The Blog
Guides, tutorials, and deep dives into genealogy research, DNA testing, and family history.
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25 Forgotten Meals That Got Your Ancestors Through the Coldest Winters
Your ancestors didn't have central heating. Let that sink in. They had a wood stove in the kitchen, maybe a...
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25 Old-Country Recipes Our Grandmothers Brought to America That Nobody Makes Anymore
Your great-grandmother carried something across an ocean that customs couldn't inspect. Not in her suitcase. Not written down. It lived...
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16 Bizarre Valentine’s Day Rituals Your Ancestors Thought Were Totally Normal
Your great-great-grandmother didn't just send a Hallmark card. She might have wandered through a cemetery at midnight. Planted seeds by...
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12 Signs You’re Looking at the Wrong Person in That Census Record
Your great-great-grandmother didn't have 23 children. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this. Here's a fun fact...
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20 Ways Your Ancestors Survived Snowstorms That Would Seem Insane Today
Your great-great-grandparents didn't check weather apps. They didn't have heated seats or DoorDash or the luxury of "working from home"...
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The One Line on Death Records That Genealogists Always Check (And You’re Probably Ignoring)
You know that feeling when you're stressed out or nervous and someone asks you a question and your brain just......
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19 Forgotten Irish Christmas Traditions
Your great-grandmother's Christmas looked nothing like yours. No inflatable Santas. No Amazon packages stacked by the door. No turkey stress-ordered...
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Your Scandinavian Grandpa Wasn’t Actually Named Johnson
Your Scandinavian ancestor didn't have a surname the way you think of one. And that created one of the biggest...
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How Your Ancestors Actually Cooked Christmas Dinner 200 Years Ago
Your great-great-great-grandma didn't have a meat thermometer. No timer on her phone. No quick trip to the grocery store on...
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Why Your Ancestor Changed Their Name (And No, It Wasn’t Ellis Island)
Here's what you think happened: Your great-grandfather stepped off the boat at Ellis Island. A cranky clerk couldn't pronounce "Wojciechowski,"...
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The Mysterious ‘Boarder’ Who’s Actually Family
Between 1850 and 1950, nearly every American family tree hits the same weird snag. You're scrolling through a census record,...
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10 Diseases on Death Certificates That Don’t Exist Anymore (And What They Really Were)
Your great-great-grandfather's death certificate says he died of "dropsy." What the hell is dropsy? Here's the thing: a 19th-century death...