July 30 - Check out the Roots Dictionary of Genealogy and Archaic Terms

July 30 – Say what? Learn what your ancestors where talking about in the Roots Dictionary of Genealogy and Archaic Terms <freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~randyj2222/gendict.html>

July 29 - Time for monthly maintenance!

July 29 – Time for monthly maintenance: Back up your computer files and sort the documents on your desktop.

Happy Birthday to my oldest daughter Kathy, who turns 28 today! Next year is your golden birthday!

July 28 - Check out FHL's letter-writing guides

July 28 – Before you write for foreign records, check the FHL’s online letter-writing guides, From the FamilySearch home page, click Guides, then Letter-writing Guide.

July 27 - control e-mail inbox clutter

July 27 – Control e-mail inbox clutter: Sign up for a free Web-based e-mail account with Hotmail www.hotmail.com, Gmail www.gmail.com or another provider and use it for your genealogy correspondence.

July 26 - New York joined the Union today in 1788.

July 26 – New York joined the Union today in 1788. Find a resource guide at www.rny.nysed.gov <click Select a Subject, then Genealogy> and see www.rootsweb.com/~nygenweb/palces/names.htm for new names of old towns.

July 25 - Work Smarter

July 25 – Work smarter and faster using computer keyboard shortcuts. Search the help menu for a list, or see the cheat sheet in the October 2004 Family Tree Magazine.

July 24 - Have fun with family history

July 24 – Have fun with family history. Turn a photo into a jigsaw puzzle using a kit from a craft store, or order a read7-made puzzle from www.jigsawpuzzle.com or your local copy shop.

July 23 - Find your Famous Ancestors

July 23 – Think you have famous folks in your family? Take a gander at the celebrity family trees on Genealogy.com www.genealogy.com/famousfolks and consult Rhonda R. McClure’s guide to Finding Your Famous ( & Infamous) Ancestors.

July 22 - Create your own TOP list of genealogy web sites

July 22 – Create your own Top 10 or Top 25 list of genealogy Web sites you visit most often. Create a separate Favorites folder for them in your Web browser, or list them in a word processing document with active hyperlinks for quicker access.

July 21 - use WorldGenWeb

July 21 – Use the message boards, maps, links and more at WorldGenWeb www.worldgenweb.org

July 20 - revisit message boards

July 20 – Revisit the message boards where you’ve posted queries and re-search online databases.

July 19 - Need a resource from a distant respository?

July 19 – If you’re at a brick wall or you need resources from a distant repository, it may be time to hire a professional researcher. You can find one by following the 10 easy steps at www.icapgen.org/programs/tensteps.htm>

July 18 - Doing cemetery research?

July 18 – Doing cemetery research this summer? Volunteer to photograph or transcribe inscriptions for the USGenWeb Tombstone Project www.rootsweb.com/~cemetery or even Find a Grave project www.findagrave.com .

July 17 - take a closer look at family documents and photgraphs

July 17 – Put on your detective hat, get out your magnifying glass and take a closer look at family documents and photographs.

July 16 - Organize your Favorites

July 16 – Organize your Favorites (or Bookmarks) in your web browser.

After you organize them, remember to keep up the organization whenever you add a new Favorite (or bookmark) on your web browser.

July 15 - Take a break today!

July 15 – Do something completely unrelated to genealogy today. Go for a walk, ride a bike or see a movie. Clearing your mind will give you a new perspective.

I don’t think this will be a problem for most of us. Most of us do genealogy when we make or find some free time in our schedules. However, for those few of us, who live and breathe genealogy, take a break!

July 14 - Browse free databases

July 14 – Browse some of the free databases of immigration, church, military and other records at Olive Tree Genealogy www.olivetreegenealogy.com

July 13 - Burned Courthouses

July 13 – Burned courthouses throw up a major brick wall. Find out what exactly the fire destroyed and look for substitute resources. Marsha Hoffman Rising suggests alternatives in the The Family Tree Problem Solver.

I like to remind people that sometimes copies of county records were also sent to state offices. Check to see if the state archives has any of those county records that might have been destroyed by a fire at the county level.

July 12 - Confused?

July 12 – Confused? Look up old medical terms, historical occupations, genealogy abbreviations, census terms and more in the Genealogy Encyclopedia www.genealogyencyclopedia.com

July 11 - World Population Day

July 11 – For World Population Day, hone your international research skills by perusing records from an ancestral country. The FHL’s foreign-word list (click Guides on the home page) can help you decipher unfamiliar terms.

Since FamilySearch.org has changed, you might have to use the help or search feature to find where this foreign-word list is now stored.

July 10 - Pioneer Ancestors

July 10 – Hit the trail along with your pioneer ancestors: Log onto the Western States Historical Marriage Record Index <abish.byui.ed/specialcollections> and browse the Web Sites of historical societies for states out West, such as Oregon’s www.ohs.org.

July 9 - DNA

July 9 – What can DNA tell you about you about your Family Tree? Consider getting tested, but do your homework first: See the February 2005 Family Tree Magazine and Trace your Roots with DNA by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak and Ann Turner.

Look around for even more current articles and books. DNA has come a long way in the past 6 years since this tip was suggested.

July 8 - Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

July 8 – Actor Kevin Bacon’s tendency to pop up in nearly every Hollywood movie inspired the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon www.cs.virginia.edu/oracle. Apply this tactic to your research. Try to connect yourself to relatives in as few links as possible.

It’s amazing how small the world really is. I have intertwined my father’s lineage to my mother’s lineage through collateral lines. I have found multiple people from another family keep marrying into my family. Sometimes these family lines have someone who has done research and I find out a lot about my family through their research. I like to thank everyone whose research involves more than just their direct ancestors.

July 7 - Create a Website

July 7 – Does your genealogy Web site need a home? Try <accounts.rootsweb.com (click Freepages Accounts) or the links at www.freewebspace.net

I don’t know if these sites still work because these tips were from Family Tree Magazine, February 2006.

July 6 - Presidential Roots

July 6 – President George W Bush was born today in 1946. Read about his family ties and learn how to explore your own presidential roots in the December 2004 Family Tree Magazine.

After reading this tip in 2006, I researched the then President Bush’s genealogy tree. I found a familiar name as to my half siblings. What a surprise to find out that the first President Bush is my siblings 9^th cousin through their father’s lineage. From this I research the other president’s that were related to the Bush family and found they are also related to President Garfield.

July 5 - Celebrate your heritage

July 5 – Celebrate your place in America’s metling-pot society. For instance, pay tribute to your Czech roots by listening to a polka tune, or drink a cappuccino in honor of your Italian kin.

July 4 - Independence Day

July 4 – Search for the Revolutionary War ancestors who made Independence Day possible. You’ll find tips in the August 2003 Family Tree Magazine.

July 3 - DAR or SAR

July 3 – Look into lineage societies (such as the Daughters of the American Revolution www.dar.org) that may have resources to help with your research. Check The Genealogist’s Address Book, by Elizabeth Petty Bentley and Cyndi’s List www.cyndistlist.com/soc-lineage.htm to identify target groups.

This is my summer project to collect some of the needed documents for my lineage.

July 2 - Dear Diary

July 2 – Dear Diary: Today I plan to start a diary or journal so my family’s future genealogist will know more about my life.

This Diary doesn’t have to be a real personal diary if you don’t want it to. Just make a daily, weekly or even monthly entry of important things or daily activities. For example, what do you and your family do on weekends to relax? Explain simple task or what a typical day for you is like. Do you garden and can your own food? What modern technology is important in your life? Where do you go on vacation?

July 1 - Canada Day

July 1 – It’s Canada Day. Library and Archives Canada www.collectionscanada.ca is a great resource for tracing ancestors who lived in or immigrated to the United States’ northern neighbor.