Welcome to the Are You My Cousin? newsletter! Each week, I share actionable genealogy research advice to help you grow a healthy - and accurate - family tree. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe so you never miss an issue. Hi Reader, Genealogy research rarely follows a straight path—some days we're deep in document analysis, others we're tracking surname changes, and sometimes we're exploring new research tools or connecting with local libraries. This wonderful unpredictability is what...
10 days ago • 4 min read
Welcome to the Are You My Cousin? newsletter! Each week, I share actionable genealogy research advice to help you grow a healthy - and accurate - family tree. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe so you never miss an issue. Hi Reader, Last week was a double celebration for me – not only was it my birthday (hello, new year of life!), but I also launched my completely redesigned website. 🎉 Consider this my birthday gift to you – a more intuitive, streamlined experience that makes finding...
16 days ago • 3 min read
Welcome to the Are You My Cousin? newsletter! Each week, I share actionable genealogy research advice to help you grow a healthy - and accurate - family tree. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe so you never miss an issue. Hi Reader, I'm packing my bags and heading to RootsTech 2025 in Salt Lake City this week, and I'm so excited to be able to connect with many of you in person! One of my favorite spots at RootsTech is the Expo Hall. That's where I not only connect with genealogy...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Welcome to the Are You My Cousin? newsletter! Each week, I share actionable genealogy research advice to help you grow a healthy - and accurate - family tree. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe so you never miss an issue. Hi Reader, I revisited a brick wall ancestor last week and made a discovery. Unfortunately, I discovered a mistake that essentially has stalled my research for a very long time. Ugh.... I failed to pursue an ancestor's vital records. The painful part? This wasn't...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Welcome to the Are You My Cousin? newsletter! Each week, I share actionable genealogy research advice to help you grow a healthy - and accurate - family tree. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe so you never miss an issue. Hi Reader, I spent several late nights this week hunting for my third great-grandmother's maiden name. You know how these searches go - I started with the usual records, but birth certificates, marriage records, and death certificates turned up empty. Now I'm diving...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Welcome to the Are You My Cousin? newsletter! Each week, I share actionable genealogy research advice to help you grow a healthy - and accurate - family tree. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe so you never miss an issue. Hi Reader, I have a number of letters and postcards to and from my great grandmother from the 1910's and early 1920's. Once thing I noticed is no matter how short the correspondence was, they always talked about the weather! So, in a nod to my great grandmother and...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Welcome to the Are You My Cousin? newsletter! Each week, I share actionable genealogy research advice to help you grow a healthy - and accurate - family tree. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe so you never miss an issue. Hi Reader, I'm just back from a recent trip to New York City with my husband. New York in January is cold, but that didn't slow us down. (Actually, I probably moved a little faster to keep warm!) We enjoyed fabulous food, watching all the lunar New Year celebrations...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Welcome to the Are You My Cousin? newsletter! Each week, I share actionable genealogy research advice to help you grow a healthy - and accurate - family tree. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe so you never miss an issue. Hi Reader, Years ago, I received a phone call from a woman researching her Harward ancestors. After seeing my information on our common ancestor, she asked, "Where did you find that James' exact birth? I've been looking for years." I replied the information was in...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Welcome to the Are You My Cousin? newsletter! Each week, I share actionable genealogy research advice to help you grow a healthy - and accurate - family tree. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe so you never miss an issue. Hi Reader, Ever find yourself with unexpected pockets of time? A few months ago, I was sitting at the airport waiting for my delayed flight (we've all been there!) and pulled out my phone. Instead of mindlessly scrolling social media, I thought, "Why not peek at...
2 months ago • 3 min read