Guides
Practical guides for people researching their own family or their own town. Each one names the kind of archive to try and what to ask for when you get there.
- Folder 1
Getting started with family history
Start with what you know, interview relatives, work back one generation at a time, and cite every source.
5 min read
- Folder 2
Using the US census for family history
The 72-year rule, what each decade asked, how to search, and how to read a census page.
5 min read
- Folder 3
Finding historical newspapers
Free and paid collections, microfilm, search tactics for bad OCR, and what to read besides obituaries.
5 min read
- Folder 4
Researching local history at libraries and archives
Who holds what locally, how reading rooms work, and the maps, directories and deeds that bring a place back.
4 min read
- Folder 5
FOIA basics for historical records
When a FOIA request is needed, how to write one, fees, privacy exemptions and appeals.
5 min read
- Folder 6
Privacy and ethics when researching living people
Sharing trees safely, DNA surprises, sensitive records, and where research ends and surveillance begins.
4 min read
- Folder 7
How to get an old mugshot or arrest record removed from people-search sites
Expungement and sealing, state mugshot laws, data broker opt-outs, search engine removals and avoiding scams.
5 min read
Looking for a specific archive? See where to look, by record type.