Ancestors Abroad
Find practical guidance for researching family lines that settled abroad or emigrated generations ago. Learn where to search international records and how to navigate different countries' genealogical resources.
American and Nordic Roots
Of those who emigrated to the US, the largest percentage came from Ireland. What many people don’t know is that Ireland was followed in those figures by No...
Ancestors in Other British Colonies
There was a time when the British Empire was huge, and much of the map of the world was pink. Those days might be long gone, but when you’re tracing your f...
Australian Census to Trace Family History
It's galling for genealogists that Australian government policy is to destroy all name-related census material (it's done for privacy reasons); all the retur...
Australian Military Records and Family History
Australia is a country with military records that go back to its foundation as a penal colony, as soldiers arrived as part of the First Fleet to police the c...
Australian Vital Records
From the start of Australia's time as a colony in 1788, each state has been responsible for its own records - the central government has never been involved....
Canadian Genealogy Sources
Canada has long, deep links with the United Kingdom. Not only was it part of the Empire and then the Commonwealth for many years, but thousands upon thousand...
Employing a Foreign Genealogist
If you’re researching your family tree and need to look into a branch that was overseas, you might want to consider hiring a genealogist based in that coun...
European Resources
Many people in Britain have their ancestral roots in Europe, and any attempt to trace the family tree means looking across the Channel to the Continent. Be w...
Genealogy And Land Records In Ireland
With census records so sparse in Ireland you need other ways to trace your ancestors, and land records are a good genealogy source. Again, they're not widesp...
Genealogy And U.S. Immigration Records
America is a land of immigrants. According to historians, even the Native Americans first arrived over the land bridge that originally connected Siberia and...
Genealogy in the Isle of Man and Channel Islands
Both the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, though part of the United Kingdom, stand separate from England, both geographically and in other ways. That mea...
Genealogy Resources In Australia And New Zealand
The way the first British settlers found their way to Australia was as convicts, when the country was a penal colony from 1788-1868. After that, and until ju...
How To Use And Find Native American Genealogy Records
Researching Native American records presents its own, unique challenges in genealogy. Given that there are a limited amount of records, the chances are that...
Ireland Vital Records
A person's vital records show the landmark events in life - birth, marriage and death. Whether you're searching for ancestors in Ireland or Northern Ireland,...
Irish Census Records
As anyone researching family history soon learns, census records can be like gold. Not only do you locate a person in time, but also in a very physical place...
Irish Emigration Records And Genealogy
It might not really be the case, but it often seems that no race is as well travelled as the Irish. Almost everywhere in the world you'll find people with Ir...
Jewish Genealogy Sources
If you’re Jewish, then unless you or a relatively recent ancestor converted – your family came from somewhere outside Britain in the past, quite probably...
New Zealand Birth Records
Genealogists should be glad that European births have been registered in New Zealand since 1848, not too many years after its original white settlement, sinc...
New Zealand Death Records
As with births, New Zealand began the registration of European deaths in 1848, the collected records being kept by the Registrar General (as with other vital...
New Zealand Maori Records
The native people of New Zealand possibly suffered less in their relations with Europeans than many indigenous civilisations. But that didn't mean the intera...
New Zealand Marriage Records
In New Zealand, the registration of marriage first became compulsory in 1854 and you can find records from that time onwards in the Registrar General's Index...
New Zealand Military Records
The first instance of a New Zealand conflict came early in the 19th century land wars, where colonists subdued the Maori. Since then New Zealand troops have...
New Zealand Vessel Arrival Information to Trace Ancestors
For most of the time since it was settled, immigrants to New Zealand have arrived by ship; there was simply no other way to reach the country. Generally, tho...
Other Useful Genealogy Records In Australia
Apart from the state and government records, there are other routes that can be helpful in tracing your ancestors in Australia. Where state records haven't b...
Researching Australia Immigrant Records for Family History
It wasn't only convicts who went to Australia during the 19th century. Plenty of free people chose to make a new life there and immigration continued at a fa...
Scotland Poor Law Records and Genealogy Research
As the saying goes the poor have always been with us, and Scotland has been no exception. If your ancestors from there weren’t among the rich, there’s a...
Scottish Births & Birth Certificates to Trace Ancestors
After 1855 it’s easy to find records of Scottish births since, like England and Wales, they were registered. If you're tracing family history you can searc...
Scottish Death Records and Family History Research
Just like birth and marriage records there’s a divide in the history of recording deaths in Scotland, and it comes in 1855, when compulsory registration of...
Scottish Marriage and Family History Research
Researching marriages to trace your family history in Scotland is very similar to tracing those in England or Wales. But it’s a game of two halves. After 1...
Searching for an Australian Will to Research Your Family History
For a genealogist, a will can be a treasure trove. It contains information about family, relationships, the way a person lived, and, obviously, what they own...
The Clearance and Scottish Emigration
Many people are familiar with the Exodus of the Irish during the Great Famine. But they weren’t the only people forced off their land. An equally tragic, a...
The Importance of Ellis Island in American Immigration
Between 1892 and 1954, Ellis Island represented America to millions of immigrants, most of them arriving from Europe. It wasn’t the only point of entry to...
The Importance of Wills In Irish Genealogy
Wills are a vital source of information in genealogy. They take on a greater resonance in Ireland, where there's really no 19th century census material avail...
The International Genealogical Index and Your Family Tree Research
Genealogists have to be thankful to the Church of Latter Day Saints or the Mormons as they're usually known. They created the International Genealogical Inde...
The Irish Potato Famine and Emigration
No one knows how many people really died during the Irish potato famine (known as the Great Famine in Ireland) that lasted from 1845-1850. The best estimates...
The Use Of U.S. Birth, Marriages And Death Certificates In Genealogy
Unlike European countries, the United States doesn't have a central national depository of vital records - birth, marriage and death certificates. For these...
Transportation Before Australia
People generally associate penal transportation with Australia, and for nearly a century (1788-1868) that was indeed the case. But for a period before that t...
U.S. Land Records
Land records can be a wonderful resource for anyone researching family history. They can give plenty of information about who bought or sold the land, includ...
US Census Records And Genealogy
Census records are a wonderful means to discover information about your ancestors, one of the very best tools in genealogy. Not only can you see where they l...
Using Archived Scottish Wills To Trace Ancestors
Reading an ancestor’s will can tell you a lot about how they managed to live their lives. It’s not simply the goods and property they acquired – be tha...
Using Australian Aboriginal Records to Trace Your Family History
The Aborigines are the indigenous people of Australia, with a history that dates back for millenniums. However you might consider their treatment at the hand...
Using Canadian Genealogy Sources
Canada and Britain have had long and deep ties since the French were forced out of the country and it became a British possession. For thousands, emigration...
Using The Electoral Rolls For Genealogy Research In New Zealand
New Zealand held its first parliamentary elections in 1853, and the first New Zealand Parliament met in 1856. At the time, the right to vote was defined acco...
Using the US Registry of War Ration Books
Every little piece of information adds to a family history. When you hit a dead end you can be casting around for other sources that can help you find a way...
Using U.S. African-American Records To Trace Ancestors Abroad
For several centuries, Africans came to the United States as slaves, not free men and women. They were regarded as possessions rather than as people, and tre...
Using U.S. Military Records to Trace Ancestors Abroad
The military tradition in the United States dates from its very foundation, when the Revolutionary Army fought and beat the British. From that point the coun...
Using U.S. Resources To Trace Ancestors Abroad
Emigration to America was commonplace in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Thousands from Britain and Ireland answered the challenge of seeking a better lif...
Using Voters' Records for Tracing US Relatives
When tracing relatives who lived in the United States, there are many sources available, although the depth of them varies greatly from state to state. One a...
What If You Have Asian Roots?
When researching family trees for those with roots in India and Pakistan, it’s worth remembering that there are two strands involved. The first is the obvi...