Genealogy and Family History Stack Exchange
Genealogy and Family History Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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6 answers

How to find wife's maiden name in New England in the 1700s?

All too often it seems I have a family in New England in the 1700s where I know the father and several children but only have a given name for the mother in the family. (The children's birth records usually seem not to give mother's maiden…
RobertShaw
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Citation guides for UK sources for family history and genealogy

Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills (Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. Revised edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2009.) is a citation guide widely used by…
user104
14
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6 answers

Displaying exponentially growing family tree in practical way?

I have now almost completed my family tree, having each branch going back to approximately the French revolution, discovering dozens of previously unknown ancestors. I would like to share the family tree with my family, the problem is that I cannot…
Bregalad
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14
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5 answers

Obtaining personnel records about Panama Canal without going to Panama?

I have an ancestor whom I've been told helped construct the Panama Canal. I have done some searching online but have not been able to find any personnel records or other data that would help me corroborate the claim. My understanding is that the…
fbrereto
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Big and public family tree as gedcom

Are there any public and big family trees available online as downloadable gedcom files? Something like royal families, presidents or like that.
Fedy2
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Where do I find the record pointed to by a naturalization index?

I found an image of an index record for a declaration of intent in a New York court, published online as part of the collection Alphabetical Index to Declarations of Intention of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York,…
user47
13
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1 answer

Catch 22: how do you know if a data provider's sub will be valuable to you — before you subscribe?

One of the questions I constantly struggle with is how to evaluate whether it is worth it to me to subscribe or buy credits on Pay-Per-View (PPV) at the websites of the big data providers. (Side note: if you are trying to evaluate whether a site…
Jan Murphy
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How far back can German Genealogy normally be traced?

I've been researching my family history, and I hit a roadblock. The oldest records I can find are from German church records in the early eighteenth century. I can find nothing older. Is this a reasonable amount for German ancestry?
Luke_0
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Is the term "baptism" or "christening" more accurate in old parish registers?

Looking at Church of England parish registers from the 17th-18th centuries, some pages are titled "baptisms" while others "christenings". Now we use the terms more or less interchangeably, but would they have been interchangeable three hundred years…
Harry V.
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How would you handle a census record that is almost certainly the target family but which has too many discrepancies?

Anna M. Alischer married Charles John Brockhouse in 1928 and had 3 children (1930, 1934, 1942). In 1930 they were enumerated in Beaver Falls, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. I think I've identified the family's 1940 census enumeration in White…
bgwiehle
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Identify people in 20th-century photos once the older relatives are gone?

My husband and I, and our siblings, are now the oldest generation in our families. We have photos which have been discovered or have come down to us when our parents died. I have another friend who is younger than me who is in the same situation;…
Jan Murphy
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How can I catalog, preserve, and share ephemera?

I just moved in to live with my grandmother. There is a ton of ephemera around, especially from the good old days when local newspapers reported on everything from illness to vacation. How can I catalog, preserve, and share this ephemera in a way…
user47
13
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4 answers

Understanding last three columns of 1910 US Census?

The last three columns in the 1910 US Census (columns 30, 31 and 32) have four numbers in them. Column 30 is supposedly about survivors of the Union or Confederate army, 31 is if you’re blind and 32 is labeled deaf and dumb. I found the directions…
Kthompso
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Finding Edinburgh map engraver apprenticeship records of William Slight in 1840s?

My 3rd great grandfather, William Slight, was born about 1832 in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland to James Slight (a Mason) and Elizabeth Boyd (daughter of a Mason). In the 1841 Scotland Census he was living at Court Street, Haddington with his…
PolyGeo
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Andrew Wilson remains an enigma

I am trying to find the parentage and immigration for Andrew Wilson my 2nd great grandfather. According to family search he was born on August 1, 1838 in Gulladuff, Maghera Parish in Londonderry Ireland. He married Elizabeth H. Jennings on June 22,…
user633
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