Focus on the Archives: Portal to Texas History
This weekly series provides a view into various archives and their importance for genealogical research. This week’s selection is The Portal to Texas History (Portal). This system’s design began in 2002 with a goal to grow into a long-term sustainable,...
Spotlight on a Texas Schoolteacher – Martha Ersyl Battle
Southwestern University, 1920 “Hiking Club” Last year I completed my Master degree in Genealogical, Palaeographic & Heraldic Studies (at University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow, Scotland). My dissertation focused on the experiences of women who attended...
Focus on the Archives: Digital Public Library of America
This weekly series provides a view into various archives and their importance for genealogical research. This week’s selection is the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). This digital endeavor started in April 2013 to act as an open, distributed national...
Heraldry, Clans, Coats of Arms and More!
Heraldry, “the practice of devising, blazoning, and granting armorial insignia and of tracing and recording genealogies”[1], is an exciting practice. Many people who have an ancestral heritage aligned to a clan community may be aware of their clan’s...
How to use the FamilySearch Catalog for Online Research
A necessary tool for all genealogists, the FamilySearch Catalog describes over two million microfilm records and hundreds of thousands of books and maps. While it only contains descriptions of the records rather than the actual ones, it still proves to be an important...
Beginning Your Genealogy Research: Learn Through Examples
One of the best ways to learn genealogy research (second to practicing yourself) is through the accuracies, errors, and methods of other genealogists. Examples of genealogical research can be as simple as the finding and analysis of a certain record, to the research...
Beginning Your Genealogy Research: The Research Plan
So, you’ve successfully completed the first step in beginning your genealogy research and conducted an interview with one of your relatives, but how do you use the information you’ve gathered from the interview to begin your research? This next step is where...
Beginning your Genealogy Research: The Interview
Luke Raney, Contributor This blog post describes the first step in uncovering your family history which often begins with a simple, yet meaningful interview. The process of this type of communication will open the door to the world of genealogy and reveal just how...