Ellis Island is famous for being the United States’ front door for receiving immigrants—but did you know millions of people had already come to the U.S. by the time Ellis Island opened in 1892? This history of Ellis Island can help you better understand your immigrant ancestors’ arrivals and how to find the evidence in New York immigration records. Full Story
Castle Garden: Immigration Before Ellis Island
July 14, 2018 By
Did your immigrant ancestors land at Castle Garden or Ellis Island? Or did they arrive in New York before those facilities existed? The answer matters because it determines where you should look for them in records. Full Story
New Records on FamilySearch: End of June 2018
July 11, 2018 By
FamilySearch added 2.5 million searchable records to its England historical record collections, 1.5 million in Germany, 5.4 million in the Netherlands, 2.5 million from Find a Grave, and over 1 million in South Africa. Almost 1.5 million new browsable images can be found for Mexico. Additional indexed records and images were also added for Albania, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, BillionGraves, Peru, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Uruguay, and in the United States in Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington, D.C. Full Story
Using Multiple Screens in the FamilySearch Family Tree App
June 22, 2018 By
If you’re a family history enthusiast who has hesitated to use the FamilySearch Family Tree mobile app because it doesn’t have the same features as the website, think again! App usage has increased 150% over the past year as the app has grown in capability. Full Story
The Significance of Poppies in WWI
June 19, 2018 By
by Amie Tennant Countries in the British Commonwealth observe Remembrance Day every November 11 by wearing Remembrance Day poppies and honoring those who fought in World War I. Learn how this tradition began, and research your own World War I ancestors.
How to Use War of 1812 Pension Files
June 13, 2018 By
Do you have an ancestor who participated in the War of 1812? If so, the War of 1812 pension files may hold a treasure trove of genealogical information for you. These records have previously been difficult to access until, led by the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the genealogical community began digitizing them in 2015 to make them available for the bicentennial of this important war. Full Story
New Records on FamilySearch: Week of June 4, 2018
June 11, 2018 By
FamilySearch added over 700,000 New York naturalization records and one million more historical records and images from Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Ohio, and New Jersey. The BillionGraves Index has added over 600,000 indexed records and images to their database. Find your Italian ancestors from Naples with nearly 85,000 new records, and Jewish Records from Hungary. Other countries represented are Australia, Denmark, Honduras, India, Liberia, Peru, Portugal, and Sweden. Full Story
The Greatest Reward of Relative Race Season Three Wasn’t the Prize Money (Spoiler Alert)
June 11, 2018 By
by Jan Mayer Heart-touching scenes and shocking surprises were the norm for Relative Race Season Three, which began filming in Washington, DC. Producers BYUtv and Lenzworks had promised to change things up this season, and indeed they did.
FamilySearch’s 2 Billion Digitized Records
May 25, 2018 By
FamilySearch recently published its 2 billionth digital image of historical records. Yes, that’s billion with a “B.” Full Story