Family Tree

Family Tree Magazine will help point the way toward the best research tools and practices to trace your family's history. Each issue includes tips on locating, collecting, and preserving photos, letters, diaries, church and government records, and other documentation, plus fun articles about creating scrapbooks, organizing family reunions, and vacation ideas that combine history with leisure!

Family Tree • MAY/JUNE 2020 / VOLUME 21, ISSUE 3

out on a limb

TREE TALK • We asked about the most meaningful things you’ve inherited from family. Here’s how you responded.

everything’s relative

Journey to the Past

New Database: Mexican War Soldiers & Sailors

AUSCHWITZ MUSEUM TO IDENTIFY MORE VICTIMS

New DNA Test Comes to Market

New Collections for African American Research

COMING SOON: ONLINE DATABASE OF ENSLAVED INDIVIDUALS

Points in History

Safekeeping Yearbooks

Capital Letters • One woman grew up surrounded by her father’s stories—never imagining she would one day share them with the world.

Marriage Index Worksheet • Transcribe key information from marriage records and abstracts.

branchingout

Sturm und Drang • Brave the stormy depths of your ancestry with these 12 German genealogy websites.

Your-Digital-Files.jpg • Clean up your computer with this guide to managing and labeling digital files.

Using and Transferring Metadata in Digital Photos

The Limits of Face-Tagging

Sample File-Naming Templates

File-Name Template Worksheet • To organize your digital files, you’ll need a consistent naming system that can accommodate multiple kinds of photos and documents (as well as various types of files). Review the sidebar on page 31 for some options, then record your templates (e.g., LastName-EventName-DateYYYYMMDD.jpg) in the worksheet below.

ILLINOIS

WEST VIRGINIA

In Memoriam • Learn about your ancestor’s life and legacy with this guide to finding and using obituaries and death notices.

How to Write an Obituary

Obituary Extraction Form • Record key information from your ancestor’s obituary using this worksheet.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered • More than just ink strokes on a page, your ancestor’s signature and other handwritten notes can be valuable research tools. Learn why (and how) you should look for them in records.

5 Ways to Display Your Ancestor’s Signature • In addition to using handwriting in research, you can also display your ancestors’ signatures in a way that shares and celebrates your heritage. Here are a few ideas:

TO THE RESCUE • A friend in need is a friend indeed. Here’s how FamilySearch identifies and digitizes at-risk record collections.

Finding Digitized Records in the FamilySearch Catalog

How You Can Help Save Records

treetips

City Directories

NOW WHAT?

Order Records from the National Archives

ROUNDUP Language Word Lists

WEBSITE One-Step Webpages

DNA Q&A Reliability of DNA Tests

the rest is history

Top Six MyHeritage User Tricks

MYHERITAGE BASICS

SEARCHING MYHERITAGE RECORDS

ANALYZING MYHERITAGE DNA MATCHES

EIGHT FREE THINGS TO DO ON MYHERITAGE

Timeline

RESOURCES