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Are You My Cousin? Newsletter

Hi there! I'm Lisa Lisson, and I'm passionate about helping people like you discover their ancestors and expand their family tree without feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about the next steps.

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Featured Post

🤔Could your ancestor's friends solve your brick wall?

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, It's spring!🌷In my part of the world, that means the temps are warming up, flowers are starting to bloom, and the yellow pine pollen is covering everything. I can literally see it in the air. While I know many of you may be reaching for the tissues and...

old document in the background with a stop sign and text reding missing clues

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...

family tree in background with text overlay reading find cousins

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...

old deed books with white text overlay on green background reading unlock hidden clues

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...

family tree pedigree chart on table with genealogy mistakes with red line through it

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...

Sepia toned photo of 2 women in fur trimmed coats. White text reading find and ancestor's maiden name

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...

Woman wearing glasses. Yellow background with black text reading state census records. Inset of an old state census record

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...

Woman wearing glasses. Clock on the bottom White text with green background reading 15 minute wins

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...

Woman with glasses. Text reads finding family bibles

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...

Cell phone with the mobile Ancestry.com app open

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...