Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques

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Break through brick walls in your genealogical research

"Easy to read, provides clear explanations, examples and is well-illustrated, thus definitely meeting the needs of libraries and individuals seeking a book to guide family historians who are beyond the basics and need help solving problems."--FORUM magazine

Learn how to use innovative methods to unearth hard-to-find ancestors. Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques shows you, step by step, how to uncover elusive details by taking advantage of specialized tools and software programs and using proven best practices for breaking through the brick walls that have hindered your progress.

You’ll get professional advice on formulating a research strategy, understanding the details you discover, keeping careful track of your data, analyzing the evidence, and developing hypotheses. Real-world case studies demonstrate how you can apply the systematic procedures presented in this practical guide to your own research--and achieve success!

• Examine the brick wall in detail to find potential weak spots that can be exploited into a breakthrough
• Use brute force techniques that leave no stone unturned
• Obtain exact copies of original records rather than derivative sources
• Research the family, associates, and neighbors (FANs) of your brick wall ancestor
• Consult with your family, friends, and colleagues to get a fresh perspective on your research
• Use crowdsourcing--genealogy societies, online forums, social media, blogs, wikis, and podcasts
• Apply technological solutions, including DNA testing and specialized genealogical software
• Get tips on hiring a professional genealogical researcher with the appropriate credentials and references
• Revisit your brick wall problem after honing your research skills
• Review your evidence, develop a research strategy, and keep a meticulous research log

George G. Morgan is president of Aha! Seminars, Inc. In addition to his extensive responsibilities with Aha! Seminars, Inc., George is an avid genealogist. His interest began at age ten when he and his paternal grandmother and aunt divulged his paternal history extending back before the American Revolution. In the years since then, George’s genealogical research has expanded to include all the branches of his family tree and he has investigated leads in materials in all sorts of places. Libraries, archives, and courthouses are among his favorite haunts, but he will leave no stone unturned, even to the point of tracking down the original 1914 newspapers containing his great-grandparents’ obituaries in a records retention facility owned by a county board of education. He is a master in working with and understanding all types of genealogical record types in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. With the advent of electronic research materials, he has become an recognized expert in using software programs, databases, Internet resources, online databases, Internet genealogical mailing lists and message boards, search engines, directories, subscription databases, and all the major online services around the world.George is the author of seven landmark genealogy books. These include: The Genealogy Forum on America Online: The Official User’s Guide; the award winning Your Family Reunion: How to Plan It, Organize It, and Enjoy It, both published by Ancestry Publishing. His award-wining book, How to Do Everything with Your Genealogy, published by McGraw Hill as part of the highly successful “How to Do Everything” series, is now available in its fourth edition. This book is one of the best-selling genealogy “how-to” genealogy books published in the last 20 years! George has also written the first and second editions of The Official Guide to Ancestry.com. His Genealogical Research in the Major Repositories of London, published through Lulu.com, has sold hundreds of copies.George is a prolific writer in other areas as well. He began in 1996 by writing the award-winning weekly online genealogy column, “Along Those Lines…” that appeared first in the Genealogy Forum on America Online and then exclusively at the Ancestry.com web site from January 2000 to March 2006, and additional columns for Ancestry Daily News. He also appears weekly in the Plus Edition of Eastman’s Online Weekly Newsletter, at the bi-monthly electronic genealogy magazine Digital Genealogist, in the Ancestry Weekly Journal at Ancestry.com, and at other online venues. He has written literally hundreds of articles for genealogy print magazines: Ancestry Magazine, The Association of Genealogists Quarterly, Discovering Family History, Everton’s GenealogicalHelper, Family Chronicle Magazine, Family Tree Magazine, The Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM, Genealogical Computing (published by Ancestry Publishing), Heritage Quest Magazine, Internet Genealogy, The NGS News Magazine, and Southern Queries Magazine. His other online venues over the last decade have included Sony Communications’ Emazing.com “Genealogy Tip of the Day” and a stint with ChineseRoots.com. George is a popular speaker at international genealogical conferences and has presented all across the United States in national, state, and local conference. He also has presented in Canada, in the U.K., and on several international genealogical cruises. His range of genealogical interests and speaking topics is among the most diverse among the genealogical speaking community.

Drew Smith (Odessa, FL) has been a librarian in the Academic Services department at the University of South Florida (USF) Tampa Library since 2007. Between 1994 and 2007, he was an instructor for the USF School of Library and Information Science (now the School of Information), where he taught undergraduate-level courses in library/Internet research skills and website design, and graduate-level courses in genealogical librarianship and indexing/abstracting. Drew has been a volunteer in the America Online (AOL) Genealogy Forum, writes regular genealogy articles for Genealogical Computing, Digital Computing, and NGS NewsMagazine (now NGS Magazine). He also served as the editor of the FGS Voice (formerly the FGS Delegate Digest), the newsletter of the Federation of Genealogical Societies. In 2009, Genealogical Publishing Company published his first genealogy book, Social Networking for Genealogists. Drew currently serves as the President of the Florida Genealogical Society of Tampa, and as a Director of the Federation of Genealogical Societies. He served as Secretary of the Association of Professional Genealogists from 2010 to 2011, and continues to serve as one of its mailing list administrators. In 1996, Drew founded the mailing list GENEALIB for genealogy librarians, and continues to administer it for more than 1100 subscribers. Drew regularly speaks at conferences and meetings of national, state, and local genealogy societies, especially on topics linking genealogy and technology. Together with George G. Morgan, Drew has been the co-host of the Genealogy Guys Podcast since September 2005