I had a 3rd great-grandparent mistake due to careless sourcing. I discovered, and corrected, the mistake thanks to a DNA match.
surnames Blog Posts
Curious
I am curious, how do others research common surnames. I am working on: Smith, Gilbert, Russell, and Gillespie. Another I am researching has a number of spelling variations. What techniques are successful when it comes to common surnames?
Foundations
My research foundations for 2022 are to put names on thirteen of my 64 4th great-grandparents who are brick walls. I do have strong clues for several, and I will prioritize my efforts with those.
Changes
Several of my ancestors have surnames that change over time. There are a few methods that can be employed to find records of the variant spellings of surnames.
Favorite Name
Names can be interesting to me because they are unique, humorous, or have a special meaning. I highlight a few of my favorite interesting names.
Conflict
Genealogical research conflicts are inevitable. I’ve discovered a conflict with my Skaggs lineage that eludes resolution.
Brick Wall
We all have a brick wall, that ancestor who defies all research. Thirteen of 64 of my 4th great-grandparents are brick walls. Can you help with breaking them down?
Great
Meet my 19 great aunts and uncles. I mostly know them from my research. But each was great, in their own way.
Music
Is music in the family? I consider surnames on my family tree that are shared with notable musicians.
Name’s the Same
While researching my maternal grandparent’s lineages, I recognized several surnames in common. With the name’s the same, were they some sort of distant cousins?