What's Your Haplogroup?

In this video, I talk a little bit about haplogroup testing.  I'm no expert, but am annoyed by some of the myths that prevail.

I'd love to hear what haplogroups you all have found yourself associated with.  Please feel free to comment or make your own video.

Find Your Ancestors in Family Histories and other books

Whether famous, infamous, wealthy or poor - you may find some of your ancestors in family history books written by your distant cousins. Here are a few sites to start the search for genealogies and histories written about various parts of your family!

URLs mentioned in the video:

http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/index.php
http://books.google.com
http://www.ancestry.com
http://www.bookfinder.com

Also be sure to check out the ideas in the comments section below the video on YouTube here.

Your Unexpected Finds?

The discovery by a distant cousin of mine that one of our ancestors was wanted in connection with a crime led me to wonder what other types of unexpected finds you all have had when researching your family trees.

I'd love to hear your own stories of crazy, interesting, or unexpected things you discovered in your own genealogical research. Feel free to reply to the video via comment or vlog.

Getting Started - Tracing Your Family Tree

Here are my thoughts on getting started - the first steps you should take in tracing your family tree.  Video below.  As for the links mentioned in the video, I'll place them just below the video.

In addition to watching and checking out the links below, I'd recommend checking out fellow researcher on YouTube, jeromeyward's video series on genealogy on the cheap. In his first video there is an explanation of some totally FREE software for keeping your tree which is downloadable on familysearch.org.

Pedigree chart:

http://www.ancestry.com/charts/ancchart.aspx

Other useful paper forms:

http://www.ancestry.com/learn/ContentCenters/contentCenter.aspx?page=trees&sp=forms

The steps I cover:

1. Get organized.
2. Record what you know.
3. Reach out to family.
4. Search the attic, the basement, etc...
5. Plan your next move.

More to come in the next video on online databases for continuing the search!

Welcome and Introductions

Hi folks!  Here's a brief introduction to a blog / vlog dedicated to genealogical researchers and family tree enthusiasts - beginners and long-term hobbyists alike.  Thanks for stopping by!