Governor William Bradford was an artful storyteller whose Of Plymouth Plantation chronicled the Pilgrims’ struggles from an eyewitness perspective. His retrospective account of the First Thanksgiving was just seven sentences dealing with the harvest of fish, waterfowl, turkeys, and Indian corn. Bradford says nothing about Massasoit and the ninety tribesmen who attended the three-day feast. …

The art of photo identification is an invaluable tool for genealogists who find unlabeled family images. The older the image, the more likely it has no caption since early formats such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes have metal or glass backs that don’t hold ink or pencil. Leading photo identification books promote different methods, but …

Without much fanfare, Ancestry.com has released the single most valuable record group for 20th century American research. The U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 contains 49 million entries for deceased Americans who applied for social security numbers in that time frame. Data contained on these SS-5 forms are supplied by the individuals applying …

Are you citation-challenged? A common problem many genealogists face is properly citing information taken from a large database site such as Ancestry.com. Throughout your research, it is important to keep these questions in mind: Are you asking the right questions about your information? Is your source original or derivative? Is your information dependent or independent? …

Even historical genealogists have to speak to the living from time to time. When mastered, interview skills can open the door to information, photographs, and clues only the living may know. Many genealogists hope never to have to speak to a living person when conducting research – but imagine what they might be missing! Students …