Some Helpful Tips on Thomas Genealogy

By Malc Moore


When you read that the surname Thomas is so very common and millions of people around the globe have it your heart might sink thinking that you might not be able to find your ancestry roots. Do not worry. There is a specific Thomas genealogy website which enables you to officially search for the origin of your family roots and the entire family tree.
When you search for the roots of Thomas as a first name you will find that it is a name that originated from the Bible. Previously priests used to be called so, but later on it gained great popularity among the people as a first name, especially in England and Wales.
Just like all surnames Thomas as a surname indicated the son of Thomas. You will find it to be an extremely common surname throughout the United States. People think that its origins were in Wales. There are some counties that have more than their share of Thomas as a surname. These counties are Cornwall, Kent, Middlesex, Sussex to name a few.
The Thomas genealogy websites show you the density of the surname per region. There are regions, which are so densely populated by Thomas's that out of every hundred people one of them will have the surname. Even in the United States the surname is common based on the people who immigrated there.
There have been several people who have created their own Thomas genealogy pages whereby they can directly contact people who share the same ancestral roots. You will be surprised to find how easy it is to trace your roots on the internet. There is a Thomas Genealogy Forum which allows you to post and read messages that could be just the one to lead you to the person you are looking for.
Many people have been able to trace their roots to several generations and find out. Where did their family come from, what they did and so forth? After that they have traveled across oceans to meet their far flung families and then been able to move on with life.
You could start your search at Thomas genealogy home by looking at heirlooms and antiques. At family gatherings, you can gather as much information as possible. You will be able to find out so much about your family traditions and whereabouts. Then you can move the search online, and you will be amazed at how quickly you will come up with positive results.
Genealogy is a fascinating subject to get involved in, and you will be able to get more great information about Thomas genealogy and The Ultimate Genealogy Guide book at our website and blog.
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Free Genealogy Databases - Track Down Your Ancestors History With Free Genealogy Databases

Free Genealogy Databases - Track Down Your Ancestors History With Free Genealogy Databases

If you search for free genealogy databases on the internet you will come up with an astounding amount of sites. A lot of the sites I visited let you search for names of family members. They give you limited results and ask you to join their site to get further information. If you are seriously interested in searching for your family tree it would probably be a good investment for you.

Other free genealogy databases offer a bit more information and even let you download some of the information they find for you. They will sometimes suggest other family members who are connected to the relative you have searched for. This can be quite helpful if you are just starting to do research on your family.

Genealogy databases can be a good source of information if you know the names of the family member and only need birth dates and dates of death. These will come up on most of the free genealogy databases with no further action needed. Often you will also get a place of residence for the person too.

There are many types of genealogy databases available. You can search through marriage records, birth records, death certificates, military service, and even by ancestry. Canadian ancestry databases have gathered quite a bit of information on those who migrated from that region. You can even locate family members who served in the Civil War. Their databases even have prison records from that era.

You can locate your whole family tree from some of these genealogy databases. If you sign up to be a member you can even add information you have that may not already be present in the database. I came across one free genealogy database that had family Bible records available. Of course to have that information it had to have been entered by some very dedicated person who was doing their own family tree.

Free genealogy databases can be very helpful in getting you started in your search for your family history. It is a great way to get started learning about your ancestors. You might even find somebody famous in your family tree. Of course the possibility exists that you might also find somebody infamous. You never know what you will come across that you didn't know about your family. Start your search and have fun discovering your family roots.

Daniel K. Voyles is a genealogy enthusiast. For more great information on how and where to access free genealogy databases visit http://yourgenealogyhistory.com.

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Genealogy Magazines - A Quick Summary and Review of the Most Popular Publications

By Jeff Kona

How do you keep current with the newest genealogy databases, tips, techniques and case studies? Obviously you use online resources or you wouldn't be reading this article right now!

But what do you do when you're not able to use the Internet? And let's face it there are plenty of times when its just so much easier and more convenient to have a hard copy of an article in your hands, so you can take it, read it and learn anywhere.

Here is a review of some of the most popular genealogy magazines, some of which have been in publication for over 60 years!

Ancestry Magazine. This full-color periodical has just about everything you would want or need. Included are professionally written articles, expert advice and guidance, case studies and reviews. This is an all-around good publication for genealogists.

Family Tree Magazine. This magazine is designed to be both fun and easy to read. Topics covered are wide ranged from planning a historical vacation, to researching ethnic heritage.

Everton's Genealogical Helper. Since 1947 this magazine has been known for two things: an old-fashioned look, and excellent content.

Family Chronicle. Published bi-monthly this full-color magazine covers a wide-range of topics.

Internet Genealogy. This new bi-monthly magazine is published by the same parent company that publishes Family Chronicle. The focus is of course on using the Internet for family history research.

There are several genealogy magazines to choose from, each with their own unique strengths and special angle. Visit their websites to learn more about each magazine and to determine if you want to purchase a subscription.

One of the best places to learn more about genealogy magazines is here.

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Genealogy Records - A Must Read

By J N Hanson

Starting a genealogy research is relative easy to start off. One needs to work from the present backwards, and just begin by talking to immediate relatives to initially establish kinship. Birth and death records kept within an extended family would also have to be consulted and copied to start off compiling genealogy records.

Establishing a family history and filling in missing gaps in genealogy records become more challenging as the genealogist digger deeper backwards in years. The search needs to extend to external sources such as government and church archives containing records not only of births and deaths but also marriage or divorce records, adoption records, as well as records of emigration or immigration and naturalization, military records, court records, to name a few.

At first glance, this business of having a compilation of genealogy records for the family and relatives to appreciate in a reunion is one mind-boggling enterprise. The advent of the computer age and the widespread use of the internet have made the job of the genealogist a bit easier. Although oftentimes, the search of a family history still needs perusing over voluminous records at some dusty archives, much of the work of a genealogist can now be done online.

The internet has become a significant venue for data-sharing among researchers of genealogy records. Also, genealogy software programs are now available most of which can export information about persons and their relationships. This enables sharing of data with other genealogists by e-mail or through Internet-based genealogy forums. Whatever data that may be gathered may also be added to the various online genealogical databases, or simply uploaded to a family web site. The sharing of information via CD-ROMs and DVDs is also facilitated by many genealogical software applications.

Another important tool that has emerged in more recent years is the social networking service (SNS) websites. The SNS enable genealogists to share data and construct their genealogy records online. Family members subscribing to one SNS can upload their family trees, contact other family historians not only to fill in research gaps but also possibly have a much-expanded, interconnecting genealogy records or family tree.

The family members who wish to hasten their compilation of genealogy records can likewise assign research to individual relatives to any of the many available online genealogy databases. It is ideal that a qualified family head researcher would be appointed for this multi-person gathering. The accuracy of the information or the authenticity of documents obtained have to be established as some databases in the internet could contain erroneous or misleading information.

The more reliable ones would be government databases such as the US Federal Land Patent Records. This site contains land conveyance records for the for the Public Land States . It also carries more than 2 million Federal land titles obtained between 1820 and 1908 from Florida, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Minnesota,Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Another rich lode of genealogy records WorldGenWeb containing genealogy data from all over the globe, a rare compilation and a must read for genealogists whether a hobbyist or professional.

Ready to learn about the best place for find information on Genealogy Records? Visit http://build-family-tree.com today and discover everything you need to know!

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The Importance of Genealogy

By Bill Turnbull

ou may think you know what genealogy is, but many individuals confuse it with the closely related term "family history." Genealogy is the study of ancestry and descendants. The study of genealogy pertains only to who is a member of a specific family and who these family members are related to.

Family history, though, is the actual narrative of your ancestors' lives. It is also the act of tracking the dates of your ancestors' births and deaths, the jobs they held, as well as any other important factors in their lives.

As you make your family's genealogy chart, it'll be difficult to separate the two. After all, in order to learn who came from where, you'll have to learn a little more about their history as well.

Who, what, when, where and how of your family tree is often conveniently labeled genealogy. Keep in mind, however, that an occasional relative who likes to take words literally may correct you when you talk about genealogy in such broad terms.

Why does genealogy matter any way?

Perhaps today it doesn't matter as much as it once did. Especially in this country where - according to legend and tradition - every person at birth gets to start fresh in America. He stands or falls on his own merits, without regard to his family status.

Historically speaking, genealogy was an essential study. After all, it was the method of determining inheritance - especially with the nobility. Imagine the need to discover the next heir in line to a throne if the king had no direct son or daughter to pass his rule down to. The compilation of detailed and accurate genealogical records was of the essence to ensure the proper individuals received the throne.

As you can expect, even with the utmost care, many times in history more than one genealogical record would suddenly appear....throwing the process of crowning the next heir into bedlam.

Genealogy even pops up in the Bible. In the New Testament book of Matthew, he spends pages on what many Sunday school students try to quickly gloss over, "the begats." "Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob" and so it went until you get to - some forty-two generations later - "And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary of whom was born Jesus..."

Genealogy plays an important role in the lives of many families today, even when no royalty is involved. The study of this timeless pursuit can help play a decisive role in bringing families torn apart by circumstances beyond their control back together. In the decades immediately following World War II, families found genealogy instrumental in tracing members displaced by the many tragic facets of the war.

There are other reasons families get separated, as well. Consider famines, where some members must flee the country in order to survive. A mother may move away with her children in order to keep them alive. Or perhaps, as in the events leading up to World War II (and beyond), members of families leave in order to save children or the elderly from undue social persecution...or assured death.

In these cases, genealogy plays a major role in making fractured families whole again...even if the current family members didn't know that they had members missing. Thirty some years ago, a novel based on a stunningly simple idea of genealogy gave many African-Americans a new common ancestor, Kunte Kinte, the main character of Alex Haley's book Roots.

Bill Turnbull is a genealogy expert. For more great information on Genealogy visit Researching Family Tree

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Genealogy Supplies - Items That Make Building a Family Tree Easy and Fun

By Julia Hanson

Genealogy supplies cover the two ends of the spectrum: some can get pretty high tech, some are as low tech as they come. Either way, if you are trying to build your family tree, there are lots of tools that can help you make sure all your information is appropriately categorized, labeled, and secured away in one place, to be passed on to future generations. Here is what you'll want to include in your shopping list.

You can start with genealogy charts and forms. They are a great way to methodically preserve and organize information regarding family relationships and connections. Some forms are free, some need to be purchased, so look around until you find something that'll fit your budget and needs.

And don't forget the humble notebooks and three ring binders, available at your local stationery store. You should make it a point to always jot down any and all information relating to dates and places, not just the names you come across. Remember that information doesn't come to you in chronological order: that's where three ring binders become useful in keeping everything organized.

Some genealogists like to use video and audio recording equipment in conducting their interviews. For example, it is a fine idea to have a family reunion or get-together, to which you can invite all your family members irrespective of their age. Film them telling stories; conduct interviews and record them in an audio format. Not only will you be getting invaluable research material, you will also be creating records for the future generations of your family to cherish.

Historical maps are often an indispensable part of your arsenal of genealogy supplies. It may be quite likely that you'll find a portion of your family tree in another land, sometimes a country which no longer even exists on modern maps. Boundaries shifted, countries changed names. Having a historically accurate map can help you uncover a part of family history or a family branch that your family never even knew about.

You'll need to know how to and have the supplies you need to preserve the physical sources of your data as well. For instance, most of the time you will be required to return items such as photographs or old documents to their original owners. So make sure you have paper clips, rubber bands, and pieces of scrap paper handy, so you can keep these items together and properly labeled with the owners' names.

You will need to keep copies of any photos you come across for yourself, so make use of scanners and photocopiers. Scanners, if you can afford to splurge, are often among the most useful genealogy supplies you can get.

In the course of your research, you will locate many hard to categorize items that are a part of your family heritage and that will also need to be preserved: an old pocket watch of your great grandfather's, the family Bible, war medals. Memorabilia are invaluable in evoking the past of the family and providing a tangible connection with it. Get boxes, archival paper, and lots of labels to help preserve those items.

Your budget for genealogy supplies should also include the fees for various on line databases or research tools that are made available either by governments or private genealogist. They have collected huge amounts of data about people living today and those of the past. These resources will prove invaluable in locating your ancestors and constructing your family tree. Some are free, some are fee based, so do your research and find where you can get the best value.

Don't forget to include CDs and DVDs on your list of genealogy supplies. You should make sure that all the research, resources and information about your family tree that you have collected are in an organized form, so you can retrieve them later as needed. For this, you should periodically back up your data and preserve the online archives on CDs or DVDs so that they can be passed on easily and so that the memories are preserved forever.

Julia Hanson is a genealogy enthusiast and an author. For more great information on genealogy supplies and how to research and build a family tree, visit http://www.Build-Family-Tree.com

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Your Family Tree Genealogy - Choosing the Correct Family Tree Charts For Your Family Search

By Melanie Walters

How do you determine which type of family tree you want before you begin researching? Everyone putting together their family history is faced with certain choices. Who to include in the research? Where do I begin to research? These are all important questions that will determine the type of chart you decide to build.

When you are researching your family tree, you may just start out by finding out about grandparents and great grandparents but to find out who they really were and to find out those little, but important facts, you might want to consider broadening your research. There are several ways that you can do that, and below you'll find out about all the different charts that you can follow.

What is a family tree chart?
A family tree by definition is a diagram of someone's ancestry. So in essence it's a map or chart showing the members of a family, their relationship to one another and even the dates of birth, marriage and death. But a family tree is so much more than that. Or it can be. Depending on the type of tree you choose to create, it could include all the relatives, spouses and even friends and neighbors of a family.

The types of Family Tree Charts
Mapping out your ancestry is a time consuming activity that involves close attention to detail and a desire to find the answers to those burning questions of who am I? And where did I come from? Before you begin, you need to know that not all charts are made the same.

Pedigree, Direct Lineage or Ascendant Family Tree Chart
The Pedigree Family Tree Chart is sometimes called a Direct Lineage or Ascendant Family Tree. This is perhaps the most common type and the one most people think of when referring to family trees. The pedigree chart begins with you (or a parent, or grandparent) and then follows a single bloodline or family name back through the generations as far back as you can go.

If you are researching your pedigree with both your mother's and your father's bloodline, your pedigree chart would start with you, then your parents would be listed, then both sets of grand parents would come next, then all four sets of great grand parents and so on.

If you are researching your father's surname and bloodline, the pedigree chart starts with you, then next on the chart would be your parents, then your father's parents, then your grandfather's parents and so on. In any case, the pedigree chart is the most common and is an excellent starting point for budding genealogists and for anyone interested in tracing their history and their direct bloodline.

Descendant Family Tree Chart
A Descendant Family Tree Chart is the opposite of the Pedigree Chart. This type of chart starts with an ancestral couple pretty far back in the family history and then lists the descendants of that ancestral couple generation by generation until the present. Usually the Descendant Chart is created after the Pedigree Chart is complete as a way to illustrate all known descendants of all lines of the family. The Descendant Chart can then become the outline for writing the family history.

Family Lineage Family Tree Chart
The family lineage family tree chart is similar to the pedigree chart but for one difference. In a family lineage chart, you would include the siblings of your direct lineage or pedigree. So you would include your aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles and so on. This gives a more complete picture of the family rather than just focusing on your direct bloodline.

Family lineage charts are very helpful in identifying your family members and helps to keep all your ancestors organized. It also is an excellent way to find out about relationships between members of your pedigree and their siblings which can lead to you finding out more interesting facts about your family.

Where to Start?
If you are just starting your genealogy search you might consider developing a Pedigree Chart before you get too deep into your research. One problem that novice genealogists encounter is they get excited about the research and end up losing track of who and what they are researching. Although the research always turns up interesting facts and stories, you might get frustrated that you wasted time or didn't get to the ancestors you had hoped to find in the time you allotted for research. If you keep track of names, dates and places of your direct family line on a Pedigree Chart, you are less likely to get confused and go off on searches you don't need to do.

Free Printable Family Tree Charts
Get started right away by downloading a free printable family tree chart. Then begin by filling in all the information you already know like your name, your parent's names, your grandparent's names and so on. Now you have the beginning of an excellent Pedigree Family Tree Chart and a guide for your research. Your first research step after filling out the chart as much as you can, is to interview your parents and grandparents if possible and don't forget that aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings are a good source of information too. Good luck and have fun!

Melanie Walters recommends that you visit ObituariesHelp.org to download Free Printable Blank Family Trees, free genealogy resources, guides to building a family tree, sample letters of sympathy and condolence, written examples of eulogies as well as help with all aspects of funeral planning.

Melanie Walters is a writer and editor for http://www.obituarieshelp.org/ the complete online resource for obituaries, genealogy, sympathy and funeral help. Find newspaper obituaries listings; research your ancestry, genealogy and family tree. Plan funerals and write sympathy and condolence messages using free samples and guides.

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