Reading Our Roots

Tips on researching, historical events that inform our work, and the stories we can't stop telling.

Age ain't nothin' but a kind of important number

Do you know how old you are? You probably do. On account of it's 2024, and you've been putting your age and date of birth on documents...

Bulley John Lowery Won't Get Away

Unlike our friend Bulley John, these guys have been training up for a wooded crime scene evacuation-type scenario. There are few things...

FamilySearch: 16 billion records, just waiting to be found

Whether or not you're already a regular user of FamilySearch, you may not realize the incredible volume of genealogical records they have...

The Boys Are Back in Town: Thin Lizzie (Borden) Rides Again

Here's an image. I want you to look at it. I want you to start reading from the very top line and do not skip to the end. It's causes of...

Like stealing a baby out of a tent

If you think for one second that this story doesn't involve someone claiming their secretly Native American great-granddaddy done got...

Learn how to swim

One of the best things about doing historical family research is that you tend to encounter some truly intriguing characters. Long-gone...

They'll never take me alive

The thing about olden times is that they were tough. Even if you had money (which you probably didn't), the threats of war, famine, and...

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Why we love old newspapers

What makes family history interesting is learning that our ancestors were real, complex people who lived full lives. They had aspirations...

Taxes: As certain as... well... you know...

Tax records may not seem very exciting but that's only because they aren't. Seeing how many acres, cows, or horses your ancestor held is...

Isn't All That Stuff on Ancestry?

Telling someone you've just met that you're a professional genealogist can yield interesting reactions. We've gotten responses like:...