FamilyTree Magazine is my go-to-tutorial these days for holding-in-my-hands genealogy learning. I like “real” books; I like “real” magazines. If you do too, FT is for you!

For example, in the July-August 2025 issue there were articles on these topics:

• Ancestry.com has a digitized book collection! This includes local histories, directories, memoirs and more. Click to www.ancestry.com/search/collections/catalog and then search by title or keyword. (This is NOT a link; copy and paste it.) 
• Annual list of 101 Best Genealogy Websites; marked if free or pay and whether first time on the list or was on previous lists. What a glorious guide!
• “Signs of Life” was an article offering to “re-energize your efforts for strategies to access vital records.”
• I’ve read where most men in the late 19th century belonged to a Masonic lodge. Our ancestors were joiners and not just for the comradeship but for financial support to each others’ families in times of trouble. So likely YOUR ancestor belonged to some fraternal organization. This article lists the basics of searching for such records.
• Sunny Jane Morton is a regular (and top notch!) contributor to Family Tree Magazine. Her article in this issue on how to really evaluate and use the millions of new records’ hints that are appearing on the major genealogy websites all the time. She offers 12 good tips on understanding this resource. 
• DNA Ethnicity Estimates. This was the back page article by DNA expert, Diahan Southard. The submitted question was “why do my DNA ethnicity estimates keep changing?” How come last year my test showed I was 25% Swedish and this year it says I’m only 15%? What gives? Diahan wrote: “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. DNA testing companies are constantly expanding their reference panels (their paint swatches, if you will) to give you more accurate results.” 

As of few weeks ago, when I crafted this post, there were 150,162 articles under this Resource Guide on the FamilySearch.org website.  So what is the Wiki anyway?

The Research Wiki is a tree, online genealogical guide that lists websites and resources to help you find your ancestors from countries around the world. The Wiki is a community project where anyone can contribute.

What can you find on the Wiki?

• Genealogical databases and online resources 
• Genealogy research strategy and guidance
• Explanation of genealogy record types and their uses
• Locality pages for countries, states, counties and parishes with relevant resources.
• Topic pages about genealogy, such as Organize Your Genealogy, or Gazetteers.

Pro tips for navigating the Wiki:

• Don’t search by name; individuals are NOT listed in the Wiki but you will find links to databases or other resources that may contain the information you seek.
• Do search by location; search by location, smallest to largest (parish/town, county, state, country). 
• Do check for pertinent records in each jurisdiction. 

Recommendations:

• For the country, or state, and/or county of your interest, consider printing out those pages for better study; keep them in your research notebook. 
• Do check for specific topics: Land records, Military Records, Church Records, Emigration, Immigration, etc. Such sites give you an overview while a locality search gives you specifics to that locale. 
• When you learn the European (or other) country of your ancestors’ origins, go to that country and print out/really study that material……. your own personal self-help guide.

The bestest advice I can give you today is to grab a hot or cold drink, set a timer for a full hour, and go explore the FamilySearch Wiki! That’s the “bestest” way to learn how to really utilize this fantastic FREE resource. 

A very sad cause of death. “It was determined on March 8, 1670, in Plymouth, that one Thomas Lucase died “hee being very ancient and decriped in his limbs and it being very cold and having drunk some drink, gott a violent fall into a ditch in a very dangerous place and could not recover himself but bruised his body and lying all night in the cold, soe he came to his end.”  (Checked FindAGrave but did not find dear old Thomas Lucase.)

True story: Looking for hubby’s ancestor in 1880, Anderson County, Texas, I typed in his name Charles Phillips. Result? Nada. Why? The enumerator wrote Charlie Phillips! Just a couple of letters can make a huge difference.

Remember to consider state censuses, especially for these states: Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin. These states’ censuses offer detailed information not found in the federal censuses. All are available via FamilySearch and Ancestry. (Donna: to add this bit, I thought to check a “known fact” that one state census asked folks’ religion. I was wrong; not a one did.)

Interesting language, English. If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? A house burns up as it burns down. We drive on a parkway and park on a driveway. English is a crazy language for sure.

California Great Registers: These are a fascinating help to find California ancestors after the loss of the 1890 census and before the 1906 earthquake. The growth of the state’s population after the gold rush in 1848 precipitated voter registration. The Great Registers of Voters was created by law on 19 March 1866. Each county was to keep a detailed list of their registered voters. These registers exist for the 50 counties that comprised California in 1872. Look for them on FamilySearch.

The Hessians are coming! The Hessians were German troops from the Hesse-Kassel in Germany who fought in the American Revolution. The British lacked enough trained soldiers so turned for assistance to the head of Hesse-Kessel whose first wife was the daughter of King George II. The soldiers totaled about 29,000 and approximately only 1700 returned to Germany after the war. Do you trace your line back to a Hessian soldier?

What is Pre-History? According to a documentary on the History Channel, anything that happened before the invention of writing is called pre-history, or prehistoric. Anything that happened after the invention of writing is called history.”  Would you agree? 

Would you guess that the world’s longest known family tree is that of Confucius, 551-479 BC, the ancient Chinese philosopher. Confucius’ descendants had a vested interest in keeping proper family records because successive generations were often honored with official positions and titles of nobility by various imperial governments. Today there are 80 generations on record; Google:  Confucius genealogy. 

Do you know what “handfasting” was? This was the term for a trial marriage. in the 1600s, there were strict laws in England and Scotland regarding marriage. So young couples in the area sealed a trial marriage by the joining of hands at the annual village fair. The couple would live together for a year, until the next fair, and if it was working out, they’d marry. 

A census enumerator sometimes had a dangerous mission. This story appeared in The Spokesman Review, 21 Feb 1935, and tells the story of the census supervisor of the 1935 farm census in this district:  “Boyd Carter, enumerator in the North and South Newport, Lenora and Furport Districts, is recovering from an attack of snow blindness and severe exhaustion suffered while at work in his precinct. Carter was found in a dazed condition in his parked car several nights ago. He was taken to Newport, and later to his home in Usk, where he is convalescing. Snow and long trips by snowshoe were blamed for his condition.” (Charles Hansen submitted this bit to The Bulletin, Dec 2008.)

The Union side of the Civil War was fought mostly by boys and men under the age of 21, some 2,159,798 to be exact. Amazing. But that explains why Civil War vets lived until into the 20th century. 

Of our 50 United States, which ones do NOT have counties names for presidents? Talk about trivia, eh? They are Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and South Carolina. Which state has the most counties? Texas, with 254 counties. Delaware has only three counties. George Washington’s name was given to 31 counties nation wide. 

Was your ancestor a Texas Ranger? No, not a football player! Thank you, Google:  In the 1800s, the Texas Rangers evolved from a small, frontier defense force for the Republic of Texas into a statewide law enforcement body, primarily tasked with protecting settlers from Native Americans and bandits, maintaining order during the Mexican-American War, and later combating lawlessness. The Rangers were known for their equestrian skills, use of advanced weaponry like Colt revolvers, and their effectiveness in frontier conflicts, though they also developed a reputation for harsh and sometimes extra-legal actions, such as frontier justice and ethnic violence.  Google “Texas Rangers 1800s” for more information.