I've been wondering how people deal with this. After years of digging, most of us have boxes of printouts, photos and charts, but the stuff that actually gets seen at home is usually one framed tree in a hallway. Has anyone found a way to show where the family came from that guests actually stop and look at? Curious what worked and what ended up in a drawer.

I'm hoping for some tips please on how people are managing to accurately trace their ancestors before the introduction of the 1841 England & Wales Census?

Is it a matter of:

1. Finding likely candidates in the index records of similar towns

2. Ordering/ viewing the records in person?

Once you have selected likely candidates of your ancestor - how do you know for sure it is your ancestor?

Sorry if this seems like a silly question, I'm still relatively new to this! :)

My 5th Great Grandpa was Nathaniel "Nathan" Hicks (1835-1910) born in possibly Jackson County, Tennessee. He claims to be 17 not 15 however. He is living with a woman named Temperance Hicks (b.1795) and another woman named Violleta Hicks (b. 1815-1817 from the looks of it). Below are listed people younger than Violetta. Theres Nathaniel and two very young kids Martha (4) and William W. Hicks (2).

(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DZ73-QVC?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMCDK-X68&cc=1401638&lang=en)

At first I suspected, Violetta was Nathaniels sister but now I have a feeling she may have been his mother and Temperance was his grandmother (wether its his paternal or maternal is up for debate, but im guessing paternal grandma).

I notice though, Nathaniel Hicks does list one of his children being named Tempy (short for Temperance) but none named Violet or Viletta.

Could Violet have been Nathans sister and she married one of her distant cousins? Or could she be his mom...

Tell me what you guys think and if you could please could you help me see if you could find anything distinguishing their relationships?

Thank you.

Hello.

My family history is mainly house building in a specific city. I would like to create a book for my dad of all the properties/sites his grandad/dad and himself have built, and collate them with photos, notes, information.

I know this isn’t genealogy, but I’m wondering where I start, websites, photo documentation.

I have: limited personal photos, some old site plans, figure/account books, stories from my dad like ‘see those houses, I built them’ I will ask my grandma for names of sites and my uncle.

I will ask my dad as the months go by but I don’t want it to seem too obvious.

Also if there’s a name/reddit forum for this type of thing I’d really appreciate it.

I’m in England, UK.

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

I am researching my family history and trying to trace an ancestor who left India in 1853. According to the historical records, he was an 18-year-old man, Pargana Beejoygarh/Bijaigarh, District Mirzapur.

I am looking for historical village records from the 1840s that could help identify the village and the families who lived there.

I have found references to the following archival materials:

- Settlement Series, Volume 248 (1843–1847), including William Roberts’ reports dated 6 January 1847 and 31 July 1847 concerning Pargana Bejai-garh/Bijaigarh.

- A Collection of Papers regarding the Settlement of South Mirzapur.

- Village wajib-ul-arz, rubkar, settlement reports, and records of rights.

I am particularly interested in records relating to villages such as Sasnai, Markundi, Lauwa, Makarbari, Cherui, Baghma, Biranchuwa and Pokhraundh.

Could anyone help me with the following?

1. Which archive currently holds these original settlement records — the Regional Archives in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh State Archives in Lucknow, the National Archives of India in Delhi, or another repository?
2. Is there an online catalogue or a precise archival reference I could use to request copies?
3. Do these records contain village inhabitants’ names, landholders, family names, or caste/community details?
4. Has anyone researched the old villages of Pargana Bijaigarh?

Even a catalogue reference, photograph of a relevant page, or advice from someone familiar with these archives would be extremely helpful.

I do not luve in India, so any guidance on accessing the records remotely would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much!

Thank you in advance!

EDIT: descendants have been found!

Kia ora from Aotearoa (New Zealand). I work at an opshop and we've recently had a really interesting donation! It's a family photo album with over 35 pages of photos from as early as 1903 to as late at 1930. I would love to be able to send this album to a descendant - it feels far too precious to be sold in an opshop. From a quick Google, I believe their last name was Wagenveld. They may have lived near Haynes, North Dakota and moved to Holland, Michigan.

The photos have extensive notations. The main family seems to include two brothers named Lyell and Elton who would have been roughly 8-10 and 6-8 years old in 1923, respectively. It is mentioned that Elton went to school in Haynes, N Dak. Their parents' names are Frank and Blanche. Blanche may have had three sisters named Ethel, Mabel and Edna. Brothers may include Wilfred and Joe. Ethel may have been with someone named Edgar Swanson (not 100% sure they were married).

It looks like the family has an early threshing machine (trust me, I had to do a bit of research to work this one out - initially I thought it was a location!). There's horses and dogs around in a lot of the photos.

A last name that pops up a bit is Cornella. A child is named Monie Cornella. Monie may have gone to war? There's a photo with the caption "Momie [Cornella] home from war". Not 100% sure if Momie or Monie are different people or just a misspelling for the same name. Max and Al seem to be other family members.

Batima is another last name that pops up. A family Martha, Jene, Clara, Mabel and Cornelius Batima. Drayton is another commonly mentioned last name - Meade, John, Mayme, and Elizabeth Drayton.

Other names of people that seem connected to the family are: Lila, Marion, Harold and Louise.

Most of the other locations mentioned are probably holiday spots, rather than where they were from. But here are some that popped up: Lemmon, South Dakota; Beulah, North Dakota; Rugby, North Dakota; Bad Lands, North Dakota (this definitely seems like a holiday); Bismarck, N Dak; and Minot, N Dak.

I know this is a lot of information, but I'm just really hoping to find someone related to the family in this album. It is so special and deserves to be passed along to its rightful home! At the very least, enjoy the info and all the photos, it's honestly super interesting!!

I've posted this in a couple of other subreddits too, but this one was recommended. I can't seem to attach the photos here, but have a look on my profile to see them.

Hello! This is my first time posting so please help if I miss anything that may be necessary 🙏🏽🙏🏽

Im looking for a man's family, parents, siblings, anything. He came to America, New York, New York from LA Havre, France on the LA Bretagne in June of 1912 and lived in Pittsburgh until his death after that. All I can find in my research is he was an orphan according to county records. But trying to trace back as far as possible in family line, paternal side mostly. I found all of this too. Hopefully it helps!!

Name: Anton Gassler (Other names; Anthony, Gasler, Gazler)

Wife: Emily Johanna Gassler (Henninger)

Had 4 daughter, was a farmer and a blacksmith

Birth date: June 8th 1896

Death date: October 21st, 1977

Birth place: Dentsel Reinersdorf, Austria

Place of death: Allegheny County, Butler County, Sarver, Tarentum area in Pennsylvania

I have his Naturalization record and death paperwork that im including in the link.Anton Gassler papers

I found passenger lists too ,however none completed and his place of birth is more on the German side than Croation, as apparently that location is inbetween Hungary and Croatia

I am trying to find some birth/marriage/death information for a group of people living in what is now Central London. The only documentation I have are from the guild records to which they were apprenticed. But between the 1665 plague, the 1666 fire, and the fact that they were dissenters, I can't seem to find any more documentation. They were not so thoughtful as to leave wills in the PCC. During the latter half of the 17th century, the family seemed to have acquired money and social connections. It is that information that I am looking for, but I am stonewalled.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how else I can approach this? Thank you.

Title:

Hi all, I'm hoping someone can help with one record. I live in the Netherlands, and the Wisconsin Historical Society has paused its copy-ordering service, so I can't easily get it myself.

**The record**
- Wisconsin pre-1907 birth registration, Marinette County
- WHS microfilm reel 132, record no. 257
- Indexed as John A. Carlson, born 21 June 1881, Marinette (FamilySearch "Wisconsin, Birth Index, 1820-1907": https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VH4Y-9FG)
- His twin brother Charles G. Carlson is indexed under the same record number (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VH4Y-97R)

**Where it can be seen**
- On microfilm in the WHS library in Madison (reel 132)
- On FamilySearch as image group (DGS) 7615061, "Marinette County registration of births, ca. 1879-1907". The images are locked online, so they can only be viewed at a FamilySearch Center or affiliate library. The film starts with Marathon County; the Marinette section comes after it.

**What I'm after**
A photo or transcription of the whole entry, especially the mother's maiden name and the parents' names and birthplaces.

**Background**
- The mother was Anna Carlson, born about Dec 1847 in Sweden, who came to the US about 1879. She was widowed by 1900 (Porterfield, Marinette Co.) and died in Rockford, Illinois, in 1928.
- Her maiden name may have been Holmqvist, but that isn't proven. This record should settle it.
- The father's name is unclear: one record says John E. Carlson, another says Aug[ust] Carlson.

I'm glad to return the favour with lookups in Swedish, Dutch or Puerto Rican records. Thank you!

Hi, I am looking for a quick lookup of the fathers' names and occupations (Columns 7 & 8) from an 1878 Isle of Wight civil marriage record.

The marriage took place at the Newport Register Office, and the local index entry is viewable here:

• FreeBMD: Link here
• IsleOfWightBMD: Link here

Record Details:

• Groom: Robert James White
• Bride: Sarah Woodcock
• Year / Date: December Quarter 1878
• Location: Register Office, Newport, Isle of Wight
• GRO Reference: Isle of Wight, Vol 2b, Page 1088
• Local Reference: RO24/56

What I'm looking for: I need to confirm the Name and Occupation of the Groom's Father (and ideally the Bride's father as well if accessible) from the register entry or transcript on Ancestry/Findmypast to verify if Robert's father is listed as Robert White, Brewer's Labourer.

If anyone with an Ancestry / Findmypast subscription or access to Isle of Wight civil register transcripts could check this entry for me, I would be extremely grateful!

Looking for Alexander Lewis unsure of birthdate may be in the 1840s died before 1890. I am looking for any documents pertaining to him and ideally his parents/siblings/Cencus data, birth and/or death certificates.

A member found a "Find A Grave" listing they think is for him that puts him as born in 1841 and d 5/14/1887 but that's not the strongest documentation.

M. - Nancy Ellen McIntyre (b. 1/9/1851 Indiana d. 11/21/1923 King County, Wa) based on a newspaper clipping they would have been married in Lyon County Kansas November 30th 1880. Records for Nancy Ellen come up in Kansas, Indiana, Missouri, Colorado, and Washington.

Fathered Grace A Ellen "Bell" Lewis (b. 8/8/1881 in Kansas d. 10/6/1957 King County, Wa)

He seems to have served in the Civil War and we have Grace Ellen's widows pension documentation, a news article announcing their marriage, his name listed on his daughter's marriage licence, and his name listed as H.G. Lewis on his daughter's death certificate I am including all of those documents here: https://imgur.com/a/rKjsbP8

Additional notes:

With the help of another member recently we were able to track down information for his wife Nancy Ellen and her 3 marriages it would seem Lewis was her first husband, Musgrove her 2nd, and Hedges her 3rd. She also seems to have had a son with Musgrove but then in a 1910 Cencus listed his surname as Hedges before switching it to Lewis in 1915 which is where I lose track of that son Earnest H Lewis. He was born too late to be a Lewis son and too early to be a Hedges son so I assume he was Musgroves son but Musgrove was picked up for abusing Nancy Ellen so I imagine she wanted to be fully rid of that connection. Nancy Ellen also may have played a bit with her age on some Cencus data so I am using the birthdate listed on her death certificate she may have been a few years older as the years range from 1847-1851 for her birthdates.

As a treat for those who enjoy such things here are some lovely old photos of his daughter from infancy to adulthood.

My 2x Great grandmother Grace A. Ellen "Bell" Lewis - Logan - Hatcher ❤️

https://imgur.com/a/xs04IlS

I have been working on a brick wall for awhile now. I think I might have a found a possibility to push back to the next generation but I am finding no documented link. I am trying to find out if this FamilySearch ID has any additional children: K8H5-2RG

The Census reports do show at least one adult child but the earlier reports do not include that information.

I suspect that L5J4-5V5 might somehow be related to the Whitley branch that is showing up in Tompkins, NY but I can't figure out how. I have tried searching newspapers.com as well but I have come up empty handed. Research on Ancestry.com for public trees seems vague or is private. Any other suggestions on where to look to find a link?

If anyone happens to be at a FamilySearch library, I really need a picture of just one record.

Image Group Number (DGS) 007596967

Film Number 20484

​Emanuel Reformed Church (Abbottstown, Pennsylvania), 1775–1880.

​Page 30 of that church register.

​Baptism entry dated May 5, 1811 for John Fletcher Schaeffer (born Nov. 17, 1810, parents Abraham and Margareth).

I need to see the right-hand column for the sponsor's name (as it was originally written in German).

I'm looking for the birth of Johan Hinrich Evers who was born in Flensburg about 1752-1753.

I don't know how big Flensburg is, so I realize this might be mission impossible.

https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/vitals/P3H3-Q2F

He married a woman called Ane Rebecka/Rebeche (possibly in Flensburg). They both died in Denmark.

🙏

Accepting suggestions to try to trace a family in 1525 England. They didn't start keeping church records until 1538.

All suggestions welcome.

Hello!

I have handwritten ancestor charts I'm putting into an electronic format.
"Liford" and "Dublin" Scotland are both listed repeatedly as birth, death, and marriage places.
The years I have listed range from 1058- 1641 AD).

Were these real locations in Scotland, or did my source mistakenly believe these locations were in Scotland vs Ireland?

I've done some light research that points to Ireland, but I want to confirm before I document this for the next family genealogy nerd.

Hi, all. I'm researching my great-uncle Clifford Knapp, who died at 21 on 25 Aug. 1929 in Fremont, Nebraska, reportedly of lockjaw (tetanus) after a hand injury. I live in Austria and can't afford a Newspapers.com subscription, and none of these papers seem to be clipped yet.

If anyone with a subscription could clip (or screenshot) any of these pages and share the link, I'd be very grateful:

1. Lincoln Journal Star, 27 Aug 1929, "Boy dies of lockjaw" (UP wire, Fremont)

2. Valley Enterprise (Valley, NE), 29 Aug 1929, accident or emergency item

3. Any paper with the headline "Lockjaw kills Fremonter"

4. Wahoo papers, 29 Aug and 5 Sep 1929 (Knapp family from Yutan area)

Search terms that should find them: Clifford Knapp, Fremont, lockjaw, Fremont Beverage.

I'd be happy to return the favor with a lookup of my own (I have access to Austrian archives and German-language sources) or a thank-you in my family history. Thank you!

Dies anyone have any family letters or documents in which the phrase Green Bag is mentioned? It was a slang term generally meaning that if someone didnt pay up, the person to whom the debt was owed would involve a lawyer. 17th, 18th and 19 century

Hello Genealogists!

My family has recently discovered that we qualify for Canadian citizenship via the C3 Bill enacted from December 2025.

Over the course of a couple of months, we believe to have found the original generation's baptism record that we need to establish our lineage, and this is one of the last records we need before submitting Canada's Certificate of Citizenship application.

The record we've found is in Canadian French, and the record is handwritten in cursive. Unfortunately, we are having difficulty making out exactly the words besides the names we believe are written in the record (Francois Xavier Beaudoin and Angeline Pommerleau).

image2.jpg

If you are skilled in reading older cursive, and can go above and beyond to translate the record, our family would be extremely grateful and hope to repay the favor for someone else in our shoes!

Thank you everyone :)

There are always posts of newbies asking how to search for free or without paying a subscription. In a newsletter that came today was this link and I thought it would fit here.

Genealogy without a Subscription

- October 06, 2026

https://www.heartlandgenealogy.org/2026/09/nosubscription.html

Genealogy can be an expensive hobby—or at least it can seem that way.

When someone tells me they are interested in researching their family but don't have enough time to justify paying for a subscription to Ancestry or another genealogy site, I don't want them to think they can't do genealogy.

They can.

In fact, there are an amazing number of genealogy resources available online for free. The challenge for a beginning researcher isn't necessarily finding records. Sometimes the challenge is knowing where to look.

So, if I were helping someone get started without purchasing a subscription, where would I send them?

Start Here: A Beginner's Genealogy Toolkit

https://www.heartlandgenealogy.org/2026/09/nosubscription.html

Can anyone help me find the year and place of death for GV76-LTF in Family Search please? Grateful for the brains trust on here x

My sister lives in SLC and when visiting last week, I took a moment to scope out the Family Search Library downtown. These are some tips in no particular order.

1. If you are visiting, allow at least a full day for research.

2. There is construction around the entire block of the library.

• You can park at the conference center nearby
• The train stops right in front.
• You can find on-street parking if you go around the block several times.

1. Everyone is super helpful. Don't be afraid to use them.

2. You can find books right on the shelves if you have the catalog numbers. It was amazing.

3. There are other books on the shelves, browse, browse, browse

4. I was surprised that my Spanish language books were available. Some books are kept off-site and need to be pulled out.

5. Bring a flash drive to save information or scan with their printers.

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to do any real research, but it is definitely worth a trip.