How to Plan an Efficient Genealogy Research Trip

An online genealogy friend recently asked if I needed any New York City vital records. He was heading to the city and offering to do some lookups for me.

Luckily I use the Task planner in Family Tree Maker to keep a list of items I need to find. I categorize this list by the location of the record, if it's found in a specific repository.

Family Tree Maker includes a Plan tab and this Task list.

So in scanning my list of items categorized as "Archives", I was able to pick out the one document I wanted the most. A few minutes later, my friend emailed me the birth certificate I wanted!

My Task list sure came in handy, but I haven't been keeping it up to date. Let's all prepare ourselves to make the most of any genealogy research trip.

The first step is to fill in your Document Tracker with what you have and what you're missing. For a detailed look at how to use a spreadsheet as your document tracker, see Haven't I Seen You Before? and Case Study On 'Haven't I Seen You Before?'.

For documents you can't access online, make note of where you need to go to access them. That location may be in another state or at a particular library.

For example, most of my family lived in New York City in the past. I need to go to the New York City Municipal Archives for their vital records. Or I may be able to access them at a Family History Center.

When planning to visit a particular library or archive, do your homework first! Your research trip will be much more productive.

For example, last year I vacationed in an area close to where my grandmother Lucy was born. I carved out time for a side-trip to her town and set three goals:

1. See the house where Lucy lived as a baby and was probably born.
2. See the railroad yard where her father Pasquale worked.
3. Visit the town library to see old city directories.

Once my great grandparents' house.

Before my trip, I visited the library's website and corresponded with a librarian. I confirmed that the library had city directories for the years around my grandmother's birth.

My first stop on this side trip was the library's cabinet of city directories. I combed through those books for up to an hour without finding a single listing for my great grandfather Pasquale, no matter which variation of his name I used.

What I failed to do was work with the librarian to see if any other documents from the early 1900s might be useful to me. Was there an old map or photographs showing Pasquale's house at the time of his marriage? That address is a baseball field now. Did they have books about the local railroad station from the time Pasquale worked there?

After the library, I drove to the house where my grandmother Lucy and her parents had lived. I got out of the car and walked up and down the sidewalk to get a good look at the house and the yard. I could picture Pasquale there, tending to his garden.

Pasquale's train station is a museum now.

Next I drove to the train station where Pasquale worked. The station is no longer active, and the depot is now a museum. That was great news! The only problem was it was closed that day.

If I'd done more homework, I could have timed my visit so I could tour that museum. Now I need to make another trip there.

On the way to the train station I passed the Catholic church, St. Ann's. I knew that one of my great grandmother's brothers was married in that church.

Somehow it didn't occur to me that my great grandparents were probably married there, too! I should have gone inside! Months later I learned that the church graveyard contains many people named Caruso—all my cousins.

I enjoyed that side trip tremendously. Standing in front of my ancestors' house, and walking along the tracks where Pasquale worked—that was a wonderful feeling!

But I didn't learn very much, and I didn't do enough to strengthen my family tree.

Here's what I'll do before my next research trip. I hope you'll learn from my mistakes, too.

• Start with the list of items you need to find for your family tree.
• Expand that list to include the basic facts you know about the ancestor in question. For example, on a recent visit to a Family History Center to view several rolls of microfilm, I brought a list of what I hoped to find on each different roll. The list includes when I expected to find my great great grandparents' marriage. It includes when I believe they were born. And it includes other names I want to confirm.
• Get familiar with what's available at the archives, library, or museum you're planning to visit. You don't want to miss out on a collection because you were focused only on another collection.
• Think beyond the dates and names you're seeking. If you're visiting an ancestor's hometown, where did they work? Where did they worship? Where were they buried?

My father has a saying that we kids are tired of hearing, but we know he's right. He calls it the 5 P's: "Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance".

Before I go off on another family history adventure 5 hours from home, I will do my homework and remember my 5 P's.

Now it's time to start my Prior Planning for my next visit to my ancestral hometowns in Italy. I don't want to waste a second of that trip!

You may also enjoy:

• How Is That Possible?
• Case Study On 'How Is That Possible?'
• What Language Barrier?

6 Places to Find Your Ancestor's Maiden Name

Without her mother's maiden name, I couldn't
build my great grandmother's family tree.

What was your biggest disappointment when you began your family tree research?

The 1890 U.S. Census went up in flames.

Yeah, that's a tough one. What else?

Tracing female ancestors is so hard without a maiden name.

For sure. But unlike the 1890 census, you can find maiden names.

Here are some of the genealogy resources that can provide your ancestor's maiden name. You may not be able to get your hands on some of these. Others may not exist for your ancestor.

Any one of these resources may hold the key to unlocking another generation in your family tree.

1. Birth, Marriage, Death Certificates—These documents should contain your ancestor's maiden name. If you can't find them, branch out. Her maiden name may be on her children's birth, marriage, and death records. If you find different versions of her maiden name, weigh your evidence. Is the oldest-recorded document the most accurate? Do you trust the spelling you've found in 3 places more than the unique spellings?
2. Ship Manifest—In some cultures a woman keeps her maiden name for life. If you can find your ancestor's immigration record, you may find her maiden name. If she is not from such a culture, did she emigrate before marrying? To locate her without knowing her maiden name, search with the information you have:
   
   • her first name and age
   • her hometown
   • her year of immigration
3. Census Forms—Decades ago, multiple generations lived in one household. If you can find your ancestor with her husband and children, see who else is living with or near them. If there is a mother-in-law or brother-in-law in the home, you may have found your ancestor's maiden name. If there is a family next door whose first names match the known siblings of your ancestor, they may be her family.
4. Passport Application—Your male ancestor's passport application can tell you a lot about his wife and children. This is especially true if the family was travelling together. You might discover each person's full name, date and place of birth, and the wife's maiden name. Plus, their family photo is priceless! To learn more about this resource, please see Your Family Tree Needs Your Ancestor's Passport Application.
5. Naturalization Papers—Many of our ancestors who came to America had no intention of ever leaving. They officially declared their intention to become a citizen. They filed a petition for naturalization. If all went well, they became U.S. citizens. Each step of the naturalization process generated paperwork. If you find that paperwork, you can learn dates and places of birth, the applicant's father's name, and a woman's maiden name.
6. U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index—Several months ago I wrote about discovering my great great grandmother's maiden name with this database. She didn't have a Social Security Number. It was her son's record that gave me the clue I needed. To learn exactly how I did it, please see This Expanded Resource Provided an Elusive Maiden Name. Now I've been able to get her birth record and more.
   
   

   

   Finally! Her maiden name was Girardi.

Genealogy is a treasure hunt. The more clues you can find for your ancestor, the stronger your family tree will be.

You may also enjoy:

• Finding Your Ancestor's Lost Babies
• Take a Genealogy Vacation
• How Do I Get There From Here? or Why You Really Need to Cite Your Sources!

4 Ways to Protect Your Genealogy Research from Disaster

The epic hurricane season and earthquakes of 2017 have everyone thinking about natural disasters. Our hearts break for those who've lost loved ones and all their possessions. It's all unimaginable.

We hope it'll never happen to us, but we know it can. Disasters don't give much warning. The time to plan ahead and protect your prized genealogy research is now.

Don't wait! You must protect your family tree research.

Here are 4 types of safe storage. A combination of these suggestions can give your family tree research the best possible chance to survive a disaster.

1. Online Storage

Take advantage of free online storage services available to you. These include:

• Dropbox—create a free account and use up to 2 GB of storage. Paid plans can give you more storage.
• Google Drive—create a free account (if you don't have a Google account) and use up to 15 GB of storage. You can pay to increase your storage amount.
• iCloud—if you have an iPhone or iPad, you probably have 5 GB of storage available. You can pay to increase your storage amount.
• OneDrive—create a free account (if you don't have a Microsoft account) to use up to 5 GB of storage. You can pay to increase your storage amount. If you subscribe to Office 365 as I do, you get a free terabyte of storage!
• Your Internet provider—find out if your Internet provider gives you access to free storage space.

2. Digital Storage

Of course you will keep your files on your computer hard drive, but we all know computers can go bad. To protect your digital files, you should also make a copy of the files on other media, including:

• CD-ROMS or DVDs
• external hard drives
• another computer, ideally at another location, such as a relative's house
• paid online backup services such as Carbonite
• Upload your family tree, complete with all digital files, to the family tree website of your choice. These include Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, etc.

3. Physical Storage

Your paper files need special protection. First, scan your documents and store these files with your other digital files. You can also make paper copies so they can exist in two different places.

To protect your most important original paper documents from fire and flood, consider buying a fireproof safe. These safes are like a small heavy suitcase and can withstand a fire. They are reported to remain intact after a disaster. They're available to buy online or at stores like Walmart. Brand names include:

• Sentry Safe
• Mesa Safe
• First Alert

4. Offsite Storage

If the unthinkable happens to your home, having two destroyed copies of your files will do you no good. You can protect against this by arranging to store one copy at another location.

• If you are storing your digital files in the cloud, that is your second location.
• If you are storing your files on an external hard drive, CDs or DVDs, see if a friend or relative will keep them at their house.

We know we need to protect our work. Can you imagine losing your hard work?

Make the time now—this weekend at the very latest!—and protect your genealogy and family tree research for the future.

You may also enjoy:

• Finding the Siblings Your Ancestor Never Mentioned
• Today I Demolished My Family Tree's Only Brick Wall
• Are You Overlooking Your Family Tree Discoveries?

How to Share Your Family Tree Research with Relatives

If you've been at this genealogy business for a while, you've learned a lot about your ancestors.

You've gathered tons of facts—births, marriages, deaths—and piled up a bunch of evidence. You've got ship manifests for your immigrant ancestors. Census records for everyone born before 1940. You've got birth records for forgotten relatives.

So much material that no one else in your family knew!

How are you sharing all this family history with your relatives?

About 10 years ago, I was still fairly new to family tree research. One cousin encouraged me to create a large-format tree to share with my fellow Saviano and Sarracino descendants. I told her, "I've got so much more to find!" She said, "There will always be more to find, but you need to share what you have."

I created a 2-foot by 6-foot family tree starting with my 3rd great grandparents. It goes all the way down to the present day (as of 2007 or so). I went to Fedex Kinko's to have 40 copies printed, which I gave to the heads of the many families on the tree.

Your family research is never done. That doesn't mean you can't share it now.

At that point, everyone in the family knew about my hobby. I became the go-to family historian.

But that big poster was all I ever created and shared. And it is barely the tip of the tip of the iceberg.

What about the rest of it? How do I share with my relatives the fact that our shared ancestor moved several towns away to marry. Then he moved to the next town, where our great uncle was born. Then he went back to his hometown. And finally he came to America with his entire family.

How do I let my father's side of the family know that our great grandfather and his brother married our great grandmother and her sister? How do I show them the many trips our great grandfather made to America before retiring in Italy? (See "Great Grandpa Was a Bird of Passage".)

Giving your relatives access to your online tree isn't good enough. We might love that pedigree view, but where are the stories? Where is my particular grandfather's timeline?

As genealogists, we all have an obligation to document our work in meaningful ways. We must share that documentation with our cousins, aunts and uncles, siblings, and more distant relatives.

What to Share

No matter what format you use, you need to create family history books. First divide up your family into logical groups, such as:

• your mother's mother's relatives
• your mother's father's relatives
• your father's mother's relatives
• your father's father's relatives

If your large family demands more subsets than these, spell those out, too. But each of your grandparents is a great place to start.

There will be some overlap. My first cousins—my mother's sister's children—are as interested in our grandmother as our grandfather. So they will want two of my books. But my second cousins have no relation to my maternal grandfather. It's the other book they'll want.

In my case, my other first cousins—my father's sister's children—get only one book. Why? Because our shared grandparents were third cousins. It doesn't make sense to make two books out of what's ultimately one family.

Try thinking of your family story like a Hollywood movie. My two grandfathers came from neighboring Italian towns and wound up living one block apart in the Bronx, New York. What a great coincidence! Unknowing neighbors in Italy, their children attended the same school in the Bronx and later married one another.

That would be a great movie story of parallel lives finally uniting. That's a story to tell in chronological order.

Now consider what you'd like to include in each book. Here are some ideas:

• Standard genealogy charts and reports—family group sheets and small trees, such as the parents and many siblings of your grandmother
• Vital records—images of the birth, marriage, and death records you've found, and the facts from the documents you don't have in paper or image form
• Timelines—focus on a specific individual and list his major life events in a timeline format. Include some historical facts to give more meaning to his life. For instance, I'll want to mention the start of World War I because of its profound effect on my grandfather.
• Immigration records—ship manifests and naturalization papers. If you're lucky, you may have a passport photo to share.
• Stories—either summarize parts of an individual's life in narrative form, or share an in-depth story that fascinates you
• Photos—your relatives may love seeing a family tombstone as much as you do. Include old family photos that some relatives haven't seen.
• Sources—include footnotes documenting the source of your facts. A generation from now, a young relative who wants to continue your work will bless you for eternity.
• Table of contents and index—your relatives will keep your book and look at it now and again. Make it easy to find exactly what they want to find. Tip: Word and other software can create a table of contents and index automatically.

How to Create the Book

If you aren't using family tree software, this is going to be a big job. But if you are using family tree software or you have your tree on a genealogy website like Ancestry or FamilySearch, things are easier.

After deciding which books you need to create, find a central figure—a hero—for your story. For instance, in my maternal grandmother's book, I would focus on her maternal grandfather. He was my first ancestor to leave Italy and come to America. He's a ground-breaker. Our lives all changed with his decision.

With your central figure chosen, create a large tree of that person's ancestors and descendants. Or create trees of smaller groupings, such as his direct ancestors and only his children.

Create trees that will give the most value to the relatives you want to share your book with.

Now gather your documents for this person: birth, marriage, immigration, census, death, and so on.

Examine your family tree's facts and documents for this person. As you write out their timeline of events, do any stories come to life?

Does research tell you they emigrated due to religious or political persecution? Was there an earthquake that destroyed their town?

Have you discovered your ancestor's first marriage and other children you never knew about? There's an interesting story!

Your family tree software may have the ability to create a book with the pieces you've assembled. If not, you can put those pieces together in Word or a desktop publishing program.

Anything you can digitize—documents, trees, stories, even video or audio recordings—you can include in a Word document.

How to Share the Book

If your document is far too large to email, put it online and share its location with your relatives. You can use cloud storage that's free. (See "How to Back Up Your Family Tree Files Automatically".)

If your document doesn't contain any video or audio, consider having it printed at a local shop or a large store like Staples. You can copy your big book file to a flash drive or CD-ROM and bring it to a store for printing.

Several online services will turn your work into a hard-covered book.

This is not an endorsement, but if you go to Bookemon.com, you can view sample family history books. You can borrow ideas from their contents and layouts. They also have inexpensive templates and a book price calculator.

You know how I didn't want to print my family tree 10 years ago because I'd only just begun? That's the beauty of a strictly digital family history book.

You can update, correct, and add to the book at any time. Then give your relatives a link to the "latest edition".

Look at you! You're a genealogist, an author, and a publisher!

These articles should help you along:

• Spinning Genealogical Facts into Your Family Story
• My 5th Great Grandfather: A Random Act of Kindness?
• When Is a Marriage Not a Marriage?

Make Progress with a Guilt-Free Genealogy Task-a-Day Calendar

What day is it? Genealogy day!

Your family tree hobby started out so fun. You were filling in great grandparents and finding them in the census. You were adding great aunts and great uncles you never met.

Then your fun little hobby got serious. And time-consuming.

The "serious" part is wonderful. My reason for writing this blog is to inspire every family tree researcher to do the best job possible.

But that "time-consuming" part is not as wonderful. It keeps us from doing our best. And maybe it makes us feel a little guilty for leaving so many tasks unfinished.

I have a suggestion that can help you make noticeable progress and put an end to any feelings of guilt.

First let's think about all the tasks you wish you could do throughout your family tree, such as:

• Adding a portrait photo to each person
• Giving a well-formatted citation to each fact
• Gathering every available census for every person
• Using a consistent format for each place name

Next, think about your research materials outside of your family tree. You have files and folders, and maybe binders and books and catalogs and recordings and photo albums. They all need organization, scanning and analyzing.

When you have time for genealogy,
a task calendar can help you focus.

Now, how can you make good progress on all these different tasks without feeling like the job is too big to manage? A Genealogy Task-a-Day Calendar™.

You don't have time for family tree work every day—I'm not suggesting that.

This is a calendar with days, but no dates. Picture a Page-a-Day calendar that you place on your desk, peeling off one sheet of paper for each day of the year. But your Genealogy Task-a-Day Calendar has no specific day of the year assigned to each sheet of paper.

Instead, it's a sheet for each day that you have some time to spend working on your tree. You sit down to work, and the Genealogy Task-a-Day Calendar tells you that today's task is to scan your photos.

It doesn't say you have to finish all your scanning. But that's your focus this day.

The next day you have time, the next sheet of the Genealogy Task-a-Day Calendar tells you to find all the family tree facts with no citation.

Maybe the next day you'll be searching for those missing census forms.

You can make yourself an electronic Genealogy Task-a-Day Calendar—which is totally something I would do—or you can make one using a small, spiral-bound notebook, or a sticky notepad.

Each time you use the calendar, you'll be working on your assigned task. That should erase any guilt you may feel for not having everything done and perfect.

You're working on it! Cut yourself a break.

If getting organized turns you on:

• Where Did I Find This?
• How To Run Your Genealogy Research Like Clockwork
• Work in Batches to Strengthen Your Family Tree

Free Resource Lets You Plot Family Tree Locations

A few months ago I explained how you can add locations to Google Maps and save them in your own personal collection.

I use these collections to plot my relatives' homes in Italy, the landmarks I can see from my mountaintop home, and the many places I've lived.

You can use Google My Maps 
for genealogy.

Google's mapping features can come in handy to family tree researchers like us.

If you don't have a Google account, create one. It's free and gives you access to far too many tools to ignore. Once logged in, go to Google My Maps and click the red button to Create a New Map.

You can start adding addresses and adding a description to each map pin. You can color-code your map pins, maybe choosing different pin colors for different branches of your family tree.

Create different layers and you can separate the locations by family unit.

Google offers plenty of help explaining how to:

• Create, open, or delete a map
• Add places to your map
• Save directions on My Maps
• Draw lines and shapes in My Maps
• Import map features from a file

That last feature could be a tremendous help for your family tree research. You can use your family tree software to create a report on all the addresses in your tree. Then copy those addresses into a spreadsheet. Finally, import the locations into your map.

My original thought was to create a migration map for some of my ancestors. Google My Maps can do that. I've added my grandfather's addresses to a map. I've detailed each map pin with his name and the year(s) he lived there.

This fully customizable, full-featured map highlights my grandfather's travels within the United States.

Now I can use Google My Maps to draw lines showing his progression through time. In this image, instead of drawing a straight line, I used driving instructions. This makes a more realistic picture of Grandpa's path from his uncle's home in Newton, Massachusetts, to the coal mine in New Castle, Pennsylvania.

I've only scratched the surface here. Imagine creating a detailed map to include in your family tree research.

UPDATE: I did a test of importing an Excel file of addresses into a map. You can import only 200 addresses at a time. Add a header row called Address. It worked well. See the "Import test" layer. Now I can customize these new map pins as desired.

And speaking of maps:

• How to Visit Your Ancestral Hometown at Your Desk
• What if There's No There There?
• Case Study on 'What if There's No There There?'