Columnist Angelo F. Coniglio
Past Columns
The Search for Our Ancestry: Interpreting DNA
Results
(24 November 2015)
Siblings’ DNA will match 100 percent (or nearly so) only for identical twins, who formed from one sperm and one egg.
The Search for Our Ancestry: AncestryDNA Revisited
(7 September 2015)
Ancestry.com was offering to send me a free test kit and would reanalyze my sample for free.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Social Media and Genealogy
(8 August 2015)
Genealogists of all stripes have long subscribed to the idea of “reciprocal acts of kindness.”
The Search for Our Ancestry: Family Trees vs. DNA Testing
(6 May 2015)
I usually encourage genealogy researchers to share their family trees online to make connections with others who may be researching similar information.
The Search for Our Ancestry: The DNA Testing Community
(18 March 2015)
The more people who participate in genealogical DNA testing, the more potential relationships can be found.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Are You My Cousin?
(1 January 2015)
DNA testing can give you the means to extend your family tree.
The Search for Our Ancestry: DNA and Family Trees
(6 November 2014)
Contrary to what many believe, DNA tests cannot take a sample of one’s genetic material and magically produce a list of ancestors.
The Search for Our Ancestry: How Can DNA Results Help Our Search?
(16 September 2014)
Our traits have been passed down from our ancestors via the coding described by substances called deoxyribonucleic acids: DNA.
The Search for Our Ancestry: DNA Revisited
(14 August 2014)
Consider the various reasons for having a DNA test.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Finding Relatives in the ‘Old Country’
(10 July 2014)
I have found that when folks plan to find “relatives” in the “old country” they tend to concentrate on relatives with only two surnames: their father’s and their mother’s.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Censuses and Enumeration Districts on Ancestry.com
(13 May 2014)
One trick is to search for the name of a nearby neighbor of your family.
The Search for Our Ancestry: What Does that Mean in English?
(9 April 2014)
A novice researcher may face difficulty when unfamiliar with the language of his/her forefathers.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Features on Ancestry.com
(21 March 2014)
This column is not an endorsement of Ancestry, but I urge interested novice genealogists to try the site and draw their own conclusions.
The Search for Our Ancestry: The Three Dimensions of Genealogy
(13 February 2014)
Researching your parents is backward genealogy, researching your siblings is sideways genealogy, and researching your children is forward genealogy.
The Search for Our Ancestry: What’s New at Ancestry.com?
Generally, it’s a good idea to use FamilySearch and Ancestry.com in concert.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Learning on FamilySearch
FamilySearch's Learning Center has hundreds of online genealogy courses.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Why Research Your Ancestors?
If finding famous ancestors is your sole reason for doing genealogical research, you are likely to be disappointed.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Starting Out with FamilySearch
FamilySearch’s homepage is the starting point for the free Mormon site, with a variety of options.
The Search for Our Ancestry: The New FamilySearch
If you have not used FamilySearch recently, it will appear completely different to you.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Changes in Popular Sites: FamilySearch
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has had its members travel the world and make microfilm photocopies of all manner of original records from dozens of nations.
The Search for Our Ancestry: DNA Interrupted
I want my DNA tested, not someone else’s, not even my son’s, whose DNA would contain genetic material (his mother’s) that is different than mine.
The Search for Our Ancestry: DNA Soup
I’ve heard that “rejection” is not uncommon with any of the venues that offer DNA testing.
The Search for Our Ancestry: DNA Decoded
Every human has DNA markers that uniquely identify a person but are also shared to some extent by his or her relatives and ancestors.
The Search for Our Ancestry: How Do You Spell That?
You may be surprised at how some of your ancestors’ names were listed.
The Search for Our Ancestry: More on Naturalization
Information on citizenship and naturalization can help to find other records about our immigrant ancestors.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Citizenship and Naturalization
From the earliest days of the United States of America, citizenship was an important status for its residents.
The Search for Our Ancestry: ‘Noble’ Ancestors
If anyone traces his lineage back 20 generations or so, the odds of finding a “noble” ancestor increase.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Collateral Lines and Distant Relatives
A little time spent on researching collateral lines may help you find valuable information about your direct line.
The Search for Our Ancestry: I Get Letters . . .
When unsure of the validity of surnames from any country, not just Italy, I use the Internet to get a feel for the name.
The Search for Our Ancestry: More About the 1930 Census
The 1930 U.S. Census is important for researchers because it was the last census to include information on immigration and naturalization.
The Search for Our Ancestry: The 1930 Census
Some of the questions in the 1930 census were unique, and responses to them can be valuable in finding further information about the family.
The Search for Our Ancestry: The 1940 Census
Thus, this is the first U.S. census in which my name appears, as well as the names of many 50plus Senior News readers.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Probate and Land Records
Sometimes the more common types of records are insufficient to break through a genealogical “brick wall.”
The Search for Our Ancestry: Changes to FamilySearch
The Church of Latter-Day Saints’ free site FamilySearch is a valuable resource for genealogical researchers.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Secrets of Ships’ Manifests
Regardless of your ancestor’s country, knowing his birth town is essential for extending your research.
The Search for Our Ancestry: The 1920 U.S. Census
The first federal census was in 1790, under Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland
In prehistory, Scotland was settled by an influx of settlers from Ireland, and the two peoples share many common traits.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Reader Questions
I’ll pause in my presentation of online methods for researching genealogy to reply to questions from readers.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Records for England and Wales
Most of the various counties, townships, and other political subdivisions of England and Wales have a wealth of records.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Records from the United Kingdom
This month, I’ll begin my review with the source of the ancestors of the greatest number of Americans, the United Kingdom.
The Search for Our Ancestry: More Online Help in Finding Genealogical Records
If you’re interested in genealogy, set aside some time to seriously “surf the Web” to see which sites best fit your needs.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Online Help in Finding Genealogical Records
There are dozens of online sites catering to the serious and not-so-serious researcher.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Records and Where to Find Them
The rapid proliferation and growth of Internet genealogy sites calls for a refresher on the subject.
The Search for Our Ancestry: A ‘Brick Wall’
A situation in which no amount of research can find a particular ancestor or generation of ancestors is called a “brick wall” by genealogists.
The Search for Our Ancestry: Which Records Take Precedence?
(3 May 2011)
When a tombstone and a marriage certificate disagree, how do you find a
relative's correct birth date?
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Write to Angelo at
genealogytips@aol.com or visit his website,
www.bit.ly/AFCGen. He is the author of the book The Lady of the Wheel (La Ruotaia), based on his genealogical research of Sicilian foundlings. For more information, see www.bit.ly/SicilianStory. |
