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.
A little good news before the holiday weekend 🙌
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Hi, Reader, With the 4th of July weekend coming up, I hope you have a little time carved out for rest, family, and maybe even a bit of genealogy research, preferably somewhere cool if your weather is anything like ours! I also have some exciting news to share. The Are You My Cousin? website has been selected for Family Tree Magazine’s 101 Best Genealogy Websites of 2026. My site was included in the Best Genealogy News and Advice category, and I’m truly honored. Family Tree Magazine has been publishing its 101 Best Genealogy Websites list for more than 25 years, and researchers use it each year to find helpful tools, resources, and websites for their family history research. To have Are You My Cousin? included as one of those resources means a great deal. But mostly, I want to say thank you. If you read the blog, watch the videos, reply to these emails, or share the resources with a genealogy friend, you are part of why this site continues to grow and serve family historians. You can see the full 2026 list here: Family Tree Magazine 101 Best Genealogy Websites List. You can also find the 2026 list in the July/August issue of Family Tree Magazine if you receive the print edition. I found some new-to-me websites I look forward to exploring, too. If you have a little research time this weekend, this is a reader-favorite post to revisit: How To Find Vital Record Info When Birth Records (& Others) Cannot Be Found​ It’s a practical one, especially if you’ve ever searched for an ancestor's vital records and come up empty. Free workshop coming July 14I’m hosting a free live genealogy workshop on Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00 PM Eastern: Build a Family Tree You Can Trust​ It’s designed for beginners, but also for anyone who wants to revisit their research with fresh eyes. (That's most of us!) The workshop is free, with an optional donation invited to support my Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk coming up in August. Registration is open now, and I’ll share more details next week.
Thanks again for being part of the Are You My Cousin? community. I’m grateful to have you here. Happy researching, and have a safe 4th of July weekend! Lisa |
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.
Hi, Reader, With Labor Day coming up, I’ve been thinking about work, specifically, the work our ancestors did. When I look at my own family tree, I see a lot of farmers. Farmer. Farmer. Farmer. Not particularly exciting at first glance. 🙂 But an ancestor’s occupation can tell us much more than simply how they earned a living. Their work could influence where they lived, why they moved, who they interacted with and even the types of records they left behind. And sometimes, understanding why an...
Hi, Reader, Apparently August still triggers the part of my brain that thinks I need new school supplies. I haven’t actually gone back to school in quite a few years, but give me a good pen, a fresh legal pad and an excuse to wander through the office-supply aisle, and I’m happy. So after last week’s look at school records, I thought we’d continue the back-to-school theme with a different question: What are the “school supplies” I actually use as a genealogist? I’m fairly minimalist when it...
Hi, Reader, Where I live, “back to school” is a little complicated. We have traditional-calendar schools, year-round schools, modified year-round schools…basically, somebody is always going back to school. But August still feels like back-to-school season. And for genealogists, it’s a good reminder to ask a question we often overlook: What records did our ancestors leave behind when they went to school? School records can be surprisingly useful especially when you’re trying to place a family...