Genealogy Gold by Ancestral Findings

Latest Episodes:

GC-009: Look at Immigration and Naturalization Records Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

Once you have a clue or two from family stories and/or census records, you can go to immigration and naturalization records to look for confirmation of what you discovered. You can find these records at the National Archives (if you want to go look in person), and on Ancestry and FamilySearch (if you prefer to look online). If you want to be exceptionally thorough, as any good genealogist should, you should check all these sources. If you can't make it to the National Archives in person, you can find a listing of their indexes on their website, which you can use to make a written request to them for a lookup of a record for you. With any luck, your ancestor's place of origin will be confirmed, and you may even get the name of the ship they came over on, as well as the port they departed from, the port they arrived at, and the year they came, as well as their age upon arrival, whether they have any relatives already in the United States, what their occupation is, and where they are planning to go upon entrance into the United States.

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AF-230: The Louisiana Purchase Controversy Mar 12, 2019

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The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States and caused a lot of controversy for President Thomas Jefferson. Today, I'll explain why it was such a controversial.

Show Notes:https://ancestralfindings.com/louisiana-purchase-controversy

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Ancestral Findings 1320 Nagel Rd #54611 Cincinnati, OH 45254

AF-229: Who Were the Ashkenazi Jewish People, and Are You Related to Them? Mar 08, 2019

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Do you have Ashkenazi Jewish DNA? This can be an exciting journey for you. Today, I'll talk about who the Ashkenazi people are and what it means for your family history.

Show Notes:https://ancestralfindings.com/ashkenazi-jewish-people-related/

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Ancestral Findings 1320 Nagel Rd #54611 Cincinnati, OH 45254

GC-007: Listen to Your Family's Stories Mar 07, 2019

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While family stories are notorious for having inaccuracies and outright falsehoods in them, there is usually a grain of truth in there somewhere. The more recently a family line immigrated to America, the more likely the family origin story is to be correct, while the further back in time the immigration happened, the less likely it is to be true. Even so, always verify all family origin stories, even with more recent immigrants. For example, I was always told growing up that my paternal grandfather's mother came directly to the United States from Germany in the early 20th century. Even my grandfather himself told me his mother came from Germany. However, when I began doing genealogy research, I quickly discovered this was not true. It was my grandfather's mother's mother who came here from Germany, and not in the 20th century, but in 1883. So, family origin stories can change even in the space of a generation. In this case, the family actually did come from Germany, but the immigrant ancestor was different than who I was always told it was. It wasn't my grandfather's mother, but his maternal grandmother who was from Germany. If you are curious about an ancestor's origin, listening to any family origin stories about them is a good first step. However, always confirm those stories with records.

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GC-008: Look at Census Records Mar 06, 2019

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Census records beginning in 1880 asked for the birthplace of an enumerated person's parents. If you have a recent immigrant ancestor, or a suspected one, the 1880 and later census records can give you a clue as to whether they were born in the United States or not, and where their parents were born. Although you will still have to follow this information up with confirming records, because the people giving the information on the census may not have told the truth, for their own reasons, or may have unknowingly given incorrect information, based on a tale their parents or grandparents told them. Last names can sometimes give more credence to a stated place of origin on a census record, as Irish, Scottish, German, Russian, and other certain nations have very identifiable-sounding last names. Still, confirming with other records is always a necessity. Like family stories, the location of birth of a person or their parents on a census record is a clue, and a jumping off point for more research.

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AF-228: The French and Native American Relations Mar 05, 2019

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Have you ever heard of foot shape genealogy? It is a concept out of the 19th century that still has some adherents today. It is based on the belief that the shape of your foot can tell you one of five ancient ethnic groups to which your ancestors belonged. Join me today and as I talk about this wild and crazy method.

The French enjoyed much better relations with Native Americans than other European groups when they first came to American shores. Join me today and I'll give you the reasons why.

Show Notes:https://ancestralfindings.com/the-french-and-native-american-relations/

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Ancestral Findings 1320 Nagel Rd #54611 Cincinnati, OH 45254

GC-006: Use the Library Mar 04, 2019

Show notes

Don't let having a limited budget keep you from doing your genealogy research. Some of the best research sites are expensive to use, such as Ancestry.com and GenealogyBank.com. Ordering the records you might have found on these sites can cost money, too. So, save yourself some money and further your genealogy research by going to the library.

There are free genealogy resources online, but they are not always indexed, and it can take some time to search through them. On the other hand, most libraries have subscriptions to the expensive genealogy websites, and you can use them for free on the library's computers. There are even some genealogy websites that are ONLY available to libraries, such as Lexis/Nexis and ReadEx. You will want to take advantage of all of these. You might even find some interesting information about those who only rely on subscription sites at home will miss.

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GC-004: Be Organized in Your Genealogy Mar 03, 2019

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Your genealogy work will only be reliable to future generations (and publishers) if you keep good records of your work as you go. Don't just treat your work haphazardly like a hobby, even if that is what it is. Even as a hobby, you want your work to be taken seriously. Being organized means you will know what work you have done, what work you still need to do, what sources you have used, and their origin and reliability.

Having this information is good not only for giving credibility to your work but for keeping you on track. Once you have researched several lines (and branches of those lines), you may forget what you have learned, and what the sources you used said. If your work brings you back to those lines, you will have all the information you need at your fingertips to pick it right back up again without repeating any research work.

To learn more genealogy tips, visit http://www.GenealogyGold.com

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GC-005: Don't Copy Research that Has Already Been Done Mar 02, 2019

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There is a chance someone might have already researched your family tree. Their work may be online or in the form of a published book. Do a check for these things before devoting too much time to a family line. However, do not take everything published online or in a book as gospel, either. Make sure anything you find has sources, and check for yourself to make sure those sources are correct. Only then can you use someone else's research in your family tree; if you do, be sure to give them credit in your own source citations.

To learn more genealogy tips, visit http://www.GenealogyGold.com

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AF-227: Your Foot Shape and Your Genealogy Mar 01, 2019

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Show Notes:https://ancestralfindings.com/your-foot-shape-and-your-genealogy

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Hard To Find Surnames:- https://ancestralfindings.com/surnames