Generations Cafe

Newspapers are a gold mine of genealogical information. But if you stop looking for them after using the daily or weekly newspaper from your ancestor's home town, you might be stopping too soon.

In this episode, Amy shares 3 other kinds of newspapers that you need to be familiar with, and where you can find them. These "other" newspapers are often more detailed than the mainstream newspaper and are well worth the effort to find them.

You can find the show notes, complete with links to resources, at AmyJohnsonCrow.com/42.

Ancestry's hints - those shaky green leaves that you see on your family tree - can be useful if you know their limitations.

Fun fact: You're missing the vast majority of records on Ancestry if you rely only on the hints.

You can find the show notes at AmyJohnsonCrow.com/41

Genealogy research is more than just gathering more and more records. It's even more than evaluating them. And the research rarely goes in a straight line.

In this episode, Amy describes her WANDER Method for the genealogy research process and how it serves as a path to follow so that you don't get lost.

You can find the show notes for this episode along with a free printable at AmyJohnsonCrow.com/40 .

There are so many benefits to writing about your genealogy, but getting started can feel tough. Who should you write about? What should you say?

Writing can preserve our research, help us spot gaps in what we think we know, and connect us with others who are researching the same people. So how can we do that without feeling completely overwhelmed?

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a free writing challenge with weekly prompts to help give you ideas of what (and who) to write about. It's flexible for your needs. Take the prompts and interpret them how you want to.

Writing can take many forms, whether it's blogging, journaling, scrapbooking, video-making, emailing, or posting on social media.

The idea is to do something with your genealogy research.

You can find the show notes for this episode (and sign up for the free 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge) at AmyJohnsonCrow.com/52ancestors.

Family stories are as important to genealogy as census records. They are what make our ancestors (and us) human. Here are 5 tips for getting more (and better) family stories when talking to a relative, along with the a surprising tip about preserving them.

You can find the show notes at AmyJohnsonCrow.com/38

Land records show more than just the transfer of land from one owner to another. They contain tremendous amounts of information that we can use in our genealogy research.

In this episode, you'll learn 11 things that are typical to find in a deed and what they could mean in your research.

You can find the show notes at AmyJohnsonCrow.com/37

In this follow-up to Episode 35, where we discussed strategies for downsizing, I share my real-life experience in downsizing my parents' home of 35 years -- the good, the bad, and the ugly.

You can find the show notes at AmyJohnsonCrow.com/36

In genealogy, we tend to always want more. But there comes a time when it will be necessary to downsize. How do we get rid of stuff and yet still preserve our family history?

Professional organizer and genealogist Janine Adams shares her tips on how to approach this balancing act.

You can find the show notes at AmyJohnsonCrow.com/35

Academic libraries can hold treasures for genealogy research -- and it's more than just yearbooks and class photos. Drew Smith, co-host of the Genealogy Guys podcast, is a librarian at the University of South Florida. In this episode, he shares what you might find at a college or university library and how you can tell what those libraries have.

You can find the show notes at AmyJohnsonCrow.com/34

The intended merger between the National Genealogical Society and the Federation of Genealogical Societies is about a lot more than just combining conferences. It could have a huge impact on genealogy societies.

In this episode, Amy discusses what is known about the intended merger and what it could mean for societies -- and by extension, what it could mean for genealogy research.

You can find the show notes at AmyJohnsonCrow.com/33