Ancestry's ThruLines tool can be useful in helping to find clues about more distant ancestors, but caution is imperative.

Francis “Frank” Robinson (a.k.a. Roberson) was born to unknown parents about 1776, probably in Frederick County, Virginia. His mother, clearly, was enslaved because he was born into this institution. His last enslaver was James Wood, an immigrant from Winchester, England, who obtained a large grant of land in the Northern Neck of Virginia from Thomas Lord Fairfax.

It's important to know the formation of counties in states where your ancestors lived when doing genealogy research.

One question I hear often from clients and others—friends or others who reach out to me or attend my presentations—is whether Ancestry.com is worth the money.

Today I will show you how to determine if a new match falls on your maternal or paternal sides. Generally, unless you are an adoptee or have

A step-by-step look at how I helped a second cousin find her paternal biological family.

How to use Shaky Leaf Hints at Ancestry as clues for your research subject.

So, let's get down to it. How does this DNA matching work? First, a centiMorgan is a unit of measurement used to determine the distance from scientifically indentified positions, or markers, on each of our 23 chromosomes. It is not a physical measurement, but a tool to show closely we are related to the matches we receive in our DNA test results. It is used by all the testing companies. DNA Inheritance Patterns Each of us receives exactly 50 percent of our DNA from each par

Like the old adage says, "Buyer beware." Even if you aren't actually spending money to obtain family history information, it's still prudent to pay close attention to what you find. Someone related to me somehow has identified this photo of a woman standing next to a man who is seated. Yes, they are probably husband and wife. But are they the right husband and wife? The unknown cousin has posted this photo on Find A Grave and has identified them as John Frederick "Fritz" Reed

In my last post, I discussed the latest addition to my photography collection: Old glass negatives from 1900. From the information written on the paper sleeves these all came in, I have been able to piece together who most of the people are in these photographs – one family, in particular, in fact. Introducing Rhea Melissa Barker. Born in 1897, she is about 3 years old and she is sitting, apparently, in the patient chair in her father's doctor office in Troy, Bradford C