Make the Most of Back to Genealogy Season

Five ways to make this your best back to genealogy season, ever.

Not surprisingly, back to school season is also back to genealogy season. I'm sure it has to do with all those years we all spent going back to school in the fall. And also like back to school season, you can follow some best practices to make the most of back to genealogy season.

Here are five ways to start the genealogy season "right."

The 3 Ps of Genetic Genealogy

Want to use DNA for genealogy success? You'll need these three easy peasy, I mean three easy Ps.

This week I was reminded of some basics of genetic genealogy (that's using DNA for family history). Not basics like what a centimorgan is (cM, that's a unit of measurement) or how much DNA you should expect to share with a 2nd cousin (3.125% or about 212 cMs).

No, real basics, like how to get an unwilling relative to spit for you.

It doesn't get any more basic than getting someone to take a DNA test!

After all, it doesn't matter how many basic facts you know if you have no tests to use.

Turns out the basics of getting people to take a test for you can be condensed down to 3 Ps (hmmm, that sounds familiar somehow). Here are my 3 Ps of Genetic Genealogy.

How to Create an Email Template

Creating an email template is much easier than it sounds. You may think you have to figure out technical details specific to your email program, but you don't (although for some programs, you could). Let's look at how easy it is to create an email template as well as some common reasons a genealogist might want to create one.

Make an Email Template

5-Minute Prep for Faster Online Research

Are you asking yourself, "how do I make my family history research faster?" Sadly, family history research (genealogy) takes time. Think how long it took to create! But, there are ways to be more efficient and efficient means faster.

One caveat. With genealogy, you want efficient, not just fast. Fast today can mean completely stuck tomorrow!

So, I have a genealogy hack for you that can make your future online genealogy research faster.

Spend some time as often as you can on this (daily would be great, weekly almost as good, but monthly is better than nothing).

Studying Genealogy Periodicals

Studying Genealogy Periodicals: Journals, Newsletters, and Magazines

An often underutilized source of self-education is the genealogical journal. Genealogical journals are one of the only ways to learn how to do quality genealogy by studying quality genealogy.