Heartland Genealogy

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 Rather than overwhelm a new researcher with dozens of websites, I would begin with a handful of sites that can either provide records or point toward other resources. FamilySearch FamilySearch would be my first stop. FamilySearch is much more than a website where you type an ancestor's name into a search box. ...

Have you ever unlinked a child from parents in your family tree? If so, did you stop to consider all the different places where that relationship—and your reason for changing it—might need to be updated? Recently, I made the difficult decision to unlink my second great-grandfather, Albert Hutchinson , from the parents I had long assigned to him: Aaron Hutchinson and Sarah Merry . Why I Questioned the Relationship My recent research into the descendants of Aaron and Hannah Hutchinson , combined with a closer look at my autosomal DNA matches, has caused me to question whether Albert was actually their grandson. The problem is fairly simple: I have not found evidence directly connecting my Albert Hutchinson of Iowa to the Hutchinson family of Livingston County, New York. I do have records stating that Albert was born in Fulton County, New York . That location does not prove he wasn't related to the Livingston County family, but it adds to my concerns about a relationship that was alre...