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, Sometimes the best thing you can do for your family tree is not add another record. It’s to step back and ask yourself: Do I actually trust what I’ve built? On Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00 PM Eastern, I’m hosting a free live genealogy workshop: Build a Family Tree You Can Trust: The key decisions that matter whether you’re starting today or starting over This workshop is for you if: You’re new to genealogy and want to start the right way You’ve been researching for years but have a...
Hi, Reader, You found the death certificate. Name, date, cause of death confirmed. Filed away. Most genealogists stop there, but the four most useful clues on the document are still sitting unread. I just updated this post with exactly what to look for and why each one matters: → 4 Death Certificate Clues Everyone Misses The first I'd start with: the informant. Who reported the death? If it's a neighbor instead of a family member, that's not random. It's either evidence of estrangement, or a...
Hi, Reader, If you've been doing genealogy research for more than five minutes, you probably have them. A box. A folder. A stack of photographs with faces and zero names. They arrived from an aunt who was cleaning out a closet, or a cousin who "heard you do genealogy," or in my case — literally in the back of a car at Thanksgiving. They're sitting somewhere right now, and every time you look at them, you think: I should do something about these. Here's the thing — you can. And it doesn't...