Family Tree Magazine January/February 2015 Digital Edition

Start your genealogy year with a collection of tips and tricks 15 years in the making! This special 15th-anniversary issue of Family Tree Magazine is packed with helpful family history how-tos. You'll find all the regular instruction and inspiration you love, plus special-edition guides based on Family Tree Magazine's best advice from the past decade and a half, including:• 101 absolute best genealogy tips• 15 must-use tech tools that revolutionized genealogy• top 15 tips for preserving family photos, keepsakes and heirlooms• BONUS PULLOUT: 16-page 2015 Genealogy Calendar to help you track your goals and to-dosThe 15th-anniversary issue also features guides to finding relatives' obituaries, tracing slave ancestors, gleaning clues from wills, accessing old court records online and much more!This commemorative magazine is one you'll save — and refer to — for years to come. Get your copy today!Features:101 Best Genealogy TipsBy David A. FryxellWe’ve heard—and given—a lot of genealogy advice over the years. This collection gathers 101 of our top tips for your family history research.15 Tips for Preserving HeirloomsBy Denise May LevenickWhether you’ve inherited a shoebox of old snapshots or an entire house filled with a lifetime of memories, becoming your family’s caretaker of the past is a weighty responsibility. Here, we review some of the best heirloom advice we’ve dispensed, plus a few new tips. Follow these guidelines to care for your collection, and its history will enrich your family for generations to come.Slave Ancestors Research GuideBy Deborah A. Abbott and Sunny Jane MortonSlavery has obscured the names of your African-American ancestors and cast their lives into darkness. But with our guide, you can begin to rediscover them. We help you with:

• Understanding historical influences on record keeping
• Decoding the census to find slave ancestors
• Freedmen’s resources
• And more

Power Tools: Technological Changes to Genealogy ResearchBy Rick CrumeThese 15 tech tools have dramatically changed family history research over the past 15 years. Make sure they’re in your genealogy toolbox.Family Archivist: Keeping TimeBy Denise LevenickIf you inherited your ancestor’s pocket watch or mantel case clock, it might be time to put your treasure back into service. Our expert tips help you maintain your clock and keep time like your ancestor did.Workbook: ObituariesBy Shannon Combs-BennettThis workbook will show you what family history data is in obituaries, how to find them, and what other records include the information you seek. We’ll also provide a worksheet you can fill in to map out your obituary search.Columns:History Matters: CigarettesBy David A. FryxellOur social history expert is fired up about America’s nicotine habit.Now What?By David A. FryxellOur experts help you hurdle brick walls by answering reader questions.In this edition, we teach you:

• How to hurdle brick walls in Northern Ireland
• Where to find Women’s Army Corp. records
• Where to find seaman records
• Where to find missing Civil War service records

Research Roadmap: Land of OpportunityBy Tyler MossMaps to point your research in the right direction: Our experts take a look at foreign-born populations in 1880.Document Detective: WillsBy George G. MorganUncover family history clues in wills with the help of our document detective. We walk you through accessing the record and what to look for once you have it.Resource Roundup: Online Court RecordsBy Rick CrumeCourt records can reveal details unavailable elsewhere, provide occupations and personal descriptions, and establish family relationships and places of residence. It’s possible to find criminal and civil court records online, mostly at the state and federal levels. When you check these essential websites for your relatives, you just might hit the jackpot with a court case that gives you a rare insight into your ancestor’s life.Quick Guide: European History WebsitesBy Andrew KochLearning a rough outline of your European ancestors’ homeland can help you decipher border changes and better understand what influenced your ancestors’ decisions to move to another area or immigrate to another country. Check out these online resources for researching European history, and see what new genealogical insights you can gain.Tutorial: Telling Your Story with TreelinesBy Denise May LevenickGenealogists rely on timelines to help organize people, places and events, and Treelines.com is a free online tool for creating timelines that offers a unique story-building perspective. Our guide explains how to use the website and create a timeline.Bonus: 2015 Genealogy PlannerDiscover more ancestors and more family stories this year! We’ll help you plan for genealogy success.