Hopefully, you are all familiar with the Afrigeneas website for African Ancestored research. I want to bring your attention to a terrific article that resides there, albeit somewhat hidden. From their homepage, if you click on the link that says Records, and then click Library Records, you will find a collection of articles and other […]
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Category: General Research
Have You Checked Published Family Histor...
Recently, I was perusing the Library of Congress’ genealogy reading room website. I clicked on the link to “Bibliographies and Guides.” This page includes the guide to African-American Family Histories and Related Works. Surprisingly, I found one of my ancestral families (a collateral line) on that list! Many of the items were programs from family […]
Prologue Magazine at NARA
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my Christmas/New Year holiday as you can see by my lengthy absence. I missed you all & have sufficiently awoken from my month-long slumber to try to stick my big toe back into the genealogy waters. I was reading the latest issue of Prologue magazine trying to figure out what to blog […]
Source Citation Tips and Taps
You want to take all the joy out of a genealogist’s day, just bring up the subject of source citations. I have seen faces go from glitter to gloom when you bring it up…LOL. Nevertheless, it’s one of my 10 Key Genealogical Principles, and sooner or later, if you want any of your research to […]
Deconflicting “The Same Name”
One of the most common errors for new genealogists is falling into the trap of “The Names The Same”. What we mean by that is that because we see someone with the same name, living in the same place, we jump too quickly to assume it is our ancestor (or person of interest). This is […]
Robyn’s 10 Key Genealogy Principles
When I teach my classes, I start with the following list of what I call my “10 Key Genealogy Principles.“ These are the most useful techniques and strategies I have learned in my years of research. They are what continue to help me to solve my biggest genealogical puzzles. One or more of these principles are […]
Some Favorite Genealogy Websites
I have been absent from my blog. I started teaching my Advanced African American Genealogy course at Howard County Community College, and I’ve spent the last few weeks revamping my class from last semester. I’m always excited about the class and meeting my students. So I haven’t had alot of time to post lately, but […]
Ancestors: What Were Their Lives Like?
I find myself thinking about this question a lot when it comes to my family history. It has never for me been about “gathering names” or seeing how far back I can go. I have always grappled with trying to recreate my ancestor’s lives, trying to understand the forces of history they lived through and […]
University Theses and Dissertations: Hid...
I enjoy sharing useful resources with other genealogists. Today I want to share the possibilities for genealogical research in theses and dissertations (T&D). Footnotes are Key When I read a historical book or article, I tend to notice the footnotes first. The quality of the footnotes tells me something about the research, even before I […]