subscription/> Visit the Family Tree Shop for more great savings on magazines,…

BELT-TIGHTENING EFFORTS by government agencies are affecting institutions that genealogists rely upon for records preservation and access. An executive order from the Trump administration in March called for the dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS). IMLS provides grants to libraries around the country, which use them to fund interlibrary loan programs, reference databases, and other services. Courts in Rhode Island and the District of Columbia blocked the executive order from taking effect; the agency’s fate is uncertain at the time of this writing. State agencies have also been affected by budget cuts. Grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities to the Library of Virginia—used to digitize historical newspapers and WWII records—were terminated in April. And a budget proposal from California’s state legislature would remove funding for…

As children, Gwen Bruton and Terry Shavers attended school and church together in the predominantly African American part of Braceville Township, Ohio. “The area was originally settled by people from New England who were mostly abolitionist,” says Shavers. “These families were willing to sell land to African Americans migrating up from the South to work in WWI-era factories.” Schools in Braceville were integrated, leading to a lot of interaction between white and Black families. But there was segregation, too. “African Americans were isolated in the southern part of the community,” says Bruton. “They used to have a ‘colored folks’ day’ on the local beach, so we used to go on those days.” Shavers has cousins who still live in Braceville. Over the years, they’ve built new homes and revitalized the…

Each state-by-state guide includes: • How-to tutorials for finding records Notes on how and when key documents were kept in the state, including vital records, state censuses and land records • Historical summaries and timelines Narrative history with special emphasis on events that affected your ancestors, including year of statehood, large migrations, and major border changes • Links to key resources Websites, books, and archives and organizations for further research 1 READ AS PART OF FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE Each issue contains two newly updated guides on a rolling basis. Subscribers collect all 52 guides. 2 VIEW ONLINE FOR FREE <www.familytreemagazine.com/explore-by-state> New states added each month. 3 PURCHASE & DOWNLOAD PDFS <store.familytreemagazine.com/genealogy-research-state-guides> Purchase ($9.99 per guide; $49.95 for full collection) includes perpetual access to the most-recent version of the guide. RESEARCH…

“Begin with the end in mind,” writes the late Stephen Covey in his bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Simon & Schuster). That sage advice applies to all sorts of goals—including big writing projects. In that spirit, I invite you to pause for a moment to imagine the day your family history book arrives from the printer: Flushed with anticipation, you rip open the package. Your fingers trail the spine, and you crack it open to breathe in the ink and paper. You feel grateful for everything the project taught you, hugging the book to your chest. Each word represents more time—and love—than anyone will ever know. You sacrificed for this book, and you finished! You deserve to be proud. This exercise is more than a diversion: It…

Fraternal records play a fundamental role in genealogical and historical research, offering unique perspectives into both the lives of individuals and the social fabric of historical communities. These records can help trace family connections, illuminate cultural traditions, and provide context for understanding the social networks that shaped people’s lives. Read on for how to tap into these insightful resources. THE BASICS OF FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS Millions of people from diverse social and economic backgrounds joined organizations during the “Golden Age of Fraternalism” of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These fraternal orders, mutual aid societies, and ethnic and professional societies offered financial support in hard times, networking opportunities, and insurance benefits at the height of the Progressive Era. Fraternal organizations generally served one of a handful of purposes: Social: Organizations—including…

AS REPORTED IN OUR January/February 2025 issue (page 9), genetic genealogy company 23andMe <www.23andme.com> has faced a tumultuous couple of years. It’s endured layoffs, resignations from its CEO and board of directors, falling stock prices, and a massive data breach. These struggles culminated in the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. The declaration doesn’t mean 23andMe will shutter its doors. Chapter 11 bankruptcy simply allows a company to reorganize its debts—in this case, while it searches for a new owner. Still, the move calls into question the future of 23andMe and its database of 12 million test takers. At the time of this writing, the biotech company Regeneron has been announced as 23andMe’s likely new owner. The sale—which is subject to approval from the brankuptcy court—is expected to…

American Ancestors (also known as the New England Historic Genealogical Society) launched a new interactive exhibit called the Family History Experience <fhe.americanancestors.org>. Located in Boston, the experience is designed to inspire visitors to learn about their ancestors. Attendees can follow beginner-friendly genealogy prompts that ask questions of their origins, or browse curated displays of heritage heirlooms, artwork and artifacts. The ribbon-cutting event in April featured Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. (above), known widely for his scholarship and his hosting of the TV series “Finding Your Roots.” Gates is also the namesake of NEHGS’ headquarters.…

The 2020s might well be remembered as the AI Decade. Artificial intelligence is shaping every aspect of society, from healthcare to graphics, education to politics—and even genealogy. FamilySearch is making record images searchable with AI, while MyHeritage is using AI to animate your favorite photos and extract info from old newspapers. Ancestry.com and FamilySearch each have AI assistant tools in beta, answering questions and providing research. Some genealogists are even turning to ChatGPT’s research agent <www.openai.com/index/introducing-deep-research> to dig into their family history. Still, several family history tools rely on good old-fashioned “HI” (human intelligence)—at least for now. As we have for a quarter-century, we’ve combed the internet to find the most-useful sites and highlight updates to well-known favorites. Sites added since last year’s list are marked with an asterisk (*).…

Way back in 2005, Family Tree published its first two US state guides. “These guides are designed so you can easily whip them out in your genealogy workspace, or take them with you on research trips,” wrote then-editor Allison Stacy. “Eventually, you’ll have a collection of tips and tools to trace your roots anywhere in the United States.” Indeed, most issues since then have featured two state guides—they’ve proven so popular with readers that we come back to them again and again. Our May/June 2025 issue commemorated the completion of our third set of US research guides—this time, with all-new text written by a host of genealogy experts. That milestone invites us to take a step back and revisit how to research your US ancestors—no matter what state(s) they lived in. The…

CONSULT A WIDE VARIETY OF DOCUMENTS—including those that aren’t near the top of most genealogists’ to-find list. Resources such as the FamilySearch Catalog (page 64) can help you identify even obscure records from your ancestor’s time and place. And this issue includes guidance to three off-the-beaten-path family history resources: military medals (page 68), fraternal records (page 60) and diaries and journals (page 66). Find more suggestions at <www.familytreemagazine.com/freebie/free-genealogy-records-checklist>. ̇…

1 This Freemason membership record lists crucial details about the lodge brother, including his name. Separate fields for Nativity and Residence imply Savage was born in Boston, but moved south to Taunton by 1874. (As we'll see, the lodge he attended is in a neighborhood of Boston.) 2 Occupation doesn't necessarily capture the member’s full work history. Savage is listed here as "Britannia Worker"; additional research shows he also served in the Union Army during the Civil War. 3 Savage was initiated into the Masons on this date, when he was conferred the first degree of membership: Entered Apprentice. 4 On these dates, Savage was "passed" then "raised" with the second and third degrees of membership: Fellowcraft, then Master Mason. The boxes below these would contain details of any discharge,…

1 Think broadly. Not all journals and diaries are titled as such. Look beyond the obvious “diary” for an inside glimpse at the day-to-day life of your 20th- and 21st-century ancestors. Professionals, teachers and businessowners often kept track of events with a desktop appointment book. Busy moms may have used a purse-size planner or family wall calendar. 2 Remember the dates. Large wall calendars with their big empty date squares recorded joyous milestones (such as weddings and birthdays) and sad occasions (such as funerals). Extract information and digitize the calendar for your genealogy notes. Calendars are typically printed on non-archival paper, although glossy photo pages may survive well for decades. Store original calendars inside archival boxes separated by acid-free paper, or in archival file folders in a metal filing cabinet.…