The Year Ahead – April 10

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

April 10 – It’s Siblings Day. Double-check your software or online tree for missing data about your ancestor’s brothers or sisters.

I know a lot of people who only want to trace their direct ancestors. This is great, however, I always suggested to at least add all their direct ancestors’ children/siblings. It was through a sibling that I found the names of my ancestor’s parents, (especially the mother’s maiden name). I could not find my ancestor’s marriage record, but I found the marriage record for the sibling of the wife, and it listed their shared parents’ names. Then I went to the marriage record for one of the siblings for the husband and found his parents. This allowed me to take my research back another generation.

Siblings’ obituaries might give you clues about not only their shared parents, but whether your ancestor was alive at their death and where they might be living. If they preceded their sibling, it might list when your ancestor died. Perhaps, your ancestor and their siblings are buried in the same cemetery. The more people you research, the more clues you can uncover in your genealogy journey.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!