This is the start of a 10-blog series titled: AncesTea Crash Course! Think of this as a step-by-step educational series for more specific instruction on genealogical research. If you’re just diving in to genealogical research, this is the place to start. Let’s dive in. Starting Your Ancestry Journey We all have a starting point. Someone asks a question or tells a story, and suddenly you think: “Where did I come from?” For me, my ancestry journey probably started in 4th grade.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Learning Genealogy It’s one thing to talk and read about how to do genealogy. It’s another thing to actually DO it. And getting started is the hardest part. Maybe you’ve heard family stories that you’re not sure are true. Maybe you’ve inherited old photographs with unfamiliar faces. Maybe you’ve taken a DNA test and now have hundreds of matches staring back at you. Or maybe you’ve simply wondered who the people were whose lives led to yours. Over the y

If you’ve made it through the Intro to Genealogy series here on the Living Roots Genealogy AncesTea blog—first of all, thank you, and congratulations! You’ve taken a meaningful step toward understanding your past, honoring your ancestors, and discovering the people and stories that made you who you are. But as most genealogists quickly discover, once you start researching your family, the questions never really stop. You solve one mystery… and three more take its place. So, w

Genealogy is one of the most personal, meaningful hobbies you can pursue. It connects you to your past, reveals your ancestors’ stories, and for some, it offers a sense of identity. It’s difficult to imagine passing along such meaningful research to someone else. However, at some point (when you’re facing a brick wall, sorting through DNA, or simply overwhelmed by where to begin), you might find yourself wondering: should I hire a professional genealogist? As someone who work