Ancestry.com is one of the most popular genealogy websites. I often wonder if this has something to do with how often they offer free access to certain parts of their collections. Right now, they are giving away fifteen days of free access. Every so often, Ancestry.com gives genealogists free access to some of the collections that are usually only available to people who have become members, and who are paying a membership fee. Typically, they will make a specific collection, (or group of related collections), free for a few days, or for a weekend. Usually, the website chooses collections that … Continue reading →

Every so often, online genealogy giant Ancestry.com offers the public access to a section of its vast online genealogy resources for free. It’s time for free access to some of the Ancestry.com collection again, so from August 29th through September 5th you can access immigration and travel records on Ancestry.com for free. It is a great opportunity to learn about the journeys of your ancestors and the stories of how they came to America. In case you are wondering what kinds of records you can get into on Ancestry.com for free this week, the collection includes a diverse selection. Passenger … Continue reading →

Footnote.com has changed its name to Fold3. The reason for the name change is connected to a new focus that the website will take on. The comprehensive collection of military records will now be accessible through Fold3. Some of the other content from Footnote may appear there as well. Have you used Footnote.com before? The website had collections of original historical documents that would be useful to genealogists. It hosted millions of records, and also had a social networking aspect. People who used Footnote.com could add their own photos,stories, and genealogy research, into a feature called “Footnote Pages”. In September … Continue reading →

April 15, 2012, is the One Hundredth Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Did you have an ancestor who was on board? What was that person’s story? Did he or she survive, or go down with the ship? To find these answers, you will need some genealogy resources that are about the Titanic. Here are a few to get you started. Ancestry.com is giving everyone free access to their Titanic Collection from right now through April 15, 2012. It includes 200 million Immigration and Travel records. The website also has records about fatality reports, graves, survivors, crew records, and … Continue reading →

Genetic genealogy is a fascinating topic. It is very scientific in nature, though, so if you are new to learning about genetic genealogy you may want to learn about some commonly used genetic genealogy terms. By learning what some of the words mean before you begin reading a paper or book about genetic genealogy, you increase your chances of being able to understand the content of the book or paper. The International Society of Genetic Genealogists has some great resources for people just getting started on learning about the world of genetic genealogy. They have a question and answer section, … Continue reading →